Hidden in Snow (The ?re Murders, #1)(29)

Viktor parks himself in one corner, as far from the two officers as possible.

“What’s this about?” he says, putting his feet on the coffee table.

“We have some questions about one of your classmates, Amanda Halvorssen,” Daniel begins.

“She’s not in my class.”

“But she’s in a parallel class?” Anton says.

Viktor nods, then yawns, revealing his back teeth. He seems as slow and hungover as Ebba was the previous evening.

“Amanda is missing.”

“Mmm, I know.”

“You were at Ebba’s party when she disappeared. Did Amanda speak to you before she left?”

“I haven’t done anything.”

The answer comes a little too quickly.

“We’re not saying you did,” Anton assures him. “We just want to know what happened before she left the party.”

“Right.”

“Can you tell us about the evening?” Daniel prompts him.

“We kind of hung out, you know. Talked shit.” He runs a hand through the dark hair hanging over his forehead. “We stood in the kitchen, drank some beer. A while later I saw her put on her jacket and leave.”

“What time was this?”

“I don’t remember—pretty late. Definitely after midnight. One o’clock, maybe?”

“Did she say where she was going?”

“No.”

“Did she seem different in any way?”

“No.”

“Do you know if she was afraid for any reason?”

“No.”

Viktor answers in a monotone, with no real engagement. He sinks deeper into the cushions and digs his phone out of his back pocket, checks the screen.

“Had you had a fight?” Daniel’s tone is sharper now.

Viktor glares at him. “It was just banter.”

“Ebba told us the two of you are together. And that you’d quarreled during the evening.”

Viktor reaches for the Fanta and takes a few slugs, leaving a sticky orange residue at the corners of his mouth.

“Had you?” Daniel pushes him.

“She was pretty pissed off at me before she left. She thought I was too drunk.”

“And were you?”

Viktor gives a faint grin. He puts his phone down on the table; the case shows a picture of a coiled snake against a black background.

“I was completely out of it.”

Now it is Daniel’s turn to glare. “Is that all you have to say?”

At least Viktor has the grace to look embarrassed. He picks up his phone, checks the screen again. It is less than thirty seconds since he put it down; this is clearly some kind of compulsion.

“We’re talking about your girlfriend here,” Daniel points out.

“She’s not my girlfriend. We just hook up sometimes.”

The boy’s lethargic attitude annoys Daniel. Why doesn’t he understand the gravity of the situation? His girlfriend could die while he lies on the sofa, stuffing his face with chips. Daniel had a few messy years as a teenager, but at least he used his brain.

Then he notices Viktor’s dilated pupils, and suddenly it all makes sense. He’s taken something. This explains why the boy has barely reacted to the fact that Amanda is missing; he’s in a world of his own.

Daniel sniffs the air but can’t detect any hint of cannabis. He feels a surge of anger.

“Listen to me, you little shit!” he roars, slamming his hand down on the table with such force that Viktor jumps.

“We need your help!”

Anton gives him a look. Daniel takes a couple of deep breaths to calm himself. He rarely loses his temper at work.

Viktor is staring angrily at him. “I’ve already told you—I don’t know what happened!”

Anton steps in before Daniel can respond.

“What did you do after Amanda left the party?” His tone is considerably gentler than his colleague’s.

“I fell asleep at Ebba’s. I went straight to school from her house the next morning. Wille was there too.”

“You didn’t find it strange when Amanda didn’t show up at school?”

“No.” Viktor extends his arms out. “I just thought she was at home sleeping it off, like everybody else. I didn’t feel too good myself; I went home straight after the Lucia procession. I couldn’t handle staying for classes. Wille did the same.”

“And what have you done today?”

“Nothing much. I’ve mostly been lying here watching movies.”

Daniel is beyond frustrated. This spaced-out kid is no help at all. They ought to speak to his mother, tell her what her son is up to, but right now there are more important things to take care of.

He places his card on the table.

“If you think of anything, anything at all that might help us to find Amanda, you need to call us.”

Viktor is already reaching for the remote.

“Sure,” he mumbles as he presses play.

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29

Briefing in the conference room at ?re police station. The room is furnished with an oval table and ten chairs. The seats are upholstered in red, while everything else is white, including the walls and the surface of the table.