The Double Silence (Andas Knutas 7)

of his radio colleagues who were standing outside, having a smoke in the sunshine. Then he bounded up the stairs to the editorial office. He had made arrangements with Pia and Madeleine, his replacement, to drop by and have a cup of coffee, since he was in town anyway. He’d stopped at the pastry shop on Norrgatt on the way in and bought a coffee cake.
    Both women were on the phone when he came in. He could tell at once that something had happened. Madeleine quickly ended her call and jumped to her feet when she caught sight of Johan in the doorway.
    ‘Hi. It’s so great to see you.’ She gave him a big, warm hug, which made him happy. He’d always had a soft spot for Madeleine. She was dark-haired and petite, radiating a charisma that could make even a horse feel weak at the knees.
    ‘Looks like you’ve put on a little weight, haven’t you?’ She pinched his stomach affectionately.
    ‘That’s life with little kids, you know.’ He laughed. ‘Everything revolves around eating and sleeping.’ He flopped down on to his favourite chair. ‘It’s so good to see both of you. So what’s happening?’
    ‘We’ll get to that in a moment,’ said Madeleine, indicating Pia, who was sitting with her back to them and seemed deeply engrossed in her phone conversation. She looked at Johan with amusement. ‘So what about you? Are you enjoying being a home-body?’
    ‘It’s fantastic, glorious, just amazing,’ he said emphatically. ‘I love it. I couldn’t ask for anything better. I can’t even describe how wonderful it is to be a father.’
    ‘And how’s the baby? What’s the little one’s name? Is it a boy or a girl?’
    ‘A boy. Anton. He’ll be seven months soon.’
    ‘Ah. How sweet.’
    Pia put down the phone and turned towards Johan.
    ‘Did you know that somebody has gone missing from the group that Sam Dahlberg belonged to?’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘Some friends went on holiday together – first to the Bergman festival on Fårö, and then on to Stora Karlsö. All of them live in Terra Nova, and it seems to be a really tight crowd. Just before you arrived, I talked to one of my brother’s friends who works on the Fårö ferry. He told me that the police have made several trips over there this week, and yesterday they went up to Kuten and the inn where the whole group of friends had stayed, the Slow Train. They were asking about Stina Ek, who was also part of the gang. And now she’s gone missing.’
    ‘Missing?’ Johan foolishly repeated, but at the same time he felt the familiar churning inside his stomach.
    ‘Apparently she disappeared on Fårö. On Saturday afternoon. She took off on a bicycle, and nobody has seen her since.’
    ‘Oh shit. What if she was murdered too?’
    ‘Or maybe she’s actually the killer,’ Madeleine interjected. ‘You never know.’
    ‘So what are you doing now?’
    Pia glanced at her watch.
    ‘It’s eleven ten. If we leave now, we can catch the twelve o’clock ferry.’ She began gathering up her equipment.
    ‘Have you got an interview lined up?’
    ‘Yup. The guy who owns Kuten is willing to talk to us, and there won’t be any problem finding someone to interview on the ferry. Then we’ll talk to folks at the scene, of course. You know how it’s done.’ She smiled broadly. Pia was a wizard at getting people to open up, and she knew it.
    ‘What about the police?’
    ‘We’ll catch them later. On the way back.’
    ‘Can I help with anything? I could stay here and hold the fort. Emma is home with the kids, so it’s no problem. Or do we have any extra cameras here? If so, I could go over to police headquarters and do an interview. I can stay and edit it too, so all you’ll have to do is insert it in the story later on.’
    While he was talking, Madeleine and Pia had finished packing up their gear, and now they were headed for the door.
    ‘Thanks for the offer,’ said Pia, ‘but isn’t that overdoing it a little? We’ll manage on our own. Gotta go now. See you later!’
    And before he could say another word, they were gone.
    The fresh cinnamon coffee cake was still in the bag on the table.

THE CHIEF RANGER , who had discovered the items in the woods, had been sensible enough not to touch them, and instead waited for the police to arrive. He had asked one of his colleagues to stop anyone from approaching the site. When Knutas and Jacobsson, accompanied by Thomas Wittberg, disembarked from the boat at Stora Karlsö, the chief ranger was