Chapter 118
A white car is parked outside the Carlssons’ garage, which suggests that ?ke and Karin are home.
Good, Daniel thinks. At least they ought to be able to get this cleared up before lunch. He follows Hanna to the front door and waits while she knocks.
“You again,” ?ke says when he answers. He is wearing pale-gray thermals and looks as if he has just come back from skiing.
Hanna manages a smile. “Can we come in? We have one or two more questions.”
?ke steps back to let them in. Karin is standing at the kitchen island, making coffee. She is in ski clothes too, and her hair is tousled. The close-fitting thermal top reveals that she is in good shape, despite her age.
She looks surprised, but points to the coffee machine. “Can I offer you a cup?”
“Not for me, thanks.” Daniel has already drunk too much coffee today, and this morning’s bad temper has given him an acid stomach, which he probably deserves several times over.
Hanna also declines, and they sit down at the table while they wait for Karin to join them.
“What a performance yesterday!” ?ke says. “Almost like a TV show. But I’ll tell you one thing: I’ve distrusted those Lowengrens ever since they built that terrible house. I wish they’d sell up and leave ?re.”
Daniel notes that neighborliness seems to be in short supply.
“You can’t say that,” Karin objects. “Why should we have anything against that particular family?” She gives her husband a reproachful look, as if he is embarrassing her in front of the two police officers.
“Those people have caused trouble ever since the first day they moved here,” ?ke replies. “You know that perfectly well—how often have we talked about it?”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“What’s wrong with you today?” There is no mistaking the indignation in ?ke’s voice. He lifts his cup to his mouth and drinks, ends up with coffee at the corner of his lip but doesn’t seem to notice. Then he turns his irritation on Daniel and Hanna.
“What is it this time? You’ve caught the murderer, haven’t you? I saw one of the boys being led away in handcuffs. I assume he started the fire as well? Hoodlums, the lot of them.”
“The thing is,” Hanna begins, “we have a couple of questions about Karin’s statement.” She turns so that she is facing Karin. Daniel assumes she is hoping to avoid further comments from Karin’s husband. She flicks through her notebook and opens it at a page covered in writing.
“So when we spoke to you the other day, you said you’d seen someone moving around during the night close to where Filippa’s body was found the next day.
You told us that this person was wearing dark clothing that blended in with the surroundings, and you also said that you assumed it was a man, even though you didn’t see his face. ”
Karin listens attentively without interrupting. She seems much more inclined to be helpful than her husband.
“That’s correct. And it was the posture that made me think it wasn’t a woman—I can’t explain it any better.”
Hanna gives her an encouraging smile, but Daniel wonders where she is going with her questions.
Why hasn’t she mentioned the footage from the security cameras?
Is she intending to go through Karin’s statement line by line before she gets to the point?
That could take forever, and they have other things to do today.
He tries to catch her eye, but she ignores him.
“You also said it looked as if the person in question was carrying something heavy?”
“That’s right.”
“Could it possibly have been the body of the young woman who died?” Hanna gives Karin a few extra seconds, then adds, “It’s important that you try to remember exactly what you saw. Every detail could be crucial. All that matters is that we get it right.”
Karin closes her eyes, then nods thoughtfully.
“It was very dark, but I’m sure that’s what happened.
Obviously I can’t swear to everything, but the more I think about it, the more clearly I can picture it.
” She wraps her hands around her coffee cup, frowns as she concentrates hard.
“The person I saw was probably carrying the girl when he appeared. I’m almost sure of it. ”
“And what did he do then?”
Daniel hears a hint of tension in Hanna’s voice.
“Can you try to remember?” she goes on.
Karin rubs her forehead with her fingertips, as if she is trying to conjure up the image in her mind’s eye.
“I think . . . he laid her down in the snow in front of the house.”
“And then?”
“And then he walked away.”
“So he just left her there? Do you remember if he did anything else to her body or her clothing?”
“No.” Karin pauses briefly, gives the matter more thought. “It all happened so fast. He just put her down in the snow and left her there.”
Daniel is beginning to understand what Hanna is doing. She is allowing Karin to entangle herself, enticing her to add more and more details about something that never happened.
Because Karin did not see a man placing Filippa’s body in the snow in front of the house. It didn’t happen, and the camera footage provides solid evidence of that.
Karin is lying to them.