Buried Angels (22 page)

‘What about his relationship with his family?’

‘That depends on which family members you’re talking about. I wouldn’t have said Inez was happy. It’s hard to see why she married Rune. She was young and sweet. I suspected that it was her mother who forced her into the marriage. But the old crone died shortly after I started at the school – which probably came as a relief for Inez, because that woman was a nasty piece of work.

‘What about Rune’s children?’ Erica went on. ‘How did they view their father and stepmother? It can’t have been easy for Inez to become part of the family. Wasn’t she only a few years older than her oldest stepchild?’

‘Yes. An awful boy, much like his father.’

‘What was his name, the oldest son?’

‘Claes.’

A long pause followed. Erica waited patiently.

‘He’s the one I remember most. I get shivers just thinking about him. I can’t say why that should be. He was always polite to me, but there was something about Claes that made me unwilling to turn my back whenever he was present.’

‘Did he and Rune get along?’

‘It’s hard to say. They circled around each other like two planets, without ever crossing paths.’ Liza laughed with embarrassment. ‘I sound like some New Age woman or a bad poet …’

‘Not at all. Please go on,’ said Erica, leaning forward. ‘I get what you mean. So there were never any conflicts between Rune and Claes?’

‘No, they pretty much kept to their own turf. Claes seemed to obey Rune’s slightest command, but how he felt about his father is anyone’s guess. Yet there was at least one thing that they had in common. They both worshipped Carla – Rune’s deceased wife and Claes’s mother – and they both seemed to despise Inez. In Claes’s case, that might be understandable, since she was supposed to take his mother’s place, but Rune was the one who’d married her.’

‘So Rune treated Inez badly?’

‘Yes. Or at least, it was not a loving relationship. He was always ordering her around, as if she was his subordinate instead of his wife. Claes, on the other hand, was openly mean and shameless in the way he treated his stepmother. And he didn’t seem to have any affection for Ebba either. It wasn’t much better when it came to his sister Annelie.’

‘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.

Erica had planned to drive straight home to relieve Anna, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she continued on to Fjällbacka, heading for Mörhult. After hesitating about whether to turn left at the mini-golf course and go down to the boathouses, she decided to take the chance that they would be at home. By now it was late afternoon.

The door was propped open by a wooden clog decorated with flowers, and she stuck her head into the front hall. ‘Hello?’ she called.

She heard sounds from inside and a moment later John Holm appeared, holding a tea towel.

‘I’m sorry, am I interrupting your dinner?’ said Erica.

He glanced down at the towel. ‘No, not at all. I was washing my hands. Can I help you?’

‘My name is Erica Falck, and right now I’m working on a book …’

‘Aha, so you’re Fjällbacka’s famous author? Come join me in the kitchen. Would you like a cup of coffee?’ he said, giving her a warm smile. ‘So what brings you here?’

They sat down at the kitchen table.

‘I’m planning to write a book about what happened out on Valö.’ She thought she caught a hint of uneasiness in his blue eyes, but it vanished so swiftly that she might have just imagined it.

‘It’s strange how everybody seems to be so interested in Valö all of a sudden. If I’ve understood the local gossip correctly, then it was your husband that I talked to earlier today.’

‘Yes, I’m married to a police officer. Patrik Hedström.’

‘He had somebody else with him who was quite … interesting.’

It didn’t take much for Erica to realize who he was talking about.

‘I see you’ve had the honour of meeting Bertil Mellberg – the man, the myth, the legend!’

Holm laughed and Erica could feel herself falling under the spell of his charm. And that annoyed her. She detested everything that he and his party stood for, but at the moment he seemed harmless. Quite engaging, actually.

‘I’ve met his type before. Your husband, on the other hand, seems very good at his job.’

‘I’m partial, of course, but he’s a good policeman. He keeps digging until he finds out what he wants to know. Just like I do.’

‘You must make a dangerous team.’ Holm smiled again, showing two perfect dimples.

‘I suppose so. But sometimes it’s possible to get stuck. I’ve been researching the disappearance off and on for a few years, and now I’ve decided to take up the story again.’

‘And you’re going to write a book about it?’ This was accompanied by another glimmer of anxiety in Holm’s eyes.

‘That’s the plan. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?’ She took out a pen and paper.

For a moment John Holm seemed to hesitate. ‘That’s fine,’ he said eventually. ‘But as I explained to your husband and his colleague, I don’t really have much to contribute.’

‘As I understand it, there were certain conflicts among members of the Elvander family.’

‘Conflicts?’

‘Yes. Apparently Rune’s children weren’t very fond of their stepmother.’

‘As pupils, we didn’t get involved in their family dynamics.’

‘But it was such a small school. You must have noticed what went on within the family.’

‘It didn’t interest us. We didn’t want anything to do with them. It was bad enough having to deal with Rune.’ Holm appeared to regret having agreed to answer her questions. He hunched his shoulders and fidgeted, which only increased Erica’s determination to press on. Apparently there was something about this line of enquiry that made John Holm uncomfortable.

‘What about Annelie? A sixteen-year-old girl and a bunch of teenage boys – how did that work?’

Holm snorted. ‘Annelie was totally boy-crazy, but none of us ever encouraged her. There are certain girls that you learn to stay away from, and Annelie was one of them. Besides, Rune would have murdered us if we so much as touched his daughter.’

‘What do you mean when you say that she was the kind of girl you learned to stay away from?’

‘She kept running after us and acting strange, and I think she would have loved getting us in trouble. One time she stretched out right outside our window to sunbathe topless, but Leon was the only one who dared look at her. He was a death-defying kind of guy, even back then.’