Read Online Cop Killer by Maj Sjöwall, Per Wahlöö - Free Book Online

or a couple of months.'
    'Get herself good and laid,' Allwright said.
    'Or get a chance to talk to someone she thinks she can relate to.'
    Allwright put his head on one side and grinned.
    'That's one theory,' he said. 'But I don't believe it'
    'Because it doesn't fit'
    'Right. It doesn't fit at all. Do you have a plan? Or is that a presumptuous question?'
    'I'm planning to wait until Lennart gets here. And then I think it's time for an informal chat with Folke Bengtsson and Bertil Mård.'
    'I'd be happy to come along.'
    'I don't doubt it'
    Allwright laughed. Then he stood up, walked over to the green car, and rapped on the side window. The driver, a young man with a red beard, rolled it down and looked at him questioningly.
    'We're going back to Anderslöv now,' Allwright said. 'I'll be driving through Källstorp to pick up some eggs from my brother. But you can save your paper some money if you take the road through Skivarp.'
    The Fiat followed them and supervised the egg pickup.
    'They clearly don't trust the police,' Allwright said.
    Otherwise nothing much.happened that day, which was Friday, 2 November.
    Martin Beck made his obligatory visit to Trelleborg and met the Commissioner and the Superintendent who was head of the criminal division. He envied the police chief his office, because it had a view of the harbour.
    No one had anything to say about the case.
    Sigbrit Mård had been missing for seventeen days, and all anyone knew was the gossip doing the rounds in Anderslöv.
    On the other hand, gossip is often well-founded.
    Where there's smoke there's fire.
    That evening, he got a call from Kollberg, who said he hated driving and was planning to spend the night in Växjö. 'And how are things in Anderstorp?' he said. 'The name is Anderslöv.' 'Oh yes.'
    'And it's very pleasant here, but the reporters are after us already.' 'Put your uniform on, you'll get more respect' 'None of your wisecracks!' said Martin Beck. Then he called Rhea, but there was no answer. He tried again an hour later and once more just before he went to bed.
    This time she was home.
    'I've been trying to get you all evening,' he said.
    'Really?'
    'What have you been up to?'
    'None of your business,' she said cheerfully. 'How's it going?' 'I don't know for sure. There's a woman who's disappeared.' 'People can't just disappear. You ought to know that - you're a detective.'
    'I think I love you.'
    'I know you do,' she said happily. 'I went to the cinema, and then I went to Butler's for something to eat.' 'Good night'
    'Was that all you wanted?' 'No, but it can wait'
    'Sleep well, darling,' she said, and hung up.
    Martin Beck hummed as he brushed his teeth. If anyone had been there to hear it, it would probably have sounded odd.
    The next day was a holiday. All Saints' Day. He could always spoil it for someone. Månsson in Malmö for example.

6
    'I've met a lot of gorillas in my day,' Per Månsson said. 'But Bertil Mård is one of the worst.'
    They were sitting on Månsson's balcony overlooking Regementsgatan, enjoying a lovely day.
    Martin Beck had taken the bus to Malmö, mostly for the fun of it and so he could say that he had actually travelled the stretch that Sigbrit Mård apparently had not.
    He had also tried to question the bus driver, to no avail, since the man was a substitute and had not been driving on the day in question.
    Månsson was a large, leisurely man, who took life easy and was seldom guilty of an overstatement. But now he said: 'The man struck me as a bully.'
    'Lots of sea captains go a bit funny,' said Martin Beck. 'They're often very lonely men, and if they're the overbearing type they tend to get tough and autocratic. They turn into gorillas, as you said. The only person they'll talk to is their chief.'
    'Their chief?'
    'The Chief Engineer.'
    'Oh.'
    'A lot of them drink too much and tyrannize their crews. Or
    else they pretend they don't even exist. Won't even speak to their mates'
    'You know a lot about ships.'
    'Yes, it's my