So Erica had begun looking for new projects, a real murder case that had an exciting human aspect, and which she thought would make a good book. After the two previous books, she’d been subjected to some criticism in the media. Several reviewers accused her of having a hyena mentality and feeding off real murder cases. But Erica didn’t see it that way. She was always careful to let everyone involved have their say, and she tried to present the fairest and most multifaceted picture possible of what had happened. Nor did she think that the books would have sold as well as they did if they hadn’t been written with empathy. But she had to admit that it had been easier to write the second one, when she didn’t have a personal connection with the case as with the murder of her friend Alex Wijkner. It was much more difficult to remain objective when everything she wrote was coloured by her own experiences.

Thinking about the books began to arouse her desire to get to work.

‘I think I’ll go surf the Web for a while,’ she said, getting up. ‘Thought I’d see if I can find some new case to write about. Could you take Maja for a while if she wakes up?’

Anna smiled. ‘I’ll take Maja, just go and work. Good fishing!’

Erica laughed and headed for her office. Life at home had become much easier lately. She just wished that Patrik would soon get a break from the case he was working on.

Chapter 5

The smell of salt water. Screeching birds in the sky above and the blue that stretched as far as he could see. The feeling of a boat’s rocking motion. The feeling that something was different. Someone had disappeared. Something that had been warm and soft had instead become hard and sharp. Arms that held him but bore a sharp, nasty smell, which sat in the clothing and on the skin. But the worst smell of all came out of the mouth of the woman. He couldn’t remember who she was. And he didn’t know why he was trying to remember. It seemed that he had dreamed something during the night, something nasty, but still familiar. Something he wanted to know more about.

And he couldn’t stop his questions. He didn’t know why. Why couldn’t he just accept everything, as his sister did? She always looked so scared when he asked questions. He wished he could leave her alone. But he couldn’t. Not when he smelled the salty water and remembered the wind in her hair. And the man who used to swing him and his sister high up in the air. While the other one, the woman with the voice that first was soft and then turned hard, stood beside him and watched. Sometimes, in his memory, he thought he saw her smile.

But maybe it was like she said. She who was real and beautiful and loved them. That it was only a dream. A bad dream that she would replace with lovely, fine dreams. He didn’t contradict her. But sometimes he caught himself longing for that salty smell. And the screeching birds. Even for the hard voice. But he never dared say so.

‘Martin, what the hell are we doing?’ Patrik flung down his pen in frustration. It bounced off the desk and onto the floor. Martin calmly picked it up and put it in Patrik’s pen holder.

‘It’s only been a week, Patrik. It takes time, you know that.’

‘All I know is, the statistics show that the longer an investigation takes the less likely it is that the case will be solved.’

‘But we’re doing everything we can. There aren’t any more hours in the day.’ Martin studied Patrik for a moment. ‘Apropos that, shouldn’t you take the morning off, take a nice long shower, relax? You look exhausted.’

‘Relax? In the middle of this circus? I don’t think so.’ Patrik ran his hand through his hair, which was already so dishevelled that it stood on end. The phone rang shrilly, and both of them jumped. Annoyed, Patrik picked up the receiver and hung it up again. It was silent for a minute and then rang again. In frustration Patrik went out in the hall and yelled, ‘Damn it, Annika, unplug my phone, will you?’ He went back into his office and slammed the door behind him. Several other telephones at the station rang almost non-stop, but with the door closed they weren’t as loud.

‘Come on, Patrik, you’re practically climbing the walls. You have to get some rest. You have to eat. And it’s probably a good idea for you to go out there and apologize to Annika, otherwise she’s going to put the evil eye on you. Or seven years’ bad luck. Or you may never get another taste of her home-baked muffins on Friday afternoons.’

Patrik sat down heavily in his chair again, but couldn’t help but smile. ‘Muffins, you say. You think she would be so Machiavellian as to deny me my muffins?’

‘Maybe even the special basket with homemade toffee and fudge at Christmas.’ Martin nodded, feigning seriousness.

Patrik played along and opened his eyes wide. ‘No, not the fudge, she couldn’t be that mean.’

‘I think she could,’ said Martin. ‘So it would be best if you went down there and apologized.’

Patrik laughed. ‘Oh, all right.’ He ran his hand through his brown hair again. ‘I just never expected this . . . siege. These reporters don’t seem to have any scruples at all. Don’t they realize they’re sabotaging the investigation, hounding us like this? It’s impossible to get any work done!’

‘I think we’ve accomplished quite a bit in a week,’ Martin said calmly. ‘We’ve interviewed all of Lillemor’s fellow cast members, we’ve examined the video from the night of the party when she disappeared, and we’re checking out every tip we get from the public. I think we’ve been doing a hell of a job. The fact that things have been extra chaotic because of Sodding Tanum, well, there isn’t much we can do about that.’

‘Can you believe that they decided to keep broadcasting that crap?’ Patrik threw his hands in the air. ‘A girl is murdered and they use it as entertainment in prime time. And the rest of Sweden sits back and watches it. I think it shows an incredible lack of respect.’

‘True,’ said Martin. ‘But what can we do about it? Mellberg and the odious Erling W. Larson are so intent on sucking up to the media that they didn’t even consider shutting down the production. The rest of us just have to keep doing our job. The situation isn’t going to change. And I still say that both you and the investigation would benefit from a short break.’

‘I’m not going home, if that’s what you’re hinting at. I don’t have time. But we could have lunch at the Gestgifveri. Would that count as a break?’ He glared at Martin but knew that his colleague had a point.

‘It’ll have to do, I suppose,’ said Martin, getting up. ‘And make sure you apologize to Annika on the way out.’

‘Yes, Mamma,’ said Patrik. He took his jacket and followed Martin down the hall. Only now did he realize how hungry he was.

All around them the telephones were ringing.

Kerstin couldn’t face going to work. She didn’t really have to, because she was still on sick leave and the doctor had told her to take it easy. But she had been brought up with a strong work ethic that compelled her to tend to her job, no matter what the cost. According to her father, the only valid reason for not going to work was if you were at death’s door. The only problem was, she actually felt that way. Her body was functioning; it moved, ate food, washed itself, and did everything it should, but mechanically. Inside she might just as well have been dead. Nothing seemed import ant any longer. Nothing aroused any feeling of joy, or even interest. Everything seemed cold and dead. The only thing left inside her was a pain that was sometimes so strong it made her double over.