Free Without a Trace by Liza Marklund

stairs, and possibly also in the children’s rooms.’
    Johansson got a paper handkerchief out of his pocket and blew his nose. Nina thought it almost looked like he was wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.
    ‘We’ve found prints from six individuals all over the house,’ he continued. ‘Three adults and three children.’
    ‘In the parents’ bedroom as well?’ Q asked.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Did they have a home-help? A cleaner, an au pair?’
    ‘Not known at present.’
    Johansson turned a page of his pad. ‘We haven’t found any evidence on the outside of the property. No sign of a break-in. All the doors were locked when the patrol arrived, so the perpetrator locked up afterwards when he or she left. It’s difficult to determine whether anything has been stolen, but items that are usually of interest to thieves, such as passports, computers, iPads, mobiles and so on, all seem to have been left. Obviously some individual items may have been taken, but that can’t be confirmed right now.’
    ‘Lerberg’s business?’
    Johansson bent over a different bundle of papers and looked through them slowly. ‘The company has three main clients who account for ninety per cent of the turnover – a shipping company in Panama, another in the Philippines, and a transport business in Spain.’
    ‘Can you check them out?’ Q said to Lamia.
    Johansson glanced up at them over his glasses. ‘Forensics were finished by three o’clock this morning, but we’re keeping the cordon in place for the time being.’
    ‘What about his political activities?’
    Johansson coughed. ‘Lerberg was a member of the Committee for Social Services and Care of the Elderly, which is responsible for funding youth and children’s services, financial support, refugee centres, psychiatric and addiction issues, as well as care of the elderly and disabled.’
    ‘Quite a few loaded issues there, then,’ Q said. ‘Distribution of money, refugees, not to mention drug addicts, alcoholics and the mentally ill. Any specific threats against Lerberg?’
    ‘Nothing the Security Police are aware of,’ Lamia said.
    ‘Was he in favour of any particularly controversial policies? Open-door immigration? Slashed benefit payments?’
    ‘Our colleagues in Nacka are looking into that.’
    Q turned to Nina. ‘How’s the victim doing this morning?’
    ‘I spoke to his doctor a little while ago. His condition is unchanged. He’s still sedated after the operation.’
    ‘Can you give us an account of his injuries?’
    Nina looked through her notes, then at Lamia. The woman was peeling an orange. She pulled out a segment and offered it to Nina with a smile.
    ‘Er, no, thanks,’ Nina said. ‘The assault appears to have taken place between Thursday evening and Friday morning last week. It looks as if the perpetrators – there were probably at least two – stuck to tried and tested torture methods. How much detail should I …?’
    ‘Go for it,’ the commissioner said.
    She straightened her back.
    ‘
Falaka
, or foot whipping, is one of the oldest torture methods we know of … Blows with batons or sticks cause extreme pain that starts in the soles of the feet and travels all the way up to the head.’
    Johansson took notes, shaking his head. Lamia ate her orange, licking her fingers. Q was watching Nina intently.
    ‘Ingemar Lerberg was beaten on the soles of his feet with a hard, thin object, probably a whip or a telescopic baton … Well, that’s just my supposition. Both his arms were out of their sockets, so he could have been subjected to a spread-eagle …’
    Johansson’s shoulders began to shake. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was crying.
    ‘That means the victim’s hands are tied behind his back, then he’s lifted up by his wrists. The strain on the shoulders is immense, and the victim soon passes out from the pain.’
    ‘Where at the crime scene could that have been carried out?’ Q asked.
    Nina visualized the