‘What did Rune make of his children’s behaviour? Did he encourage them?’ Erica took a sip of water. It was hot out on the veranda, even in the shade of the big umbrella.
‘In Rune’s eyes, they could do no wrong. He used his military tone of voice with them too, but he was the only one who was ever allowed to reprimand his children. If anyone else complained about them he would fly into a rage. I know that Inez tried it once, but never again. No, the one member of that family who was nice to her was Rune’s youngest, Johan. He was considerate and sweet and very attached to Inez.’ Liza’s expression turned sad. ‘I wonder what happened to little Ebba.’
‘She’s back on Valö. She and her husband are renovating the house. And the day before yesterday…’
Erica bit her lip. She didn’t know how much she dared reveal, but at the same time, Liza had been so open with her. She took a deep breath.
‘The day before yesterday they found blood when they pulled up the floor in the dining room.’
Liza and Walter stared at her. Off in the distance they could hear the sound of boats and people talking, but on the veranda it was utterly silent. Finally Walter spoke:
‘You’ve always said that they must be dead.’
Liza nodded. ‘Yes, that seemed most likely. Besides…’
‘Besides what?’ said Erica.
‘Oh, it’s too silly.’ He waved his hand, making the sleeve of his silk gown flutter. ‘I never mentioned it to anyone back then.’
‘Nothing is too insignificant or too silly. Tell me.’
‘It wasn’t anything in particular, but I had the feeling that things were about to take a turn for the worse. And I heard…’ He shook his head. ‘No, it’s too stupid.’
‘Go on,’ said Erica, resisting the impulse to lean across the table and shake the words out of him.
Liza took a big gulp of wine and then looked her in the eye.
‘There were noises in the night.’
‘Noises?’
‘Yes. Footsteps, doors opening, a distant voice. But when I got up to investigate, there was no one there.’
‘As if they were ghosts?’ said Erica.
‘I don’t believe in ghosts,’ said Liza sombrely. ‘The only thing I can say is that I heard noises, and I had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen. So I wasn’t surprised when I heard about the family disappearing.’
Walter nodded. ‘You’ve always had a sixth sense.’
‘Oh, what rubbish I’m jabbering,’ said Liza. ‘Things are getting much too sad around this table. Erica will think we’re a couple of real doomsayers.’ Suddenly the gleam was back in his eyes, and he smiled broadly.
‘Not at all. I want to thank you for allowing me to come here and talk to you. You’ve given me a lot to think about, but I’d better head home now,’ said Erica, getting to her feet.
‘Give my greetings to little Ebba,’ said Liza.
‘I’ll do that.’
They made a move to accompany her to the door, but she motioned for them to stay where they were.
‘Don’t get up. I can find my way out.’
As she passed the sea of gold and tassels and velvet cushions, she heard behind her Édith Piaf singing about her broken heart.
‘Where the hell were you this morning?’ said Patrik, going into Gösta’s office. ‘I wanted you to go with me to interview John Holm.’
Gösta glanced up. ‘Didn’t Annika tell you? I had a dental appointment.’
‘Dental appointment?’ Patrik sat down and gave him a searching look. ‘No cavities, I hope?’
‘Nope. No cavities.’
‘How’s it going with the list?’ Patrik indicated the stack of documents on the desk in front of Gösta.
‘Well, I’ve compiled most of the current addresses for the former pupils.’
‘That was fast.’
‘State ID numbers,’ said Gösta, pointing at the old roster of students. ‘All you have to do is use your brain.’ He handed a paper to Patrik. ‘How’d it go with the Nazi leader?’
‘I don’t think he’d particularly care for that description,’ said Patrik as he began scanning the list.
‘Well, that’s what he is. They’ve stopped shaving their heads, but they haven’t changed. Did Mellberg behave himself?’
‘What do you think?’ said Patrik, putting the list on his lap. ‘You might say that the Tanum police didn’t exactly show their best side during the interview.’
‘Did you at least find out something new?’
Patrik shook his head. ‘Not much. John Holm doesn’t know anything about the disappearance. And nothing had happened at the school that might explain it. There was nothing to report, other than the tensions one would expect between a bunch of teenagers and a strict headmaster. Etcetera.’
‘Have you heard anything from Torbjörn yet?’ asked Gösta.
‘No. He promised to put a rush on it, but since we don’t have any fresh corpses to present, the case is probably not a high priority. Besides, the statute of limitations has expired, even if it should turn out that the family was murdered.’
‘But the report on the blood analysis could give us some leads that are relevant for our arson investigation. Have you forgotten that somebody tried to burn down the house the other night, with Ebba and Tobias inside? You’re the one who was so adamant that the fire and the disappearance were connected. And what about Ebba? Doesn’t she have a right to hear what happened to her family?’
Patrik held up his hands. ‘I know, I know. But as yet I haven’t found anything of interest in the old investigative materials, and it’s starting to feel a bit hopeless.’
‘Is there anything at all to go on in Torbjörn’s report about the fire?’
‘No. It was ordinary petrol, ignited by an ordinary match. Nothing else concrete.’
‘Then we need to start at the other end of the puzzle.’ Gösta turned and nodded at a photograph hanging on the wall. ‘I think we need to put some pressure on those boys. They know more than they told us back then.’
Patrik got up and went over to study the picture of the five boys.
‘You’re probably right. I saw from the list that you think we should start by interviewing Leon Kreutz. Why don’t we go and have a talk with him now?’
‘Unfortunately, I don’t know where he is. His mobile is switched off, and at the hotel they said that he and his wife had moved out. Presumably they’re getting settled in their new house. Shall we wait until tomorrow, after they’ve had time to unpack? Then we can talk to them in peace and quiet.’
‘Okay. In that case, why don’t we go see Sebastian Månsson and Josef Meyer instead? They both live nearby.’
‘Sure. First I need to clean up in here a bit.’
‘And we mustn’t forget to check up on this mysterious “G”.’
‘G?’
‘Yes, the person who’s been sending a birthday card to Ebba every year.’
‘Do you really think that’s necessary?’ Gösta began fidgeting with the papers on his desk.
‘You never know. As you just said: we need to find a thread and then follow it.’
‘If you pull on too many threads at once, you might get everything all tangled up,’ muttered Gösta. ‘It doesn’t sound relevant.’
‘I disagree,’ said Patrik, patting him on the shoulder. ‘I suggest that…’
His mobile buzzed and he glanced at the display.
‘I need to take this call,’ he said, and left the room.
A few minutes later Patrik came back into the office with a triumphant expression on his face.
‘We might finally have the lead we’ve been hoping for. That was Torbjörn on the phone. There wasn’t any more blood under the dining-room floor, but they found something else even better.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Wedged under the floorboards was a bullet. So it looks as though a shot was fired in the very room where the family was gathered before they disappeared.’
Patrik and Gösta exchanged sombre glances. A moment earlier they had been feeling discouraged, but in an instant the investigation had come to life again.