Chapter 97
It doesn’t take Hanna long to find the now-deceased Monica Mogren and her son in the public registry. She grabs her jacket and shouts to Daniel, telling him she has an address. They hurry to the car, and Daniel reverses out of the parking lot.
He sounds dubious, as if he is worried that they are devoting their time to the wrong thing.
Hanna agrees that Filip’s disappearance is their number one priority, but she can’t cope with the idea that yet another person might come to harm right in front of them.
“If Hedin and Lehto are capable of abducting Charlotte’s son, then they could easily go for her half brother. We must at least warn him.”
She has already tried calling him several times, but there is no reply. This might simply mean that his phone is switched off because of work, or because the battery needs charging. However, there is a risk that he is in acute danger if the blood tie to Charlotte is key.
If Charlotte knew she had a sibling and had already made contact with him, then Hedin and Lehto might have been aware of his existence.
“Can you go any faster?”
Daniel takes the next bend at such speed that Hanna has to grab a hold of the door handle on the passenger side.
She realizes he isn’t convinced, but she trusts her intuition.
They have to find the half brother before anyone else does.
According to their colleagues on patrol, Hedin is still missing, and there is no sign of Lehto either.
His wife claimed he was out with the dog when the officers called, but he isn’t answering his phone.
Suspicions against both men are piling up. Why would they be avoiding the police if they are not behind the two homicides?
Filip must be found.
They still haven’t heard from the phone’s service provider, and no new sightings have come in over the past hour.
Hanna shifts anxiously in her seat. The stress is rising with every minute. Her thoughts are all over the place, and the lack of sleep certainly isn’t helping.
The landscape swishes by. The weather is overcast and very windy, buffeting the trees along the E14.
They are heading for ?ngena, a collection of houses ten minutes from there on the road to Duved. That is where Erik Mogren lives—the child who was conceived in Storlien as a result of rape just under fifty years ago.
Today he is an adult. Charlotte’s half brother, Filip’s uncle.
Hanna silently goes over the details she found in the register. Married, no children. Father unknown, mother deceased.
Finally a sign appears, and Daniel takes a right. After one more turn, they arrive at a small single-story dwelling with blue wood paneling and white window frames.
As soon as the car stops, Hanna leaps out and runs to the door, with Daniel close behind. There is no bell, so she knocks loudly.
The sound of a dog barking comes from inside—this is encouraging, someone should be home.
She knocks again, and after a minute or so, a plump, middle-aged woman opens the door. Her hair is all over the place, and she has clearly been crying—her face is red and her eyes are swollen.
Hanna inhales sharply.
It is obvious that something is wrong.
Are they too late?