leaned her head back and tried to balance its weight so that she wouldnât bang herself against the vanâs hard interior. Or against somebody else. They were sitting tightly packed, all seven. Danilo, who was next to her, had cried too. The girl had never seen him cry before, only smile. The girl liked his smile and always smiled back at him. But now he couldnât smile. The silvery bit of tape was stuck hard over his mouth, and he breathed in what air he could through his dilated nostrils.
A woman sat opposite them. She looked angry. Terribly, terribly angry. Grrrr. The girl laughed to herself. Then she sank down again with her head against her thighs. She was tired and most of all wanted to sleep in her own bed with the doll that she had once found at a bus stop. The doll with only one arm and one leg. But it was the finest doll the girl had ever seen. The doll had dark curly hair and a pink dress. She missed her doll dreadfully. The doll was still back there with Mama and Papa. She would fetch her later, when she came back to the container.
Then everything would be all right again.
And they would go back.
Home.
CHAPTER
TEN
THE SECURITY CAMERA film had just arrived by messenger from the security firm. Ola Söderström opened the package and quickly inserted the little hard disk into his computer. He immediately started looking through the images, which gave a good overview of Ãstanvägen. Unfortunately the rotating camera lens didnât reach all the way to Hans Juhlénâs house. Judging by the angle, the camera must have been about two meters above the ground, perhaps three, and provided an adequate coverage so that you could register everything on the street. The quality was good and Ola was pleased with the sharpness. He fast-forwarded past Sunday morning. A woman with a dog walked by, a white Lexus left the street and then the woman with the dog came back again.
When the clock counter showed 17:30, he slowed down the speed. The empty street looked cold and windy. The overcast weather made it hard to detect any movements and the street lighting was of poor quality.
Ola was wondering whether it was possible to adjust the brightness so that he could see the scene more clearly, when he suddenly caught sight of a boy.
He froze the image. The counter showed 18:14.
Then he let the recording continue. The boy cut across the street quickly and then vanished out of view.
Ola reversed the disk and looked at the sequence again. The boy was wearing a dark hooded sweater that hid his face well. He walked with his head down and both hands stuck inside the big pocket on his stomach.
Ola sighed. He rubbed his hand over his face and up through his hair. Just a child on his way somewhere. He let the footage continue and leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head.
When the counter showed 20:00, he still hadnât seen anything. No movement. Not a single person. Not a car had passed during those two hours. Only the boy. At that moment, Ola realized what he had seen. Only the boy.
He got up so fast from the chair that it fell backward onto the floor with a crash.
* * *
âYou seem to be in a good mood.â
Gunnar gave a start when he heard Anneli Lindgrenâs voice. She stood in the doorway with her arms folded over her chest. Her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail that accentuated her clear blue eyes and high cheekbones.
âYes, Iâve just been promised the call logs,â he said. âIt helped when I made a fuss.â
âWell now, is that all it takes to put you in a good mood?â said Anneli.
âYes, it is, I can tell you. Shouldnât you be on your way?â Gunnar said.
âYes, but Iâm waiting for some support. Itâs a big house to work through. I canât get through it all on my own.â
âI thought you liked working alone.â
âSometimes, sure. But you tire of it after a while. Then itâs nice to have
A woman sat opposite them. She looked angry. Terribly, terribly angry. Grrrr. The girl laughed to herself. Then she sank down again with her head against her thighs. She was tired and most of all wanted to sleep in her own bed with the doll that she had once found at a bus stop. The doll with only one arm and one leg. But it was the finest doll the girl had ever seen. The doll had dark curly hair and a pink dress. She missed her doll dreadfully. The doll was still back there with Mama and Papa. She would fetch her later, when she came back to the container.
Then everything would be all right again.
And they would go back.
Home.
CHAPTER
TEN
THE SECURITY CAMERA film had just arrived by messenger from the security firm. Ola Söderström opened the package and quickly inserted the little hard disk into his computer. He immediately started looking through the images, which gave a good overview of Ãstanvägen. Unfortunately the rotating camera lens didnât reach all the way to Hans Juhlénâs house. Judging by the angle, the camera must have been about two meters above the ground, perhaps three, and provided an adequate coverage so that you could register everything on the street. The quality was good and Ola was pleased with the sharpness. He fast-forwarded past Sunday morning. A woman with a dog walked by, a white Lexus left the street and then the woman with the dog came back again.
When the clock counter showed 17:30, he slowed down the speed. The empty street looked cold and windy. The overcast weather made it hard to detect any movements and the street lighting was of poor quality.
Ola was wondering whether it was possible to adjust the brightness so that he could see the scene more clearly, when he suddenly caught sight of a boy.
He froze the image. The counter showed 18:14.
Then he let the recording continue. The boy cut across the street quickly and then vanished out of view.
Ola reversed the disk and looked at the sequence again. The boy was wearing a dark hooded sweater that hid his face well. He walked with his head down and both hands stuck inside the big pocket on his stomach.
Ola sighed. He rubbed his hand over his face and up through his hair. Just a child on his way somewhere. He let the footage continue and leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head.
When the counter showed 20:00, he still hadnât seen anything. No movement. Not a single person. Not a car had passed during those two hours. Only the boy. At that moment, Ola realized what he had seen. Only the boy.
He got up so fast from the chair that it fell backward onto the floor with a crash.
* * *
âYou seem to be in a good mood.â
Gunnar gave a start when he heard Anneli Lindgrenâs voice. She stood in the doorway with her arms folded over her chest. Her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail that accentuated her clear blue eyes and high cheekbones.
âYes, Iâve just been promised the call logs,â he said. âIt helped when I made a fuss.â
âWell now, is that all it takes to put you in a good mood?â said Anneli.
âYes, it is, I can tell you. Shouldnât you be on your way?â Gunnar said.
âYes, but Iâm waiting for some support. Itâs a big house to work through. I canât get through it all on my own.â
âI thought you liked working alone.â
âSometimes, sure. But you tire of it after a while. Then itâs nice to have
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