The Double Silence (Andas Knutas 7)

minute.’
    ‘OK,’ said Norrby, looking from Jacobsson to Knutas. ‘So what do we know about Sam Dahlberg?’
    ‘Not very much. He was a film director, of course,’ replied Knutas. ‘As far as I know, he’s never been involved in any criminal activity or trouble.’
    ‘Wasn’t he once an item with that actress, the one who was so great?’ exclaimed Wittberg. ‘Damned cute too. What was her name? Miranda Mollberger?’
    ‘That was ages ago,’ said Jacobsson. ‘Back in the eighties.’
    ‘I remember her in that movie when she had her first big role. What was it called?
Prima Vera
– that’s it. She played Vera. My mates and I practically drooled over her. But she hasn’t been in any films since then, has she?’
    ‘Good Lord. Cut it out. We’re talking about Sam Dahlberg here,’ said Jacobsson with a sigh.
    ‘So he’s been married for a long time?’ asked Norrby.
    ‘Yes. And his wife claims that they had the world’s best relationship,’ said Jacobsson. ‘She says they’re still mad about each other after twenty years together and that everyone who meets them thinks they’re newly in love.’ She rolled her eyes before going on. ‘But Sam Dahlberg was clearly a real ladies’ man. That was obvious. Thick, wavy hair, sunglasses, his shirt unbuttoned, muscular arms, a charming smile that he fired off every fifteen minutes, and bedroom eyes. Sort of like you,’ she teased, looking at Wittberg.
    To his great embarrassment, he could feel himself blushing.
    ‘Oh, right. Well, if I’m part of this choice circle of friends, then who are you?’
    ‘Stina Ek. She had the good sense to leave for work before the whole circus got started.’
    ‘Yeah, that sounds just like you. Retreat to your job as soon as anything gets personal.’
    ‘That’s enough.’ Knutas slapped his hands on the table. ‘It’s much too early to be throwing around a lot of disjointed speculations. And we have better things to do than sit here and listen to your sodding banter. Let’s get to work. We need to ask the chief ranger on the island, as well as the coastguard, what boats have been seen in the area over the past twenty-four hours. We also need to check with the ferry terminal at Klintehamn and anywhere else that people can buy tickets to Stora Karlsö. Karin and Thomas, I want you to find out the names of everyone who was on the island at the time in question. Get whatever help you need from the department. We also have to contact the National Criminal Police. Karin, could you ring Kihlgård? I’m sure he’ll be more amenable if you’re the one who makes the call.’

JOHAN WAS WARMING up some baby formula in a saucepan on the stove when he heard the news on the local radio station. A man had been found dead on the beach of Stora Karlsö. He had apparently fallen from a cliff and died at the scene. But it was the last part of the story that surprised Johan most: ‘The police are saying very little about the circumstances, but they are not ruling out that the man may have been the victim of a crime.’
    He jumped so hard that the hot formula splashed all over.
    ‘Bloody hell!’
    As he stuck his burnt hand under the cold-water tap, the newsreader moved on to the weather forecast.
    Emma was always teasing Johan because he insisted on heating up the formula the old-fashioned way, in a pot on the stove. She thought he could just as well have used the microwave. Right now he could definitely see her point.
    He dashed into the living room and turned on the TV to see if the national news programme had anything to say about the story. Regional news didn’t have any morning broadcasts during the summer. He sat down on the sofa holding Anton in his arms. The baby greedily sucked on the bottle of formula, as usual. Both
Rapport
and
Nyheterna
on TV4 had a short piece, but neither offered any more details than what he’d already heard on the radio.
    It was a little past nine in the morning. There probably wasn’t anyone in the editorial office this early. When Anton fell asleep, Johan carefully laidhim in his cot and then rang Pia on her mobile. He could hear at once by the excitement in her voice that she was in her element.
    ‘Hi! Things are crazy here,’ she told him, out of breath.
    It sounded as if she was outdoors, walking. Or rather, running.
    ‘I heard on the radio about the incident on Stora Karlsö. I just had to ring,’ he told her apologetically. ‘What’s going on?’
    ‘You won’t believe it.