Night Rounds (19 page)

Obviously Barbro saw Sverker as an unknowing victim of Carina’s wiles.
It takes two to tango
, Irene couldn’t help thinking. She kept her thoughts to herself and carefully posed the next question.

“How long had their relationship gone on before you knew about it?”

“About six months. The worst thing was his lying and sneaking around. That they were doing it almost right in front of my eyes. I’ve never been so humiliated in my whole life.”

Finally some color had come into Barbro’s face and a spark into her eyes, but it was not attractive. Her hate and bitterness shone through.

Irene felt it was time to ask the most important question. “Someone at the hospital told me that you accused Carina of setting fire to the old mansion.…”

Barbro sat silent for a moment. Then she said stiffly, “No one would listen to me. No one believed me. But I saw her.”

“Where did you see her?”

“Outside the house. She was circling it. I saw her try the basement door, but it was locked. Then she moved backward to look up at the upper floors. She stood there for a long time. I heard her laugh to herself and saw her raise her fist and shake it at the house. Like this.”

Barbro bent her head back and laughed a hissing laugh. She shook her fist toward the ceiling.

“Were you still living in the house at the time?”

“No, the children and I had moved out.”

“What were you doing there?”

Barbro looked depressed, but now she was more willing to talk. “There was a police investigation after the house burned down. The police asked why I’d been there. I’ll tell you what I told them: I wanted to see what Sverker and Carina were up to.”

“So you were spying on them?”

“Yes.”

“Was Carina living in the house with Sverker?”

“No, she hated that house and never intended to move in. That’s why she burned it down. She and Sverker denied it during the investigation. They said I suffered from a jealousy bordering on mental illness.”

Again the deep pain appeared in her eyes, and she pressed her lips together. Irene realized that would be about all she would give. She thanked Barbro Löwander for her time, lifted her leather jacket from the hook, and left.

FOR THE REST
of the afternoon, Irene busied herself with all the paperwork that had collected on her desk. She read through her report of her conversation with Barbro Löwander several times without feeling any wiser. It was not pleasant to meet with such hatred and pain. Irene had the impression that Barbro was the kind who cherished her grudges, whether they were real or imagined. It looked like she was the one who had suffered the most from the divorce, since her mental health appeared so unstable. Was there any truth in her accusations against Carina Löwander? It certainly was high time to meet Carina herself.

Irene’s colleagues were all taking their chairs in the conference room. To Irene’s surprise, Birgitta was back in her seat. She nodded in reply to Irene’s greeting. The superintendent did not comment on Birgitta’s reappearance but handed the floor to Svante Malm immediately.

“I can begin by saying that we found the same kind of dark fibers on Linda Svensson’s clothes as we had on Marianne Svärd’s clothes. The fibers seem to have come from the same garment—namely, the nurse’s uniform found in the burning garden shed last Saturday evening. There was enough left of the uniform dress so we could establish that fact with absolute certainty.”

“No such fibers on Gunnela Hägg?” Tommy asked.

“No. On the other hand, Gunnela had a great deal of talcum powder on the upper part of her skirt. We even found a fuzzy handprint. The murderer appears to wear size seven and a half in gloves.”

“Large female hands or small male hands,” Irene pointed out. She wore size eight in gloves, size ten in shoes. If you’re five-ten in stocking feet, that’s how it is.

“We’d also found glove talc on the two nurses. The murderer wore medical gloves while he committed all three murders. In addition, we were able to secure blood and hair samples from the wire cutters. Both came from Gunnela. We believe that we have also found the murder weapon used to kill Marianne.”

Svante Malm flipped through his notebook. Everyone else was silent.

“As you know, the killing length of rope was still around Linda’s neck when she was found, even though she was hung up after death. This rope was deep in her musculature, and the murderer did not bother to remove it. Marianne was also strangled, but the ligature was not still on her body. We wondered why, and now we know. The murderer still needed it.”

Svante said nothing as he bent down to pick up a paper bag by his chair, and he drew out a clear plastic bag containing thin, white rope. Before opening it, he pulled on a pair of thin latex gloves.

“This is the rope for the flag that was stolen from the security guard’s roll. There’s almost six meters of it. One meter was cut off and used to strangle Linda. That’s this piece.”

Malm took out a meter-long piece of rope. It was darkly stained in the middle.

“The strange thing was that there was also a stain in the middle of the rope used to raise Linda’s body. We thought it must be blood, but of course we had to analyze it. And it was blood, but not Linda’s. It was Marianne Svärd’s blood.”

The superintendent’s breathing had become labored, and he started to gesture wildly. “Wait a minute. This sounds nuts. First strangle Marianne and then bring away the rope because it’s still needed to hang up Linda? And Linda left with the shorter part still stuck around her throat? There’s no rhyme or reason to any of this.”

To everyone’s surprise, Hannu corrected the boss. “First Linda. Then Marianne.”

Andersson glowered at this suggestion. “Explain,” he said shortly.

“First he strangled Linda with the short piece of rope. Then he strangled Marianne with the long piece. He took it back because he needed it to hang up Linda’s body.”

The timeline might be correct, but why? Why was Linda hung up in such a way?

Andersson turned to Irene to hear if Barbro Löwander had brought any leads. After Irene summarized her interview, it was Tommy’s turn.

“I met with Siv Persson, the old nurse, today. She was practically one hundred percent certain that the nurse who cut down Tekla had said that Tekla had hanged herself from the ceiling beam closest to the window. We didn’t find Linda there. She was on the beam two in from the window.”

“Is this important?” asked Jonny.

“Don’t know. Maybe it was enough to hang her up in the same room where Tekla had been but not necessarily from the same ceiling beam.”

“What would that indicate?” asked Irene.

“The murderer knew only part of the story,” said Hannu.

A vague idea flashed in Irene’s brain. This was important, but she still didn’t know why. She nodded at Hannu. “The murderer didn’t know all the details of Nurse Tekla’s death. Gunnela Hägg didn’t know them either. She knew the story, but she didn’t know the details. Has anyone confirmed whether she’d ever been at Löwander Hospital, by the way?”

“Yes,” said Hannu. “A group of Lillhagen’s mental patients were at Löwander Hospital one month in 1983. Gunnela was one of those.”

Yet again things were beginning to fall into place in the puzzle. Irene was staring at Hannu in concentration when she became aware that Tommy was laughing quietly beside her.

“Hannu found all that out by lunchtime, so I called Siv Persson back. I asked her if she might know how any of the mental patients could have known the story of Nurse Tekla. She was angry at me at first and said she had no idea, but in the end she confessed. She’d told them the story herself.”

“Why in the world would she tell this story to a group of mental patients?” Irene asked.

“So that they’d stay in their rooms and not sneak out at night. She made them afraid of the ghost.”

“Lord help us!”

Here was the reason that Gunnela knew the Löwander Hospital ghost story, which led to a newspaper story, which in turn led to the poor woman’s death.

Svante Malm had more to say. “There were two large suitcases and a smaller, older leather briefcase up in the attic as well. We’re going to take a look at them. Their locks were broken rather recently, and they were wiped down with a cloth afterward, so there was no dust on them at all. We’ve taken all of them to the lab, and they’ll be ready tomorrow afternoon. Would any of you like to look at them then?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Irene said, “Yes!”

Svante Malm nodded and wrote something down in his notebook. “Tomorrow afternoon at the earliest,” he said.

No one had any information on possible cars at the visitors’ parking lot behind the spruce grove. No new witnesses had been flushed out of hiding that day. The only ones who’d made any progress were the members of the “Ghost Group,” as Andersson called them, and he decided to let them continue.

The superintendent wished his people good luck in their investigations the following day. He then requested they throw their empty pizza cartons into the large plastic bag by the door.

Chapter 15

T
HE FLAYED BODIES
hung close together, making it difficult for Irene to move. She crept forward carefully and tried to avoid touching them. Thick slime on the floor engulfed her feet. From far off she heard Jenny’s cries for help. She knew that forcing her way through would not work, because the heavy bodies would fall off their hooks and cover her. The slime rose further, and she realized she’d soon be trapped among the cadavers. Jenny’s desperate voice was getting fainter. Soon she’d be beyond all help.

IRENE SAT UP
straight in bed, covered in sweat. Darn it, she still hadn’t had a chance to ask Jenny about the posters rolled up under the bed. Sunday evening, after the girls had returned from their skiing trip, had been too busy. The girls had so much to tell, and all their suitcases needed to be unpacked. Last night she hadn’t had any time either.

Irene lay back down and tried to calm her thoughts. She turned her head cautiously to look at Krister. He was sleeping on his back, right arm stretched over his head, and he was snoring loudly. Irene nudged him. Without waking up he rolled onto his side and grunted. His snoring quieted.

Irene hadn’t told him about the posters. It was pure cowardice on her part, she knew. On the other hand, she didn’t know how he would react if she told him Jenny had a stash of protest placards for the Animal Liberation Front hidden under her bed. He’d been so unhappy about her veganism; this was one step further and obviously much more serious.

It was useless to stay in bed and stare into the darkness. There was only one thing to do—this evening she’d have to talk to Jenny.

Although she’d made up her mind, she still couldn’t fall back asleep. Of course, her alarm clock rang just as she dozed off.

TO IRENE’S SURPRISE
, Svante Malm was at morning prayer.

“Morning, everyone,” Andersson began. “Svante has other places to go, but he has something important to say. Go ahead, Svante.”

“Yes, well, I forgot to inform you that we secured evidence in the dust on the floor of the attic. Just inside the doorway, we saw signs that a body had lain on the floor. We identified strands of Linda’s hair there and also signs of a body being dragged to where she was hung. There was a great quantity of dust from the floor on her clothes. We have concluded that her body lay on the floor right behind the door and only later was dragged to the place where it was found.”

“So yesterday’s summary of what might have happened appears correct. Linda was murdered first and then Marianne,” Irene said. She nodded at Hannu. He barely nodded in return and kept his calm gaze on the technician.

“There was a shoe print in the dust as well. There were a number of scuff marks, but only one clear print. A well-built female shoe with a heel. Probably size eight and a half or nine.”

Svante Malm raised his hand in good-bye and hurried out of the room.

There were a few moments of silence after he left. The superintendent stared gloomily at the door, then barked, “Ghosts don’t leave shoe prints.”

No one had anything to add after that, and they all quickly decided to get on with the investigation.

• • •

I
RENE
, T
OMMY, AND
Hannu discussed ways to proceed with their assignment.

“I want to talk to Carina Löwander,” Irene said. “Anyone want to come with me?”

“You go,” Hannu said, nodding toward Tommy. Hannu didn’t say what he planned to do, and something made his colleagues decide not to ask. Instead they agreed to meet again at three in the afternoon.

SOMETIMES YOU GET
lucky, Irene told herself when Carina Löwander answered the home phone.

“Good morning. This is Criminal Inspector Irene Huss. I’m wondering if we could meet today and have a quick talk.”

“Yes, that’s fine,” Carina said, sounding very interested.

“Can we come now?” Irene asked.

“Sure.”

Carina sounded wide awake and energetic. She’d probably already concluded her first round of exercises and had eaten a biodynamic breakfast of granola and sun-ripened grapefruit. Then she’d taken an ice-cold shower before she applied her makeup and dressed in her best Armani jacket.

Irene scolded herself for having those thoughts. Simply a case of jealousy. Carina Löwander was beautiful, in great shape, and drove a BMW. And was married to Sverker to boot.

THE POLICE CAR
was light blue, the color of the Swedish flag. A practically new Ford Fiesta. Irene parked it on the blacktop driveway in front of the garage. The Löwander residence was a large modern house, plastered in a warm apricot color with doors and window frames picked out in a reddish brown brick color.

Carina Löwander opened the door at the same time they rang the bell. She looked every bit as fresh as Irene had imagined.

“Hi. Come on in. I’ve just made coffee. Would you like some?”

“Yes, please,” Tommy and Irene said in unison.

Carina ushered them toward the living room, which Irene immediately baptized “White Sea” in her head. The room was large and airy. Light streamed through colossal bay windows framed by thin white silk curtains. The walls were painted a bright white. The sofa group was also white, and the stripes on the black-and-white abstract rug were just as blinding. The rug must be at least thirty feet square. Irene pictured someone trying to carry it outside to beat it clean. Impossible. Supposedly an eleven-year-old girl lived in this house. Irene thought about how her house had looked when the twins were that age. Crumbs and chips all over her rugs. This rug might not require a beating, as it appeared neither children nor adults spent time in this room. Everything was clean and clinically white. Cold and perfect.

Three enormous paintings were hung on the wall. All three had different color schemes, but the motif was the same—large waves at sea. In one of the paintings, sunlight struck deep into the waves, giving them a turquoise glow.

Carina came through the doorway with a percolator in one hand and three ceramic mugs clustered together by their handles in the other. “Milk or sugar?”

Irene and Tommy declined, both preferring black. After she filled the mugs, Carina sat in one of the armchairs. She was wearing black stretch pants, a black silk top, and a clear blue jacket that matched her eyes. Her skin was faultlessly tanned, and her face could have belonged to a fashion model. Close up she appeared thirty; no one would have imagined she was really thirty-six. It pained Irene to admit to herself how beautiful Carina was.

“You’re in luck that today’s Thursday. I go in to work at noon on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but I work until ten at night. Tuesdays are the worst. I start working at Corporate Health Services in the morning and finish with aerobics at night.”

“Sounds like a tough schedule to me,” Tommy said. “We’ve gotten some information that we need to run past you—just routine. Hope that’s okay.”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Can you tell us more about your work?”

“I have two jobs. I have a half-time position leading a rehabilitation group at Corporate Health. My other part-time job is more fun. I lead aerobics and exercise groups at a gym. I like aerobics the best. But still, I do use my real training more with the rehabilitation group.”

“I’ve heard you’re a physical therapist,” Tommy said.

“That’s right, but after a while I realized I wanted to work with healthy people, too. That’s the real way to go. If people exercised regularly, they wouldn’t need rehabilitation.”

“Have you worked at Löwander Hospital as a physical therapist?” Irene asked, although she already knew the answer.

“Yes. My first job was at Löwander.”

“And that’s where you met your husband?” Irene asked innocently.

A gleam of mistrust appeared in Carina’s eyes. “I took it for granted that you’d already heard the old gossip. It goes around at the speed of light at Löwander.”

“Was that why you quit your job there?”

“In part. Many people there liked Barbro and thought that Sverker and I … betrayed her. The whole thing was awful. Barbro had had periods of depression long before Sverker and I became a couple. She was psychologically unstable, you could say. Sverker and I had a passionate relationship. When we realized it was serious, we hesitated to tell her because of her nervous temperament. We didn’t want to hurt her. But once I knew I was pregnant, the whole thing came to a head. But we still didn’t know what to do. And then one of the gossips at the hospital called Barbro and told her everything. It was … horrible. She totally fell apart.”

“Do you know who told on you?” Irene asked.

“No. I kept working at the hospital a few more years before I decided to change jobs. But I was never able to find out who told her.”

“Is there anyone you suspect?”

“Well, there are a few old nurses and secretaries who were openly hostile toward me. They could never accept that Sverker and Barbro divorced and blamed me. But I never knew which one was the snitch.”

“What happened to Barbro right after the divorce?”

“She was in and out of a mental hospital. Several times. Like I said, she fell apart as soon as she knew that Sverker and I had a relationship. I believe she still takes a bunch of pills. I really don’t know for sure. But at times she’s really … strange.”

“Do you run into each other often?”

Carina looked at Irene in surprise. “No. Never. She’s refused to meet me since they divorced. We just talk on the phone when it’s necessary. Nowadays John and Julia are all grown up, so there’s hardly any reason for us to contact each other.”

“Do you find it difficult to deal with her?”

“Not really. But she can’t stand me. I believe that we should get over our differences for the sake of the children and at least be polite. She refuses. The worst of it is that she’s turned the children against me and Sverker. Only God knows what nonsense she’s stuffed into their heads, but Sverker and his children have never gotten along.”

Irene thought it was time to get down to the real business at hand. “We’re here today mostly to listen to your version of what happened when the doctor’s mansion burned down. We know that Barbro accused you of setting the fire and that there was an investigation.”

A shadow of rage passed swiftly over Carina’s face but disappeared just as fast. Her voice did not even hint at irritation, but rather at deep sorrow.

“Unfortunately, this was at the same time that Barbro was at her worst. Of course we all felt sorry for her. Jealousy made her paranoid, and it spilled over. She wanted me in jail for arson. She even suggested Sverker had a hand in it so that he could get the insurance money.”

“What were her reasons for suspecting you of arson?”

“Supposedly I set fire to the house because I didn’t want to live there. Sverker was supposed to have wanted the insurance money so that we could buy this house for ourselves.”

“Did she make it up out of thin air?”

“Completely! Sverker had just inherited a great deal of money from his father. Almost three million crowns. He didn’t need insurance money. He would have been better off if he’d just sold the mansion outright. The profit from its sale would have been more than insurance, let me tell you.”

“And the idea that you didn’t want to live there?”

Carina’s face had turned an indignant red. It intensified the blue of her eyes. “I was only twenty-four. I thought the mansion was too old and too big. Barbro and Sverker had begun renovations, but they hadn’t gotten very far. The expense weighed on them. The entire place was run-down, and nothing had been done to it since the end of the nineteenth century. For me it was mostly because Barbro had lived there and set her stamp on the house. She has no taste. But I would have accepted living there as long as I was with Sverker.”

“So you’re saying that Barbro’s accusations are without merit,” Irene summarized in her most neutral voice.

“That’s right. And if I didn’t want to move into the mansion, I just would have refused to do so.”

“But you were pregnant,” Tommy said.

“That wouldn’t have changed anything. I wanted to live with Sverker, even in the mansion if that’s what he wanted. But he didn’t want to either. Before we’d decided what to do, the place burned down.”

“Was anyone at home when it caught fire?” Tommy asked.

“No. The fire started around ten in the morning. Both Sverker and I were at work. Of course, it’s just a stone’s throw away, but neither one of us was at home.”

Irene pondered this for a minute. Then she asked, “Could Barbro have set the fire?”

Carina sighed again. “They investigated everything at the time. There was never any proof of arson. The final decision was that there had been a short in the electrical system. The house was really extremely old.”

The police officers drank the last of their coffee, stood up, and thanked Carina for her time.

Carina walked them to the doorway and waved good-bye.

Reflexively, Irene waved back.

“
SHE WAS NICE
. And boy, she’s a beauty,” Tommy said.

Irene was not able to stop herself, but to her dismay she heard herself say, “Not to mention thin.”

Tommy laughed out loud, and she was relieved that he thought she was joking.

He glanced sideways at her and said, “And her husband’s not that bad either. Kind of like Pierce Brosnan—you know, the guy who played James Bond.”

Irene did her best to appear indifferent. Tommy continued, “Speaking of Dr. Löwander, don’t you think it’s time to pay him another visit?”

OF COURSE ALL
surgery was canceled at Löwander Hospital. They found Sverker Löwander in the office, flipping through sheets of paper. He’d had the chance to take a shower since they’d last seen him. He was no longer wearing a white coat, and his outfit, a royal blue polo shirt and jeans, should have given him a more relaxed look. The tired lines in his face told Irene he wasn’t relaxed at all.

“Excuse us, may we come in and talk to you for a moment?” Tommy asked.

“Sure. Come on in. One of you can take that chair and the other the armchair.”