Free The Man Who Watched Women by Michael Hjorth Page B

astray.
    â€˜I am still the best profiler in Sweden. I can promise you that you won’t be disappointed, even if I perhaps haven’t been all that active in the academic world of late.’
    â€˜And where have you been active? Have you actually published anything at all since the nineties? Are you working? Are you doing anything?’
    â€˜Look, if you have doubts about my abilities I can offer a guest lecture. So that you can see what I’m capable of. Just as a one-off, so to speak.’
    â€˜Oh yes, you’re used to that kind of thing, aren’t you? One-offs.’
    The tone of her voice startled Sebastian. This sounded personal. Furious. Possibly hurt. He looked at her, but still didn’t recognise her. Even the eyes which he had thought seemed familiar a second ago provided no clues. Had she put on weight? Or lost it? Cut her hair? He had no idea. His brain was working at top speed. There was something about her. About that angry, slightly high voice. Suddenly a vague memory came into his mind. Too unclear to grasp fully, but he became convinced that in spite of the fact that he didn’t really remember her, he had seen her naked. In a stairwell in Bandhagen. The faint frozen image of a moment long ago. A naked woman screaming furiously at him in a stairwell. Surely he hadn’t told her to go to hell? Or had she said it to him?
    Could the situation really be that bad?
    Veronika Fors tore up the contract in front of him and gave him the finger.
    The situation probably was that bad.
    Unfortunately.

‘Guess who’s the new governor of Lövhaga?’
    Vanja settled comfortably in her chair and allowed her gaze to sweep over her three colleagues around the table in the Room. Billy smiled to himself. She really couldn’t let it go. In the car on the way back to Stockholm she had made several references to the fact that they had come across Thomas Haraldsson again. As a prison governor. How was that possible? What were they thinking of? Bribes, total brain freeze or someone who was determined to finish off Lövhaga were the only explanations she could come up with to explain his appointment.
    Billy had listened quietly. Haraldsson didn’t particularly bother him, and he had been quite pleased to see him again. He might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but there was something appealing and slightly pitiful about the man from VästerÃ¥s who struggled so hard. There was nothing wrong with his ambition, and with the right support he might make a good job of his new post. Billy hoped so. Quietly, to himself. He was fairly sure he was the only person in the room who felt that way. He looked at Ursula and Torkel, who were both shaking their heads in response to Vanja’s question.
    â€˜I didn’t even know they had someone new,’ said Torkel, taking a sip of his fourth cup of coffee from the machine.
    â€˜Thomas Haraldsson.’ Vanja looked expectantly at her colleagues as she waited for the reaction. It came.
    â€˜Thomas Haraldsson from VästerÃ¥s?’ Ursula’s expression was quizzical, as if she thought she must have misunderstood. Vanja nodded. ‘How the hell did he end up there?’ Ursula went on.
    â€˜I have no idea – it’s a mystery.’
    â€˜How is he?’ Torkel asked quietly. He looked neither surprised nor annoyed, Vanja noticed. More concerned, in fact.
    â€˜He looked very much at home.’
    â€˜I meant his shoulder.’
    â€˜He said he could still feel it a little bit, but otherwise everything seemed fine,’ said Billy.
    â€˜Good.’ After all, Thomas Haraldsson had been shot while he was under Torkel’s command, and Torkel felt slightly guilty because he hadn’t been in touch with Kerstin Hanser and the VästerÃ¥s police to find out how he was. He had intended to follow up several times, but had never quite got around to it.
    â€˜So what did he say about Hinde?’