Free The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell Page B

on.’
    Wallander made no reply, simply nodded and drove off. That night he lay in bed without being able to sleep. The last time he looked at the clock it was 5 a.m. The following day Hakan von Enke disappeared. And Wallander never reported the attack he had suffered. He told no one, not even Linda.

    When von Enke failed to turn up after two days, Wallander’s future son-in-law called and asked him to go to Stockholm. Since he was still off sick, he agreed. Wallander realised that it was in fact Louise who had asked for help. He made it clear that he didn’t want to meddle in police business; his colleagues in Stockholm were dealing with the case. Police officers who interfered in other forces’ work and poked their noses where they shouldn’t were never popular.
    The evening before Wallander left for Stockholm, one of those pleasant evenings in early spring when it was growing noticeably lighter, he paid a visit to Linda. As usual, Hans was not at home; he always worked late on what Wallander referred to wryly as ‘financial speculations’. That had led to the first and so far only argument between him and his prospective son-in-law. Hans had protested that he and his colleagues were not involved in anything as simple as that. But when Wallander asked what they did do, he had the impression that the answer referred in fact to speculations in foreign exchange and shares, derivatives and hedge funds (things that Wallander freely admitted he didn’t understand). Linda had intervened and explained that her father had no idea about mysterious and hence frightening modern financial goings-on. There had been a time when Wallander would have been upset by what she said, but now he noticed the warmth in her voice and simply flung his arms out wide as a sign that he submitted to her judgement.
    But now he was sitting in the house shared by his daughter and her partner. The baby, who still hadn’t been given a name, was lying on a mat by Linda’s feet. Wallander observed her, and it occurred to him, perhaps for the first time, that his own daughter would never sit on his knee again. When one’s own child has a child, some things are gone forever.
    ‘What do you think happened to Hakan?’ Wallander asked. ‘What’s your view, both as a police officer and as Hans’s partner?’
    Linda replied immediately - she had clearly been prepared for the question.
    ‘I’m sure something serious has happened. I’m even afraid he might be dead. Hakan isn’t the type of person who just vanishes. He would never commit suicide without leaving a note. Mind you, he would never commit suicide, full stop; but that’s another matter. If he had done something wrong, he would never slink off without taking his punishment. I simply don’t believe that he disappeared of his own free will.’
    ‘Can you explain?’
    ‘Do I need to? Surely you understand what I mean.’
    ‘Yes, but I want to hear it in your own words.’
    Wallander noted yet again that she had prepared herself meticulously. Linda was not merely somebody talking about a relative; she was also a shrewd young police officer setting out her view of the case.
    ‘When you talk about something not happening of the victim’s own free will, there are two possibilities. One is an accident - he fell through thin ice or was run over by a car, for instance. The other is that he was subjected to premeditated violence, abducted or killed. The accident explanation no longer seems feasible. There are no reports of him in the hospital. So that possibility can be ruled out. That leaves only the other possibility.’
    Wallander raised his hand and interrupted her.
    ‘Let’s make an assumption,’ he said. ‘You and I know this happens much more often than you might think. Especially where older men are concerned.’
    ‘You mean that he might have run off with some woman?’
    ‘Something along those lines, yes.’
    She shook her head firmly.
    ‘I’ve spoken to Hans about that. He says