“So yesterday’s summary of what might have happened appears correct. Linda was murdered first and then Marianne,” Irene said. She nodded at Hannu. He barely nodded in return and kept his calm gaze on the technician.
“There was a shoe print in the dust as well. There were a number of scuff marks, but only one clear print. A well-built female shoe with a heel. Probably size eight and a half or nine.”
Svante Malm raised his hand in good-bye and hurried out of the room.
There were a few moments of silence after he left. The superintendent stared gloomily at the door, then barked, “Ghosts don’t leave shoe prints.”
No one had anything to add after that, and they all quickly decided to get on with the investigation.
• • •
IRENE, TOMMY, AND Hannu discussed ways to proceed with their assignment.
“I want to talk to Carina Löwander,” Irene said. “Anyone want to come with me?”
“You go,” Hannu said, nodding toward Tommy. Hannu didn’t say what he planned to do, and something made his colleagues decide not to ask. Instead they agreed to meet again at three in the afternoon.
SOMETIMES YOU GET lucky, Irene told herself when Carina Löwander answered the home phone.
“Good morning. This is Criminal Inspector Irene Huss. I’m wondering if we could meet today and have a quick talk.”
“Yes, that’s fine,” Carina said, sounding very interested.
“Can we come now?” Irene asked.
“Sure.”
Carina sounded wide awake and energetic. She’d probably already concluded her first round of exercises and had eaten a biodynamic breakfast of granola and sun-ripened grapefruit. Then she’d taken an ice-cold shower before she applied her makeup and dressed in her best Armani jacket.
Irene scolded herself for having those thoughts. Simply a case of jealousy. Carina Löwander was beautiful, in great shape, and drove a BMW. And was married to Sverker to boot.
THE POLICE CAR was light blue, the color of the Swedish flag. A practically new Ford Fiesta. Irene parked it on the blacktop driveway in front of the garage. The Löwander residence was a large modern house, plastered in a warm apricot color with doors and window frames picked out in a reddish brown brick color.
Carina Löwander opened the door at the same time they rang the bell. She looked every bit as fresh as Irene had imagined.
“Hi. Come on in. I’ve just made coffee. Would you like some?”
“Yes, please,” Tommy and Irene said in unison.
Carina ushered them toward the living room, which Irene immediately baptized “White Sea” in her head. The room was large and airy. Light streamed through colossal bay windows framed by thin white silk curtains. The walls were painted a bright white. The sofa group was also white, and the stripes on the black-and-white abstract rug were just as blinding. The rug must be at least thirty feet square. Irene pictured someone trying to carry it outside to beat it clean. Impossible. Supposedly an eleven-year-old girl lived in this house. Irene thought about how her house had looked when the twins were that age. Crumbs and chips all over her rugs. This rug might not require a beating, as it appeared neither children nor adults spent time in this room. Everything was clean and clinically white. Cold and perfect.
Three enormous paintings were hung on the wall. All three had different color schemes, but the motif was the same—large waves at sea. In one of the paintings, sunlight struck deep into the waves, giving them a turquoise glow.
Carina came through the doorway with a percolator in one hand and three ceramic mugs clustered together by their handles in the other. “Milk or sugar?”
Irene and Tommy declined, both preferring black. After she filled the mugs, Carina sat in one of the armchairs. She was wearing black stretch pants, a black silk top, and a clear blue jacket that matched her eyes. Her skin was faultlessly tanned, and her face could have belonged to a fashion model. Close up she appeared thirty; no one would have imagined she was really thirty-six. It pained Irene to admit to herself how beautiful Carina was.
“You’re in luck that today’s Thursday. I go in to work at noon on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but I work until ten at night. Tuesdays are the worst. I start working at Corporate Health Services in the morning and finish with aerobics at night.”
“Sounds like a tough schedule to me,” Tommy said. “We’ve gotten some information that we need to run past you—just routine. Hope that’s okay.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Can you tell us more about your work?”
“I have two jobs. I have a half-time position leading a rehabilitation group at Corporate Health. My other part-time job is more fun. I lead aerobics and exercise groups at a gym. I like aerobics the best. But still, I do use my real training more with the rehabilitation group.”
“I’ve heard you’re a physical therapist,” Tommy said.
“That’s right, but after a while I realized I wanted to work with healthy people, too. That’s the real way to go. If people exercised regularly, they wouldn’t need rehabilitation.”
“Have you worked at Löwander Hospital as a physical therapist?” Irene asked, although she already knew the answer.
“Yes. My first job was at Löwander.”
“And that’s where you met your husband?” Irene asked innocently.
A gleam of mistrust appeared in Carina’s eyes. “I took it for granted that you’d already heard the old gossip. It goes around at the speed of light at Löwander.”
“Was that why you quit your job there?”
“In part. Many people there liked Barbro and thought that Sverker and I … betrayed her. The whole thing was awful. Barbro had had periods of depression long before Sverker and I became a couple. She was psychologically unstable, you could say. Sverker and I had a passionate relationship. When we realized it was serious, we hesitated to tell her because of her nervous temperament. We didn’t want to hurt her. But once I knew I was pregnant, the whole thing came to a head. But we still didn’t know what to do. And then one of the gossips at the hospital called Barbro and told her everything. It was … horrible. She totally fell apart.”
“Do you know who told on you?” Irene asked.
“No. I kept working at the hospital a few more years before I decided to change jobs. But I was never able to find out who told her.”
“Is there anyone you suspect?”
“Well, there are a few old nurses and secretaries who were openly hostile toward me. They could never accept that Sverker and Barbro divorced and blamed me. But I never knew which one was the snitch.”
“What happened to Barbro right after the divorce?”
“She was in and out of a mental hospital. Several times. Like I said, she fell apart as soon as she knew that Sverker and I had a relationship. I believe she still takes a bunch of pills. I really don’t know for sure. But at times she’s really … strange.”
“Do you run into each other often?”
Carina looked at Irene in surprise. “No. Never. She’s refused to meet me since they divorced. We just talk on the phone when it’s necessary. Nowadays John and Julia are all grown up, so there’s hardly any reason for us to contact each other.”
“Do you find it difficult to deal with her?”
“Not really. But she can’t stand me. I believe that we should get over our differences for the sake of the children and at least be polite. She refuses. The worst of it is that she’s turned the children against me and Sverker. Only God knows what nonsense she’s stuffed into their heads, but Sverker and his children have never gotten along.”