Free Frozen Moment by Camilla Ceder

someone…'
        Tell
waited while she pulled herself together, but Beckman got in first:
        'That's
just what we've been wondering. I know it might be difficult to think about it
right now but can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt Lars?
Someone he's fallen out with, through work or… Do you know if he might have
been doing anything… suspicious? We have to ask,' she said quickly as Lise-Lott
looked at her in surprise.
         'No, of course not. Who would want to murder him? He was an
honest person, decent through and through.'
        'Take
a moment,' Tell interrupted. 'Even if you have no proof, even if it seems like
something completely banal. Has anyone threatened him? Has anything happened
recently that you thought was strange? Anything out of the
ordinary? Or has he met anyone new?'
        The
furrow between Lise-Lott's eyebrows indicated that she was trying to think, but
in the end she shook her head helplessly.
        'No,
I can't think of anyone he's quarrelled with. I suppose it would be a customer
who wasn't happy with the bill, maybe? I mean something to do with the
garage…?'
        She
shrugged her shoulders.
        'Lars
did have an … an argument is overstating it, but he did
have some differences of opinion with the person at the council in Lerum who
used to give him commissions. Per-Erik Stahre, his name is. Lars thought they
had agreed that he would be the first port of call for any photographic
commissions for the council, but Stahre seemed to think he had the right to
make decisions based on price, and last autumn he gave a big job to someone who
was cheaper. It involved taking photographs of a new residential area on the
outskirts of the town, and… well, it was going to pay quite well. Lars just
thought Stahre should have discussed the price with him before he gave the job
to someone else. We could have done with the money.'
        She
shook her head. Tell nodded and made notes, but he could feel his spirits
falling. You don't murder someone because of a garage bill or a minor dispute
at work.
        'We'd
like you to keep us informed if you think of anyone else who might be of
interest.'
         'His ex-wife. Lars got divorced when we met, and divorce is
never much fun. There's always one person who draws the short straw. She didn't
want to split up and there was a great deal of bitterness. He has two sons as
well - they're only just grown up, seventeen and nineteen.'
        In
Tell's experience people talked more if you asked fewer questions -
particularly in the unfamiliar and often frightening circumstances of a police
interview - so he let the silence have its effect.
        He
put down his pen and tapped a cigarette out of the packet.
        'Do
you mind?'
        'No,
carry on. It was the house too. She - his ex-wife, I mean - couldn't afford to
stay there and she became quite depressed. I can understand her in a way. At
her age - at our age - it isn't easy to be left alone.'
        She
laughed, a harsh sound that seemed to bury itself in her throat as she realised
she was now in the same situation. Tell lit the cigarette, ignoring Beckman,
who made a point of moving away from him on the big sofa.
        'When
you say depressed,' she began, 'do you mean in some way mentally unstable?'

    Lise-Lott
sighed.
        'No.
Well, she'd had problems with her nerves, as they say, for a while, but… There
was a time right at the beginning, when she found out where Lars was after he'd
moved out of the house. She would ring up during the night and… she didn't make
any sense. She turned up here once or twice and made a scene. But it passed.
After that any contact was mostly to do with things she was disputing legally,
their joint possessions. And this is a long time ago. I don't think Lars has
had any real contact with Maria for a few years.'
         'And the sons?'
         'Joakim and Viktor. No, not much unfortunately. That was