Hidden in Snow (The ?re Murders, #1)(60)
His dislike of raised voices and dramatic scenes meant that her mother always got her own way.
He was as stylish as a Hollywood star, but lacked the moral strength to put his child before his wife.
Strangely enough, she is less angry with him than with her mother—maybe because he’s so old? He’s eighty-six now, eleven years older than Ulla, and he has become a silent shadow of his former self. He never had much to say, but these days he hardly speaks at all. He merely nods and agrees when Ulla talks.
It’s possible that he is in the early stages of dementia, but it doesn’t matter. The father who hurt Hanna so deeply is gone. She can’t be angry with someone who no longer exists.
Hanna stares out into the darkness.
The house they always used to rent isn’t far from VM6.
She hasn’t wanted to go and look; she has enough to deal with right now.
A little snow slides down from the roof. It lands with a thud on the drive, a tiny white pile beside the much bigger one left behind by the snowplow.
Until now Hanna has never been back to ?re as an adult. Over the years Lydia has asked her many times to come with them, but Hanna has always said no. And yet she has never stopped loving the mountains; the ties of nature have held her close. Despite the long absence she still feels at home here.
She rests her forehead on the cool glass, closes her eyes. Could the place where she skied as a child give her a new future?
She’s not sure if she dares to believe in the chance of a placement in ?re. Is it just another castle in the air that will collapse?
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62
Daniel can’t explain why he’s on his way to see Hanna Ahlander at this time of the evening.
Birgitta Grip thought he was joking when he suggested they should offer Hanna a temporary placement effective immediately.
“That’s not how it works,” she had snapped. There were procedures, she’d gone on to explain, that must be followed, protocols that must be observed. Plus hurdles in the hiring process always arose when they were transferring personnel between different regions of the police force.
Daniel stuck to his guns, surprising himself with the strength of his reasoning. He insisted it almost amounted to a dereliction of duty if they didn’t make use of a highly competent officer who happened to be in the area, especially as she was prepared to step in right away, and resources, as Birgitta was well aware, were badly stretched.
The task force needed all the help it could get.
He had checked out Hanna’s background as best he could and highlighted her work with domestic abuse cases in Stockholm City as particularly useful.
Eventually Birgitta gave in and promised to look into the possibility, provided Daniel vouched for Hanna and took personal responsibility for her involvement in the investigation into Amanda Halvorssen’s murder.
“This is urgent,” Daniel said as he ended the call. “I want to bring her in as soon as possible.”
They agreed to speak the following day.
Daniel has met Hanna only once, but he recognizes a good police officer. It is a concern that there are so few women on the team. He has learned that many women have a different way of looking at things; they focus on different issues. Mixed groups work better, that’s the simple truth— and Hanna’s background makes her perfect for this case.
He drives through the center of Bj?rnen and turns into Sadeln from Fr??v?gen. The car rolls down the hill, past a row of wood-paneled three-story buildings that weren’t there last year. Another result of the construction boom.
He takes V?stra Sadelviksv?gen, looking out for Hanna’s address, and realizes that the huge house at the end of the road must be the right place.
Wow! It’s hard to suppress a whistle.
Three seconds later he parks on the drive. He doesn’t bother locking the car. When Hanna opens the front door, he can see the surprise in her eyes. She is wearing velour sweatpants and a faded college sweater.
“Hi?”
Daniel almost wishes he hadn’t come. Maybe this was a terrible idea.
He shivers in the biting cold. “Have you got time for a chat?”
“Er . . . of course. Come on in.” She steps back, opens the door wide. “You just took me by surprise.”
Daniel walks into the hallway, which leads to the open-plan living room, library, and dining space. The oval shape of the great room offers a panoramic view of the lake.
The ground floor alone must measure 1,600 square feet.
“Shit, what a place!” he exclaims. “How many people live here?”
“Just my sister and her family.” Hanna looks a little embarrassed. She goes over to the kitchen, with its gray wooden cupboards and a marble island.
“Would you like a drink? Coffee, wine—a beer?”
“Coffee would be good.”
While Hanna fixes two cups from a Nespresso machine, Daniel takes a look around. The house could easily grace the pages of any interior-design magazine.
“I’d be scared to touch anything,” he says. “Are you allowed to sit on the sofa?”
Hanna rolls her eyes. “You just have to be careful. It’s not exactly my style, to be honest.”
They sit down at the table. Daniel pours a drop of milk into his cup. Best to get straight to the point, as he did in his conversation with Birgitta Grip.