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.“Okay, Jonny, time for you to take a break.Can’t you see that she’s completely worn out? Would you like some breakfast, Charlotte?”“Yes, please.Tea and a sandwich.And I have to go to the bathroom.”“Okay.But no more than ten minutes.”Jonny was in his element as the bad cop.A certain natural talent for the role, Birgitta would probably say, but Irene thought he had conducted himself brilliantly.If he had gone on to study law, he would certainly have been a feared prosecutor.After a visit to the toilet and a cup of coffee, Charlotte had plucked up her courage again.But Jonny and Irene had made good use of the break.Tactics had been planned, and she had given Jonny the pictures showing Henrik beaten to a pulp.Charlotte said curtly, “Now I’d like to have an attorney.I won’t say any more.”“Good idea.But you’ll have to wait in this room.Meanwhile I think you should take a look at these pictures.”Jonny shoved the photos across the tabletop with a flick of his wrist.Purely out of reflex, Charlotte caught the pictures and then glanced at them.Her eyes widened and her breathing grew heavier.She seemed unable to tear her gaze away.Jonny said in a low voice, “Was he really such a pig that he deserved this?”She didn’t seem to have heard the question.He slammed his fist hard on the table and screamed, “Answer me! Did he deserve this? Was he a pig?”She seemed to wake up and looked at him in bewilderment.Her eyes narrowed and she had to clear her throat before she replied.“Not a pig.A.sawhorse.A wooden sawhorse is what he was!”“And now you’re free of him.Does it feel good? Look at the pictures! Does it feel good?”No reply.She stared straight ahead, into the wall.But Irene could see her hands twisting under the table.Soon, soon.Jonny was merciless.For the next half hour he went over all the events of Sunday night and the early hours of Monday morning once more.She had no explanation for Shorty’s visit to her before the murder, no explanation for how he got hold of her keys, no explanation for why she went out to eat with her friends instead of warning Henrik.Charlotte was in the frying pan, and she knew it.She lamely tried to prevaricate, but there were no more lies for her to tell.The time was ripe.Irene got up and walked across the room.In wordless agreement Jonny stepped aside and left the room.Birgitta slipped in and took over the listener role.Irene began.“Charlotte.I’ve been working on the investigation of the murders of Richard von Knecht and Bobo Torsson, the two arson fire victims on Berzeliigatan, and now Henrik’s death.A lot has come out in the course of the investigation, strange connections and relationships.As you no doubt know, we have arrested both Shorty and one of the Hell’s Angels gang.And they’re telling us everything now.Both of them!”Charlotte started and terror danced in her eyes.Irene calculated coldly that she didn’t know Shorty very well and consequently didn’t realize he had a reputation for always keeping his mouth shut.She had apparently never met Paul Svensson.The Hell’s Angels were Bobo’s contact.She also didn’t know about Hoffa’s fate, since she couldn’t have had time to read the morning paper or listen to a news program.If she ever did.Still in a friendly tone, Irene began to run down the facts for the terrified Charlotte.“We know that Bobo and Shorty planned a major narcotics purchase, via Bobo’s old friend Glenn ‘Hoffa’ Strömberg, vice president of the Hell’s Angels Göteborg chapter.The guys from Holland were supposed to deliver it.Everything was arranged and ready, when suddenly Bobo had trouble raising the cash.We now know why.Richard refused to pay.”Charlotte was pale gray beneath her makeup, but her eyes were fixed on Irene.Slowly Irene continued.“Five hundred thousand.Half a million.For pictures in which Richard’s face can’t be seen.No wonder he refused to pay!”With these words Irene whipped out the sex pictures, in which there was no doubt who the female participant was.For a moment it looked as though Charlotte was going to faint.Irene declared, “We know that it’s Richard you’re having sex with in these pictures.”“No! It’s.someone else!”“Who?”“I don’t remember.”“So.you don’t remember.Are you accustomed to having sex with men whose names you can’t remember afterward?”Charlotte raised her head defiantly.“It happens!”“And this man isn’t Richard?”“No.”“Then I can tell you that his face is actually in the picture.And it is Richard.”“No.His face can’t be seen.”“Yes, it can.Do you see the big painting in the background of the picture? Yes, that one.One of Bengt Lindström’s famous ‘monster heads.’ I had our technician blow it up and make a copy.Then I took it to Valle Reuter last night.He identified the painting as the portrait of Richard von Knecht that he gave to Richard for his sixtieth birthday! Since Sylvia thought they already had plenty of Bengt Lindström’s paintings on the walls, Richard hung the painting in his office apartment.How do we know that? Because the pictures are of Richard von Knecht’s office apartment, taken with a telephoto lens.Where from? From across the street.Who lives there? Why, Shorty Johannesson, cousin of your pal Bobo Torsson! Who took the pictures? Bobo, obviously! Don’t try to tell us that the man you’re fucking is anyone other than Richard von Knecht!”One look at Charlotte was enough.Her face was a clay mask.It was inconceivable that it could ever have been considered beautiful.Her features were distorted with loathing.Half choking she said, “I was forced to do it.I didn’t have any choice.I owed Bobo money.A lot of money.”“Drug debts?”“Yes.I thought I could get a little money over at the car dealership, but Henrik managed it all through his account.I was desperate.I didn’t have a cent.”“Didn’t you get money from Henrik? For the household, I mean.”“Sure.Ten thousand kronor a month.But it wasn’t enough.At first I had my own money, from my modeling days.But that ran out.Henrik took care of all the payments for the house and the cars and that was all.”“How much did you owe Bobo?”“Eighty-five thousand.”“Cocaine and amphetamines, I suppose.”Charlotte nodded.“How did Bobo find out about your relationship with Richard?”“He met me a few times on the stairs, on the way to or from Richard’s apartment.And at a models’ party in September he asked me straight out.And I was dumb enough to tell him.I’d snorted a lot and was babbling.”“And so he got the bright idea to blackmail Richard by taking pictures of the two of you.”“I didn’t want to.He forced me.And I owed him money.”“But you did it.Tell us.”“I actually liked Richard.At first.He was cool and loved sex.Henrik didn’t at all.The past year we’ve hardly touched each other.He’s.was abnormal, I think.And boring.Boring in bed.”“But Richard wasn’t?”“No [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]