Buried Angels. Camilla Lackberg

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       Chapter Five

      

      Patrik had gathered his colleagues to discuss the case. It was important that Mellberg be brought up to date. He cleared his throat. ‘You weren’t here over the weekend, Bertil, so I’m wondering whether you heard about what happened.’

      ‘No, tell me,’ demanded Mellberg, looking at Patrik.

      ‘On Saturday there was a fire out at the summer camp on Valö. There are indications that it was started deliberately.’

      ‘Arson?’

      ‘We haven’t had it confirmed yet. We’re waiting for the report from Torbjörn,’ said Patrik. He hesitated for a moment before going on. ‘But there’s enough evidence to indicate that we should keep working on the case.’

      Patrik pointed to Gösta, who was standing at the whiteboard, holding a marker in his hand.

      ‘Gösta has taken out the files on the family that disappeared on Valö. He—’ Patrik began before being interrupted.

      ‘I know the case you’re talking about. Everybody knows that old story. But what does it have to do with this?’ said Mellberg. He leaned down to pet his dog Ernst, who was lying under his chair.

      ‘We’re not sure.’ Patrik was already feeling tired. He always had to run things past Mellberg, who was officially in charge of the station, although in practice he was more than willing to let Patrik assume full responsibility. So long as he could take full credit when the case was solved. ‘We’re going into the investigation without any preconceived notions. But it does seem very strange that this should happen just as the sole surviving member of the family, the daughter, returns to the island for the first time in thirty-five years.’

      ‘They probably set the house on fire themselves. To get the insurance money,’ said Mellberg.

      ‘I’m looking into their finances,’ said Martin, who was sitting next to Annika. He seemed unusually subdued. ‘I should have something to report by tomorrow morning.’

      ‘Good. I’m sure that will solve the mystery. Most likely they found out it was going to cost too much to renovate that old eyesore, so they decided it would make more sense to burn it down. I saw a lot of that during my days in Göteborg.’

      ‘As I said, we’re not going to lock ourselves into any specific theory at the moment,’ said Patrik. ‘Now I think we should let Gösta tell us what he remembers.’

      He sat down and nodded for Gösta to begin. What Erica had told him during their boat trip through the archipelago was fascinating. Now he wanted to hear what Gösta could tell them about the old investigation.

      ‘I’m sure that all of you are familiar with the case, but if you don’t mind I’ll start from the beginning.’ Gösta looked around, and everybody seated at the table nodded their agreement.

      ‘On 13 April 1974, the night before Easter Sunday, somebody rang the police in Tanum and told them to come out to the boarding school on Valö. The caller hung up before explaining what had happened. The old police chief took the call, and according to him, it was impossible to tell whether the informant was male or female.’ Gösta paused for a moment as in his mind he was carried back to that time in the past. ‘My colleague Henry Ljung and I were told to head out there and find out what was going on. Half an hour later we arrived on the scene and found something strange. The table in the dining room was set for Easter lunch and the food had been partially eaten, but there was no trace of the family that lived there. The only person present was a one-year-old girl, Ebba, who was toddling around all alone. It was as if the rest of the family had gone up in smoke. As if they’d stood up in the middle of the meal and vanished.’

      ‘Poof!’ said Mellberg. Gösta gave him a withering glare.

      ‘Where were all the pupils?’ asked Martin.

      ‘Since it was the Easter holiday, most of them had gone home to their families. Only СКАЧАТЬ