Free The Disappeared by Kristina Ohlsson Page A

end?’ Fredrika asked.
    ‘She rang and told me it was over.’
    ‘That’s low, not telling you face to face,’ Cecilia said.
    ‘Too bloody right,’ Daniella agreed. ‘And then she came back.’
    ‘You got back together?’
    ‘Not properly, just the odd snog. She was at the university – she was too good for me. I think she was ashamed of me.’
    Fredrika looked at a photograph on top of the fridge: Daniella’s brother again. He was everywhere.
    ‘When did you break off contact?’
    Daniella shuffled uncomfortably.
    ‘We didn’t. I didn’t want to let go completely, if you know what I mean.’
    ‘Not really.’
    ‘If you like a person, you want to keep in touch. You don’t want them to disappear.’
    Like your brother did.
    ‘And what did Rebecca think about that? Did she call you sometimes, or was it always you who called her?’
    ‘It was mostly me. She was always so fucking busy. Swimming lessons for babies and the church choir and God knows what. And then there was bloody Håkan as well.’
    Fredrika straightened up.
    ‘Håkan?’
    ‘He kept on poking his nose in, saying I shouldn’t ring Rebecca. He was off his head – he couldn’t see that she didn’t want him to ring her either.’
    ‘Did Rebecca regard Håkan as a problem?’
    Daniella gave a short, barking laugh.
    ‘He followed her around like a puppy. He seemed to think they were best friends, or something.’
    ‘But they weren’t?’
    ‘No fucking chance. In the end she couldn’t stand him.’
    And could she stand you? Fredrika wondered.
    ‘When did you last speak to Rebecca?’ Cecilia asked.
    ‘The day before she went missing; I rang her, but she didn’t have time to chat. She was on her way to see that toffee-nosed mentor of hers. She was supposed to call me later, but she never did.’
    Fredrika noted the mention of Rebecca’s mentor; it had come up several times, and she still didn’t know what it meant.
    ‘One last question,’ she said. ‘Do you know whether Rebecca was involved in internet dating?’
    ‘Everybody knew that.’
    ‘OK, but do you remember hearing her talk about it?’
    ‘No, I don’t think so.’
    ‘We’ve heard rumours that she was selling sex on the internet; do you know anything about that?’
    Daniella’s cheeks were burning as she looked at Fredrika.
    ‘No.’
    Her voice was subdued, almost a whisper.
    ‘Daniella, it’s extremely important that you don’t keep any information from us at this stage,’ Cecilia said.
    Daniella cleared her throat and looked Cecilia in the eye.
    ‘I’m not keeping anything from you, because I don’t know anything. OK?’
    Fredrika and Cecilia glanced at one another and reached a mutual decision to bring the interview to an end.
    ‘She’s lying,’ Cecilia said as they were getting in the car.
    ‘You’re right,’ Fredrika said. ‘The question is why? And what about?’

9
    Alex was trying to persuade the pathologist to work faster. He was keen to get on, to move a step closer to a definite identification of the second body discovered in the forest.
    ‘I’m doing the best I can,’ said the pathologist. ‘I can’t work any faster when the body is this old.’
    Alex was ashamed of himself, but thanked his lucky stars that they had known each other for such a long time. Their relationship was purely professional; over the years any personal exchanges had been few and far between. If the pathologist knew that Alex had been widowed, then it was because someone else had told him. Alex himself had never mentioned it.
    It’s not because I’ve forgotten you, Lena.
    He gathered the team in their temporary meeting room. Fredrika was still there.
    ‘What hours are you actually working? I thought you were supposed to be doing seventy-five per cent?’
    He was trying to sound caring rather than annoyed.
    ‘I’m working approximately seventy-five per cent,’ Fredrika replied. ‘I was actually supposed to be somewhere else after lunch, but it all sorted