Hidden in Snow (The ?re Murders, #1)(79)

They’d chosen a table by the window, and now they’re chatting sporadically while they eat. Only when their plates are empty and they’ve settled down with coffee does the conversation return to the case.

“We ought to take swabs from both Bergfors and Sandahl,” Hanna says. “Test their DNA against the skin particles found under Amanda’s fingernails.”

“Do you think Bergfors would go along with that?”

Hanna spreads her hands. Daniel has already noticed that her body language is pretty animated. “Probably not,”

she concedes.

“He certainly has a credible motive. He looked furious when we mentioned his wife’s affair.”

“Sandahl could also have a motive,” Hanna points out.

“Amanda might have threatened to report him to the school principal.”

“Over six months after he made a pass?”

“We only have Sandahl’s word for that. Something could have happened during the last advising session. What if he did something else that upset her? What if she said she was going to tell the principal, or her parents?” Hanna turns her coffee cup around and around. “He must have known about Ebba’s party, because the whole class was invited. Maybe he was waiting outside, hoping he’d get the chance to sort things out with Amanda.”

“You mean he sat outside all evening, hoping she’d show up—by herself?”

It sounds like a long shot to Daniel.

The witness who called the hotline saw a dark-colored car pull up in the rest stop where Amanda’s scarf was found.

The assumption is that she got into the car willingly, presumably because she knew the driver.

They can’t rule out the possibility that Sandahl was that driver.

The same applies to Fredrik Bergfors. And Viktor could also have had access to a car—his father is the registered owner of a dark SUV.

“Do you think Sandahl fits the profile of a typical murderer?” Daniel asks.

“What does a typical murderer look like?” Hanna wonders rhetorically.

“Anyway, I’d like to go through both Bergfors’s and Sandahl’s cars to check for Amanda’s DNA,” Daniel says, knowing perfectly well that the prosecutor, Tobias Ahlqvist, will never allow that without stronger evidence. He already sounded skeptical at the latest briefing.

A white charter bus pulls up outside and disgorges a couple of dozen visitors. They disappear in the direction of the nearby stave church.

Hanna finishes her coffee and puts the cup on the tray.

“We need to speak to both Mira Bergfors and Harald Halvorssen. How about we do that on the way back to the station? I’d really like to hear what Harald has to say about Fredrik Bergfors.”

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83

The Halvorssen house is in darkness when Hanna and Daniel arrive—apart from one window. Hanna can almost feel the grief weighing down the family home when she rings the bell.

Harald opens the door. He looks at Daniel in bewilderment and clutches the door frame. It is only two o’clock in the afternoon, but there is no mistaking the smell of booze on his breath.

Daniel introduces Hanna as his new colleague. “May we come in?”

He turns to Hanna. “They have a dog—you’re not allergic, are you?”

“Ludde is dead.” Harald’s voice breaks and his eyes fill with tears. “He died the day before yesterday.”

Hanna places a hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

Harald looks as if he is about to say something, then changes his mind. He leads the way into the kitchen; there are dirty dishes everywhere.

“Are the children at school?” Hanna asks.

Harald shakes his head. “My mom has taken them for a few hours. We’re letting them off school this week.”

Hanna leans forward. She’s been thinking about Lasse Sandahl’s comments concerning Amanda’s job. There was no information about a job in the case notes, and Daniel clearly didn’t know about it either. She also thinks it might be better to start with something other than the alleged affair with Mira Bergfors.

“Can I ask you where Amanda worked? We’d like to have a word with her boss.”

Harald looks surprised. “She didn’t have a job. We didn’t want her to work during the school semester; we thought it was better for her to focus on her studies.” He wipes his nose with the back of his hand. “We let her spend her student allowance however she liked. We thought that was enough, along with the money she earned from her summer job in the ice-cream kiosk.”

Hanna doesn’t understand. Sandahl said Amanda had blamed her lack of concentration on her job. Now her father insists she didn’t have a job. What’s going on? Maybe her mother knows?

“Is Lena home?” Daniel is right on cue.

Harald points to the upper floor. “She’s not feeling too good. She’s . . . resting.”

“Okay.” Hanna and Daniel exchange a glance, a silent agreement to move on to the real reason for their visit.

“It’s probably best if we discuss this next matter with you on your own,” Daniel says.

Harald doesn’t react.

“We’ve had an anonymous tip-off about you and your PA.”

“Mira?” Harald is suddenly wary.