Marked For Life - Emelie Schepp

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It was Per’s fault. They ended up having three drinks, more than she could handle. And before that they had shared a bottle of wine with their meal and ignored the advice about drinking one glass of water for every glass of something stronger.

      After the refreshing shower she took a pill for her headache and allowed herself a few moments, her hair still wet, to lie stretched out on her bed. She counted slowly to twenty, then got dressed, brushed her teeth and looked for a packet of peppermint-flavored gum. After that, she was ready for the meeting at the police station.

      “We are here to summarize what we know about the boy who was found dead out at Viddviken this morning.”

      Gunnar used a magnet to put up the photo on the whiteboard before going on.

      “Anneli, who is still out at the scene, said that the boy had been shot and that he died sometime between 19:00 and 23:00 on Sunday night. According to her, the broken vegetation indicated that the boy had been in movement and judging by the injuries to the body, he was shot from behind.”

      Gunnar took a sip of water and cleared his throat.

      “At present we don’t know whether the victim has other injuries or was sexually assaulted. The autopsy will show that and the medical examiner has given his word that he will put together a report as soon as possible. We hope as soon as tomorrow. The boy’s clothing has been sent to forensics.”

      He got up from the chair.

      “We are still combing the area around the murder scene, but as yet we haven’t got any footprints or anything else from the perpetrator. The only thing that we are relatively certain about is that the dead boy at Viddviken is the same boy who was seen on that security camera footage from Östanvägen.”

      “And the murder weapon?” said Henrik.

      “We don’t know exactly yet. What we do know is that he was shot and a weapon was found near him. But the weapon has not been confirmed as the one that killed him. What we are certain about is that the weapon found near the boy was a Glock, and Hans Juhlén was killed...”

      “...with a Glock.” Henrik filled in the sentence.

      “Exactly. The serial number is as yet unknown. I have sent the weapon to the national lab which will examine the bullets still in the gun. If they match those that killed Hans, we will have reason to suspect that this boy was somehow involved in Juhlén’s murder. We’ve taken his fingerprints too.”

      “And?” said Mia.

      “They matched. The handprints and fingerprints in Hans Juhlén’s house match the boy’s,” said Gunnar.

      “So he was there,” said Mia.

      “Yes. And my first guess says that he...”

      “...is the murderer.”

      Jana mumbled the words and felt a creeping sensation along her backbone. She was surprised at her own reaction.

      “...is the murderer, exactly,” Gunnar made clear.

      “But, what the hell, kids don’t murder people. Not just like that. And especially not here in Norrköping, not in Lindö. I think it’s extremely unlikely that he could have done it, or done it alone,” said Mia.

      “Perhaps. But for the moment we don’t have anything else to go on,” said Gunnar.

      “But then, what’s the motive?” said Henrik. “Would a child send threatening letters to a head of department at the Migration Board?”

      “It’s up to us to find out whether the boy is the murderer or not. And we must find out who killed the boy,” said Gunnar, breathing heavily.

      “But who is the boy?”

      “We don’t know that yet either. Nor do we know why he was in Viddviken or how he came to be there. At any rate, he hasn’t been lying in the water, that much is clear. He was on the shore but his back was turned against the sea,” said Gunnar.

      “He was running away from somebody,” said Henrik.

      “It seems so,” said Gunnar.

      “No tire tracks?” said Henrik.

      “So far, we haven’t found any, no,” said Gunnar.

      “So he came by boat, then. And the perpetrator must have been onboard,” said Henrik.

      “But we can’t exclude the possibility that he got there by car or some other means,” said Gunnar.

      “Witnesses?” said Mia.

      “None. But we are checking the entire coast from Viddviken to Arkösund.”

      “But still, who is he? The boy,” said Henrik.

      Gunnar took a deep breath.

      “So far he isn’t in any registry that we have. But, Mia, I want you to check through all cases of missing children. Check new ones as well as old, even those where the period of possible prosecution has expired. Get a photo of the boy and talk with the social services, check schools and youth clubs. We might have to ask the public for help,” said Gunnar.

      “Via the media?” said Henrik.

      “Yes, but I’d rather not do that. There would be such a...how can I put it?...such a circus.”

      Gunnar went up to the map on the wall and pointed out the finding place.

      “This is where the body was found. So we’re looking for some sort of a boat or vehicle that passed Viddviken on the water between 19:00 and 23:00 Sunday night.”

      He moved his hand upwards across the map.

      “We’ve put in a unit to go door-to-door there, and there’s a dog patrol going over the immediate area.”

      “What shall we do about Kerstin?” said Jana. “If you can’t get me more evidence, I’ll have to release her early tomorrow morning.”

      “Perhaps she knows who the boy is?” said Mia.

      “We must also ask her about her husband’s financial situation,” said Gunnar.

      “Ola, make sure you have scoured his bank accounts. Private, savings account, investments, you name it. Check them all.”

      Ola nodded in response.

      “Henrik, interview Kerstin again. We haven’t finished with her. Not yet,” said Gunnar.

      IT HAD HURT. She knew it would. She had heard it through the walls. But she didn’t know it would hurt so badly.

      One of the grown-ups had told her to follow him into the dark storeroom. There he had tied her hands behind her back and forced her head forward. With a sharp piece of glass he carved her new name on her neck. It said KER. From now on that was what she would be called, that was who she would become and remain so forever. While the man with the ugly scar gave her an injection, he had conveyed to her that she would never be hurt again, nothing would happen to her now. At the same time that the sense of calm spread through her body, a strength also grew within her. She didn’t feel fear any longer. She felt powerful. Undefeatable. Immortal.

      The grown-ups let her stay in the storeroom with her hands tied so that she wouldn’t touch her wound until it had healed. When she was finally let out, she felt weak and cold and had no appetite.

      The girl tried to see the carved letters in a mirror but she couldn’t. She put her hand on the back of her neck. It stung; the skin was still sensitive. A scab had formed and the girl couldn’t help fingering it, but then it started to bleed. She was angry with herself and tried to stop the bleeding by applying pressure with the sleeve of her sweater. But the red stains on the cloth grew larger each time she pressed it against her neck.

      She looked at her arm in front

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