Page 84 of Hidden in Memories
“Are there more employees who haven’t been questioned yet?” Hanna asks.
Anton nods. “A few.”
“We need to make that a priority,” Grip says firmly.
Hanna glances at her boss. It feels strange to have her here in Åre instead of on the screen. She has a strong presence even in a remote context, but today she dominates the room. She turns her attention to Hanna and Daniel.
“Do we know when she was last seen alive?”
“It was last night. She worked an extra late shift and finished at midnight. According to the hotel’s IT system, her card was used in room343 at 23:50.” Hanna glances at her notes. “The card was used only inside the hotel during Wednesday evening, which means that she never arrived home after work, but was murdered on the way.”
“You mean the killer was lying in wait for her outside the staff-accommodation block?” Raffe says.
“Something like that.”
“It’s not very far,” Daniel says. “Only a few hundred yards. If we’re dealing with someone who knew what time Aada was due to finish, and where she lived, he could easily have waited for her in the darkness.”
Hanna pictures the scene. The girl sets off from the hotel in the middle of the night. She leaves the changing room, walks through the parking garage, and opens the side door, heading for the staff accommodation. Presumably her attention is elsewhere—it’s been a long day. She might not even notice her killer until he attacks her.
By then it’s too late.
Hanna looks at Daniel, wondering if he feels as frustrated as she does.
“Who would be familiar with Aada’s schedule?” Anton asks.
Hanna consults her notes again. “The manager told us there are three cleaning shifts. Anyone who was aware of that would know that she finished at midnight.” A scraping noise from outside makes her glance up—it sounds like a snow-clearing machine.
“Let’s talk about the MO,” Grip says. “A knife was used on the first victim, but Aada was strangled. Could that indicate that we’re dealing with two different perpetrators?”
Hanna has also considered this. From a purely hypothetical point of view, two different methods could suggest two different killers, but she finds it difficult to accept this theory. The odds on two murders being committed within such a small geographical area, only a few days apart, are just too long.
There are also similarities. Both murders involved close contact between the killer and the victim, which is less common than you might think. Most people instinctively shy away from killing at close quarters. For example, it is easier to use a gun than your bare hands.
Someone who is capable of stabbing a sleeping woman, not once but over and over again, is probably also capable of strangling a young girl. They have also established that Aada was probably in the room next door when Charlotte was murdered.
“My feeling is that it’s the same person,” Daniel says before Hanna has time to speak. This isn’t the first time they have thought exactly the same, and she gives him an appreciative smile. It’s one of the things she likes most about him—the fact that they often reach the same conclusion, even though they might argue passionately along the way.
He shares his thoughts with the group, reflecting exactly what Hanna was thinking. When he has finished, Grip folds her arms and takes a moment to consider.
“I think you’re right,” she says eventually, making a note on her pad. “Where are we with other aspects of the case? Any more on that Facebook group?”
Hanna briefly reports on what Nadim in IT has found. So far he hasn’t gotten back to her on the mysterious IP address based in the council offices in Järpen—she must remember to email him about that.
“If the IP address turns out to belong to Bengt Hedin, that would strengthen our suspicions against him,” Anton comments. He gives Hanna a meaningful look, and she nods.
“Our colleagues in Stockholm have checked out the alibi for Charlotte’s alleged lover, Stefan Forsberg,” Grip reports. “He’s spending the week in Skåne with his family, so we can rule him out.”
Hanna jots this down. At least that’s one less strand to investigate. They can focus all their energy on Paul Lehto and Bengt Hedin.
It sounds as if both men had equally strong motives to want to rid themselves of Charlotte, while poor Aada seems to have lost her life mainly because she got in the way. Although if Hedin was the main perpetrator, he must have had help to get inside the hotel—or maybe he paid someone to carry out both murders?
Everything that has emerged so far, especially the need for a key card, indicates that an employee was responsible.
Could that man be Paul Lehto?
For once Hanna’s intuition remains silent.
“What about the financial links between Charlotte Wretlind and the council?” Grip asks. “By the way, I’ve asked the prosecutor to make a decision on tapping Bengt Hedin’s phone, so that should be happening soon.”
