Page 108 of Hidden in Memories
That doesn’t mean she deserved to die.
And she was struck by the fact that Filip defended her; he insisted that his mother loved him deeply. He is devastated by her death.
Which is important to bear in mind.
“I’ve lain awake going over and over it all for the past few nights,” Henry continues. “And I do believe the murder is connected to business.”
The nonchalant attitude is gone. He is serious now, with sorrow and melancholy in his eyes. But there is something else too.
Fear?
“The level of violence ... It makes me think of the Russian Mafia, if you know what I mean? Charlotte was prepared to push through thehotel project at any price. I hope she wasn’t so desperate that she turned to organized crime ... but what if she did?”
Hanna looks up. Is he suggesting that Charlotte sought help from criminal networks to bring the project to fruition?
“And now she’s dead,” Henry adds. “In such a terrible way.”
There is no mistaking his sincerity. He and Charlotte had known each other for over fifty years, since they were children. Her business depended on him. It’s not surprising that her death has made him think about his own fate—is he worried that he too could be a target?
No one is immortal. The gods take whoever they want.
Her sympathy begins to return.
Henry empties his glass and clears his throat. His voice is quiet and sad when he speaks.
“I’m pretty sure that Charlotte paid out large sums of money in bribes, to smooth the passage of her application for planning permission. I’d decided to bring the matter up with her when I arrived here. That’s why I’m wondering if the Mafia could be involved, or similar players. If she got into bed with criminals, metaphorically speaking, and something went wrong, could she have been subjected to blackmail? I should have mentioned this the first time we spoke, but it felt ... awkward. I’ve been afraid to follow the idea through.”
Hanna is thinking feverishly. A couple of pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. Henry is worried that the money Charlotte has paid out is linked to organized crime, but this also shines a light on something the police already suspect: that illegal money has been used to bribe Bengt Hedin.
Henry’s information strengthens the hypothesis about Hedin’s involvement. And his motive for homicide.
Hanna gives him a grateful smile. It was worth her coming here—her intuition was correct.
Henry did have something important to tell her.
85
The only sound in the bedroom is Daniel’s regular breathing. He is deeply asleep; it is only Ida who can’t settle.
She crept off to bed before him, pretended to be asleep when he came in.
It’s all so confusing. She doesn’t know what’s going on, just that it felt wrong when he tried to come on to her in the living room.
She didn’t want him to touch her.
Now she’s lying here in the darkness, wondering if it’s because she feels guilty about meeting up with Gustav today, and the fact that she even toyed with the idea of kissing him. Or is it worse than that?
Something deeper and more frightening?
She is no longer attracted to Daniel.
Nothing happened between her and Gustav, she tells herself yet again. The fantasy about kissing him was only in her head. In reality they chatted over coffee for less than an hour, then he had to go off and meet the group doing the peaks.
Okay, so he asked if they could see each other again, but that’s a perfectly reasonable question when you’re friends.
At the same time she can’t deny that something happens to her body when she thinks of him.
If only she could feel that way about Daniel.
