Hidden in Snow (The ?re Murders, #1)(102)
She clambers laboriously back into the driver’s seat and settles down. Tries to ignore the pain wrapping itself tightly around her head, like a steel helmet with spikes on the inside.
She is about to switch off the interior light when everything goes black.
Hanna gasps for breath.
She turns the key time after time, but nothing happens.
In the end she has to accept that the car is not going to start.
How far can she be from the main road?
Not too far, even though she seems to have lurched some distance into the forest. Maybe she can walk back to the E14, try to stop a car?
The thought of venturing out into the bitter night without a phone or a flashlight makes her break out in a cold sweat. How is she going to find her way to the main road in the dense darkness, even if it’s only a few hundred yards? And how is she going to make herself visible to a passing driver? There is a real risk that she will be run over.
The alternative—staying put in a car with the temperature plummeting—isn’t much better.
Maybe there’s a flashlight in the car?
She opens the glove compartment, pokes around. When she leans forward the pain that shoots through her head is so intense that she screams out loud.
The glove compartment contains only paper and a spare ice scraper.
If she stays here, she will almost certainly fall asleep.
Her arms and legs are already growing heavier, she is fighting not to let the tiredness overwhelm her. She doesn’t want to freeze to death all alone in the forest.
Setting off on foot is also risking her life. She could easily head in the wrong direction, end up wandering deeper and deeper into the forest.
She retrieves her phone, tries switching it on, but is met by only a black screen.
Once again she curses herself for not letting Daniel know what she was going to do.
Why must she always tackle things on her own? She could have passed on her suspicions about Kristina Risberg, said she was thinking of keeping her under surveillance for a few hours.
Now it’s too late. No one has any idea where she’s gone.
She has to make a decision. Surely it’s better to try and find the main road rather than sit here in the car; it could be hours before anyone finds her.
The darkness envelops her as she opens the door and sets off.
OceanofPDF.com
112
The waiter has just placed the freshly made pizza in front of Daniel. He has sought refuge in one of ?re’s most popular Italian restaurants, Prima Pasta; he must allow himself a breathing space after the trials and tribulations of the day.
When he’s eaten he will go home and fix things with Ida. He longs to see her and Alice; he has an almost physical need to feel his daughter’s little warm cheek against his own.
But first he has to gather his thoughts. The news that Lena Halvorssen has tried to take her own life is difficult to deal with. From a purely logical point of view, Daniel knows it isn’t his fault, but the despair in Harald’s eyes torments him. There seems to be no end to the family’s tragedy.
He slices into the pizza, and the aroma of tomato sauce, mozzarella, and salami provides consolation on a deeply primitive level. It makes him think about his mother. She would have understood that he sees himself as a failure right now.
His thoughts return to Amanda. He is becoming increasingly convinced that her secret cleaning job has something to do with her death. Could there be a link between the company and Fredrik Bergfors? It’s possible; Bergfors is responsible for many of the newly built houses.
As soon as they’re finished, the owners need to hire cleaning services.
There is money to be made at every stage along the way.
According to Harald, Mira told him that Fredrik was behind the dog’s death. More and more evidence points to Fredrik Bergfors, although Daniel isn’t quite ready to dismiss his suspicions concerning Viktor Landahl—or Amanda’s adviser.
He remembers the list of the cleaning company’s board members that Hanna showed him the other night. Fredrik’s name was included, wasn’t it?
He is about to get out his phone to check when it buzzes in his back pocket. For a second he is tempted to finish eating before he reads the message, but then his sense of duty takes over.
The text is from an unknown number.
Sorry to bother you, but I believe you’ve recently started working with my younger sister, Hanna Ahlander. We were supposed to speak at about seven this evening, but I’ve cal ed several times, and she’s not answering. It’s not like her at al —I just wanted to make sure that everything is okay.
It is signed by someone named Lydia.
Daniel looks at the time. Ten past nine.
He calls Hanna, but it goes straight to voicemail. He tries again, with the same result.
He last spoke to her at about five thirty. She had just left Ebba’s house, and it sounded as if she was on her way home to Sadeln.
That was almost four hours ago.
Where is she, if she didn’t go home?
Her sister would hardly have gone to the trouble of finding his number and contacting him if she wasn’t concerned.
Daniel glances out of the window. The weather is still horrible. The snow is whirling in the air, and the wind has picked up. The flags in the square are standing to attention in the fierce gale.
He really wants to go home to Ida and Alice, but Lydia’s message has worried him.