Hidden in Snow (The ?re Murders, #1)(85)

How many times have they stood there messing around, gossiping about boys and complaining about teachers?

How can she open her own locker, knowing that Amanda will never again open hers?

The doorbell rings again. Ebba drags herself down the stairs. It’s that policeman—Daniel something or other— along with a woman wearing a moss-green woolen hat.

Her pulse rate immediately shoots up.

Viktor texted and told her that Daniel had been there on Tuesday, hassling him and accusing him in a totally crazy way.

“Hi, Ebba.” Daniel sounds pleasanter this time, but Ebba doesn’t trust him. “May we come in?”

She can’t find a good reason to say no, and hovers in the hallway while they take off their coats.

“Can we sit down somewhere?” Daniel asks.

Ebba leads the way into the kitchen. The woman introduces herself as Hanna. “How are you doing?” she says. Her voice is much warmer than Daniel’s, and Ebba’s eyes fill with tears.

“Not great,” she mumbles.

“I can understand that. It’s not easy, losing your best friend.”

Hanna gets up and fetches a piece of paper towel from the roll above the sink. Ebba blows her nose, tries to force back the tears, regain control.

“Do you feel up to a little chat?”

Ebba nods.

“So we’ve heard that Amanda had a job and it was affecting her schoolwork. Do you know anything about that?”

The question is completely unexpected. Ebba doesn’t know what to say.

The fact that she and Amanda worked a few hours now and again and were paid in cash was their secret. Nobody knew about it, and they were well paid—a hundred kronor an hour for each shift, which enabled them to buy clothes and makeup. The kind of things their student allowance couldn’t quite cover.

“Sorry?”

Daniel steps in. “Apparently Amanda had a part-time job. We need to know more about it, and we’re hoping you can help us.”

His eyes are fixed on her. What is she going to say?

Ebba isn’t stupid. Admitting to the police that she and Amanda were working for cash in hand isn’t the smartest thing to do, but she has no idea how much they already know. They must know something, or why would they have come to see her?

She gnaws at her thumbnail, remembering how agitated Amanda was the last time they talked about it all.

They’ve worked for Linda for two seasons. It was perfect, and easy to keep secret. When they needed money, they simply contacted her via Messenger. As soon as the job was done, they were paid via Swish.

“Ebba.” There is a hard edge to Daniel’s voice now. “If you know about Amanda’s job, then you have to tell us. It’s important.”

Ebba starts crying again. She wants to help, she really does.

But she’s too scared.

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91

Zuhra should soon be finished cleaning the neighboring house, if Hanna’s calculations are correct.

She is sitting in the car on her own drive, half-hidden behind the huge pile of snow the plow has left behind.

Immediately after the visit to Ebba, she told Daniel she had a workman coming around and had to go home for a little while.

Hopefully the dark-gray Golf will come to collect Zuhra, the same one that dropped her off. She can’t possibly walk in this weather, not to mention carry all the cleaning equipment on her own. If Hanna can get the Golf’s registration plate, she can do a little more digging.

That’s why she’s sneaked away for an hour, even though her full focus ought to be on Amanda.

There’s just too much that feels wrong. She recognizes all the signs of a woman under coercive control. The fact that Zuhra doesn’t have a cell phone is also suspicious.

Hanna is becoming increasingly convinced that what she’s observed is mixed up with trafficking. According to the latest report from the UN, it is one of Europe’s most lucrative criminal activities, with a turnover of billions of kronor. Most people think that vulnerable women who come to Sweden are forced into prostitution or begging on the streets, but a third end up in different forms of modern slavery, in situations where they have to work without pay or rights. Both men and women are lured to the country with promises of well-paid jobs that will enable them to send money home to their families. When they arrive it turns out that the work involves long days for little or no remuneration. They are also told that they owe the traffickers for their travel costs. The result is a vicious circle, with no escape. If threats and violence are also involved, then they are in dire straits.

Hanna glances at the instrument panel: minus nineteen degrees. Her fingers and toes are frozen, and she shuffles in her seat to improve her circulation.

It is almost midday; soon she will have to go back to the station to meet Daniel before their visit to Mira Bergfors.

She thinks back to the conversation with Ebba. She was obviously lying about Amanda’s part-time job. She knew a lot more than she was prepared to share, but something was holding her back.

There must be a way of gaining Ebba’s trust, persuading her to tell them everything she knows.

The dull roar of an engine brings Hanna back to the moment. The beam of twin headlights slices through the whirling snow. Hanna peers out of the windshield and sees the dark-gray Golf driving down the hill to the house where Zuhra is cleaning.