Read Online The Disappeared by Kristina Ohlsson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kristina Ohlsson
Ads: Link
wouldn’t leave you now we’re living together at long last.’
Fredrika leaned forward to kiss him, but was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of Saga waking up in the room next door. She followed Spencer with her eyes as he limped out of the kitchen.
‘Now what?’ said Peder when they were back at HQ.
‘We wait for more precise details from the forensic pathologist, and we continue to pursue the investigation into the murder of Rebecca Trolle,’ Alex replied. ‘I spoke to the pathologist on the phone; he thinks the man has been lying there for at least twenty-five years, possibly more.’
‘A serial killer?’
‘Who kills at random? Such disparate victims, three decades apart?’ Alex shook his head grimly. ‘I don’t think so. Besides which, serial killers are few and far between. This is something different.’
He cursed his own shortcomings, even though he knew it was pointless. At the time of Rebecca’s disappearance there had been nothing whatsoever to indicate that she might have been one of several victims; the investigation had been based on the premise that this was an isolated incident. Were there more victims? Alex wondered. He hadn’t hesitated to order the complete excavation of the site where the bodies had been found, expanding the parameters of the search area. It would take several days to complete the task, but if there were more bodies in the ground, Alex wanted them found.
‘If we think the same person killed Rebecca and the man we found yesterday, then it can hardly have been Håkan Nilsson,’ Peder said. ‘He wasn’t even born when the man was murdered.’
‘That’s what I was thinking,’ Alex said. ‘But we know too little about all this to eliminate him completely. He might have a connection with the first killer that we’re unaware of. I want to run a DNA check on him and compare it with Rebecca’s unborn child, if that’s possible. If he’s the father, we’ve got enough to bring him in.’
‘What if he refuses to co-operate?’
‘If he refuses to supply us with a DNA sample voluntarily, then we’ll go to the prosecutor. We know that Rebecca was pregnant, and that she’d expressed concern about the fact that the father would want to keep the child, even though she was keen to have a termination. We also know that Rebecca and Håkan had slept together, and that Håkan would have wanted to keep the child if she had got pregnant. That’s enough. More than enough. Even though I have to admit that I don’t really see Håkan as our killer.’
‘Any other leads?’
‘In the light of the fact that we’ve found another body, the rumours about Rebecca selling sex over the Internet have become more interesting than her pregnancy. See what you can find out; there might be more history to it; the older body might fit in somehow.’
Peder glanced at his notebook.
‘There’s the ex-girlfriend too,’ he said.’
‘I thought Fredrika could take care of her when she comes in.’
At that moment Fredrika appeared in the doorway.
‘Who am I taking care of?’
‘Rebecca Trolle’s ex-girlfriend, Daniella. Good morning, by the way.’
‘Good morning.’
Fredrika was fiddling with a pale blue scarf draped over the shoulders of her jacket.
‘We need to go through her things as well.’
Alex looked unsure.
‘Why? We already have copies of everything that was considered interesting when we went through the material two years ago.’
Fredrika frowned.
‘It struck me yesterday that it looks as if a significant amount was weeded out. For example, I can’t find any information about text books, or copies of her notes.’
‘Why would you want those?’ Peder asked.
‘She was a student when she went missing. That means she spent a large proportion of her waking hours studying, attending lectures, hanging out with friends. According to Alex, she was in the middle of writing her dissertation when she died. I can’t find any indication of what her topic
Fredrika leaned forward to kiss him, but was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of Saga waking up in the room next door. She followed Spencer with her eyes as he limped out of the kitchen.
‘Now what?’ said Peder when they were back at HQ.
‘We wait for more precise details from the forensic pathologist, and we continue to pursue the investigation into the murder of Rebecca Trolle,’ Alex replied. ‘I spoke to the pathologist on the phone; he thinks the man has been lying there for at least twenty-five years, possibly more.’
‘A serial killer?’
‘Who kills at random? Such disparate victims, three decades apart?’ Alex shook his head grimly. ‘I don’t think so. Besides which, serial killers are few and far between. This is something different.’
He cursed his own shortcomings, even though he knew it was pointless. At the time of Rebecca’s disappearance there had been nothing whatsoever to indicate that she might have been one of several victims; the investigation had been based on the premise that this was an isolated incident. Were there more victims? Alex wondered. He hadn’t hesitated to order the complete excavation of the site where the bodies had been found, expanding the parameters of the search area. It would take several days to complete the task, but if there were more bodies in the ground, Alex wanted them found.
‘If we think the same person killed Rebecca and the man we found yesterday, then it can hardly have been Håkan Nilsson,’ Peder said. ‘He wasn’t even born when the man was murdered.’
‘That’s what I was thinking,’ Alex said. ‘But we know too little about all this to eliminate him completely. He might have a connection with the first killer that we’re unaware of. I want to run a DNA check on him and compare it with Rebecca’s unborn child, if that’s possible. If he’s the father, we’ve got enough to bring him in.’
‘What if he refuses to co-operate?’
‘If he refuses to supply us with a DNA sample voluntarily, then we’ll go to the prosecutor. We know that Rebecca was pregnant, and that she’d expressed concern about the fact that the father would want to keep the child, even though she was keen to have a termination. We also know that Rebecca and Håkan had slept together, and that Håkan would have wanted to keep the child if she had got pregnant. That’s enough. More than enough. Even though I have to admit that I don’t really see Håkan as our killer.’
‘Any other leads?’
‘In the light of the fact that we’ve found another body, the rumours about Rebecca selling sex over the Internet have become more interesting than her pregnancy. See what you can find out; there might be more history to it; the older body might fit in somehow.’
Peder glanced at his notebook.
‘There’s the ex-girlfriend too,’ he said.’
‘I thought Fredrika could take care of her when she comes in.’
At that moment Fredrika appeared in the doorway.
‘Who am I taking care of?’
‘Rebecca Trolle’s ex-girlfriend, Daniella. Good morning, by the way.’
‘Good morning.’
Fredrika was fiddling with a pale blue scarf draped over the shoulders of her jacket.
‘We need to go through her things as well.’
Alex looked unsure.
‘Why? We already have copies of everything that was considered interesting when we went through the material two years ago.’
Fredrika frowned.
‘It struck me yesterday that it looks as if a significant amount was weeded out. For example, I can’t find any information about text books, or copies of her notes.’
‘Why would you want those?’ Peder asked.
‘She was a student when she went missing. That means she spent a large proportion of her waking hours studying, attending lectures, hanging out with friends. According to Alex, she was in the middle of writing her dissertation when she died. I can’t find any indication of what her topic
Similar Books
