Page 76 of Hidden in Memories
Why would anyone want to murder Aada?
Her clothes were undisturbed, so there is no indication of a sexual motive. However, it is hard to ignore the stabbing that took place just a few days ago.
“We can’t help feeling that Aada’s death might be connected to Charlotte Wretlind’s murder,” Hanna says. “Are you aware of any links between the two women? Did they have any kind of contact?”
“I can’t answer that off the top of my head.”
“Okay. Did Aada clean the Silver Suite when Charlotte was staying there?”
Espen looks confused, as if his brain were scrambled.
“Can you access her work roster?” Hanna clarifies. “It would be a start.”
Espen focuses on the iPad on the table in front of him and searches the system.
“Aada was working on the night Charlotte was murdered,” he says after a little while. “Not in the Silver Suite, but on the same floor.”
“Can you see what time she was in each room?” Daniel asks. “I’m guessing it should be possible to see when she swiped her key card.”
“I’ll have to check that out with IT.”
His voice is steadier now, maybe it’s easier to function when there is a concrete task to carry out. This isn’t the first time Daniel has dealt with a shocked individual, and he knows that everyone reacts differently.
There is no right or wrong.
Espen picks up his phone, and after a brief conversation, they have their answer.
“Someone is bringing the log,” he says.
Within a couple of minutes, there is a knock on the door, and a tall man in hotel uniform appears. Daniel recognizes him—he’s the guy who told Hanna about the argument at reception.
“Excuse me,” he says to Espen. “IT told me to give you this.”
He hands over a printout. Espen gives him an appreciative smile and receives a brief nod in return.
When he has gone Espen spreads out the documents on the table and pushes the relevant sheet of paper across to Hanna and Daniel.
“Okay, so this shows that Aada cleaned several rooms on the sixth floor late on Sunday evening. We can see which rooms she went into but not how long she stayed, because the card doesn’t register when you leave. According to this log, she was in rooms 650, 642, and 633, all of which were due to receive new guests the following morning. Then she moved down to the fifth floor.”
“Which of those rooms is closest to the Silver Suite?” Hanna asks.
“Room 633—it’s next door.” There is a little more color in Espen’s face now. “It looks as if Aada went back to 633 late at night—six minutes after midnight. The late shift finishes at midnight, so I’m not sure why she would have done that—maybe she forgot something.”
Daniel considers this information. The time of Aada’s return to room 633 more or less matches the pathologist’s estimate of Charlotte’s time of death.
Admittedly an autopsy can’t pinpoint the exact moment when a person stopped breathing—that requires some kind of supporting evidence or additional factors. However, in this instance there is a witness—the father in the room below who heard a noise at that time.
“So Aada would have been in the neighboring room when we believe Charlotte was murdered,” Daniel says slowly.
Hanna nods in agreement. “That could be our explanation. If Aada happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and actually saw the killer when he fled from the Silver Suite on Sunday night ...”
It was just hours after the argument at reception,Daniel thinks.
“Do you know if Aada has anything to do with Paul Lehto?” he asks. “Would Lehto have had access to her work schedule?”
The last time they spoke to Espen Lund, they asked a whole series of questions about Lehto. He hadn’t been aware of the quarrel between Lehto and Charlotte, and had reacted strongly to the information.
Now he reacts even more strongly, his eyes full of doubt.
