LITMIR.BIZ

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      ‘How’s it going?’ asked Paula, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

      Patrik took another deep breath. ‘Okay. I’m a little tired, that’s all. Night feedings, you know,’ he said, attempting to smile.

      Paula came in and sat down.

      ‘Oh, right.’ She looked him straight in the eye with an expression that revealed she wasn’t buying his evasive answers and false smiles. ‘I asked you how it’s going.’

      ‘It’s been up and down,’ Patrik admitted reluctantly. ‘I think it will take a while for me to get back to normal. Even though everything is fine now. Except for Erica’s sister, of course.’

      ‘How is she?’

      ‘Not good.’

      ‘It takes time.’

      ‘I suppose so. But she’s shut everybody out. She won’t even talk to Erica.’

      ‘Do you think that’s so strange?’ asked Paula quietly.

      Patrik knew that his colleague had the ability to get straight to the heart of a matter. She often said what people needed to hear – not necessarily what they wanted to hear. And she was usually right.

      ‘You and Erica have two children who survived the accident. Anna lost her baby. I don’t think it’s so strange that she would shut her sister out.’

      ‘That’s exactly what scares Erica. But what should we do?’

      ‘Nothing. Not at the moment. Anna has her own family; she has a husband who is the baby’s father. They need to find their way back to each other before Erica is allowed in. No matter how harsh it sounds, Erica needs to stay away for now. That doesn’t mean she’s giving up on Anna. She’s still here if her sister needs her.’

      ‘I can understand that, but I don’t know how to explain it to Erica.’ Patrik took another deep breath. The pressure in his chest had relaxed a bit as he talked to Paula.

      ‘I think that—’ Paula began, but she was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

      ‘Excuse me,’ said Annika, her face flushed. ‘We just got a call from Fjällbacka. A man has been found shot to death in his flat.’

      At first no one said a word. Then Paula and Patrik sprang into action, and a minute later they were headed for the garage. Behind them they heard Annika knocking on the office doors belonging to Gösta and Martin, who would have to take the other police vehicle. They’d follow later.

      ‘This is fantastic!’ Erling looked around with pleasure at everything inside the new Badis spa before he turned to Vivianne. ‘It certainly wasn’t cheap, but it’s worth every krona as far as the town is concerned. I think it’s going to be a big success. And considering the amount of money that you’ve personally invested, there’s going to be a nice little profit for us once we’ve covered expenses. You’re not paying the employees too much, are you?’ He cast a suspicious glance at a white-clad young woman walking past.

      Vivianne linked arms with him to lead him over to one of the tables.

      ‘Don’t worry. We’re very cost-conscious here. Anders has always been extremely tight-fisted. It’s thanks to him that we made so much at the spa at Ljuset, and that’s the reason we could invest in this project.’

      ‘Yes, it’s lucky that you have Anders.’ Erling sat down at the table in the dining room to have coffee. ‘Did Matte get hold of you, by the way? He mentioned last week that there were a few things he wanted to check with you and Anders.’

      He reached for a bun, but after taking a bite he put it back down on the plate.

      ‘What are these?’

      ‘Spelt buns.’

      ‘Oh,’ said Erling, and settled for sipping his coffee.

      ‘No, I haven’t heard from Matte, so it probably wasn’t important. I’m sure he’ll drop by or give me a ring when he gets a chance.’

      ‘It’s rather strange, actually. He never showed up at the office yesterday, even though he didn’t call in sick. And I didn’t see him there this morning before I drove out here.’

      ‘Probably nothing to worry about,’ said Vivianne, reaching for a bun.

      ‘May I join you, or do you love-birds want to be alone?’ Anders had appeared without either Erling or Vivianne noticing. Both of them gave a start, but then Vivianne smiled and pulled out a chair so her brother could sit down next to her.

      As always, Erling was struck by how alike they looked. Both were blond with blue eyes and similar mouths with bow-shaped lips. But while Vivianne was energetic and extroverted, possessing what Erling would call a magnetic charisma, her brother was introverted and quiet. An accountant type was what he first thought upon meeting Anders during his stay at Ljuset. And he didn’t think that was a bad thing. With so much money at stake, it was reassuring to have such a dull numbers-person looking after the finances.

      ‘Have you heard from Mats? Erling says he had a few questions,’ said Vivianne, turning to Anders.

      ‘Yes, he dropped by briefly on Friday afternoon. Why?’

      Erling cleared his throat. ‘Well, he mentioned at the end of last week that he was concerned about several issues.’

      Anders nodded. ‘As I said, he dropped by, and we were able to clear up a number of questions.’

      ‘Oh, good. It’s nice to know that everything is in order,’ said Erling, smiling happily.

       5

      An elderly man and woman stood outside the front entrance, holding on to each other. Patrik assumed that they were the parents of the deceased. They were the ones who had found the body. He and Paula got out of the car and went over to them.

      ‘Patrik Hedström, Tanum police. Are you the ones who called us?’ he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

      ‘Yes, we did.’ The man’s cheeks were wet with tears.

      His wife kept her face pressed against her husband’s chest.

      ‘It’s our son,’ she said without looking at them. ‘He’s … up there …’

      ‘I’ll go up and take a look.’

      The man made a move as if to follow, but Patrik stopped him.

      ‘I think it’s best if you both wait here. The medics will be arriving any minute, and they’ll take care of you. My colleague Paula will stay with you until they get here.’

      Patrik gestured to Paula, who gently led the couple aside. Then he entered the building and went up to the third floor, where he found a door standing wide open. He didn’t need to go inside the flat to know that the man lying on his stomach on the hall floor was dead. A big hole was visible in the back of the victim’s head. Blood and brain matter had sprayed out over the floor and walls and then congealed. This was obviously the scene of the crime, and there was no use doing anything until Torbjörn Ruud and his team of technicians examined the flat. Patrik decided that he might as well go back downstairs and have a talk with the victim’s parents.

      When he came outside, Patrik hurried over to the couple. They were standing next to Paula and talking to the ambulance medics, who had just arrived. A blanket had been draped over the woman’s shoulders, and she was crying so hard that she shook. Patrik chose to start with the husband, who looked more composed even though he too was crying.

      ‘Are we needed up there?’ asked one of the medics, nodding towards the building.

      Patrik shook his head.

      ‘No, not for a while, at least. The techs

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