Larsson looked up at Lindman.
Then he said, “I have one more question. Did you and Molin do an occasional twirl when you visited him?”
“What on earth do you mean by that?”
“I wondered if you used to dance together?”
For the third time she looked startled. “We did, as a matter of fact.”
“Tango?”
“Not only that. But often, yes. We also did some of the old-fashioned dances, ones that are dying out. The ones that require some technique and a certain elegance. How do they dance nowadays? Like monkeys?”
“I suppose you know that Molin had a sort of doll that he used to dance with?”
“He was a passionate dancer. Very skilled. He practised a lot. When he was young, I believe he dreamed of becoming a professional dancer, but instead he did his duty and answered the call to arms.”
Lindman was struck by her high-flown language. It was as if she were trying to make time go backwards, to the 1930s and 1940s.
“May I take it that there were not many people who knew that Molin was a dancer?”
“He did not have many friends. How many times do I need to tell you that?”
“How far back do you remember his interest in dancing going?”
“I think it was aroused during the war. Perhaps shortly before.”
“Why do you think that?”
“He once said so.”
“What did he say?”
“What I’ve just told you. Nothing more. The war was harrowing, but he did have leave occasionally. The German armed forces took good care of their troops. They were granted leave whenever possible, and everything was paid for them.”
“Did he often talk about the war?”
“No. But my father did. They once had a week’s leave at the same time. They went to Berlin together. My father told me that Herbert wanted to go out dancing every evening. I believe that Herbert went to Berlin to go dancing whenever he was allowed to leave the front.”
“Do you have anything to say to us that you think could be of assistance in apprehending his murderer?”
“No, I do not, but I want you to find the guilty person, even if they will not receive any punishment worthy of the name. In Sweden the powers that be protect the criminal, not the victim. Naturally, it will emerge that Herbert remained faithful to his old ideals and he will be condemned, despite the fact that he is dead.”
“That will be all for the time being. But you will be called for further talks.”
“Am I suspected of some crime?”
“No.”
“Will you kindly tell me how you knew about my father’s uniform?”
“Some other time,” Larsson said, getting up. “I have to say that your opinions verge on the unacceptable.”
“Sweden is already beyond redemption,” she said. “When I was young one often came across police officers who were politically aware and who shared our beliefs. That is now a thing of the past.”
She closed the door behind them. Larsson couldn’t get away from her house fast enough.
“That’s what I call a really nasty person,” he said when they came to the gate. “I was sorely tempted to slap her.”
“There are more people than you would imagine who share her views,” Lindman said.
They walked back to the hotel in silence. Larsson suddenly stopped short.
“What did she actually say? About Molin?”
“That he’d always been a Nazi.”
“And what else?”
Lindman shook his head.
“What she actually said was that Molin remained a person with the same views until the day he died. I haven’t read his diary in detail, but you have. One might well ask what he actually did during the war. And one might well wonder if there are not a lot of people who would have been glad to see him dead.”
“I doubt that,” Lindman said. “The war ended fifty-four years ago. That’s an awful long time to wait.”
“Maybe,” Larsson said. “Maybe.”
They set off again. As they were passing the district court, Lindman said, “What happens if we turn the whole business upside down? We are assuming everything started with Molin since he was murdered first. What if we approach it from the other side? If we started concentrating on Andersson?”
“Not ‘we,’” Larsson said. “‘I.’ Obviously I’ll keep that possibility open. But it’s very unlikely. Andersson moved here for reasons very different from Molin’s. He didn’t hide himself away. He mixed with his neighbors and was a completely different personality.”
They returned to the hotel. Lindman had been annoyed by Larsson’s remark. He was excluded again.