Chapter 50
When Daniel sits down in the conference room, he is hoping for fresh information from the National Forensic Center in Ume?. In order to move on, they have to know how Filippa died.
He has a cup of coffee in front of him. He made it out of habit, even though he didn’t really want it and has already drunk far too many cups today.
Carina has just messaged to say they are finishing off at Nedre Svedjev?gen, so she won’t be calling in to the meeting. However, she informed him that they haven’t found Filippa’s clothes or boots in the house—they are still missing.
The door opens and Hanna comes in. She looks pale and somehow defiant. If he had to guess, he would say she is angry rather than suffering from stomach cramps.
When they parted half an hour ago, she sounded as if she was feeling a little better, but now she is positively radiating stress.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
She holds up a dismissive hand. “Fine.”
Before Daniel can say any more, Anton and Raffe arrive. In any case, Hanna’s gesture makes it clear that she doesn’t want additional questions.
Something is wrong, that’s obvious.
Daniel quickly runs through the meeting with Staffan Berg, highlighting the fact that he knows the code for the front door, and therefore has access to the house. They might need to check his whereabouts Saturday night through Sunday morning.
Raffe takes over. “I’ve done a background check on the next-door neighbors.”
They can tell from his voice that he has found out something interesting. Raffe is good at digging up information. He has a particular ability to focus on the details, and Daniel can see a glint of satisfaction in his colleague’s eyes.
“An incident of sexual harassment involving the son, Peter Carlsson, was reported to the police last year.”
“Tell us more.”
The ceiling light flickers. It has been doing this for the last few weeks; they need an electrician to come and check it out.
“It happened just over a year ago. Peter Carlsson was in a bar in Gothenburg, where he lives. He was very drunk and was bothering some young girls at a table nearby. According to the woman who made the report, he started behaving inappropriately. She said he touched her thighs a couple of times, then her breasts. When she went to the bathroom, he followed her and tried to kiss her. She later contacted the police.”
“Was there a conviction?” Anton asks.
Raffe shakes his head. “It was her word against his, so it wasn’t taken any further.”
“It’s no surprise that that kind of complaint is dismissed,” Hanna mutters.
“It cost him his marriage,” Raffe goes on. “His wife filed for divorce as soon as she found out.”
“Who can blame her?” Hanna says.
Daniel exchanges a glance with Raffe. Hanna really isn’t in a good mood.
“Interesting,” he says. “Well done. Can you have a chat with Peter Carlsson? With this information it would be useful to meet him face-to-face.”
Meanwhile Anton has activated the link with ?stersund. The screen flashes and Grip’s serious face appears.
“Have Ume? been in touch?” Daniel asks as soon as the microphones are on. “Have they finished the autopsy yet?”
“Yes and no,” Grip replies, which isn’t like her. The head of the Serious Crimes Unit doesn’t usually go for ambiguity; on the contrary, she is known for being clear and direct. A quality that has presumably been a great help during her long career.
Grip is sixty-one, and approaching retirement. Female police chiefs were a rarity for her generation. Daniel is under no illusions about what it took for Birgitta Grip to succeed within the conservative police service.
Hanna looks up.
Daniel can almost see her shaking off whatever has been weighing her down. Admittedly she is the most impulsive member of the team, but at the same time she is phenomenal when it comes to focusing on the job. Nothing gets in the way of police work; she is one hundred percent dedicated.
Daniel admires her ability to concentrate with absolute clarity, which she can switch on in a second.
“Can you explain what that means?” she says, all her attention focused on Grip.
“I’ve just spoken to Ylva about the case. She was in the car, so it wasn’t a long conversation.”
Daniel knows Ylva Labba pretty well. They have worked together on a number of major homicide investigations in ?re. She is a conscientious and highly competent forensic pathologist. Her family background is Sámi, and she was born outside Kiruna.
“Ylva started the autopsy today,” Grip continues. “But unfortunately she didn’t finish it because of a personal matter. She had a call from her son’s school, so she had to break off.”
Daniel didn’t even know that Ylva had a son, which is typical in this profession.
Every week he is in contact with colleagues from different parts of the country—but it’s always about work; they never get into their private lives.
The only person he really discusses that kind of thing with is Hanna, because they often chat in the car on the way to and from ?stersund.
And even then it took a long time for him to open up to her, even though she told him pretty early on how she had been dumped by her partner in Stockholm.
He found it much harder to talk about his own problems, the difficulties between him and Ida that arose long before the actual separation. He doesn’t know if this is because of loyalty to Ida or shame over his own inadequacies as a father and boyfriend.
It was even more challenging to admit that he had started seeing a therapist in order to work through the problems caused by growing up with an absent father. He hadn’t told Hanna until last Easter, and he knows that she felt let down because he had kept quiet for so long.
Grip’s hoarse voice interrupts his wandering thoughts.
“Ylva promised she would try to finish the autopsy tomorrow. Let’s hope nothing gets in her way this time.”
“So we still don’t know the cause of death,” Anton says.
“I’m afraid not.”
Hanna sighs heavily, which exactly expresses how Daniel feels.
“But Ylva did pass on one thing that is very interesting, under the circumstances,” Grip continues.
“Which is?” Hanna jumps in immediately.
“It seems as if the deceased had sex before she died.” Grip pauses briefly. “Ylva found traces of vaginal intercourse that would have taken place not too long before the body was found on Sunday morning.”
“Was it rape?” Anton wonders.
“Ylva said she couldn’t confirm or deny that at this stage.”
“But that changes everything,” Hanna says.
She is right. Daniel immediately realizes the implications. None of the boys in the group had breathed a word about being intimate with Filippa during the final hours of her life.
Which means one of them is lying about that.
And maybe that person is also lying about the cause of Filippa’s death.