The Double Silence (Andas Knutas 7)

were happening. Like now. Up until today the editorial office had kept him out of the summer’s big murder case. He’d offered to contribute in one way or another, but he’d been refused. He wasn’t needed even when he got the tip from Arne Gustavsson. But now they were tooting a different horn. He was in demand, so it was no wonder that he was feeling pleased.
    The important thing was to get up to speed before the press conference. He rang Pia as soon as he got into his car.
    ‘God, it’s so great that you can do this,’ she panted.
    He assumed that she was on her way over to the car.
    ‘Maddie has booked a super-important interview on Fårö, so she had to go out there right away.’
    ‘What could be a higher priority than attending the press conference?’
    ‘The thing is, the Latvian police are arriving on Fårö today, in just a couple of hours, and she was incredibly lucky to get the investigative team leader to promise her an interview. It was set up just a little while ago.’
    ‘What the hell are you babbling about? The Latvian police? What do they have to do with any of this?’
    ‘Oh, I forgot. You wouldn’t know about that. Here’s what happened. A fisherman who’s friends with one of my uncles told him that an old fisherman from Fårö was washed ashore in Latvia, in his rowing boat. Dead. And apparently he was murdered. The Latvian police are handling the case, but they’re cooperating with the police force over here.’
    ‘Good Lord, what a mess. So I assume there must be some sort of connection between the two murders. What are the police doing out there today?’
    ‘After we got the tip, Maddie rang Latvia, and she talked to some guy on the police force who surprisingly gave her a lot of information. The police are going over to the old man’s house on Fårö today. And it was onhis property that Stina Ek’s body was buried. And you know what? The old man was a neighbour of Ingmar Bergman.’
    Johan’s pulse quickened. The story kept getting better and better. And once again they’d had the benefit of knowing Pia Lilja’s extended family, who lived all over the island. Her six siblings and all her other relatives were a reporter’s dream as a source of information.
    ‘When was he found?’
    ‘I have no idea. Maddie knows more, but she’s on her way to the airport right now to pick up the cameraperson from Stockholm. But anybody can see that it’s absolutely certain he was murdered and that his death is connected to the other murders. This is turning out to be big, Johan. A fucking big story.’

THE ROOM WAS packed for the press conference. The buzz of voices subsided when Jacobsson, Kihlgård and County Police Chief Malin Lundblad took their seats on the podium. The tension in the air was palpable. All the major media organizations in Sweden were represented: TV, radio and the newspapers. The microphones had been set up and cameras positioned as the reporters sat ready with their notepads.
    Jacobsson opened a bottle of Ramlösa mineral water and poured herself a glass. She took several big sips. Even though there were so many people crowded into the room, it was dead silent as she finally began to speak.
    ‘At four fifteen yesterday afternoon, Stina Ek’s body was found. She had been missing since Saturday, the twenty-eighth of June. There is no doubt that she was the victim of foul play. The body was discovered in Hammars on Fårö on private land, next door to Ingmar Bergman’s property. Since rumours have been circulating that her body was found on Bergman’s land, I just want to clarify immediately that this was not the case. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but the victim’s injuries indicate that she suffered a traumatic blow to the head. The body has been taken to the Forensics Division in Solna for examination. A large area surrounding the site has been cordoned off, and police crime technicians are working to secure evidence. The victim was a thirty-seven-year-old mother of two. She was married and lived with her family in Terra Nova in Visby. Stina was employed as a flight attendant on Scandinavian Airlines. She has no previous police record and, as far as we know, had no connection to the place where her body was found. She waslast seen on the day when she disappeared, meaning Saturday, the twenty-eighth, at around four p.m. At that time she was riding a bicycle past a nearby farm. The police are currently in the process of knocking on doors