The Return of the Dancing Master(122)

“Maybe he did know,” Lindman heard himself saying.

Larsson looked at him. It was quiet in the room. “Say that again.”

“I’m just suggesting that we could turn the way we’ve been thinking on its head. If Andersson had discovered that his neighbor, Molin, was a Nazi, and perhaps Berggren as well, that could indicate that there was in fact a link.”

“And what would that be?”

“I don’t know. But Molin had hidden himself away in the forest. He wanted to keep his past a secret, no matter the cost.”

“You mean that Andersson might have threatened to expose him?”

“It could even have been blackmail. Molin had done everything he could to disappear from view, to hide his past. He was scared of something. Presumably of a person, but possibly several. If Andersson discovered his secret, the whole of Molin’s existence would be under threat. Berggren had bought the house on Molin’s behalf. Suddenly some new circumstances arise in which he needs her help again.”

Larsson shook his head doubtfully. “Does that really add up? If Andersson had been killed before Molin, I could have understood it. But not afterwards. When Molin was already dead?”

“Maybe it was Andersson who helped the murderer to find Molin? But something went wrong. There’s another possibility, of course. Berggren could have realized, or assumed, that Andersson was somehow responsible for what happened to Molin, and took revenge.”

Johansson protested. “That can’t be right. Are you suggesting that Elsa, a woman in her seventies, dragged Andersson into the forest, tied him to a tree, and shot him? That can’t be right. Besides, she didn’t have a gun.”

“Guns can be stolen, as we know,” Larsson said, icily.

“I can’t see Elsa as a murderer.”

“None of us can, but we both know that people who are as gentle as lambs on the surface can commit violent crimes.”

Johansson made no comment.

“What Stefan says is worth bearing in mind, of course,” Larsson said. “But let’s not sit around here speculating. We should be gathering more facts. For instance, we have to find out how much you can see in the rearview mirror of a car parked in the place described by Hanna Tunberg. Obviously, we should then concentrate on Berggren. Without dropping everything else, of course. Everybody in this room knows that it could take a long time to work out what happened in the forest, but that doesn’t mean we should let it take any longer than necessary. We might have some luck and catch that man on the mountain, and find out that he killed Andersson as well as Molin.”

Before the meeting closed they called Rundström again, and the mist was as thick as ever.





4 P.M. Those present at the meeting went their various ways, leaving only Larsson and Lindman in the office. The sun had gone. Larsson yawned. Then he smiled broadly.

“I don’t suppose you’ve discovered a bowling alley on your rambles through Sveg? That’s what you and I need right now.”

“I haven’t even found a cinema.”

Larsson pointed at the window. “They show films at the community center. Fucking Amål is showing now. It’s good. My daughter forced me to see it.”

Larsson sat at the desk. “Erik’s upset,” he said. “I’m not surprised. It doesn’t look good for a police officer to have his guns stolen. I suspect that he forgot to lock his front door. It happens easily when you live out in the country. Maybe he left a window open. He’s keeping very quiet about how the thief got in.”

“Didn’t he say something about a broken window?”

“He could have broken it himself. Nor is it absolutely certain that he followed the regulations when he bought the rifle. There are lots of guns in this country that are not kept locked away as the law requires, especially hunting rifles.”

Lindman opened a bottle of mineral water. He could see that Larsson was eyeing him keenly.

“How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know. I suppose I’m a lot more frightened than I care to admit.” He put the bottle back on the table. “I’d rather not talk about it,” he said. “I’m more interested in what’s happening in the case.”

“I’m thinking of spending this evening here in the office. Going through some papers again. I think our discussion today has given us a few new leads. Berggren worries me. I can’t figure her out. If Hanna Tunberg really did see what she said she saw, what does it mean? Erik is right to soft-pedal a bit. It’s hard to imagine a woman in her seventies dragging a man into the forest, tying him to a tree, and then executing him.”