Man On The Balcony (12 page)

'Ulla," Bosse replied promptly. "Girl Ulla."

Mrs. Oskarsson nudged her daughter.

'Do you remember when Ulla and Annika and Bosse and Lena were in the park on the swings?" Lena asked quickly.

'Yes!" Bosse said delightedly. "Ulla, Annika, Bosse, Lena swing in park buy ice cream. Member?"

'Yes," Lena said. "Do you remember we met a dog in the park?"

'Yes! Bosse meet little dog. Not pat little dog. Dang'ous pat little dog. Member?"

The parents exchanged a glance and the mother nodded. Martin Beck realized that the boy really did recall that very day in the park. He sat quite still, hoping that nothing would make the boy lose the thread.

'Do you remember," his sister went on, "Ulla, Lena, Bosse play hopscotch?"

'Yes," Bosse said. "Ulla, Lena hopscotch. Bosse too hopscotch. Bosse know hopscotch. Member Bosse hopscotch?"

The boy's delighted answers to his sister's questions came promptly, and the dialogue followed a pattern which made Martin Beck suspect that this was a question game that brother and sister used to play, a kind of do-you-remember game.

'Yes," Lena said, "I remember. Bosse, Ulla, Lena played hopscotch. Annika didn't play hopscotch."

'Annika not want hopscotch. Annika cross Lena, Ulla," Bosse said gravely.

'Do you remember that Annika got cross? Annika got cross and went off."

'Lena, Ulla silly Annika."

'Did Annika say that Lena and Ulla were silly? Do you remember that?"

'Annika said Lena, Ulla silly."

And then very emphatically:

'Bosse not silly."

'What did Bosse and Annika do when Lena and Ulla were silly?"

'Bosse, Annika hide-and-seek."

Martin Beck held his breath, hoping that the girl knew what she should ask next.

'Do you remember when Bosse and Annika played hide-and-seek?"

'Yes. Ulla, Lena not to play hide-and-seek. Ulla, Lena silly. Annika good. Bosse good. Man good."

'Which man?"

'Man in park good. Bosse got ticker."

'Did the man give you a ticker in the park? Do you remember?"

'Man give Bosse ticker."

'Do you mean a watch like Daddy's, that goes tick-tick?"

'Ticker!"

'What did the man say? Did the man speak to Bosse and Annika?"

'Man speak Annika. Man give Bosse ticker."

'Did Bosse and Annika get ticker from the man?"

'Bosse get ticker. Annika not ticker. Bosse get ticker."

Bosse turned suddenly and ran over to Martin Beck.

'Bosse get ticker!"

Martin Beck drew back his cuff and showed Bosse his wrist watch.

'Do you mean a ticker like this? Is this what the man gave you?"

Bosse hit Martin Beck's knee.

'No! Ticker!"

Martin Beck turned to the boy's mother.

'What is ticker?" he asked.

'I don't know," she said. "He does say that for watches and clocks, but he doesn't seem to mean that now."

Bending down to the little boy he asked:

'What did Bosse and Annika and the man do? Did you both play with the man?"

Bosse seemed to have lost interest in the question game and said sulkily:

'Bosse can't find Annika. Annika silly play man."

Martin Beck opened his mouth to say something but shut it again when he saw the witness dart out of the room.

'Can't catch me! Can't catch me!" the boy shouted gaily.

His sister looked after him crossly and said:

'He's always so silly."

'What do you think he meant by ticker?" the father asked.

'I don't know. Evidently not a watch, anyway. I don't know," she said.

'It seems as if he met someone together with Annika," Mr. Oskarsson said.

But when? thought Martin Beck. On Friday or a fortnight ago?

'Ugh, how horrible," his wife said. "It must have been that man. The one who did it."

She shuddered and her husband stroked her back soothingly. He gave Martin Beck a worried look and said:

'He's so small. He knows so few words. I hardly think he's able to give any kind of description of this man."

Mrs. Oskarsson shook her head.

'No," she said. "Not unless there was something special about his appearance. If he'd had some kind of uniform, for instance, Bosse would no doubt have called him the sojer. Otherwise I don't know. Children are never surprised at anything. If Bosse were to meet a man with green hair and pink eyes and three legs he wouldn't think anything of it."

Martin Beck nodded.

'Perhaps he did have a uniform. Or something else that Bosse remembers. It might be better if you talked to him alone?"

Mrs. Oskarsson got up and shrugged.

'I'll try by all means."

She left the door ajar so that Martin Beck could hear her conversation with the boy. After twenty minutes she came back, having been unable to get anything more out of him.

'Can't we leave now?" she asked anxiously. "I mean, does Bosse have to…"

She broke off, then went on:

'And Lena?"

'Yes, go by all means," Martin Beck said, getting up.

He shook hands and thanked them both, but as he was going Bosse came running out and flung 'his arms around his legs.

'Not go. You sit there. You must talk Daddy. Bosse also talk you."

Martin Beck tried to free himself but Bosse had a tight grip and Martin Beck did not want to upset him. Feeling in his trouser pocket he took out a fifty-ore bit and looked inquiringly at the mother. She nodded.

'Here, Bosse," he said, showing the boy the coin.

Bosse let go at once, took the money and said:

'Bosse buy ice cream. Bosse has lots money buy ice cream."

He ran ahead of Martin Beck out into the hall and took down a little jacket that was hanging on a hook low down near the front door. The boy dug into the jacket pockets.

'Bosse has lots money," he said, holding up a grubby five-ore bit.

Martin Beck opened the door, turned around and held out his hand to Bosse.

The little boy stood hugging the jacket, and when he pulled his hand out of the pocket a little bit of white paper fluttered down to the floor. Martin Beck stooped to pick it up and the boy shouted:

'Bosse's ticker! Bosse get ticker man!"

Martin Beck looked at the piece of paper in his hand.

It was an ordinary subway ticket.

A GOOD DEAL had already happened on this Friday morning, June 16, 1967.

The police sent out a description which had the disadvantage of fitting tens of thousands of more or less blameless citizens.

Rolf Evert Lundgren had slept on the matter and wanted to bargain. If the police would let bygones be bygones he offered to take part in the search and to give "supplementary information," whatever that might be. Having received a flat refusal, he sank into gloomy meditation and at last asked of his own accord to talk to a lawyer.

One of the detectives persisted in pointing out that Lundgren still lacked an alibi for the evening of the murder in Vanadis Park and in questioning his reliability as a witness. This in its turn led to Gunvald Larsson making a woman extremely embarrassed and to another woman making Kollberg, if possible, even more embarrassed.

Gunvald Larsson dialed a telephone number to an apartment near Vanadis Park. The following conversation ensued:

'Jansson speaking."

'Good morning. This is the police, homicide squad, Detective Inspector Larsson."

'Oh yes."

'May I speak to your daughter, please? Majken Jansson."

'Certainly. Just a moment. We're having breakfast. Majken!"

'Hello. This is Majken Jansson speaking."

The voice was bright and cultured.

'This is the police. Detective Inspector Larsson."

'Oh yes."

'You have stated that you took a breath of air in Vanadis Park on the evening of the ninth of June."

'Yes."

'What were you wearing when you took this breath of air?"

'What was I… Well, let me see, I had on a black-and-white cocktail dress."

'What else?"

'A pair of sandals."

'Aha. What else?"

'Nothing. Quiet, Daddy, he's only asking what I…"

'Nothing? You had nothing else on?"

'N-no."

'I mean, didn't you by any chance have anything under your dress?"

'Yes. Yes of course. Naturally I had underclothes."

'Aha. And what kind of underclothes?"

'What kind of underclothes?"

'Yes, exactly."

'Well, naturally I had what… well, what one usually has. Oh, Daddy, it's the police."

'And what do you usually have?"

'Well, a bra naturally and… well, what do you think?"

'I don't think anything. I have no preconceived opinions. I am merely asking."

'Pants of course."

'I see. And what kind of pants?"

'What kind? I don't know what you mean. I had pants of course, underpants."

'Panties?"

'Yes. I'm sorry but…"

'And what did these panties look like? Were they red or black or blue or maybe patterned?"

'A pair of…"

'Yes?"

'A pair of white lace panties. Yes, Daddy, I'll ask him. Why on earth are you asking me all this?"

'I am just checking the evidence of a witness." "The evidence of a witness?" "Exactly. Good-bye."

Kollberg drove to an address in the Old Town, parked the car at Storkyrkobrinken and climbed a worn, winding stone staircase. He looked for a doorbell which wasn't there and then, true to habit, he pounded deafeningly on the door.

'Come in!" a woman's voice called.

Kollberg went in.

'Good Lord," she said. "Who are you?"

'Police," he said lugubriously.

'Well, let me say that the police have a helluva nice habit of…"

'Is your name Lisbeth Hedvig Maria Karlström?" Kollberg asked, looking demonstratively at the piece of paper in his hand.

'Yes. Is it about that business yesterday?"

Kollberg nodded and looked about him. The room was untidy but pleasant. Lisbeth Hedvig Maria Karlström was wearing a blue-striped pajama jacket, which came down only far enough to show that she had not even lace panties on underneath. She had evidently just got up. She was making coffee, stirring it with a fork to make it drip more quickly through the filter bag.

'I've just got up and am making coffee," she said.

'Oh."

'I thought it was the girl who lives next door. She's the only one who ever thumps on the door like that And at this hour. Like some?"

'What?"

'Coffee."

'Well…" Kollberg said.

'Do sit down."

'What on?"

She pointed with the fork to a leather-covered ottoman beside the exceedingly unmade bed. He sat down dubiously. She put the coffeepot and two cups on a tray, pushed forward a small, low table with her left knee, put the tray down and sat on the bed, crossing her legs and thus revealing quite a lot of her anatomy, which was not altogether without its charms.

She poured out the coffee and handed a cup to Kollberg.

'Thank you," he said, looking at her feet

He was a susceptible person and at the moment felt strangely disturbed. In some way she reminded him far too much of someone, probably his wife.

She gave him a worried look and said:

'Would you like me to put something more on?"

'It might be just as well," Kollberg said thickly.

She got up at once, went over to the closet, took out a pair of brown corduroy slacks and pulled them on. Then she unbuttoned the pajama jacket and took it off. For a moment she stood with her upper body naked—with her back to him, to be sure, but that hardly improved matters. After a short hesitation she pulled a knitted sweater over her head.

'It's just that it makes me so damned hot," she said.

He drank some coffee.

'What do you want to know?" she asked.

He drank some more.

'Very nice," he said.

'It's just that I don't know anything. Nothing at all. It was a lousy business, with that Simonsson, I mean."

'His name was Rolf Evert Lundgren," Kollberg said.

'Oh, that too. You must think I seem… that I don't appear in a very good light. But there's nothing I can do about it. Now."

She looked about her unhappily.

'Perhaps you'd like to smoke?" she asked. "I'm afraid I haven't any cigarettes. I don't smoke myself."

'Nor do I," Kollberg said.

'Oh. Well, bad light or not, it can't be helped. I met him at the Vanadis Baths at nine o'clock and then I went home with him. I know nothing at all."

'Presumably you do know one thing that interests us."

'What would that be?"

'How was he? Sexually, I mean?"

She shrugged awkwardly. Took a rusk and began nibbling it. At last she said:

'No comments. I don't as a rule…"

'What don't you as a rule?"

'I don't as a rule comment on men I go with. If you and I, for instance, got into bed together now, I wouldn't go around afterwards giving people details about you."

Kollberg fidgeted.. He felt hot and upset. He wanted to take off his coat. It was even possible that he wanted to take off his clothes altogether and have sex with this girl. True, he had very seldom done so while on duty and particularly not since he had got married, but it had happened.

'I'd be very glad if you would answer this question," he said. "Was he normal, sexually?" She did not answer. "It's important," he added.

She looked him straight in the eyes and said gravely: "Why?"

Kollberg looked at the girl doubtfully. It was a hard decision and he knew that many of his colleagues would consider his next words more blameworthy than if he had undressed and got into bed with her.

'Lundgren is a professional criminal," he said at last. "He has confessed to about a dozen violent assaults. Last Friday evening—a week ago, that is—he is known to have been in Vanadis Park at the same time as a little girl was murdered there."

She looked at him quickly and swallowed several times. "Oh," she said softly. "I didn't know that. I would never have thought that."

After a moment she looked at him again with her clear brown eyes and said: