Read Online The Disappeared by Kristina Ohlsson - Free Book Online

and the ground, still wet with dew. Spring was his favourite time of year, and he was definitely a morning person. It was still only seven o’clock, and he was pleased that Peder had been able to join him at such an early hour.
    ‘How can you be sure it’s a man?’ Peder asked.
    ‘The height,’ replied a female officer who had been involved in investigating the scene. ‘The pathologist estimated that the deceased was over six feet; not many women are that tall.’
    ‘That should make the identification easier,’ Peder said. ‘If we can get an idea of how long the body has been in the ground, and an approximate height and age, we ought to be able to match the profile with people who disappeared around that time.’
    Alex crouched down, studying both graves.
    ‘There’s not a cat in hell’s chance that this was a coincidence.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘The fact that Rebecca was buried in this particular spot.’
    Alex squinted into the sun.
    ‘The person or persons who buried Rebecca here had buried someone else here in the past.’
    ‘Although he or she must have felt safer last time,’ said the female officer.
    ‘In what way?’
    ‘The man we found last night still had his head and hands.’
    Alex thought for a moment.
    ‘The perpetrator was younger the first time,’ he said. ‘Which means he might well have been both naive and careless.’
    Peder zipped up his jacket as if he had suddenly realised he was cold.
    ‘How do we know it was the first time?’ he asked.
    Fredrika Bergman had just got up when Alex called to tell her that he and Peder were on their way to the place where Rebecca Trolle had been found, and that a second body had been discovered the previous night.
    ‘See you at HQ,’ Alex said.
    Fredrika hurried into the kitchen for breakfast.
    Spencer was sitting at the table reading the paper. She kissed his forehead and stroked his cheek. She poured herself a cup of coffee and cut two slices of bread. She gazed at the love of her life in silence.
    Talk to me, Spencer. I’ve known you for over ten years; I know what you look like when you’re unhappy.
    He didn’t say a word, refusing to let her in.
    ‘What are you two going to do today?’ Fredrika asked.
    ‘I don’t know; I expect we’ll go for a walk.’
    Spencer put down the newspaper.
    ‘I could do with going to Uppsala this afternoon, and I’d prefer to go without Saga.’
    ‘That’s fine,’ Fredrika said, even though she suspected it could be a long day at work. ‘I’ll come home when you need to go.’
    She took a bite of her sandwich, chewed and swallowed. Her friends had taken the news that she had gone back to work much better than she had expected. Several of them had even hinted that it wasn’t a complete surprise.
    ‘Are you going to the department?’ she asked Spencer.
    ‘Yes, to a meeting.’
    A meeting. No more, no less. When had they started talking in half-sentences? Fredrika thought about Alex, about the previous winter when his wife had found out she was ill and hadn’t told him. Suddenly she went cold.
    ‘Spencer, you’re not ill, are you?’
    He looked at her in surprise. Grey eyes, like stones shot through with more shades than she could count.
    ‘Why would I be ill?’
    ‘I can tell there’s something wrong. Something more than an argument at work.’
    Spencer shook his head.
    ‘It’s nothing, believe me. The only thing I might have left out is . . .’
    He hesitated, and she waited.
    ‘Apparently, one of my students wasn’t happy with her supervision last autumn.’
    ‘For goodness’ sake, you were still off sick most of the time!’
    ‘That was the problem,’ Spencer said. ‘I had to share the supervision with a graduate tutor who had only just started in the department, and it wasn’t a popular move.’
    Fredrika could feel the relief flooding through her body.
    ‘I thought you were dying or something!’
    Spencer gave her the crooked smile that always made her melt.
    ‘I