Chapter 92
When Siri finished speaking, Adrian al-Hadid glanced from her to Vidar and back again. His eyes wide, he picked up the old photograph from the harvest in Mj?la and studied it.
Vidar reached for the computer and stopped the recording.
“How do I save this?”
“It saves automatically,” Adrian replied, photograph in hand. “Just wait a sec.”
Vidar muttered something unintelligible.
They were in his office. On the wall behind them was the big whiteboard with Vidar’s hand-drawn map of Skavboke, now crowded with notes.
“So…” Adrian said, putting down the picture. “Killian Persson is alive. Is that the conclusion?”
“It’s a hypothesis,” Siri said reluctantly.
“I think we should assume that’s the case,” Vidar added.
“And he killed Filip Soderstrom.”
“Maybe,” Siri said.
“There are many reasons to think so.” Vidar again. “But it’s a big…deal.”
Adrian snorted.
“What’s that sound supposed to mean?” Siri asked icily.
“Nothing, just, a big deal—yeah, to put it mildly. I’m sorry, I don’t mean any offense. It’s just so crazy.”
The story Siri had shared was all she had, she said, as though in sharing it she had repaid a debt that had weighed on her for a very long time. Maybe that was so. Still, he had insisted on bringing her up here, like the tipster she now was, so that her story could be documented.
“He might be alive,” Siri said. “You don’t know any more than that.”
“For now, though,” Vidar said softly, “we three are the only ones who are aware that this might be the case. We should probably keep it that way, for the time being. Markus is a good boss, but this might cause him a lot of headaches. What’s more, there are family members to consider.
Hampus Olsson’s mother is still alive, for instance. ”
Siri picked up a recent photograph of the murder weapon and studied the forensic report. Vidar wondered what she was thinking. She hadn’t been this close to solving the puzzle for a long time—or maybe ever.
Also on the desk were copied pages from Filip Soderstrom’s planner.
Vidar considered them for the umpteenth time that day.
Funeral SC 12:00 Work 1:30. The number one from June.
What had he said about that, Adrian? First day sober.
Had Filip started drinking again? Yes, maybe.
But if so, shouldn’t it have been noticeable?
Adrian sat up straight.
“What do we do? We can’t label him a person of interest. A dead man. All hell would break loose.”
Vidar stood up and went to the whiteboard.
“Yeah…” he mused. “So what do we do?”
“We might not have much time. If he only showed up because of his father’s funeral, he’ll drop off the radar again soon.”
Vidar studied the board.
“But why did he kill Filip?”
“He probably needed to dispose of a witness,” Adrian said.
“What?”
“Filip discovers Killian, likely around the time of the funeral. Now Filip knows he’s alive, that he’s back. The only solution is to silence him.”
“Hmm.” Vidar blinked. “Maybe. Nothing from Rasmusg?rden yet?”
“The material is on its way here by car. I got one of the summer interns to go pick it up.”
“Excellent.” Vidar ran a hand over his stubble. More to himself than to anyone else, he said, “And where is he?” He placed a finger on the map. “Here, more or less, this is where he kills Filip.”
“Hypothesis,” Siri reminded him, but Vidar ignored her.
“After that, if we assume Killian returns the spade, that puts him here, at Filip’s house, not far from the scene. But then what?”
“He could be anywhere right now,” Adrian said. “In forty-eight hours, you could walk all the way to Jonkoping. If he got hold of a bicycle, he could be in G?vle for all we know.”
“I don’t think he’ll go that far now,” Vidar said. “But we need more information.”
“Who should we ask, though?”
Vidar stared at the board, at the names. “I have a suggestion.”
—
“Siri?” Adrian hissed. He had grabbed Vidar’s arm to hold him back from leaving the room. “You’re taking her? She’s a civilian.”
Vidar stared at Adrian’s clasping hand in surprise.
“I don’t really see any other option. You stay here and wait for the material from Rasmusg?rden in the meantime.”
Adrian’s eyes grew wide. He let go of Vidar. “Haven’t you noticed what a state she’s in? Depression is practically oozing out of her. You’re looking at this as a chance for her to make peace with some shit from her past. That’s nice, but it’s not okay. That’s not our job.”
Vidar looked at him in surprise again. “We don’t know what’s going to happen next. Are more people going to die, in an hour, in a day? We need to know more. Siri saved Felicia’s life once, and anyway, it was her idea to come along. Do you have a better suggestion?”
“So your only concern is the investigation?”
“Yes,” Vidar said.
“And you’re prepared to risk Siri’s safety for it? That’s not okay either.”
This time, Vidar didn’t respond.