‘Rotten to the core,’ Josephine’s father said, as if he felt that his wife’s words needed further clarification. ‘His only contributions were expensive parties and problems.’
‘He didn’t have a job or an income?’
‘As far as we know he had certain resources, shall we say, but no job.’
‘Was he violent towards her?’ Alex asked.
The question made both parents drop their guard. They looked genuinely stunned.
‘No. No, I don’t believe he was. She would have told us.’
Fredrika didn’t think that was something that could necessarily be taken for granted, but it was probably best to leave Josephine’s parents with that delusion.
‘Did you see your daughter often?’ she asked.
‘Yes, but less so after she moved in with that man.’
‘Was she involved in his criminal activities?’
As Alex spoke Fredrika could see that he might just as well have punched the parents in the face.
‘What the hell are you insinuating?’ the father said. ‘Of course she wasn’t!’
‘Had she had similar boyfriends in the past?’ Fredrika asked, trying to draw attention away from Alex’s question.
‘Never.’
Parents were always parents. They rarely said anything about their children in a way that reflected how things actually were, rather than how they wished they were. The distance between these two realities could be significant.
Fredrika looked at her watch, then at Alex. There was no reason to continue interviewing the parents. Their answers were mechanical, their tragedy incomprehensible. It was Fredrika and Alex’s duty to leave them alone.
Fredrika had been spared the loss of those who were near and dear to her. Once she had almost lost Spencer in a car accident; she didn’t even want to think about what it would have cost her mentally if he had died. She had been expecting their first child at the time, and at long last he had been ready to give up his marriage in order to live with Fredrika.
And now he wanted to go off to Jerusalem for two weeks. What a brilliant idea. Fredrika didn’t know what bothered her most: the fact that he seemed to think it ought to be achievable in spite of the short notice, or that she herself would never have considered such a thing.
‘One last question,’ Alex said. ‘What did Josephine do before she qualified as a teacher and started working at the pre-school?’
A pale smile shimmered across her mother’s face.
‘She was lost back then, our Josephine. She tried just about every job you could think of.’
‘And a few you wouldn’t think of,’ her father muttered. ‘But nothing illegal,’ he added quickly.
‘I presume she liked children?’
‘I’m not so sure about that,’ her mother said. ‘But she loved her job, so I suppose she did.’
Fredrika and Alex got to their feet, both feeling relieved at the thought of leaving the apartment. No one wants to visit the province of grief with a one-way ticket.
‘Did she have any enemies?’ Fredrika said as they stood in the doorway.
‘Not that we knew of.’
‘No conflicts or arguments? Not necessarily in the recent past?’
Both parents shook their heads. They looked so abandoned standing there, so desperately lonely.
‘Is there anyone we can call for you?’
‘Thank you, but some close friends are on their way.’
‘In that case, thank you for your time, and once again, our condolences on your incomprehensible loss.’
She felt Alex stiffen as she uttered the last three words.
Your incomprehensible loss.
It sounded so artificial, like something out of a bad play.
‘We’ll be in touch,’ Alex said, opening the door. ‘Please don’t hesitate to call us at any time if anything occurs to you, or if there’s anything we can do.’
Seconds later they were out in the street, and Fredrika thought that Josephine’s last day had been an unusually cold one.
An unusually long day. An unusual start to the new year, in fact. Alex Recht was exhausted; he just wanted the day to end so that he could go home. His mobile rang as soon as he dropped Fredrika off outside her door.
Diana.
The second great love of his life, the fresh start he hadn’t believed was possible after the death of his wife Lena.
He longed to hear her voice.
But it wasn’t Diana. It was his boss.
‘How did it go with the parents?’
‘I don’t really know what to say, except that we’re none the wiser.’
His boss starting coughing, a rattling, smoker’s cough. As far as Alex knew, smoking was his only vice, but it was remarkable to think that one wrong choice could bring a person so much closer to the end of their life.
‘We’ve had another call from the Solomon Community.’
Alex waited, hoping this wasn’t more bad news. But it was. First of all came something that he already knew.
‘Have you heard that Peder Rydh has just been appointed as their new head of security?’
‘I found out when they called and asked me for a reference earlier this evening.’
‘What did you say to them?’
‘The same as I always say. That he was a very talented police officer with certain issues regarding his temperament, and one or two problems when it came to his attitude towards women in the past.’
His boss was coughing again.
‘Issues regarding his temperament? I suppose you could put it that way.’
Alex had no interest in discussing the matter any further. A lot of things would have to change before he stopped supporting Peder Rydh.
‘It’s most unfortunate that he’s been appointed to the post at this particular moment. Don’t you agree?’
‘Perhaps.’
‘I mean, you’re going to have to work with him – have you thought about that?’
‘I’ve worked with Peder before, and we’ve never had any problems.’
Untrue. And he knew it. His boss wasn’t slow to pick him up on his mistake.
‘I’m sorry – you’ve never had any problems?’
Alex couldn’t listen to this; he didn’t have the energy to get involved in a discussion. His current boss had never actually worked with Peder, but knew his history like everyone else.
‘I know, I know.’
He thought back to the beginning of their conversation.
‘So did the Solomon Community call to ask you for a reference too?’
‘No, they just happened to mention Rydh in connection with the real reason for their call.’
‘Which was?’
‘Two boys who belong to the community didn’t arrive at their tennis coaching session. The parents have reported them missing to the police, and the case should end up on your desk. You’re the person who’s most familiar with this kind of thing.’
Of course. Shit.
‘There’s absolutely no way that Fredrika and I can deal with two major investigations – the fatal shooting and two missing kids. Forget it.’
‘I realise that; we’ll sort it out tomorrow. Unless of course there’s a connection, in which case it would probably be better to expand your team. Fast.’
Why would there be a connection? Because all three were Jews? Because the boys had gone missing on the day the teacher was shot? Were they actually missing? Kids got the most peculiar ideas; they could be back home in a couple of hours.
‘Have the parents been interviewed?’ he asked, sincerely hoping that he wouldn’t have to speak to them as well.
‘Yes, you don’t need to think about that for the time being. And the Stockholm City Police and the National Crime Unit are helping to search for the boys. You won’t have to deal with any of this until tomorrow.’
Good. Tomorrow was another day.
A busy day, by the sound of it.
‘The Solomon Community is also organising a search. They’ve gathered in the centre in Östermalm and they’re ringing everyone in the boys’ classes to see if anyone has heard from them. You could drop in on your way home, if you feel like it.’