Page 75 of Hidden in Memories
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Lots of people have therapy.”
“It doesn’t feel that way.”
“I had counseling last year,” Hanna points out.
“That’s different. It was because of something that happened to you in the line of duty.”
This sounds so stupid that Hanna rolls her eyes. “You know what I think you should do?” she says, without giving him time to ponder. “Ask for an emergency appointment with your therapist. Go and see him or her, explain what happened today. Get some help to process it right away.”
“I can’t do that—we’re in the middle of a case, we have a new victim ...”
“Just do it.” Hanna isn’t giving up. “If you don’t deal with this now, you won’t be any use in the investigation.”
“I don’t have time,” Daniel protests, but with less conviction.
“Find the time. What if this happens again, and you really lose it?”
Hanna steps forward and hugs him tightly. Her feelings spill over when he relaxes in her arms.
“Thanks,” he murmurs in her ear. “For understanding.”
61
There isn’t much left of Espen Lund’s professional persona as he sits opposite Daniel and Hanna. The hunted look in his eyes reveals a high stress level, and there is a noticeable twitch beneath one eye. He is slumped on his chair, chewing a fingernail.
They are in the same conference room as before, and it is just over an hour since the body was found.
In spite of the difficult situation, Daniel feels calm. It was a relief to tell Hanna about the therapy, and he has taken her advice. He sent a message to Jovanka asking if she can squeeze him in as soon as possible. He has to try to find a window, even though the case is escalating.
He doesn’t want to disappoint Hanna, and deep down he knows she’s right. He needs to deal with his reaction to the journalist. This investigation has taken a greater toll on him than he realized.
The fact that another woman has been killed is nothing less than a nightmare.
Espen lets out a groan and buries his face in his hands. He appears to be on the verge of collapse.
“This is horrendous. We’re going to have to close the hotel, there’s nothing else for it.” With a pleading note in his voice he goes on. “Are you sure it was murder? It couldn’t have been an accident?”
“I’m sorry,” Hanna informs him. “There is absolutely no indication that it was an accident. We have to wait for the pathologist’s report, of course, but it looks as if the victim was strangled.”
Espen seems to shrink before their eyes as the scope of the catastrophe sinks in. His phone is constantly bleeping, but he doesn’t bother to switch it to silent. Or maybe he’s so shocked that he hasn’t even noticed.
Daniel feels for him, he is in a terrible situation, but they have no choice. The most important thing right now is to get as much information as possible about the latest victim so that they can make progress.
“What happens now?” Espen asks in a small voice.
For a moment Daniel isn’t sure whether he’s talking about the investigation or the hotel.
“What do I do? Should I send everyone home, all the guests and the staff, to be on the safe side?”
Daniel notices a burst blood vessel on his left cheek, tiny red threads spreading in all directions like a spider’s web.
“It’s probably best to wait a while,” Hanna advises. “We need the opportunity to interview everyone who lives in the staff-accommodation block, to find out if anyone saw or heard anything.”
“And we need all the information you have about the victim. Everything.”
Apart from the woman’s name, Aada Kuus, they have learned that she was twenty-one years old and came from Maardu, a small town in Estonia. Aada had worked as a cleaner for six months and was popular with her colleagues, although she was regarded as shy and reserved and didn’t speak Swedish particularly well.
No one in the hotel can understand what has happened.
