The Killer's Art by Mari Jungstedt Page B

bluntly.’
    ‘I’ve also been thinking along those lines. But who is this lover of his and where can we find her? And why hasn’t she come forward? Egon Wallin didn’t take his car, nor did he ring for a cab; we’ve already checked on that. So he must have left home on foot, and then he either ran into the murderer somewhere outdoors, or he was killed at the home of his mistress.’
    ‘Others could also be involved,’ Jacobsson interjected. ‘Maybe his mistress had a husband who discovered what was going on, and he killed Egon Wallin during the night.’
    ‘Unless it was his mistress who did it,’ countered Knutas. ‘Though I have a hard time imagining that a woman would be able to hoist up his body like that. Provided she didn’t have help, of course.’
    Knutas stopped to sneeze loudly. He took a few moments to blow his nose before going on.
    ‘Good Lord, we can keep on speculating for ever, but it won’t really get us anywhere.’
    Jacobsson drained the last of her coffee and got up.
    ‘How are things going, by the way?’ asked Knutas. ‘How are you?’
    He regarded her intently. There was something weighing on her; he’d noticed it for several days now.
She’s really sweet,
he thought as he observed her hesitation.
    When she first arrived at Visby police headquarters, he thought for awhile that he was falling in love with her, but then he met Lina and forgot all about his budding interest in Karin.
    Knutas was not the only one who had a hard time deciphering what Karin thought or felt about personal matters. She had a reserve as thick as armour, which meant that no one dared ask any questions about her private life, at least initially. Unless it had to do with football.
    The strange thing was that Knutas himself found it so easy to talk to her, even though she was reticent about confiding in him. He often turned to Karin when he had problems with Lina or the children. She was always sympathetic and willing to listen. But if he later asked her about similar concerns, she was always evasive. Yet he was still very fond of her, and he sometimes worried that she might look for a more challenging job. Although Karin had worked on the Visby police force for sixteen years, he wouldn’t feel secure until her personal life prompted her to settle down permanently. As things now stood, if she met someone over on the mainland, she’d be gone. Or if she was offered a job that she couldn’t refuse.
    Sometimes he felt like her father, even though there were only thirteen years between them. Knutas had become dependent on having Karin Jacobsson as part of the team, and he certainly didn’t want to lose her.
    She paused for a moment before answering his question.
    ‘I’m fine, thanks.’
    ‘Sure?’
    Her expression was inscrutable as she met his gaze.
    ‘Of course. I’m fine.’
    Even though he could see that something was bothering her, he knew better than to ask any more questions.
    E mma had been caught completely off guard by Johan’s sudden proposal of marriage. In a sense it was inevitable, as if they would have to come to that decision sooner or later. They had a child together, after all. By the time she had chosen to keep the baby and break up her marriage, she’d already made up her mind. And yet she had kept wavering back and forth. When she thought about how she’d behaved since meeting Johan, it seemed a miracle that he still wanted to be with her. That he hadn’t grown tired of her long ago.
    He had left the house for the city and his job a short time ago. He had kissed her before leaving, but had not said any more about the matter or pressed her for an answer. She had watched him walk down the snow-covered path towards his car, studying his dark curly hair, his brown leather jacket that was nicely worn, and his washed-out jeans.
    It was really quite simple: she loved him and it was obvious that they should get married. At the same time she was terrified that her relationship with Johan would