Hidden in Snow (The ?re Murders, #1)(27)

Lena nods and puts down the glass. Her hand is shaking so much that the glass rattles against the surface of the table, but at least she doesn’t knock it over.

Daniel leans forward, his elbow touching a gouge in the table—the result of Amanda slamming down a cast-iron trivet when she lost her temper. She was sent to her room as a punishment. Right now Lena would give anything to have her standing here throwing a tantrum.

The tears are still flowing.

Why did they argue so much? She can’t even remember. Instead she pictures Amanda in the twins’ room, reading them a story with such enthusiasm that it turns into a full performance. When Lena is washing the dishes, Amanda often creeps up behind her and surprises her with a hug. She still curls up on the sofa with her head on Lena’s lap to watch TV, purring like a cat and wanting her mother to rub her back, like she did when Amanda was a little girl.

“We need to understand more about your daughter and her habits,” Daniel goes on. “She may have been seen on the E14 in the early hours of Friday morning. Someone called our hotline and said he saw a pedestrian on the road and a dark-colored car that stopped in the rest stop where her scarf was found.”

Lena’s mind is working in slow motion. “Oh?” she says, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Do you know if Amanda has any enemies? Anyone who might have followed her when she left the party?”

“I find that hard to believe.” Lena turns the idea over; it seems completely bizarre. “Why would someone want to hurt her? She’s only a child!”

“We’re looking into every possibility.” Daniel’s expression is unreadable.

“Does she have many friends?” Anton asks, taking the chair next to his colleague.

“Yes. She’s very popular.”

Lena sees the wry smile she often wore when heading off to school, as if she’d rather go there than stay at home.

All those times when Lena searched for the right words to say before Amanda left the house. Usually she only managed Have a nice day.

“She is happy in her class—they’re a good group of kids, and she and Ebba have hung out together since they were little. Amanda is very likable; she has lots of ideas, and she’s creative. She’s always there for her friends.”

“We’re intending to speak to her adviser, the guy you mentioned yesterday,” Daniel informs her. “Did she like him?”

Lena thinks for a moment. Amanda seemed very keen on Lasse during her first year at high school, but since then she’s talked about him less and less.

“I think so.”

Daniel nods. “Her boyfriend, Viktor—what can you tell us about him?”

Lena is confused. “Who?”

“Viktor Landahl. According to Ebba, they were together.”

“I don’t know anything about that,” Lena admits. “He’s never been here.”

Daniel strokes his beard. “Could there have been anyone else involved?”

“I don’t know.”

“We’re wondering if Amanda might have arranged to meet someone after the party without telling you or Ebba,”

Anton explains. “If she might have gone off with some boy and things went wrong.”

Lena looks away. They have so many questions, and she has no answers. Her cheeks burn with shame; she is a bad mother, knowing so little about her eldest daughter’s love life. She should have kept an eye on things, but everyday life has swallowed her up: her job, the twins, all the activities she must fit in.

The days have simply run away with her. She hasn’t had time to stop, reflect.

“Is Amanda active on social media?” Daniel asks.

“Could she have met someone that way?”

Amanda was always connected, always online.

Whenever Lena knocked on her door and went into her room, the laptop was open, but the second she saw her mother she would slam it shut. Lena has no idea who Amanda hung out with in cyberspace. It is impossible to have that kind of control over an eighteen-year-old.

“I can’t answer that.”

“What about her finances?” Anton says. “Has she had more money to spend recently?”

She has, come to think of it. Over the past year Amanda has rarely begged for more money for clothes and makeup.

Suddenly Lena realizes the implications of the question.

“Are you saying she’s met an older man?”

“We need to explore every alternative,” Daniel replies.

“It’s not unusual for older men to make contact with young girls through various online forums,” Anton adds.

“I can’t imagine Amanda doing that,” Lena whispers.

She can’t bring herself to wonder about the reasons behind Amanda’s improved finances. She doesn’t want to speculate. Her daughter has become more reticent over the past twelve months. When Lena has asked questions, Amanda has mostly snapped at her to butt out. Lena has told herself that it’s just a phase, that it’s going to pass.

“How would you describe your daughter?” Daniel says.

“What about her ability to see the consequences of her actions? Is she mature for her age?”

Lena scratches her wrist. “I suppose she’s like most teenagers,” she says, even though she has often complained to Harald that Amanda doesn’t take enough responsibility at home. She can’t tell them that; it would be a betrayal. She settles on a compromise. “She’s not irresponsible. She would never do anything stupid or illegal.