Page 122 of Hidden in Memories
To him she is nothing more than a cheap slut.
That is when she begins to hate herself.
96
Hanna calls Leffe while Daniel organizes the search for Bengt Hedin. She still feels nauseous with tiredness and anxiety over Filip, but at the same time, she is determined to press on with the new information.
No reply. It is early for a Saturday morning, but surely he ought to be up? She is fizzing with impatience as she tries again, drumming her fingers on the table as the signal rings out.
“Hello?” a sleepy voice mumbles eventually.
At last.
Hanna introduces herself and outlines the situation without going into detail. “I was wondering if you know whether a child was born as a result of the assault you told me about the other day?”
Leffe is breathing heavily. “Yes. That fucker destroyed her life, and he refused to take any responsibility for what he’d done.”
“We need to contact the woman who was raped—it’s a matter of urgency. If you don’t recall her name, maybe you can think of someone who would remember her?”
Silence.
“Hello?”
Hanna can’t shake off the feeling that Leffe knows a great deal about the incident—otherwise surely he wouldn’t care so much after all these years. If he doesn’t answer her questions, she is going to get inthe car and drive over to Storlien. It is quite a distance, but it might be worth it if she can get him to talk by standing face-to-face.
Maybe Leffe thinks he is protecting the victim and her now grown-up child, but he couldn’t be more wrong.
“This is a matter of life and death,” she says, trying to get across the importance of his cooperation. “If you know the woman’s name, you have to tell us. We need to speak to her right away.” Hanna stands up and starts pacing back and forth. “Please,” she begs.
“Her name was Monica,” Leffe replies with sorrow in his voice. “Monica Mogren. She was so beautiful back then ...”
Thank God.
“And the child?”
“She had a little boy. He must be nearly fifty now.”
It was exactly as Hanna thought—Leffe knew the story, and the identity of the woman who had been so shamefully treated.
“Do you have an address for them?” She can’t hide her impatience.
“Monica left Storlien. I don’t know where she and her son went—I never saw them again.”
97
It doesn’t take Hanna long to find the now-deceased Monica Mogren and her son in the public registry. She grabs her jacket and shouts to Daniel, telling him she has an address. They hurry to the car, and Daniel reverses out of the parking lot.
“Do you really think Mogren could be in danger too?” he asks as he heads for the E14. “A half brother that no one knew about?”
He sounds dubious, as if he is worried that they are devoting their time to the wrong thing.
Hanna agrees that Filip’s disappearance is their number one priority, but she can’t cope with the idea that yet another person might come to harm right in front of them.
“If Hedin and Lehto are capable of abducting Charlotte’s son, then they could easily go for her half brother. We must at least warn him.”
She has already tried calling him several times, but there is no reply. This might simply mean that his phone is switched off because of work, or because the battery needs charging. However, there is a risk that he is in acute danger if the blood tie to Charlotte is key.
If Charlotte knew she had a sibling and had already made contact with him, then Hedin and Lehto might have been aware of his existence.
