“Yes. Ledkulla, Bäckared, and Slättared each have an assistant rector. Because Kullahult is the largest parish with the largest church, the rector has always had the church here.”
The deaconess answered all questions put to her but she hugged the armrests of her chair so hard that her knuckles turned white. Irene put it down to indignation. She must have known her boss well after having worked with him for so many years. That’s why Irene shifted her inquiry. “I assume you knew Elsa Schyttelius?”
“Yes. We’ve spent some time together over the years.”
“What kind of person was she?”
Uncertainty was visible in the deaconess’s face. “She was very nice. . reserved. Very pleasant and friendly, when she was well.”
“So when she was feeling well, she was kind. What kind of illness did she have?”
“It was unpleasant. . she suffered from depression. It came and went. Apparently, she had had it since childhood, and the illness worsened after she had her children.”
“What was she like when she was sick?”
“When she was sick, she became withdrawn. Didn’t want to see people and didn’t have the energy to do practical things. She just stayed in bed.”
“Did you know Jacob and Rebecka?”
“Of course. When I came here, Jacob was a teenager and Rebecka had just started school. Such wonderful children. Well-behaved. In appearance, Jacob is most like his mother, but his personality is probably more like his father’s. It’s the opposite with Rebecka.”
“Does she also suffer from depression?”
“No, but she is also a bit reserved. Jacob is. . was as open and happy as Sten. And now someone has. . Sten and Jacob and Elsa. …”
Her self-control cracked and she started sobbing. Irene waited for her to calm down, then asked, “Are you able to answer a few more questions?”
Rut Börjesson nodded and blew her nose in her wet handkerchief. In a thin, trembling voice she said, “I would so very much like to help if I can.”
“Do you have any suspicions whatsoever as to what could be behind these murders?”
The deaconess seemed to be thinking intensely before she shook her head. “No. It’s incomprehensible!”
“Did anyone in the Schyttelius family say anything that would make you think that he or she felt threatened?”
Again Rut Börjesson hesitated before answering. Finally, she said, “The only things I recall are Sten’s words last summer and fall. After the Satanists had burned down the summer chapel in Norssjön, he tried to find out who was responsible for that atrocity. You could almost say that he was obsessed with it.”
She stopped in order to dry her eyes and nose again. Irene could see that her hands were shaking.
“One afternoon, I was forced to speak with him about an important matter. Sten hadn’t come to the Fellowship Hall, so I went over to the rectory. Elsa let me in, and I remember that it was obvious that she was in the middle of one of her episodes. In any case, she pointed up to the second floor when I asked where Sten was. She said that he was in the office behind the billiard room. Actually-”
She stopped and looked uncertainly at Irene before she continued. “Actually, I didn’t know that he had an office on the second floor as well. But, of course, the one downstairs is large and old-fashioned. When I knocked, the door was locked. Sten called ‘One second,’ and then he unlocked the door. He pointed at the computer and said that he was on the trail of the Satanists. From what I understood, he had found some clues on the Internet. And he said that he had to be very careful so they didn’t become suspicious, because that could be dangerous.”
“Did he say in what way it could be dangerous?”
“No, just that it could be dangerous. I thought it sounded nasty. Who knows what those fools might come up with?”
“Did it seem as though Sten Schyttelius was afraid of the Satanists?”
Again Rut Börjesson looked hesitant. “‘Afraid’. . I don’t know. . he said that one had to be very careful.”
“Was the computer on?”
“Yes. I went up to the desk in order to lay out some papers that he was going to sign, and I remember that there was a very beautiful picture on the screen. There were a lot of colorful fish swimming around a coral reef.”
So Sten Schyttelius had put on the screen saver before he opened the door for the deaconess. Was the information on the Internet really dangerous? Irene made a mental note to contact someone who could help her find out.
“Do you know if he continued searching for the Satanists?”
“Yes. Jacob knows. . knew a lot about computers, and he was here about a month ago helping Sten-”
“Sorry for having to interrupt. But were they using the computers here in the Fellowship Hall?” Irene asked, pointing at Louise Måårdh’s computer on the desk in front of them.
“No. No, they were using the computer over in the rectory. I was invited there for afternoon coffee. Elsa was feeling quite well at that time and asked me to come. When I arrived, Jacob was also there. Elsa said something about them having spent the whole morning with the computer, and then Sten said that he and Jacob had something big going on. I asked if they were on the trail of the Satanists, and Sten nodded.”
“He nodded? He didn’t say anything?”
“No. But he and Jacob exchanged a look, as if they were. . conspirators.”
Conspirators. Father and son were on the trail of Satanists, who had burned down the chapel. According to Rut Börjesson, the rector had been obsessed with the idea. Despite their caution, had they gotten too close? Even if the murder method was not typical of Satanism, the symbol on the computer screens and the upside-down crucifix pointed to a connection. As Sten and Jacob Schyttelius had hunted the church arsonists via the computer, it might explain why the computers had been marked with the pentagrams.
“Were there many people who knew that they were seeking the Satanists via the Internet?” Irene continued.
Rut Börjesson shook her head. “I don’t think so. Right after the fire, he spoke of catching the guilty ones and punishing them severely. But as time went on, there were more important things to take care of. I was actually quite surprised when he said that he was still looking for them.”
“And was it a complete coincidence that you found out about it?”
“Yes.”
There was a short silence while Irene reflected. Finally, she decided to move on to something else and let go of the Satanic angle for a while.
“What kind of a person was Sten Schyttelius?” she asked.
The deaconess’s sorrowful expression vanished. Her face lit up. “Deeply pious, good-hearted. He hadn’t had an easy time through the years with Elsa’s illness, but he never complained. He took care of the kids and did his job. They’ve always had help with the cleaning, but otherwise he did most things himself. He enjoyed mealtimes and was a good cook and a wine connoisseur. He was an avid hunter as well. Each year, he took a break from work for the moose hunt.”
“And Jacob was like his father?”
“Yes. Except maybe not quite as good at cooking, but he was also a hunter. Very nice and friendly. The last few years, both of them became heavily involved with Sweden’s Ecumenical Children’s Villages. Mostly it was Sten, but last fall Jacob also started working actively.”
“What would they do?”
A blush suffused Rut Börjesson’s pale cheeks as she described the absorbing work of father and son Schyttelius. “They traveled with aid groups to war-and catastrophe-stricken countries in Africa to help needy children. Various Christian organizations in Sweden have set up several villages for orphaned children, about ten in all. For the most part, all work is done by volunteers, and both Sten and Jacob helped wholeheartedly. The expense of the trip and room and board was paid by the parishes, but otherwise they weren’t compensated.”