Free Closed Circles (Sandhamn Murders Book 2) by Viveca Sten

after Dr. Sachsen set it down in a bowl.
    “It’s a small-caliber bullet,” Dr. Sachsen said. “Most likely a .22.”
    “What does that tell us?” Margit asked.
    “Well, I’m not a ballistics expert, but I’ve brought down a deer or two. These bullets are often used in hunting.”
    “Why is that?”
    “These bullets expand when they enter the body. That’s why it has this mushroom appearance at the top.”
    “To cause more damage,” Margit muttered to herself.
    “It’s also unusual to use lead-tipped ammunition in a handgun,” Dr. Sachsen continued. “Which would further indicate a rifle.”
    Dr. Sachsen picked up the bullet again so they could study it more carefully.
    “Look here. Here’s the lead tip. Only the casing is copper. Typical hunting ammunition. The bullet stays in the body and causes the maximum injury possible, just as you said, Margit.”
    He slowly set the bullet down.
    “If I were you, I would look for a rifle designed to hunt small animals.”
    “If a rifle was used, the shooter could not have been aboard the Emerald Gin .”
    Thomas found himself coming to the conclusion as he uttered the words.
    Since the bullet had entered Juliander’s chest from the right, the killer must have been on a boat to his windward side. In other words, from the spectator boats.
    It fit their theory.
    He closed his eyes to better visualize the start of the race. The police boat was behind the starting line, with the big starting vessel right in front of them. There were hundreds of spectators.
    “At least two people must have been involved,” Thomas started to think out loud. “One steering the boat and the other taking the shot. It would be too difficult to do both at once, especially since the shot was so precise.”
    “Is it even possible to shoot accurately from a moving boat?” asked Margit.
    “You’d have to be very good to hit such a target,” Dr. Sachsen said. “But in the right position, with the right weapon, it could be done. What was the weather like that day?”
    “Very calm,” Thomas said. “A light breeze. An ideal summer day.”
    “Perfect circumstances for aiming a rifle accurately,” Dr. Sachsen said. “You could do it from any deck.”
    “Someone should have heard the shot.” Margit looked skeptical.
    “Not if the sound of the starting gun masked it,” Thomas said. “That’s a loud bang, believe me.”
    “But how could someone time it so well? It’s less than a second.”
    “A real ace could manage it,” Dr. Sachsen said.
    “Perhaps he used a silencer,” Margit said. “That sound wouldn’t have carried far.”
    Thomas nodded. “Especially if he synchronized it with the starting gun. Even if someone else heard, they might have thought it was just an echo.”
    “A silencer works well with small-caliber ammunition,” Dr. Sachsen said. “But it’s harder with larger calibers. You can’t dampen the sound so well. With a .22, there’s nothing but a dull thud.”
    “Hardly noticeable at sea,” Thomas said.
    Again, he remembered Juliander on the deck after the race began, and the confusion that broke out when the crew realized their skipper was dead.
    Thomas took one final look at the bluish-white body on the examination table.
    “We’re dealing with a cold-blooded killer,” he said.

C HAPTER 17
    The drive from Solna to Saltsjöbaden usually took about thirty minutes if it wasn’t rush hour. Thomas drove while Margit sank into thought. They passed Fisksätra, a crowded group of shabby apartment buildings built in the seventies. They stood in stark contrast to the fashionable houses in Saltsjö-Duvnäs and Saltsjöbaden.
    A few minutes later, they reached Saltsjö Square and turned west toward Neglinge. The Juliander house sat on the other side of Hotel Bay and the historic Grand Hotel. The winding road led them past huge mansions with exquisite gardens sitting next to some white brick town houses from the sixties.
    Out on the spit, they could see the