Hidden in Snow (The ?re Murders, #1)(77)

If his wife and Harald are having an affair, then he has a strong motive. On the other hand, there isn’t much else to link him to the murder, even if he does own a snowmobile and the kind of SUV the witness thought they saw in the rest stop where Amanda disappeared.

She looks around the entrance hall. There are groups of teenagers everywhere, seemingly divided into the same cliques as when Hanna was in school. The in-crowd is sitting at a table, cool guys and pretty, carefully made-up girls. The nerds are slightly farther away, their clothing and glasses identifying them as part of this tribe. A girl is sitting in a window seat by herself, with her nose in a book. She is dressed in black, and her aura makes it clear that she wants to be alone.

She reminds Hanna of herself.

They are shown to an empty classroom by a janitor while someone goes to find Lasse Sandahl. The room is depressing, with gray wooden paneling halfway up the walls and gray chairs. Even the floor is gray.

Hanna goes over to the window and gazes out at the snow-covered yard. It looks like a parking lot—too many cars and not enough greenery.

It is as gray outside as inside.

Sandahl appears after a few minutes. He is broad shouldered but has the beginnings of a potbelly. This often happens with someone who trained a lot when they were young, but resigned themselves to a more sedentary life as they grew older.

Daniel introduces Hanna, and they sit down at one of the rectangular tables where the students usually sit.

“Thank you for finding the time to talk to us again,”

Daniel says. “We have one or two more questions about Amanda.”

Sandahl nods while Hanna studies him closely. He looks very pleasant and seems to be the kind of person who finds it easy to communicate with students and parents. Daniel has already told her that Amanda’s mother thought he was nice.

Are their suspicions misplaced? All they have to go on is gossip, but at the same time, anything untoward must be followed up.

They discussed procedure on the way, and Daniel suggested that Hanna should lead. To her relief he praised her contribution to the conversation with Bergfors, the pointed follow-up questions when his answers were inadequate.

“Can you tell us a little more about your relationship with Amanda?” she begins.

Sandahl nods. He gives the impression of a man who wants to be liked.

“We communicated well—we were very open with each other. I hope she felt the same way.”

“What did you talk about the last time you saw her?”

“We had an advising session last week, a couple of days before she went missing. We went through her various subjects, discussed her grades. The usual.” He shrugs.

“Was there anything out of the ordinary?” Daniel asks.

“Not really. Not that I recall.”

“Amanda didn’t seem worried at all?” Hanna says.

Sandahl scratches his throat, leaving a red mark.

“Actually, she did seem to be having trouble concentrating over the past few weeks,” he admits.

“What about absences? Everything okay on that front?”

“Now you come to mention it . . . I did bring that up at the session, the fact that she’d been missing school more than usual. She said she’d try to do better.”

“Did she explain why she’d been absent?”

Sandahl pulls down his sleeve. The elbows of his gray V-neck sweater are worn and pilly.

“Something to do with her job, as I recall.”

“Her job?”

Hanna gets the feeling that this information is new to Daniel as well.

“What did she do?” she asks.

“I don’t know. We didn’t talk about that.” Sandahl scratches his temple. His blond hair is carefully arranged to hide a receding hairline. “It’s not even a week since we met.” His voice is strained. “It was last Tuesday.” He manages a sad smile, which somehow seems to get stuck at the corners of his mouth.

“Tell us about your own family relationships,” Hanna says, changing the subject.

Sandahl frowns. “Why?”

Hanna smiles reassuringly. “We just need some background information. Are you married, or living with someone?”

“No.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Not at the moment.”

“But you do date?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

Sandahl mumbles his responses, as if he isn’t sure where this is going.

“How old was your last girlfriend?”

“Sorry?”

Hanna tries to sound completely matter-of-fact. “We heard that you like young girls. Including schoolgirls.”

Sandahl rubs his earlobe. “I would never . . .”

“Never what? Never get together with one of your students?”

His eyes are darting all over the place, which tells her all she needs to know. He has tried it on with Amanda.

Maybe he didn’t go all the way, but far enough to feel uncomfortable.

The old contempt comes flooding back. These fucking men who exploit their positions of power over younger women—they’re everywhere.

“Did you make a pass at Amanda?” She deliberately sharpens her tone. “Did you take advantage of her?”

“What? No, absolutely not!”

“If you’re lying to us, we will find out,” Daniel warns him.