The Double Silence (Andas Knutas 7)

The dead guy isn’t just anybody. It’s Sam Dahlberg.’
    ‘What? Are you sure? He’s the one who fell?’
    ‘Of course I’m sure. Although I wouldn’t exactly use the word “fell”.’
    ‘They said on the radio that the police suspect foul play.’
    ‘More than suspect. But you know what? I really don’t have time to talk right now. Maddie and I have to catch the ferry to Stora Karlsö. It’s the story of the year!’
    ‘Just a couple more minutes,’ Johan pleaded. ‘Can’t you tell me anything?’
    ‘Sam Dahlberg was murdered. Somebody pushed him off a cliff that’s about forty metres high. He must have died instantly.’
    ‘How can you be so sure that it was murder?’
    ‘Because there was an eyewitness,’ Pia told him triumphantly. ‘A windsurfer saw the whole thing. With his own eyes!’
    ‘How do you know all this?’ asked Johan, sounding sceptical.
    ‘I have a friend who works at the restaurant on Stora Karlsö. Her parents own the place. She told me that when the police found the body, there was a young guy out there who was injured. At the same spot on the beach, I mean. He’d been out windsurfing and saw everything. It’s incredible. There are a bunch of cops over there interviewing everybody. We’re on our way out there now. Everybody wants a report, as you can imagine.’
    ‘Do you need my help? Emma’s not home, but I could get a babysitter.’
    ‘No. Thanks, anyway. But that’s not necessary. Stockholm is sending over reinforcements, so we’ll be fine. We’re doing a live report. Sorry, but I can’t talk any more. Have to run. Bye.’
    Johan sat there for a long time, holding the mute mobile in his hand.

THE TASK OF charting the last days of Sam Dahlberg’s life began at once. Everyone who was on Stora Karlsö during the relevant time period had to be interviewed. Jacobsson rang her old friend Martin Kihlgård at the NCP.
    ‘Hi there, Karin,’ he bellowed into the phone.
    After the usual opening remarks about life in general, he asked her what was on her mind.
    ‘Did you hear about the man who was found dead on Stora Karlsö?’ she asked.
    ‘You mean the director, Sam Dahlberg? Someone here at the office mentioned that he was found dead. What happened?’
    ‘According to an eyewitness, we’re talking about murder. A windsurfer saw with his own eyes how someone deliberately pushed Dahlberg off the cliff. But he was too far away to tell whether it was a man or a woman, much less identify the perpetrator.’ She fell silent for a moment. ‘What are you doing? Are you eating something?’
    Her question was justified. She could hardly understand what her colleague in Stockholm was saying, since his mouth seemed to be full.
    ‘Sorry, but we’re up to our ears in work over here, so there’s no time to go out and grab some food. But you said it’s murder? Are you sure?’
    ‘Well, the witness seems very reliable.’
    ‘Good Lord. Do you have any suspects?’
    ‘Far from it, I’m afraid. To be perfectly honest, we don’t really know anything at this stage. But I was hoping to get some help from the NCP,especially with all of the interviews. But if you’re that busy, I assume we can’t expect any assistance from Stockholm.’
    ‘I always have time for you,’ Kihlgård protested between bites. ‘Why don’t you at least tell me what you need?’
    Jacobsson briefly ran through the situation.
    ‘I can hear that you’ve got a lot on your hands. But to be honest, I don’t know whether we can let anyone go just now. We’re dealing with those race-track murders right now.’
    ‘Right.’ Jacobsson knew all about the case of the unexplained murders of several harness-racing trainers that had taken place over the past few months and alarmed everyone involved in harness racing in Sweden. The latest had occurred only a week ago, and the police didn’t have much to go on.
    ‘But let me give it some thought. OK?’
    ‘Absolutely. Do that. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.’

THE CALL CAME through just as Knutas stepped into his office in the morning. Stina Ek, who was also part of Sam Dahlberg’s circle of friends from Terra Nova, had gone missing. No one had seen her since she left on a bicycle ride on Fårö. Her husband, Håkan Ek, who had rung the police to report his wife as missing, had been summoned to headquarters for an interview. Several minutes later Knutas and Jacobsson entered the room together.
    Sitting on a chair in the middle of the room was a