Page 78 of Hidden in Memories
“The land transfer and the building permission you pushed through don’t look good,” Gunilla says. “We’re going to have to make some kind of comment, possibly issue a press release. Damage control, if you understand what I mean.”
Bengt leans back in his chair in an effort to gain a few more seconds of thinking time. This is an absolute disaster; his political career is hanging by a thread.
He needs Gunilla on his side if he is going to survive.
His stomach is churning with anxiety.
His mouth is dry when he speaks.
“What do you want us to do?”
One of the basic rules of politics is deny, deny, deny, but if you grovel enough, you are usually forgiven. Provided you can lay all your cards on the table.
He can’t do that. Not even close.
“You need to come up with something,” Gunilla says, heading for the door. “By the way, I’ve read all the documentation—just so you know. It doesn’t look good, Bengt. You have to deal with this—do I make myself clear?”
She walks out and closes the door behind her. Bengt stares blankly into space.
How the hell is he going to get out of this?
63
Daniel and Hanna are waiting in the conference room. Espen Lund has gone to fetch Paul Lehto so they can question him at last.
Hanna is getting restless. She can’t sit still, and keeps fiddling with her phone.
“We need to press Lehto as hard as we can,” she says, pushing back her chair. She goes over to the window, rests her forehead on the glass, and closes her eyes, as if she is trying to gather her strength. Daniel knows exactly how she feels. He is also finding it hard to shake off the oppressive atmosphere after the conversation with Espen.
The more they found out about poor Aada Kuus, the more tragic her death appeared.
“We have no forensic evidence linking Lehto to either of the crime scenes,” Daniel points out. “Just information about an argument at reception.”
“He’s a huntsman, so no doubt he can handle a hunting knife,” Hanna counters. “Plus he owns a snow scooter and works at the hotel. We know there was a confrontation between him and Charlotte on Sunday—that’s confirmed by two witnesses.”
Everything she says is correct, but without concrete evidence it’s irrelevant.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a murderer,” Daniel says.
Hanna sighs loudly, then sits back down again.
“I know, I’m just so frustrated. I can’t bear it that another woman is dead. It feels as if it happened right under our noses. What aren’t we seeing?”
Daniel wishes he had an answer for her.
The big question is whether the quarrel at reception triggered the first murder. Is it likely that the incident made Paul Lehto so angry that he spontaneously, without any preparations, crept up to the Silver Suite and took the life of the troublesome guest? Then strangled Aada Kuus with her own scarf?
It doesn’t sound reasonable, but he has seen other cases where an apparently minor event has led to a disproportionately violent reaction.
Deep human impulses such as anger, hatred, and desire are not always logical.
They can’t rule out the possibility that Paul was so incensed that his emotions took over that night. There doesn’t seem to have been any previous contact between him and Charlotte, except that she was staying in the hotel where he worked.
There is a knock on the door.
“Come in!”
Daniel recognizes Paul from his passport photo. He is slightly overweight and has dark stubble on his chin, as if he needs to shave twice a day.
