It took her five phone calls before she managed to get hold of the female civilian employee who was in charge of the unit’s office, and the only one who was actually there. The other officers were hard at work out in the field. That Tuesday they were on a long-planned raid on a neglectful chicken-farmer outside Nynäshamn and didn’t expect to be finished until that evening at the earliest. Unfortunately, Wednesday didn’t look any better, because they were planning to visit a pig farmer in Rimbo who had been the subject of numerous complaints claiming that he was risking the lives and welfare of animals that would be sent to slaughter in the run-up to Christmas. Thursday was Sweden’s National Day, and therefore a holiday, and on Friday the entire unit had decided to take a day off to reduce the mountain of time-owing that had built up over the spring.
‘I’d suggest you call back on Monday,’ the woman concluded.
‘Okay, but the problem is that I’m working on a murder investigation,’ Rosita Andersson-Trygg countered. Perhaps I should have mentioned what happened to Eriksson’s poor dog at the start, she thought.
‘The murder of that lawyer? The one whose entirely innocent dog was murdered, even though they can only have been after his owner?’ the clerk asked, clearly better informed than she should have been.
‘Yes, that’s the one,’ Rosita Andersson-Trygg said with feeling. ‘It’s a terrible business, and I thought right away that if there’s anyone who can help me, it’s you. You couldn’t suggest to your boss that—’
‘I’m afraid not,’ the clerk interrupted. ‘I understand your feelings, but here in the animal welfare unit we investigate thousands of murders each year, so we simply have to deal with them in order. But feel free to get in touch on Monday.’
What do I do now? Rosita Andersson-Trygg thought as she hung up. At first she felt at something of a loss, but then she decided to act on Evert Bäckström’s suggestion that she put together a perpetrator profile of their unknown dog-killer. So she picked up the phone again and called the profiling unit at the National Criminal Police.
That turned out to be much more straightforward. Her first call was put through to an answer phone that informed her that all six members of the National Crime profiling unit were away on a course all week and wouldn’t be back in the office until Monday 10 June.
Time to go home, Rosita Andersson-Trygg decided. Besides, she needed to buy more birdseed and a new filter for her aquarium.
50
At four o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, Annika Carlsson had decided to go home and get some sleep. Six hours’ sleep in thirty-six hours, the remaining thirty of which had been devoted to investigating the murder of Thomas Eriksson. It was definitely time to recharge her batteries and reserves before the following day. If only Nadja hadn’t appeared to show her the transcript of the interview with Isabella Norén and the results of her own phone calls.
‘Obviously, she could just have forgotten it in the general confusion that must have arisen at the office when they found out what had happened to Eriksson,’ Nadja said with a shrug. ‘But it looks like she was the last person he spoke to on his mobile. We don’t know who made the call to SOS Alarm, as they never said a word.’
‘I agree with you,’ Annika said, nodding.
‘I have a feeling they might have been having a relationship,’ Nadja Högberg said.
‘That makes two of us,’ Annika Carlsson said. ‘Just as well to call her in and talk to her straight away.’
Isabella Norén didn’t seem to share that opinion. She sounded calm and collected, and the expressions of grief and loss of the day before certainly weren’t apparent in what she had to say over the phone.
To start with, she had a lot of work to do – more than usual, as a result of what had happened – and she didn’t think she’d be able to get away for several hours. Then she needed to eat and sleep as well, so, all in all, she’d rather they met the following day. Annika Carlsson had taken the conciliatory line, expressing her sympathy but simultaneously stressing that time was the most important factor in the investigation at the moment. So that they were able to solve the murder of her boss as soon as possible.
‘But I’ve already talked to you,’ Isabella Norén objected. ‘To one of your colleagues. Ek, I think his name was. Johan Ek.’
‘I know,’ Annika said. ‘But since then we’ve received some more information that I need to check with you.’
‘You don’t think I’m a suspect, do you? That’s not what you’re trying to say?’
‘No, definitely not,’ Annika assured her. ‘I just want to ask you some more questions, because I think it might be helpful. To both of us,’ she added. ‘How about eight o’clock? Four hours from now, here at the police station in Solna? Can you manage that? I know it’s late, but I can organize a car for you if you like.’
‘Okay,’ Isabella Norén said. ‘But I’d rather drive myself.’
‘Good. Tell reception when you arrive and I’ll come down and get you.’
As soon as she ended the call, Annika switched her computer off, walked straight out of the office, went home, started to take her clothes off the moment she got inside the hall, and five minutes later she was fast asleep. At five minutes to eight she walked into reception at Solna police station. Three hours’ sleep, freshly showered, clean clothes, a new person, and Isabella Norén was already sitting there waiting for her. A different Isabella to the one she had seen the day before. No trace of yesterday’s tears. Now there was just a welcoming smile and watchful eyes.
She’s already worked out what I want to talk to her about, Annika Carlsson thought.
‘Naturally, I’ve read the interview that my colleague conducted with you but, just to keep everything clear, I’d like us to go over the same ground,’ Annika said.
‘You mean how I ended up working at the firm?’ Isabella Norén asked.
‘Yes, a brief summary,’ Annika said, smiling and nodding.
‘Okay,’ Isabella said, smiling back. ‘I specialized in economics at high school, and graduated at eighteen. I spent a year working as an au pair in England, for some good friends of my parents, and when I came back I did a year’s secretarial training, then complemented that by studying as a paralegal. And I took some economics courses at university. I started working for Thomas three years ago. It was all pretty straightforward. I replied to an advert saying they were looking for a qualified office assistant. And that was that.’
‘Plans for the future?’ Annika asked with a smile. A bit less watchful now, she thought.
‘I’ve applied to study law at university this autumn. If I don’t get in, I’ll carry on working for the firm. In spite of what’s happened, I mean.’
Annika said nothing, just nodded. Then she reached out her hand and switched off the little tape-recorder.
‘I think I’ll switch this off,’ Annika said with a smile. ‘Because what I’m about to ask you may as well stay inside this room.’
‘I think I know what it’s about,’ Isabella Norén said. ‘You want to know how long I was seeing my boss?’
‘Yes, and because I don’t think for a moment that you had anything to do with this, anything you say won’t go beyond these four walls.’ Annika nodded. If Bäckström and the others could hear you now, they’d probably have a stroke, she thought.
‘Okay, then,’ Isabella said, nodding back.
Then she explained.
Isabella Norén had liked Thomas Eriksson from the first time she met him. He was a dynamic person, funny, alive, with a strong personality and a genuine interest in the people and cases he got involved in. He was also a brilliant lawyer, very talented, and always knew what he was talking about.
‘Thomas was nothing like that gangster lawyer the papers used to write about. It wasn’t hard to fall for him, even though he was twice my age.’
‘The first time,’ Annika said, with a friendly nod.
‘The first time we got it together, you mean?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’d been working on the paperwork for a case in the Court of Appeal. I’d only been there for a couple of months. In terms of the amount of evidence, it was a complex case, and at his first trial our client was sentenced to life imprisonment. Then he changed lawyers, to Thomas, who appealed and got him released. I was sitting in my room, reading a load of papers, when Thomas came rushing in, waving the verdict we’d just received. He was like a little kid realizing he’d been given a really cool game console at Christmas. First, he gave me a big hug, and a kiss right on the lips. Then he held me at arm’s length as he patted me on the head and called me a clever girl. When he was like that he was pretty irresistible. A grown man and a little boy, all at the same time.’
Doesn’t sound much like Eriksson, Annika Carlsson thought. Not remotely like him.
‘I know exactly what you mean,’ Annika said. ‘What about the first time, properly? When was that?’
‘The first time properly,’ Isabella repeated, touching the corner of her eye with her index finger. ‘That was a year later. I went with Thomas down to a case in Malmö. To help carry all the files, and because he liked having company. But mainly because I think we were both starting to feel that something was happening. It was in the air, I suppose.’
The trial had gone well. That evening they had dinner in a smart restaurant. They had a bit to drink, perhaps a little too much, but not too much for what they both had in mind, then went back to the hotel and sat in the bar for a last nightcap.
‘It was me who took the initiative,’ Isabella said with a brief nod of confirmation. ‘I just looked up at him, a bit quizzically, you know. He got up at once, and we went upstairs. To my room, if you want to know.’
‘What was it like?’ Annika Carlsson said. Whatever that has to do with anything, she thought the moment she’d asked the question.
‘The best first night I’ve had,’ Isabella said. ‘Even though I was twenty-two and Thomas was forty-six.’
‘Then what? What happened after that?’
It wasn’t a big, lifelong passion. She’d never thought that, and realized as much right from the start. It had nothing in common with a normal relationship. It was a secret affair, and she was convinced that none of her workmates knew about it or had even the slightest suspicion. Neither of them had felt any need to change that. It was just a time in their lives that would last however long it lasted. As long as they both wanted it to carry on. But not a day longer. During the past two years they had had twenty or so encounters for the same reason as that first occasion, but, as so often happened, they had met up increasingly seldom. The last time they had been together was something like two months before he was murdered.
‘It was beautiful, and a bit sad,’ Isabella said. ‘We never argued, and towards the end it was more cosy than … well, than anything else. We always had fun together. Even when we would sneak out to the pub and spend an hour trying to think of somewhere that no one would see us. Because of course there were plenty of people who recognized him.’
Beautiful and a bit sad, Annika Carlsson thought. It was time she pulled herself together.
‘You spoke to him on Sunday afternoon,’ Annika said. ‘On Sunday afternoon you called him from work and spoke to him. That was at twenty minutes to three, and the conversation lasted nine minutes. Can you tell me what it was about?’
‘Yes, it was about work. I was helping to prepare a case for him. It was due in court on Thursday. Not that that’s going to happen now, of course. There were a few things I needed his help with. Legal technicalities, mainly. Nothing else. As soon as I’d hung up he called me back, on my mobile, and told me I was being boring. He’d been hoping I’d called to suggest a date. Our first date of the summer.’
‘What did you say to that?’
‘That I already had a date. Which was true, because I’d arranged to have dinner with an old friend from school. A girlfriend, although I didn’t say that.’
‘How did he take it?’
‘He wasn’t the jealous sort,’ Isabella said. ‘Thomas wasn’t remotely jealous, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only person he was seeing. He said he’d forgive me, as he had a meeting that evening as well.’
‘He didn’t sound worried or anything? About the meeting that evening, I mean?’
‘Not at all,’ Isabella said with a firm shake of the head. ‘He sounded the same as usual. Maybe he sounded like he’d had a couple of glasses of wine with his lunch. If I was to say anything about him, it would be that he did drink quite a lot. He was never drunk at work – nothing like that – but he liked a bottle of wine when he was relaxing. Or a couple of bottles, if he was in the mood.’
‘That meeting he was going to have. He didn’t say who it was with?’
‘No.’ Isabella shook her head firmly. ‘I didn’t ask either.’
‘And he didn’t seem worried?’
‘No.’ Another shake of the head, just as firm. ‘He sounded the same as usual.’
Beautiful and a bit sad, and he sounded the same as usual, Annika Carlsson thought. Then she switched the tape-recorder back on and moved on to asking questions that followed naturally from the context. Did she know of any threats against him? What was his view of that sort of thing?
‘He had a number of clients who were a bit scary,’ Isabella said. ‘But he handled them perfectly, if you ask me. We talked about it occasionally, and he gave me some advice. Things it would be useful to know when I became a lawyer. It was all about doing a good job, the client was all that mattered, having respect for them but without losing your distance. Never promising anything that wasn’t legally possible. Lots of things like that.’
‘And it worked?’
‘Yes, I think everyone he represented respected him.’
‘What about the others, then? All his opponents, all the relatives of victims in cases where he defended the suspects?’
‘He used to get a fair amount of negative stuff,’ Isabella said. ‘Emails and phone calls and letters. Some of them were quite entertaining. On more than one occasion he read them out when we were having a coffee break at work. But scared? No, more like amused. Thomas was respected, and he was fearless. Not remotely afraid to stand his ground. Is that what you’re thinking? That someone like that killed him?’
‘What do you think?’ Annika countered.
‘Yes,’ Isabella said. ‘Who else would have done it?’
Half an hour later, they had finished. Annika Carlsson had shown Isabella out of the building. She had given her her card and told her to call if she thought of anything else, if anything happened, or if she just wanted to talk to someone in general.
‘Thanks,’ Isabella said. ‘You seem pretty all right.’
‘Tough on the tough guys, and the reverse,’ Annika said with a grin, and patted her on the arm. ‘Look after yourself, Isabella. Call me if there’s anything. If you think of something you forgot to say, or if there’s anything you’re wondering about.’
Beautiful and a bit sad, not remotely jealous, and who else would have done it? she thought as she returned to her room.
51
The murder of lawyer Thomas Eriksson had been leading the news across the media for the past twenty-four hours. On Monday, after the first meeting of the investigative team, Anna Holt had tried to calm the first wave by issuing a concise press statement that at least gave them the answers to five questions. That the police in the Western District were investigating a murder, that Chief Prosecutor Lisa Lamm had been appointed head of the preliminary investigation, and Detective Superintendent Evert Bäckström lead detective. There was also a phone number and email address by means of which the detectives of the general public could get in
touch and pass on any information that might help the police in their work. At three o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, after the second meeting of the investigative team, a press conference had been called at the police station in Solna.
Like trying to stop a tsunami by holding your hands up, Holt thought once she had finally switched off her constantly ringing phone.
Five minutes after Bäckström arrived at work on Tuesday morning, his boss, Chief of Police Anna Holt, had knocked on his door and asked for a short meeting.
‘By all means,’ Bäckström said, gesturing towards his chair. You’ve got a traitor in the ranks, he thought to himself, seeing as he was well aware that it took at least three minutes to walk between their offices.
‘The press conference,’ Holt declared emphatically before she had even sat down. ‘Is there anything I ought to know? About the state of the investigation, I mean?’
‘Nothing except that I would happily abstain from participating for the sake of someone who needs it more,’ Bäckström said. ‘How about the Anchor? She’s very diplomatic.’
‘Good idea,’ Holt agreed. ‘I was thinking of asking Lisa and Annika and our press spokeswoman to take care of the practical details. What I’m wondering is if there’s anything you’d like to have passed on?’
‘No,’ Bäckström said, with genuine surprise. ‘To those vultures? What on earth would I want to say to them?’
‘You haven’t changed, Bäckström.’ Holt smiled and nodded at him. ‘A sturdy rock in uncertain times. Can I interpret what you’ve just said as an indication that an arrest is imminent?’
‘Yes,’ Bäckström said. ‘I can’t see any reason to disagree, but for the time being it might as well stay between us.’
Bäckström nodded thoughtfully, clasping his hands together on his lap and raising his eyes towards the lamp in the ceiling. Another one, he thought. And this one was scrawny, too.
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