By nine thirty all the morning broadcasts were done, and the editors in Stockholm phoned to praise the reports. In the next breath, they issued new demands. They wanted a piece for the noon show, for all the afternoon programs, and a longer story for the evening newscasts, on both Aktuellt and Rapport, and the segments should preferably be as different as possible.
Max Grenfors, now back from vacation, wanted to make the Regional News broadcast a priority, of course. That was always a dilemma. Each editor put his own program first, and with so many different newscasts and editors, there was a flood of phone calls. For a reporter, it was easy to feel torn. They agreed that Robert and the Stockholm cameraman would handle the national newscasts while Johan and Pia would concentrate on Regional News. As they gathered material and did interviews over the course of the day, they could always share information with each other. The editor from Stockholm would collate all the material as it came in.
In the afternoon Johan received an unexpected phone call. It was from his friend Niklas Appelqvist, who was studying archaeology at the college.
"Did you know that rumors have been circulating that Martina Flochten was Staffan Mellgren's lover?" Niklas asked.
"Is it true?" Johan retorted.
"So many different people are talking about it, there must be some truth to it."
"Do you know anyone who could confirm it?"
"Maybe. I'll check around. Mellgren was apparently a real Casanova. I heard that he slept with a lot of girls at the college."
"Is that right? But I can't put pure speculation in my report. I need two independent sources who can confirm this for me. Otherwise it's a no-go."
"I'll see what I can do. I'll get back to you."
Susanna Mellgren looked exhausted when she came into Knutas's office that afternoon. She sat down, clasped her hands demurely in her lap, and lowered her gaze, as if she were about to say a prayer.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Knutas began.
She nodded faintly.
"When did you last see your husband?"
"Sunday evening, when I decided to drive over to stay with my parents."
"Why did you do that?"
"I thought the whole business with the horse's head was horrible. I didn't want to put myself or my children in danger."
"Why did you think it would be dangerous to stay in your house?"
"It felt as if someone were threatening us. I've been reading about the whole thing, and I saw the report on TV, too-I mean, that story about the decapitated horse, and then…"
"Why would anyone want to threaten you?"
"I have no idea," she replied, shaking her head.
"And your husband?"
"I don't know why anyone would want to harm him, either," she said, looking Knutas in the eye. "He didn't have any enemies, as far as I know."
"How did he seem that evening? What was the mood like between the two of you?"
"As I've told you earlier, he seemed cold and indifferent. He said it wasn't anything to worry about, that whole incident with the horse's head."
"Did you ask him why it didn't bother him?"
"I tried, but he just got annoyed. He said that we shouldn't take it seriously, that we should just forget about it and go on as usual. I'm convinced that he wasn't telling me the truth. Finally I got mad because I was afraid for the children, if nothing else. But he brushed the whole thing off and claimed that it only had to do with him. So that's when he gave himself away: He really did know what it was all about."
"Do you think he knew who was threatening him?"
"I think he knew who put the horse's head there, but he didn't seem to consider it a threat. At any rate, it ended with me packing up our things and taking the children over to stay with my parents. And just look what happened-now he's dead, and the last thing we did was fight. If I hadn't gone away, maybe he'd still be alive."
She burst into tears. Knutas got up and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. He got some paper napkins and a glass of water and waited for a while so that Susanna Mellgren would have a chance to calm down.
"What time did you and the children leave for your parents' house on Sunday?" he continued cautiously.
"It was after you came out to see us. Staffan came home around seven, and by then we were ready to go. We probably left around eight," she told him, sniffling loudly.
"What did you do when you got there?"
"We unpacked in the guesthouse that they have on their property. Then we watched a little TV and went to bed."
"What about the next day?"
"We went to the beach and spent the whole day there. Me, my mother, and the kids. The weather was so nice."
"And in the evening?"
"We had a barbecue and sat outside, drinking a little wine. The kids and my parents watched a movie after dinner. They didn't want to come with me to the pub. Smaklosa was playing. They're one of my favorite bands. I thought it would be a good distraction after everything that had happened."
"So you went alone?"
"Yes."
"Can anyone vouch for the fact that you were there?"
"I don't know. Maybe the bartender. I've seen him before."
"Do you know his name?"
Susanna Mellgren thought for a few seconds.
"His name is Stefan."
"And his last name?"
She shook her head.
"How long did you stay there?"
"I listened to the band, and they played for at least two hours. Everyone was in a great mood, and people started requesting songs. Then I sat outside for a while and had a glass of wine. It was such a hot evening, and I felt the need to be alone. I probably stayed for about three hours."
"When did you get back?"
"Hm…when was it? Maybe ten or eleven."
"And you went home alone?"
"Yes."
"This may seem like a strange question, but what size shoe do you wear?"
Susanna looked at Knutas in surprise.
"Size eight."
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28
When Knutas woke up the next morning, he was so anxious to see what the press had found out about the murder of Staffan Mellgren that he could hardly wait to get to the office. He said a silent prayer that the media hadn't gotten wind of the ritualistic elements this time, either. His cell phone had started ringing right after the story was reported on the evening broadcast of Regional News, when Johan Berg referred to several independent sources who had confirmed that the two murder victims had been having an affair. Out of pure self-preservation Knutas had turned off his cell after the third call. The police spokesman, Lars Norrby, was the only one who had to be available to the media. Knutas had had a long conversation with him last night, and they had agreed on what would be appropriate to reveal. Among other things, the police would not mention anything about a possible relationship between Martina Flochten and Staffan Mellgren. At 6:00 a.m. he listened to the financial news, which fortunately didn't mention anything about a ritual murder or a relationship between Martina and Staffan. Knutas sat down at his computer and looked up the online editions of the newspapers. When the front page of the evening papers appeared on his screen, he sighed.
At the top of both papers were two big photographs-one of Martina Flochten and one of Staffan Mellgren. On one of the papers a red heart had been drawn around the photos.
This can't be true, thought Knutas, as he clicked to move on. The big headlines worried him: killed for their love and police suspect jealousy drama. The articles that followed were full of endless speculations. Most of them were based on the Regional News report from the night before. It was disastrous for the investigation, and he silently wondered who had helped Johan Berg to track down this lead. Ignoring the fact that it was only six thirty in the morning, he punched in the reporter's phone number.