Page 171 of The Sleepwalker
‘This is an incredibly difficult situation,’ she continues. ‘But we really do have the skills and the knowledge to—’
‘Oh, come off it,’ he snaps, tugging up his baggy jeans.
‘Plus, we’re still a bit shaken from the hunt for the Spider,’ Anna rounds off.
‘I doubt that’ll ever pass,’ Rikard mutters.
Göran takes his seat again, pressing his hands to his face.
‘We might have the skills,’ says Omar, holding up a forensicreport. ‘But so far, this case is nothing but loose ends. More and more evidence, but no breakthroughs. No DNA, no fingerprints or decoded messages, nothing that can help us narrow down the perp.’
‘Joona, I need more energy here,’ says Noah, turning to him with bloodshot eyes.
‘This is one of the best teams I’ve ever had.’
‘Then give me a breakthrough.Anything.’
‘OK.’
‘What do you mean, “OK”? Tell me what you’ve seen,’ says Noah.
‘If I solve this case before Christmas, you’ll bring Saga in as my partner.’
‘Sorry.’ The boss smiles. ‘But you haven’t given me anything concrete. The investigation is already up to seven thousand pages. There’s no way you’re going to solve it in the next week.’
‘ButifI do .?.?.’
‘Drop it, Joona.’
‘No.’
‘Please. I promise we can have a chat about Saga once this is all over, but right now I need you to show me your hand.’
‘Nuolet,’ he says in Finnish, taking out his phone.
Joona dials Nils Åhlén’s number. There is a click, and they briefly hear the professor singing along with ‘Stargazer’ by Rainbow before the music stops.
‘You’re on loudspeaker,’ says Joona. ‘So everyone can hear you tell me that you’re not done with the autopsy.’
‘Same here .?.?. so Chaya can hear you tell me you want some preliminary thoughts anyway,’ Åhlén replies.
‘Do you have any?’
‘We’re not done with the autopsy yet, but Ida Forsgren-Fisher had unprotected sex shortly before she was killed,’ Åhlén begins.
‘Any sign of rape?’
‘Nope.’
‘Her son was staying over at a friend’s house,’ says Joona. ‘And her husband was in Tenerife while she was having sex and getting killed by someone else .?.?. which fits the pattern.’
‘What pattern?’ Noah asks, glancing over to the others.
Joona turns to Anna, who is standing by the board.
‘What kind of health issues does Ida’s son have?’ he asks.
‘Type one diabetes.’
