Page 79 of Hidden in Memories
“Espen said you wanted to talk to me?”
“We do have a few questions—take a seat.”
Hanna fixes him with her gaze. “Why haven’t you been at work for the past few days?”
Daniel has no objection to her direct approach. There is no point in pussyfooting around at this stage.
“I was sick.” Paul’s tone is defensive. “Surely Espen told you that?”
“We’ve been trying to contact you, but you didn’t answer your phone.”
Paul shrugs, which irritates Hanna.
“We sent a patrol car to your home, but no one answered the door. How do you explain that?”
“I must have been asleep.”
Daniel isn’t convinced, but they need more than this to regard him as a suspect.
“We heard that there was a confrontation between you and Charlotte Wretlind on Sunday,” he says. “Did you stay home because you were afraid you might be a murder suspect?”
“We have eyewitnesses who were there at the time of the argument,” Hanna adds. “What was it about?”
Paul sucks in his lower lip so far that it almost disappears. “Who told you that?”
“That’s irrelevant,” Daniel replies calmly. “We just want to hear your version of what happened.”
“Was it Iris? Is she the one who gossiped?”
“It would be better if you answered the question. This is not about your colleague.”
Paul looks furious, but Daniel isn’t sure whether his anger is directed at Iris or the two police officers. There is an uncomfortable silence; then Paul inhales audibly through his nose.
“Okay, so Sunday was chaotic. All forms of transport were delayed because of the blizzard in central Sweden, which meant that a large number of guests arrived at the same time. I got them checked in as fast as I could, but it was impossible to please some of them. They took out their frustration on us, as if the bad weather was our fault.”
He sounds surprisingly bitter, and Daniel wonders why he works at a hotel if he dislikes the guests so much.
“These rich bastards from Stockholm ... They don’t give a damn. They think they have a right to everything, and they treat the staff however they like just because they can afford to stay in an expensive hotel. As if we’re not people too.”
Daniel listens to the accent. It sounds as if Paul grew up in the far north of Sweden, maybe in Tornedalen on the border with Finland?
Could that be the explanation behind his contempt for the big city, for the unmistakable anger?
“In the middle of all the chaos that woman showed up and started acting up. She literally tried to push her way to the front of the line. She was complaining about the cleaning and the lack of toilet tissue. I did my best to calm her down, but at the same time it was my job to take care of those who were ahead of her. When I asked her to wait, she got even madder. And then ...”
“What happened then?” Hanna prompts him.
“A tall vase crashed to the floor. I hadn’t put it there, but I got the blame.”
He shakes his head, clearly upset by the recollection. He obviously believes he was treated unfairly.
“It was such a mess, and Charlotte Wretlind just kept on. She criticized everything I did, and threatened to speak to my boss. She was crazy, if you ask me.”
“So what did you do?”
“Again, I tried to calm her down as best I could. I don’t think I actually shouted at her. I might have raised my voice a little, but it was no more than that. It wasn’t a ‘confrontation’ as you put it.” He spreads his hands wide. “Iris must have exaggerated. She does that sometimes. I’m afraid she’s the kind of person who likes to gossip about her colleagues.”
Paul doesn’t seem to have any idea that Iris wasn’t the only one to report the incident. The original tip-off came from the man in theconcierge department. Nor does he appear to be aware of the irony in criticizing Iris for going behind his back while he’s busy bad-mouthing her during this interview.
