Chapter 106
A patrol car has been sent to Sadeln to bring William in, and in the meantime Hanna has ordered pizzas from Werséns. There was an extra-long waiting time, presumably because of all the students in the village.
She is sitting in the kitchenette at the station with Daniel, hoping to find fresh energy by loading up on carbs. The harsh fluorescent lighting gives her quattro stagioni an almost artificial appearance.
Raffe has joined them for an update while they eat.
Hanna shovels down two-thirds of her pizza while Daniel summarizes the interview with Pontus, who has now been placed on remand following a decision by the prosecutor in ?stersund. They have ninety-six hours before he must be arrested or released.
“So what do you think?” she asks Daniel when he’s finished. “Do we believe him, or not?”
Daniel is carefully cutting up his pizza into small pieces and eating it with a knife and fork. Enjoying his food instead of shoveling it down. Perhaps his Italian heritage on his mother’s side is showing through.
Hanna is using her hands as cutlery.
“If he’s innocent,” she adds before Daniel can speak, “who’s responsible for Filippa’s death and the fire? Or could we be looking at two different perpetrators?” She breaks off a piece of the crust with her fingers. “What if we’re wrong, and it wasn’t the same person?”
She had already been thinking along those lines, but then it seemed as if Pontus was both the killer and the arsonist. However, after the interview she has her doubts.
Pontus claims that William was the one who had sex with Filippa, and that Pontus had nothing to do with either the murder or the fire.
Which makes Hanna uncertain.
Could it be that William is involved in the murder, while Pontus was behind the fire? Or is Pontus actually telling the truth, which might mean that William is responsible for both crimes?
Nothing is clear.
“We need better forensic evidence,” Raffe points out. “At the moment there’s nothing to link anyone to either incident.”
“Let’s see what Carina finds,” Daniel says.
She has just messaged to say that the report on the house search is ready, but as she didn’t contact them earlier, Hanna doubts that it will contain any new information. And if they have to wait for the results of DNA testing or other biological traces, it will take months.
She wipes her mouth with a napkin and realizes that she hasn’t told Raffe about the external security cameras. She contacted the company earlier and left a message saying that the police need to know as a matter of urgency if any of the footage is saved.
She quickly fills Raffe in on her hopes that the company might be able to help them move forward. “With a bit of luck we should hear from them tomorrow,” she concludes.
“It would be fantastic if someone or something has been captured on camera,” Raffe says.
“Absolutely,” Daniel says with a nod. “I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in a case where we’ve had so little to go on.”
“Any more information on Staffan Berg?” Hanna asks Raffe.
The indoor fan is humming faintly in the background, and the smell of detergent lingers in the air following the janitor’s visit at about five o’clock.
“I’ve seen screenshots from his phone. They show that he got an alarm call about the cabin late on Sunday evening, so that’s true. I’ve also checked out his background, and he’s clean. He doesn’t have any kind of record, and he pays his taxes. No complaints against his company.”
“So everything seems to be in order?”
“Looks that way. The company provides for him and his wife, who takes care of the admin and bookkeeping. Sometimes she helps out with cleaning jobs.” Raffe checks his watch, then picks up his jacket from the back of the chair.
“Sorry, but I have to make a move—I’m already late.
We’re going to Nilla’s parents’ for dinner. ”
Hanna considers this new information. Maybe Staffan Berg is an exemplary citizen who just happens to have an alarm app and the key code for a property where serious crimes have been committed.
But it’s still too early to rule him out altogether.
“I think we should bring him in for another interview,” she says with her mouth full. “As soon as possible.”
Raffe is on his way out. “I can do that tomorrow. Sorry, but I really do have to go now.”
The door closes behind him. Hanna finishes off her pizza as her thoughts return to the house on Nedre Svedjev?gen.
“I can’t understand how none of the five friends have seen anything that can help us. Two such serious crimes, and not a single eyewitness. It’s as if they’re all blind and deaf.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Daniel points out. “We still have Karin Carlsson, who was up on Saturday night.”
“That’s not enough.” Hanna’s frustration is clear in her voice. “She didn’t see the perpetrator’s face clearly enough to be able to make an identification.”
“That’s true, but at least we’ve cut down the number of suspects. This case seems to center on two people: Pontus and William.” Daniel puts his knife and fork down neatly on his plate. “Things should make more sense once we’ve questioned William.”
Hanna thinks they ought to question Amir as well. Push him on what he knows. But they have to prioritize William. There are only twenty-four hours in a day, and with Anton in hospital they just don’t have the resources.
“Even if William is behind the murder, we still have to be able to prove who started the fire,” Hanna says.
She finishes off her Coca-Cola, grimacing at its tepid sweetness.
“Pontus definitely had a motive, given the attack on Emil. But he categorically denies it. William has lied about having sex with Filippa, and insists that he had nothing to do with her death. And Amir seems prepared to do anything in order to protect William.”
She closes her eyes for a few seconds, tries to suppress the sense of hopelessness, the feeling of treading water.
For three long days they have searched for connections and patterns that might not even exist. Every time they think they understand how it all hangs together, something doesn’t quite fit.
She pushes her plate away with such force that it knocks over the empty Coke can. She gives Daniel a resigned look.
“How are we going to get those kids to confess when they all just keep denying everything?”