that she was selling sex over the Internet. How was that possible?
The answer was simple: it wasn’t possible.
The two were incompatible. A person with secrets of that magnitude would not be so involved in their studies, the church choir, friends, the mentoring network, teaching babies to swim.
The pregnancy was indisputable; it was a medical fact. But the rumour that Rebecca had been selling sex was not. It was an alien concept; it just didn’t fit.
Her mind full of anxious thoughts, Fredrika returned to the bedroom and lay down next to Spencer.
‘Can’t you sleep?’ he murmured.
She didn’t answer, but crept closer and laid her head on his arm.
She was thinking about Rebecca Trolle.
About the body in the plastic sacks.
About the violence to which she had been subjected.
The chainsaw. It said something about the murderer, something Fredrika just couldn’t grasp. She was struck by a sudden, unstoppable thought: routine . He kills as a matter of routine.
INTERVIEW WITH FREDRIKA BERGMAN, 02-05-2009, 17.30 (tape recording)
Present: Urban S, Roger M (interrogators one and two). Fredrika Bergman (witness).
Urban: In spite of the fact that you found a second victim, you still subscribed to the theory that Håkan Nilsson was the killer?
Fredrika: We didn’t subscribe to any particular theory; we were keeping an open mind.
Roger: And the second victim, what happened there?
Fredrika: It took time to secure an identification.
Urban: Because you made mistakes.
Fredrika: Because we stuck to facts.
Roger: And Peder Rydh? Did he stick to the rules?
Fredrika: All the time.
Urban: And Alex Recht?
Fredrika: He stuck to the rules as well.
Urban: I was thinking more in terms of his mental state.
Fredrika: He was fine throughout.
Roger: And what about you?
Fredrika: I was fine too.
Urban: We were thinking more of the issue of sticking to the rules.
(Silence.)
Fredrika: I don’t understand the question.
Urban: We’re wonder if you followed the letter of the law and stuck to the rules when you were carrying out your work.
Fredrika: Of course.
Roger: You didn’t suppress any evidence?
(Silence.)
Urban: Not when you went through Rebecca’s things in the garage?
Fredrika: No.
(Silence.)
Roger: So what about Thea Aldrin? You must have found her by this stage?
Fredrika: No, we hadn’t.
Urban: Isn’t that a bit odd?
Fredrika: The investigation was complicated by the fact that the victims had been in the ground for such a long time. We were constantly waiting for test results and analyses. It took a while.
Urban: That’s obviously a downside of being meticulous; everything is so slow.
Roger: What happened next? You were about to bring in both Håkan Nilsson and Gustav Sjöö. But you went off on a tangent of your own as usual. Isn’t that correct?
(Silence.)
Urban: It was your idea to go through Rebecca’s belongings in the garage, wasn’t it?
Fredrika: Yes.
Roger: And what did you find?
(Silence.)
Urban: Answer the question, please.
(Silence.)
Roger: That was when you found Spencer, wasn’t it?
Fredrika (whispering): Yes.
FRIDAY
13
A second body buried next to the first one. Thea drank her coffee out of the same stupid mug as always, then banged it down on the table. The shock was making her chest feel tight. Who was the man who had been laid to rest just a few metres away from Rebecca Trolle? The police were refusing to comment; they had merely stated that the deceased was a man, and that he had probably been lying there for at least two decades, possibly three.
Two decades. That was a long time to be missing.
Thea reached for the morning paper. The discovery of the two bodies was a major story. The editorial team dealt with a lot of news, but rarely anything as exciting as a double murder. The press were asking if there might be a link, in spite of the time that had elapsed between the deaths. And the police were saying nothing.
They were saying nothing because they knew
The answer was simple: it wasn’t possible.
The two were incompatible. A person with secrets of that magnitude would not be so involved in their studies, the church choir, friends, the mentoring network, teaching babies to swim.
The pregnancy was indisputable; it was a medical fact. But the rumour that Rebecca had been selling sex was not. It was an alien concept; it just didn’t fit.
Her mind full of anxious thoughts, Fredrika returned to the bedroom and lay down next to Spencer.
‘Can’t you sleep?’ he murmured.
She didn’t answer, but crept closer and laid her head on his arm.
She was thinking about Rebecca Trolle.
About the body in the plastic sacks.
About the violence to which she had been subjected.
The chainsaw. It said something about the murderer, something Fredrika just couldn’t grasp. She was struck by a sudden, unstoppable thought: routine . He kills as a matter of routine.
INTERVIEW WITH FREDRIKA BERGMAN, 02-05-2009, 17.30 (tape recording)
Present: Urban S, Roger M (interrogators one and two). Fredrika Bergman (witness).
Urban: In spite of the fact that you found a second victim, you still subscribed to the theory that Håkan Nilsson was the killer?
Fredrika: We didn’t subscribe to any particular theory; we were keeping an open mind.
Roger: And the second victim, what happened there?
Fredrika: It took time to secure an identification.
Urban: Because you made mistakes.
Fredrika: Because we stuck to facts.
Roger: And Peder Rydh? Did he stick to the rules?
Fredrika: All the time.
Urban: And Alex Recht?
Fredrika: He stuck to the rules as well.
Urban: I was thinking more in terms of his mental state.
Fredrika: He was fine throughout.
Roger: And what about you?
Fredrika: I was fine too.
Urban: We were thinking more of the issue of sticking to the rules.
(Silence.)
Fredrika: I don’t understand the question.
Urban: We’re wonder if you followed the letter of the law and stuck to the rules when you were carrying out your work.
Fredrika: Of course.
Roger: You didn’t suppress any evidence?
(Silence.)
Urban: Not when you went through Rebecca’s things in the garage?
Fredrika: No.
(Silence.)
Roger: So what about Thea Aldrin? You must have found her by this stage?
Fredrika: No, we hadn’t.
Urban: Isn’t that a bit odd?
Fredrika: The investigation was complicated by the fact that the victims had been in the ground for such a long time. We were constantly waiting for test results and analyses. It took a while.
Urban: That’s obviously a downside of being meticulous; everything is so slow.
Roger: What happened next? You were about to bring in both Håkan Nilsson and Gustav Sjöö. But you went off on a tangent of your own as usual. Isn’t that correct?
(Silence.)
Urban: It was your idea to go through Rebecca’s belongings in the garage, wasn’t it?
Fredrika: Yes.
Roger: And what did you find?
(Silence.)
Urban: Answer the question, please.
(Silence.)
Roger: That was when you found Spencer, wasn’t it?
Fredrika (whispering): Yes.
FRIDAY
13
A second body buried next to the first one. Thea drank her coffee out of the same stupid mug as always, then banged it down on the table. The shock was making her chest feel tight. Who was the man who had been laid to rest just a few metres away from Rebecca Trolle? The police were refusing to comment; they had merely stated that the deceased was a man, and that he had probably been lying there for at least two decades, possibly three.
Two decades. That was a long time to be missing.
Thea reached for the morning paper. The discovery of the two bodies was a major story. The editorial team dealt with a lot of news, but rarely anything as exciting as a double murder. The press were asking if there might be a link, in spite of the time that had elapsed between the deaths. And the police were saying nothing.
They were saying nothing because they knew
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