The Fire Witness (25 page)

He whispers a thank-you. Then he looks up and says, “I just said thank you for your sympathy, but I really don’t understand what happened. I was worried about Elisabet’s heart … and…”

The light leaves his face, which turns inward and ashen again.

“I truly can’t comprehend what happened to you,” Elin says quietly.

“I have my own psychologist now,” he says. He tries to smile but can’t. “I never thought I’d need my own psychologist. He listens to me. He listens and waits while I cry like a baby. I feel … You know, he won’t let the police talk to me. I would have made the same decision if I were in his place. At the same time, I know myself … It wouldn’t hurt me to talk. I should tell him I can talk to them … not that I know if I’d be of any real help.”

“It’s probably good to listen to your psychologist,” she says.

“Do I sound that confused?” he asks.

“No, but…”

“Sometimes I remember something that I think I should tell the police, but I immediately forget what it is. It’s strange. I can’t keep my thoughts straight. It’s as if I am absolutely exhausted.”

“I’m sure things will get better again.”

He rubs his finger under his nose. Then he looks at her.

“Did you tell me which newspaper you’re working for?”

She shakes her head and says, “I’m here because Vicky Bennet lived with me when she was six years old.”

86

The room in the psychiatric ward is quiet. Elin can hear steps in the hallway. Daniel is blinking behind his glasses as if he is trying to take in what Elin has just said.

“I heard about her on the news … the car and the boy,” he whispers.

“I know,” she says, keeping her voice low. “But if she is still alive, where would she be hiding?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I want to know the people that she trusted.”

He studies her for a second and then says, “You don’t believe she’s dead, do you?”

“No, I don’t,” she says quietly.

“You don’t believe it because you don’t want to believe it,” he says. “Do you have any proof that she didn’t drown in the river?”

“Please don’t be afraid,” Elin says. “But we are fairly sure that she and the boy escaped from the car.”

“We?”

“A detective inspector and me.”

“I don’t understand. Why do they say she drowned, if she—”

“Most of the police involved in the case do think that they drowned, and they’ve stopped looking for her and for the boy.”

“But not you?”

“Maybe I’m the only person in the world who cares about Vicky right now just because she’s Vicky,” Elin says. She can’t manage to smile at him and she can’t keep her voice gentle any longer.

“And now you want my help to find her?”

“Maybe she will hurt the boy,” Elin says. “Maybe she will hurt other people.”

“Well, I don’t believe that,” Daniel says. For the first time, he looks at Elin with an open face. “In the beginning, I said I doubted that she’d killed Miranda. I still can’t believe that she would…” Daniel mumbles something.

“What did you just say?” Elin asks.

“What?”

“You just whispered something to yourself.”

“I don’t believe Vicky killed Elisabet.”

“You don’t?”

“I’ve worked with troubled girls for many years and I, well, it doesn’t fit.”

“But—”

“During my time as a therapist, I’ve met many girls who have dark souls, girls who could kill, who—”

“But not Vicky.”

“No, not Vicky.”

Elin smiles widely and feels her eyes filling with tears. She struggles to bring her emotions back under control.

“You’ve got to explain this to the police,” she says.

“I already did. They know that, in my opinion, Vicky is not violent. Of course, I could be wrong,” Daniel says, rubbing his eyes.

“Can you help me?”

“Did you say Vicky lived with you for six years?”

“No, I said she was six years old when she lived with me,” she replies.

“What would you like me to do?”

“I have to find her, Daniel. You spoke to her for hours. You must know about her friends, boyfriends, anyone.”

“Maybe … We talked about group dynamics for the most part and … I’m sorry, I’m having difficulty keeping my train of thought.”

“Please try.”

“I met her at least once a day … I don’t know for sure, perhaps twenty-five conversations. Vicky, she is … The danger with Vicky is that she drifts away in her thoughts. What I would be worrying about is that she might just leave the boy somewhere. In the middle of the road, perhaps.”

“Where would she be hiding? Did she have any family? I mean, anyone she particularly liked?”

87

The door to Daniel’s room swings open and the assistant nurse enters with his medication for the evening. She stops abruptly when she sees Elin.

“What is this?” she says. “You were only supposed to be here for five minutes.”

“I know,” Elin says. “But there was something important we had to—”

“It is six thirty,” she interrupts.

“I’m sorry,” Elin says, and she turns to Daniel. “Where should I start my search?”

“Get out,” the nurse orders.

“Please,” Elin says, and folds her hands as if in prayer. “I do need to talk to Daniel.”

“Are you deaf?” the nurse says. “I told you to get out!”

The nurse swears and leaves the room. Elin touches Daniel’s arm.

“Vicky must have talked about places or friends.”

“Yes, that’s true. I can’t think of anything, however. I’m really having trouble—”

“Please try.”

“I know I’m completely useless, but…” He rubs his forehead hard.

“The other girls, they must know something about Vicky.”

“Yes, they should. Caroline maybe.”

A man in a white shirt and pants strides into the room. The nurse is right behind him.

“Please follow me,” the man says.

“One more minute,” Elin pleads.

“Right now,” he barks.

“Please,” Elin says, her eyes pleading. “It’s about my daughter.”

“Come with me now,” he says, but his tone is milder.

Elin’s mouth is trembling as she sinks to her knees in front of them.

“Just a few more minutes,” she begs.

“If we have to, we’ll drag you out.”

“Now that’s enough of this,” Daniel says, and he helps Elin up from the floor.

The nurse protests. “She is not supposed to be here after six o’clock!”

“Shut up!” Daniel roars. He takes Elin by the arm and leads her from the room. “We’ll talk in the foyer or the parking lot.”

They walk down the hallway and keep going even as they hear steps behind them.

“I plan to go to Birgittagården to talk to the girls,” Elin says.

“They’re not there. They’ve been evacuated.”

“Where to?”

He holds the glass door for her and follows her to the landing by the elevator.

“To an old fishing village north of Hudiksvall.”

Elin presses the elevator call button. “Will they let me in?”

“If I go there with you, they will,” he says.

88

Elin and Daniel drive away from the hospital, neither one of them saying a word. As she pulls onto the E4, she gets out her cell phone and calls Joona Linna.

“Sorry to bother you,” she says, her voice tinged with despair.

“You can call me whenever you want,” Joona says. His tone is friendly.

“I’m in my car with Daniel Grim and he doesn’t believe that Vicky did those horrible things,” Elin explains quickly.

“Even though all the technical evidence points to her.”

“It can’t be true. Daniel says that she’s not violent,” Elin says.

“She can become violent,” Joona says.

“You don’t know her!” Elin erupts.

Joona says nothing for a few seconds. Then he says calmly, “Ask Daniel about Eutrexa. It’s a drug.”

“Eutrexa?”

Daniel looks at Elin.

“Ask him about side effects,” Joona says before hanging up.

Elin drives quickly back along the coast, heading toward the forest.

“What side effects does Eutrexa have?” she asks.

“A person can become extremely aggressive if he or she takes an overdose,” Daniel says matter-of-factly.

“Was Vicky prescribed this drug?”

Daniel nods and Elin says nothing.

“It is a good drug,” Daniel tries to explain, but then he falls silent.

Almost all the light from the headlights is swallowed by the trees at the edge of the forest. The shadows overlap until there is nothing but darkness.

“Did you notice that you said Vicky was your daughter?”

“Yes, I know,” Elin says. “It just came out.”

“She was your daughter for a little while.”

“Yes, she was,” Elin says, keeping her eyes on the road.

They drive past the vast Armsjön Lake. It gleams like cast iron in the darkness.

Daniel takes a deep breath. “I was trying to think of something Vicky said when she first arrived but now I can’t remember it. Oh yes, she said she had some friends from Chile who had a house…”

He falls silent and looks out the passenger-side window. There are tears on his cheeks.

“Elisabet and I were hoping to go to Chile and then there was the huge earthquake…”

He takes a deep breath, but sits quietly with his hands in his lap.

“You were talking about Vicky,” Elin says.

“That’s right. Where was I?”

“You said she had friends from Chile.”

“Yes.”

“They had a house somewhere.”

“Did I say that?”

“Yes.”

“Damn it,” he mumbles. “What is wrong with me? That is … Maybe I should have stayed at the hospital. This is kind of crazy.”

Elin smiles weakly at him. “I’m glad that you didn’t.”

89

They leave the highway at Jättendal and head toward the coast on a single-lane road that takes them past old farmhouses and falling-down barns and then back into the dark forest. Where the road ends, there’s a cluster of houses in Falun red and before them the opalescent eternity of the sea. The midsummer pole is still standing in the village, its birch leaves and flowers now brown and hanging loose. A large wooden house with a beautiful glass-enclosed veranda faces the water. Once a country store, for several years now it has been owned by the company that manages Brigittagården.

Elin steers the car slowly between the fence posts and parks. As she undoes her seat belt, Daniel warns, “You have to be prepared for these girls. They’ve had rough lives.” He pushes his glasses high on his nose. “They’re going to provoke you. They like to test the boundaries.”

“I’ll be fine,” Elin says. “I was a teenager once, too.”

“This is something completely different,” Daniel says. “It’s not always easy, not even for me. They can be really terrible at times.”

“So what do you say when they try to provoke you?” asks Elin. She looks him in the eye.

“The best thing is to be as honest and clear as possible.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Elin opens the car door.

“Wait, there’s one more thing before we go in. They have a security guard there. I think that he should accompany you the entire time.”

Elin smiles. “Isn’t that a bit excessive?”

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, you don’t have to be afraid, but I think—I know that you shouldn’t be alone with two of the girls. Not even for a short time.”

“Which ones?”

“Almira and a little girl named Tuula.”

“Are they that dangerous?”

He holds up a hand. “I’m just saying I would like the guard to be there if you want to talk to them.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t worry,” he says, trying to calm her. “They can also be quite nice, all of them.”

The air is cool and carries with it the scent of the sea. Elin pauses after she locks the car.

“One of the girls must know about Vicky’s friends,” she says.

“Even if one of them does, you can’t assume that she’ll want to tell you.”

A path of black slate leads around the gable and to the front steps. Elin’s red heels keep getting caught between the stones. It’s late in the evening, but one girl is lying in the hammock next to the lilac tree, smoking. Her pale face and tattooed arms shine in the darkness.

“Hey, Daniel,” the girl says, and smiles. She sits up and tosses the cigarette onto the grass.

“Hello, Almira,” Daniel says.

“Hello,” Elin says, smiling.

Almira stares directly at Elin but does not smile back. Her dark eyebrows meet over her large nose and her cheeks are peppered with acne.

“Vicky beat his wife to death,” Almira says. “And when Elisabet was dead, she killed Miranda, too. I don’t think she’s going to stop until we’re all dead.”

Almira gets out of the hammock and walks up the stairs and into the house.

90

Elin and Daniel follow Almira into the small kitchen. Lu Chu and Indie are sitting at a pine table in the adjacent dining room, eating ice cream right from the carton while flipping through old comic books.

“Good thing you’re here,” Indie says when she sees Daniel. “You’ve got to talk to Tuula. She’s sick in the head. I think she needs to go back on her meds.”

“Where is Solveig?” asks Daniel.

“She had to go somewhere,” Almira says, and takes a spoon from a drawer.

“When did she leave?” asks Daniel with skepticism in his voice.

“Right after dinner,” Lu Chu mumbles without looking up from her comic book.

“So there’s just the security guard here?”

“Anders. He was only here the first and second nights.”

“What are you telling me?” Daniel says. “Are you girls all on your own?”

Almira shrugs and starts to eat the ice cream.

“Tell me,” Daniel says.

“Solveig is supposed to come back,” Indie says.

“But it’s eight in the evening!” Daniel says. He pulls out his cell phone and calls the health company. He is given a complaint number, but no one replies. He leaves an irritated message saying there must always be competent staff on the grounds. They can’t cut costs—they have responsibilities.

While Daniel is talking on the phone, Elin watches the girls. Almira is sitting in the lap of a cute girl with East Asian looks, who also has acne all over her face. While she’s flipping through an old
Mad
magazine, she keeps kissing Almira on the neck.