The Return of the Dancing Master(127)
“Maybe he never did go up the mountain?”
“You’re forgetting that the dog picked up a scent.”
“He could have doubled back. Besides, don’t forget this man is from South America. It’s too cold for him on a Swedish mountainside in the late autumn.”
Larsson was looking at a map on the wall. He drew a circle with his finger around Funasdalen.
“What bugs me is why he didn’t leave the area long before,” he said. “I keep coming back to that. Of all the questions buzzing around in connection with this investigation, that’s one of the most important. I’m convinced of it. The only explanation I can think of is that he’s not finished yet. There’s something more for him to do. That thought makes me more and more apprehensive. He runs the risk of getting caught, but still he stays. He might well have gotten himself a new set of weapons. Earlier this evening it made me think of a question we haven’t yet addressed.”
“What did he do with the weapons he used to torture and kill Molin?”
Larsson turned away from the map. “Right. We asked ourselves where he got them from, but not what he did with them. And the fact that he probably disposed of them has set my brain working overtime. What about yours?”
Lindman thought for a moment before replying.
“He goes away. Something has been finished. He throws the weapons away, maybe in the lake, or perhaps he buries them. Then something happens and he comes back. He needs new weapons. Is that what you’re thinking?”
“Precisely. But I can’t make sense of it. We are wondering if he came back to dispose of Andersson. He obviously had access to a gun if that was the case. It seems very strange if he then went away a second time. If he’s the one who broke into Erik’s place, does that mean that he disposed of his weapons twice? That can’t be right. We know the man planned everything meticulously. All these guns thrown away suggests the opposite. Is he after Berggren? He asks her who killed Andersson, but he doesn’t get an answer, so far as we know. He is insistent. Then he hits you over the head and disappears.”
“How about if we ask the same question as he did?”
“That’s what I’ve been doing all evening.”
Larsson gestured toward all the files scattered on every surface in the room.
“I’ve had that question in mind while I’ve been going through the most important pieces of the material we have. I’ve even asked myself if he went to see Berggren to create a false trail because in fact he did murder Andersson. But if that were the case, why is he still here? What’s he waiting for now? Is he expecting something specific to happen? Or is he after somebody else? In which case, who?”
“There’s a missing link,” Lindman said slowly. “A person. The question is, though, is it a murderer or another victim?”
They sat in silence. Lindman found it difficult to concentrate. He wanted to help Larsson, but he was thinking about Veronica Molin the entire time. And he should have called Elena by now. He looked at his watch. It was 11 P.M. already. She’d be asleep. Too bad. He took his cell phone out of his pocket.
“I have to call home,” he said, and went out. He stood beside the stuffed bear, hoping it might protect him.
She wasn’t asleep.
“I know you’re sick, but do you really have the right to treat me like this?” she said.
“I’ve been working.”
“You’re not at work. You’re on sick leave.”
“I’ve been pretty busy talking to Larsson.”
“And so you don’t have time to call me, is that it?”
“I didn’t realize it was as late as this.”
No response. Then:
“We have to have a serious talk. Not now, though. Later.”
“I miss you. I don’t really know why I’m here. I suppose I’m so scared of the day dawning when I have to go to the hospital that I don’t even dare be at home. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going right now. But I do miss you.”
“Are you sure you haven’t met another woman up there?”
That shook him. Hard, in a flash.
“And who would that be?”
“I don’t know. Somebody younger.”
“Don’t be silly.”
He could hear that she was depressed, unhappy, and that made him feel even more guilty.
“I’m standing next to a stuffed bear,” he said. “He sends his greetings.”
She didn’t answer.
“Are you still there?”
“I’m still here. But I’m going to sleep now. Call me tomorrow. I hope you’ll be able to sleep tonight.”