Hidden in Snow (The ?re Murders, #1)(74)
“There’s a lot to suggest he’s guilty,” he concludes.
“But shouldn’t he have confessed if that’s the case?”
“Hmm.” Hanna doesn’t say anything for a few seconds.
“One thing that strikes me: didn’t you say he was very drunk at the party?”
“I did.”
He can almost hear her frowning.
“That’s what bothers me. It takes considerable presence of mind to carry out the series of events you just described.
Applying a stranglehold that will make the victim lose consciousness, then dealing with the consequences— transporting Amanda while she was unconscious, then hiding her away.” Hanna falls silent again. “Could Viktor have done all that in the state he was apparently in?” It almost sounds like a rhetorical question. “I agree, there’s a lot to suggest he’s guilty,” she continues, “but it also sounds as if he was too drunk to work out exactly what to do.”
Daniel hadn’t thought of it from that angle. Quite the reverse—he’d seen alcohol as the trigger for Viktor’s behavior. That and a hot temper he couldn’t control.
Hanna has made him realize that the quantity of alcohol Viktor consumed at the party could, paradoxically, be regarded as a kind of alibi.
He was too drunk to attack and abduct Amanda.
Once again Daniel is impressed by Hanna’s ability to analyze a situation.
“I think it would require a certain level of sobriety to be so cold blooded,” she adds.
“So we’re back to square one,” Daniel says gloomily.
“Not necessarily, but I wouldn’t get hung up on Viktor until we have more forensic evidence.” Hanna stops, then makes a little noise as if something else is on her mind.
“Any other thoughts?” Daniel prompts her.
“Amanda’s adviser . . . Have you interviewed him?”
She must mean Lasse Sandahl, the teacher they met yesterday.
“Why?”
“I was having coffee with a friend this afternoon . . .”
She hesitates, as if she’s not sure whether to continue. “This might be nothing more than gossip, but she mentioned that there are rumors about this guy, that he’s . . . interested in young girls. She even claimed he’d had an affair with Amanda.”
Daniel doesn’t recall anything untoward about Sandahl, but the information is definitely worth following up.
“Sounds as if we ought to check him out,” Hanna adds.
“We’ll take a look at him tomorrow,” Daniel assures her.
He ends the call and finds his notes on the conversation with Lasse Sandahl. He reads through them carefully, in case there’s anything to support what Hanna has just told him.
His email alert pings: an anonymous tip-off has come in.
Daniel skims through the message and lets out a low whistle.
“Jesus,” he says quietly to himself. It seems that Harald Halvorssen has been having an extramarital affair with his PA, Mira Bergfors.
The anonymous source claims that Mira’s husband might have wanted to get his revenge on Harald.
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18
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77
The parking lot at the police station is barely half-full when Hanna arrives at eight o’clock on Wednesday morning. Her stomach is a solid lump of nerves. Everything has happened so fast she can’t quite believe that she’s on her way to her new job.
That they actually want her.
She sends a silent thank-you to Lydia, who made Manfred Lidwall give her a good reference so that the relocation went through.
Lydia has saved her. Yesterday evening, in the midst of her happiness, she messaged her sister and told her what had happened.
Astrid St?hl stepped up to the plate too, Hanna reminds herself. There are people who care about her—she must remember that when she’s having a bad day.
Daniel is already waiting in reception, and his warm smile makes her feel better. He swipes his key card and shows her into the area she visited on Monday.
“This is your office,” he says, leading her to a room farther down the corridor. There is a key card waiting for her.
The office is small, but the beautiful view over the lake immediately lifts her mood. This time nothing is going to go wrong, she promises herself. The catastrophe that happened in Stockholm will not be repeated. She will keep a low profile, listen, and fit in with the team.
Daniel introduces her to a new colleague, Rafael.
“Call me Raffe,” says the dark-haired bearded guy with an appealing smile. “It’s great that you were able to start so soon.”
“This way,” Daniel says, heading for the conference room where the photographs of Amanda are pinned up.
Hanna hears a voice behind her. “Hi—welcome!”
She turns and sees Anton. “Thanks—it’s good to be here.”
“We’re pleased to have you,” he says with a wink. “Just so you know, now it’s too late to change your mind.”
All four of them sit down in the conference room. Daniel fills her in on the morning’s briefing with ?stersund.
“Things are a bit different out here in the sticks,” he begins with a wry smile. “Distances are much greater, so we often use video links. We’re spread out all over the place, and traveling to meet in person would take up too much time.”