Chapter 82
As soon as Anton reappears, Hanna can tell that something is wrong. He moves toward the front door and signals to her to join him, out of earshot of everyone else. He positions himself very close to the coat stand, so that the two of them are hidden by the thick winter clothing.
“There’s no one down there,” he says quietly.
“You mean Pontus is gone?”
“Looks like it. I’ve checked every room, and there’s no sign of him. He isn’t in the house.”
“So he was awake,” Hanna says, as much to herself as to Anton. “Although according to the others, none of them had seen him since yesterday evening. And then the fire broke out. Surely they should have noticed if he left?”
“He probably used the ski entrance—you can get out that way without attracting attention.”
Of course. Lydia’s house is the same, with a separate entrance on the lower ground floor so that no one needs to use the main door with their skis and other equipment.
“There’s also a patio door that Pontus could have used,” Anton adds. He folds his arms. “This doesn’t look good for him.”
Hanna is too experienced to jump to the conclusion that Pontus is responsible for the fire, but the fact that he isn’t here does not bode well. Someone with a clear conscience doesn’t disappear in the middle of the night. Especially not in weather like this.
“We need to send out a patrol right now,” she decides. “And report him as a missing person of interest.”
Anton looks as if he has something else on his mind.
“What are you thinking about?” Hanna asks.
“Given what the others said about Pontus, the fact that he attacked Emil . . . That alone makes him guilty of a serious crime. And if he decided to start the fire as well . . .”
Hanna knows what Anton is about to say. The same troubling thought has occurred to her. Disturbing images of previous suicide victims she has encountered in the line of duty flicker through her mind.
“Do you think he could be suicidal?” she interrupts him.
“We can’t rule it out.”
“Then we need to find him, as a matter of urgency.”