Chapter 120
Daniel waits for Hanna to continue her questioning. He can see that she is unsure of how to proceed with Karin.
He too is taken aback by the woman’s lies. The more she talks, the stranger it gets.
Hanna closes her notebook.
“I’d like you to accompany us to the station,” she says to Karin. “There are a number of points in your statement that we need to check.”
Karin’s expression changes from friendly and cooperative to strained.
“I’m sure we can clear this up right now.” She licks her lips nervously. “What do you want to know?”
“It would be better to go through it at the station,” Hanna says firmly.
“I’ve told you everything I saw that night.” Karin turns to her husband with a pleading look.
“I don’t understand,” he says. “Why do you want to take my wife to the station?”
“It’s just routine,” Hanna assures him. She does her best to sound calming, but it has the opposite effect. ?ke flares up.
“You have no right to treat us this way! We’re not criminals, like those kids next door! Who do you think we are?”
“We absolutely can ask you to accompany us to the station,” Daniel says quickly to back up Hanna.
She seems to appreciate his support, but Daniel has had enough of this nonsense too. They have to find out what is behind Karin’s peculiar story.
“My colleague is absolutely right. We need to clarify a few details in Karin’s statement, which is why it would be better for your wife to come with us.”
Karin leaps to her feet and accidentally knocks over her coffee. It trickles across the table and drips onto the floor. “I haven’t done anything!”
“We’re not saying you have,” Hanna reassures her. “We just want to continue this interview at the station.”
“What are you accusing my wife of? How dare you!” ?ke is shouting now.
The atmosphere has changed in seconds. Daniel realizes they are in danger of losing control of the situation.
“You can’t force me!” Karin’s voice is loud and shrill.
?ke is on his feet now. He is a powerful man with broad shoulders; his flushed cheeks are quivering with agitation as he grips the edge of the table.
He dominates the room.
“You are not taking my wife!”
Daniel stands up too. “Don’t do anything stupid, ?ke.”
“I’m warning you—my wife stays here!”
“We just need to talk to Karin at the station,” Hanna says calmly. “That’s all it is.”
Daniel’s mouth has gone dry. He takes out his phone in case they have to call for backup. Hanna has also stood up. She is standing with her feet apart, ready, as if she thinks ?ke might attack them.
His fists are clenched, and Daniel can see that he is close to losing it. He is so tense that his muscles are trembling, and it looks as if a blood vessel in one cheek might burst at any moment.
The adrenaline is pumping through Daniel’s body too. All he can focus on is the fierce expression on ?ke’s face, the unexpected and out-of-control aggression coming from the older man.
The rage.
He switched with no warning. How could it happen so fast?
Daniel places a hand on his gun. Why didn’t he foresee the risk? If ?ke attacks, anything could happen.
They stare at each other as the seconds tick by. Daniel can hear his pulse pounding in his ears, louder and louder.
And then it as if ?ke pulls himself together. He sinks down on his chair and takes several deep breaths. Gives Hanna and Daniel a shaky smile.
“Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean any harm. I didn’t intend to lose my temper.” He blinks a few times. The clenched fists are gone, his hands are resting loosely on his lap. He sounds a lot more composed, and Daniel is relieved that the explosive atmosphere has disappeared.
“It’s fine,” he says. “You were caught unawares. These things happen.”
He tries to read ?ke’s expression, work out what he’s thinking and feeling. Was his reaction a reasonable reflexive response to his wife’s plea for help, or is he involved in Filippa’s murder?
Karin’s irrational behavior suggests that this might be the case—why else would she have given a false statement?
And ?ke’s aggression just now shocked Daniel; suddenly the seventy-year-old showed a frightening dark side that hadn’t been in evidence before. Daniel is painfully aware that Filippa wouldn’t have had a chance against ?ke if he had confronted her in the same angry state of mind.
He gazes at the man for a moment, then decides it would be best to take both husband and wife to the station. After this unpleasant scene they need the chance to question them in peace and quiet, separately, without worrying about their reaction to each other’s testimony.
He looks around for Karin, and realizes she is no longer in the room. “Where’s your wife gone?”
At that moment Hanna yells, “She’s out there!”
Through the kitchen window Daniel sees that Karin is behind the wheel of the family’s white Volvo. Before their very eyes she floors the gas pedal, and the car shoots toward the road, traveling way too fast.
Shit. They have made a serious error of judgment.
“She’s leaving!” he shouts, and runs toward the front door.