Chapter 114
Half an hour later Hanna is sitting in the conference room with Daniel and Raffe.
At least they now know what lay behind the fire.
It was a relief when Pontus finally broke down and confessed.
Admittedly he is still denying any involvement in the murder, but on the other hand he also denied arson for a long time.
Hanna is counting on the footage from the security cameras to help them to make progress in the case. They need to find out who took Filippa’s life.
Whether it was Pontus who attacked her.
Or William.
She has linked her computer to the big screen so that they won’t miss any details.
It transpired that the Lowengrens had cameras that both livestreamed and recorded when the motion sensors were activated, and could distinguish between human and animal activity.
Thanks to a 135-degree field of vision, they have a range of up to fifteen feet.
The cameras are also adapted for night vision, so Hanna has high hopes as she clicks on the files she has received.
She opens the first one and a surprisingly sharp image fills the screen. It is from the camera above the patio door by the sauna. It seems as if the lens is slightly crooked. It doesn’t cover the whole of the doorway, but it does show part of the yard in front of the house.
Is it enough?
Hanna tries to remember exactly where Filippa’s body was found in relation to the position of the camera, but it’s difficult.
Her eyes ache with concentration as the film continues. At first there is only darkness and snow, but then Filippa appears.
Hanna holds her breath.
She is clearly visible, staggering along on unsteady legs before sinking down in the snow in front of the house.
“Freeze it there,” Daniel says.
Filippa is lying on the ground with her arms and legs outstretched, almost as if she is making a snow angel. It seems like her anger at William has passed; she looks happily drunk more than anything, as if she is enchanted by the beauty of the winter night.
Hanna doesn’t understand.
“Look,” Raffe says. “She’s wearing her jacket and boots. And her jeans.”
He is right. Filippa is fully dressed, not half-naked as she was when her body was found.
“Okay, let’s see the rest.” There is tension in Daniel’s voice.
Hanna clicks on the trackpad and the film resumes.
A shadow pops up out of nowhere. A dark figure approaches Filippa and kneels down by her left-hand side.
“Who’s that?” Raffe wonders.
It’s impossible to tell. The figure is wearing a dark jacket with the hood pulled up. They can’t make out the facial features, but Hanna thinks she sees a hint of a smile on Filippa’s face, rather than anger.
That might suggest it’s Pontus, because she had just had an argument with William. But it could also be Amir, or even Emil.
Unless William followed her outside in order to apologize, and Filippa was smiling because she was going to forgive him.
It’s hopeless. Hanna feels like hurling her laptop at the wall. There is no way of telling who is concealed beneath the hood.
Suddenly the person leans forward, hiding Filippa from the camera. It looks as if he is lying on top of her, pressing her down into the snow, but they can’t see exactly what is going on.
The shadows blend together, their outlines melting into one.
But Hanna knows that this is the moment when it happens.
The murder is being carried out right in front of them, and they can’t intervene or lift a finger.
It is too late. Filippa is already dead.
After a few minutes the shadow moves back and stands up. Filippa is motionless now, with one cheek buried in the snow. The figure pulls off Filippa’s jeans, jacket, top, and boots, leaving her half-naked.
He disappears from the screen, taking the items of clothing with him.
All that is left is Filippa’s lifeless body.
The camera continues to film for a short while, then everything goes black.
Raffe is the first to speak.
“At least we know how she died.” He takes a deep breath, almost fumbling for the right words. He is as deeply affected as Hanna by those terrible images. “She was definitely murdered.”
Hanna doesn’t know which is worse, the sense of impotence or disappointment. She had anticipated so much from the footage, thought it would give them the solution to the mystery.
The perpetrator’s head on a plate.
Instead they have barely made any progress in the hunt for Filippa’s murderer. All they have is an intangible shadow, an unidentifiable figure of darkness.
The frustration is like a dead weight in her chest.
How are they going to find him now?