Murder in Malmö: The second Inspector Anita Sundström mystery (Inspector Anita Sundström mysteries) (22 page)

‘Anyway, the DVD was filmed in Serneholt’s house. Hence the link.’

‘But you obviously don’t consider there is one.’

‘No. I think the Ingvar Serneholt and Martin Olofsson connection is coincidental. But Sundström has come up with a theory that there’s some right-wing conspiracy – this “November 6
^th
Group” - that the killer cottoned on to, and is using the list for his targets. Waste of time, if you ask me.’

Wollstad turned away from the lake and began to wander back through the grounds towards the house.

‘Like me, you don’t appreciate time-wasters. Karl, I wonder if I can ask a favour of you?’

‘Don’t ever do that again!’ Anita was furious with Hakim. They were in the lift on the way down to the ground floor of Kristina Ekman’s building. ‘In situations like that I ask the questions and you keep your mouth shut. I’m the senior officer. Your job is to listen and learn.’

Hakim shuffled awkwardly before of her glare. He looked like a recalcitrant child, and that immediately softened Anita’s anger.

‘I don’t like her either but that’s no excuse to be aggressive in your questioning. You have to remember that she’s lost her husband. Also she happens to be a Wollstad, so that means that we have to treat her with kid gloves. If this gets back to Moberg, we’ll both be in trouble.’

The lift came to a halt and the doors slid open. They made their way through the foyer and onto the street. The traffic noise hit them. Up in the apartment the sounds had been muffled. Good triple glazing.

‘Pity about Tommy Ekman being in Hong Kong. Rather ruins the theory that they were all in something together.’

Anita was annoyed with herself as much as with Hakim. The list had appeared a real breakthrough. Now they still couldn’t connect Tommy Ekman to Ingvar Serneholt. They were back to square one. No motives, no suspects.

By now they were in Drottningtorget. Her favourite ice-cream parlour was across the square.

‘Do you want an ice cream?’

Hakim mumbled a sheepish ‘Yes.’

‘Not that you bloody deserve it.’ Neither of them did.

The whole team discussed the evidence so far. Thulin was brought in to go over the forensics again. No traces of the murderer at Ekman’s apartment. There was no way of verifying the substance used to cause the gas that had killed him, other than it was encased in jelly. It could be Zyklon B if the perpetrator had been able to get hold of an old wartime supply.

They had found female hair in Olofsson’s car, but that had turned out to be his wife’s. No fingerprints anywhere and no murder weapon, though Thulin was now 90% sure that it was a heavy spanner, judging by the trauma marks. A couple of strong whacks by someone who must have been in the back seat at the time of the assault. That meant the killer was already in the car, or had slipped in while Olofsson was parking the vehicle in the garage. The killer must have taken the spanner away with him, as a thorough search of the surrounding area had yielded nothing.

With Serneholt, they knew the murder weapon of course – a scalpel. As for evidence of visitors to the house, that was nigh on impossible. Serneholt had held a party there a few nights before, so it was difficult to isolate any individual.

There was no trace of the mystery jogger, who hadn’t been seen again in either murder location since. Medium height, dark blue hooded top and black backpack was the best description they had. And, on the night of Serneholt’s murder, definitely wearing gloves, which, if he was the perpetrator, would explain the lack of fingerprints on the picture frame at Serneholt’s – and possibly the same explanation would cover Olofsson’s car. They had already talked through Westermark’s visit to Dag Wollstad’s and Anita’s to Kristina Ekman’s. Westermark had taken particular delight in pointing out that Tommy Ekman was on the other side of the world on April 16
^th
. ‘And Dag Wollstad said he wasn’t at any meeting with Serneholt or Olofsson. He had only met Serneholt at a couple of social gatherings, and the last was around three years ago. So, there’s no link there.’

‘Do you believe him?’ asked Moberg, more out of hope than expectation.

‘I think he’s a very honourable man.’

Moberg could see that their impressions of the industrialist were totally different. Just because he personally couldn’t stand Wollstad, it didn’t follow that Westermark wasn’t right. He must learn to have more respect for Westermark’s judgement. After all, he had been right all along about Ewan Strachan being Malin Lovgren’s killer.

It was time for Moberg to summarize the cases so far and decide on some action.

‘Tommy Ekman is gassed in his shower. Martin Olofsson is killed in his car. Both are linked through business, and now we know socially, through playing golf over in Österlen. There are similarities in the way they were killed – well, gas was involved in both crime scenes. Nilsson is our best bet so far, as he had motives to get rid of them both. Trouble is we can’t place him at the scene of either killing.’

Moberg stood up and pointed to the photograph of Serneholt sitting on his sofa, gorily covered in blood. ‘Then we have Ingvar Serneholt. Art collector-cum-playboy who has a painting stolen – one of three thefts involving works by Pelle Munk. This may be exactly what it seems – an art theft gone wrong.’ He waved a hand in the direction of Stig Gabrielsson’s photograph. ‘And Gabrielsson seems to have done a bunk. So, he may well be up to his neck in the Serneholt business.

‘On the other hand, Serneholt is linked to Olofsson because of the Bishop Green film. That implies that they both hold very radical right-wing views. On top of that, we have “The November 6
^th
Group” list, which appears to link them again. But the list also dismisses any connection with Tommy Ekman, as we know he was thousands of miles away on that date. And possibly Dag Wollstad can be discounted too; according to what he told Westermark, he isn’t the
DW
. And Kristina Ekman denies that neither she nor her husband ever met Serneholt. Basically, there’s absolutely nothing that joins Ekman to Serneholt; therefore I don’t believe that the three murders are connected. My gut feeling is that two of them are, but the problem we have is whether the combination is Ekman and Olofsson or Olofsson and Serneholt. Our mystery jogger was seen around the homes of the latter. Is that another connection or a coincidence? Are there two joggers wearing similar gear, given that the locations are about fifteen kilometres apart? At the moment, we have to assume that there are two murderers out there. Thoughts?’ Moberg’s exasperation with the situation was evident in his voice, though he was trying hard to be systematic in his approach.

There was a reflective silence in the room. Then Nordlund spoke.

‘Given that we have no reason to believe that Ekman has any right-wing views - and that Dag Wollstad has been known to give money to the Social Democrats in the past - then my right-wing theory is probably off the mark. I’ve been too influenced by that invidious recording of the bishop’s. It’s probably an irrelevance in terms of the killings. And the Gustav Adolf link is tenuous at best, so may I suggest we go back to the beginning?’

‘In what way?’ Moberg asked.

‘Tommy Ekman’s murder. That’s where it all began. We’re pretty sure that only someone at the advertising agency could have had the opportunity to plant the poisonous crystals. Unless it’s some grand scheme where Wollstad is getting rid of business rivals or a misbehaving son-in-law, I suggest that we go over all the evidence again to see if we’ve missed something. Maybe if Anita got involved. A fresh eye. Maybe she could re-interview those who we know were in Ekman’s office the day before the murder.’

‘Why? What’s she going to find that we didn’t?’ After his moment of triumph over the Hong Kong revelation, Westermark wasn’t keen to see Anita reinstated in the heart of the investigation. ‘It could still be Nilsson.’

‘I still think it is,’ agreed Moberg. ‘In that case we’re looking at the Ekman and Olofsson killings being linked, as Nilsson couldn’t have murdered Serneholt, as he was in custody. Besides, he has no motive to get rid of Serneholt. Westermark, I want you to carry on looking for the evidence we need to nail Nilsson for the Olofsson murder. I want you to interview everybody who lives in that vicinity again. We need a sighting. And we need to find that bloody jogger, or joggers. But, as we can’t rely on that, I think Henrik is right. We must take another look at the agency. Sundström, you can talk to all the people again and double check their stories.’

This was more like it, Anita thought. ‘As you believe there’s a link between the Ekman and Olofsson murders, presumably we need to try and establish if the principal agency people have alibis for the second killing.’

‘Yeah.’

‘And can I talk to Nilsson?’ Anita asked.

Westermark shook his head vigorously. Moberg ignored his silent protest.

‘Yes. But don’t balls it up.’

Anita worked late at her desk that evening going through all the statements and evidence gathered so far on the Ekman murder. She had talked to Nordlund beforehand and he’d put her in the picture with his impressions of the case. He had suggested that she also discuss it with Westermark, as he had carried out the questioning at the advertising agency. She ignored that particular piece of advice. She noticed that Klara Wallen had been at most of the initial interviews, so she would have a word with her in the morning.

Those who had been in the office during the day, and again that night for the celebration, were the financial director, Bo Nilsson; Daniel Johansson, Ekman’s business partner and creative director; Elin Marklund, the account manager, and Sven Lundin, the head of media. The latter three had been at the early-morning meeting prior to the new business pitch. They were all at the evening drinks; Nilsson had popped in during the day to drop off some spreadsheets, according to Ekman’s PA, Viktoria Carlsson. Carlsson was there all day, except during her lunch hour when her place was taken by another secretary, Ida Kanfors, as Ekman always insisted there was someone on hand if a call came through to his office. Kanfors reported that no one had entered Ekman’s office during that time.

The team had established that Nilsson and Johansson had had opportunities during the day to go to Ekman’s apartment. Sven Lundin could account for his movements all day, and both the secretaries were with other members of staff when they went out for lunch. Kanfors wasn’t at the celebration that evening, so she was ruled out. Elin Marklund was the most interesting, in that she had made love to Ekman, so was hardly likely to kill him, unless there was something darker about the relationship. Her movements appeared to be accounted for, and she was more concerned about her husband finding out that she had been unfaithful.

Anita had also sifted through the other forty-odd statements from the remaining staff. The only one that had caught her eye was from the senior copywriter, Jesper Poulsen. He was Johansson’s creative partner and had worked on the pitch for Geistrand Petfoods. As the other most senior creative, Anita wondered why he hadn’t been at the early-morning meeting. She would definitely have a word with him.

It was after nine by the time she left the polishus, and she decided to pop into the Pickwick for a drink. There was a strange atmosphere around Malmö at the moment. People were trying to carry on as normal and the pub was full of the regular clientele chatting loudly. Yet the dark shadow of the “Malmö Marksman” seemed to be hanging over the town. Even though it wasn’t an ethnic pub, some of the regulars lived in parts of the city where the attacks had taken place. And ever since the killing in Gustav Adolfs Torg, it was apparent that no area was safe. She knew that the police were doing their utmost to try and catch the man. This was, after all, perhaps the most high-profile investigation in the history of Malmö crime. But it was the lack of progress on the case that was causing public disquiet. She knew Larsson’s team was convinced that the perpetrator was local because he could disappear so easily. Larsson had made an appeal on television for people to come forward with information. Someone must know this man. Someone was shielding him. The biggest problem was that they didn’t have a proper description of him. They had trawled through all the usual suspects, all the anti-Islamist groups, right-wing fanatics and general nutters. Nothing. And nothing meant widespread nervousness and a paranoid police commissioner.

Anita ended the evening talking briefly with a couple at the same table – a South African and his Swedish girlfriend. Like so many men who frequented the Pickwick, this ex-pat had been lured by a Swedish siren. Anita had nearly done the same to Ewan. He was never far from her thoughts. She desperately wanted to see him again, though she knew it was a hopeless situation. Now visits were out of the question, thanks to Westermark’s interference. She had got away with her excuse of trying to get Ewan to tell her about the death of the Durham student. That would no longer wash. Westermark would be keeping an eye on any future contact.

By the time Anita got back to the apartment it was after eleven. As she put her mobile on the kitchen table, she realized that she had missed a call from Lasse. She immediately rang him up, but only got his voice mail. He would be out with the awful Rebecka. At first she was cross with herself for missing the call – the noise in the pub had been loud most of the time she had been there. Then she was deflated. She always loved talking to Lasse, and she had wasted an opportunity. By the time she was getting ready for bed, panic had set in. If he had rung, then maybe something was wrong. He needed help? An accident? Worrying about Lasse was almost a default setting in her make-up. In a state of agitation, she rang his mobile again. This time, in an anxious tone of voice, she left a message asking if he was all right. Of course, she now couldn’t sleep properly and only dozed fitfully.

She was woken by her buzzing mobile beside the bed. It was two o’clock. It was an SMS from Lasse telling her that there was nothing to worry about, and he had only called to ask if he could borrow some money. After the initial relief, Anita started to fret that he was squandering his meagre funds on Rebecka – or, more to the point, she was encouraging him to spend too much. By the time the morning came she was tired, annoyed and confused.

It had taken a long shower and three strong coffees to get her mind back on the job that Moberg had set her. Anita had already decided that Bo Nilsson would be the first person she would speak to. He was Moberg and Westermark’s chief suspect, so it was important for her to form her own opinion about the financial director before she talked to the other agency staff.

Nilsson opened the door of his apartment and reluctantly let Anita and Hakim enter.

‘Should I have my lawyer here?’ were his first words.

‘No. Just a few questions.’

Nilsson looked like a man whose world had imploded. He had been told to keep away from the agency while the financial irregularities were investigated. He had thrown everything away for a young prostitute who would probably never return to Sweden. And if she did, it was unlikely that she would come and console him. He had the haunted look of the hunted. He was in Moberg’s sights, which was not a comfortable place to be.

As Anita went over old ground, she gradually formed the impression that this was a man who had got out of his depth, but he didn’t strike her as a natural killer. If she forced herself, she could, at a pinch, see him plan Ekman’s death. But, as for Olofsson’s murder; she doubted he had the strength or stealth to administer the blows that had killed the banker.

‘Have you heard anything about “The November 6
^th
Group”?’

He shook his head. ‘Is it something to do with Gustav Adolf Day?’

‘Possibly. I have a list here with various initials.’ She handed over the photocopy of Serneholt’s list. ‘We think that they may stand for Dag Wollstad, Martin Olofsson and a man who was murdered the other day called Ingvar Serneholt.’ Nilsson scrutinized the piece of paper. ‘We thought that
TE
was Tommy Ekman, but he wasn’t in the country on that date.’

‘No. He was in Hong Kong. I remember sorting out his expenses when he got back,’ he said with a rueful smile.