a moment.
‘So neither you nor your cats heard or saw anything?’
‘I never said that the cats didn’t see anything. I just said that I didn’t. But Marilyn here, she saw a car very early on Saturday morning, when she was sitting in the kitchen window. She sat there hissing like crazy.’
‘Marilyn saw a car? What kind of car did she see?’ asked Martin even though it sounded like a strange question.
Grip gave him a scornful look. ‘Do you seriously think cats know about different kinds of cars? Are you out of your mind?’ He tapped his temple and shook his head, laughing. As Martin stepped out into the hall, Grip closed the door behind him and fastened the safety chain.
‘Is Erling in?’ asked Gösta, knocking lightly on the door jamb of the first room in the corridor. He and Paula had arrived at the council offices in Tanumshede.
Gunilla gave a start. She was sitting with her back to the door.
‘Oh, you really scared me,’ she said, fluttering her hands nervously.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that,’ said Gösta. ‘We’re looking for Erling.’
‘Does it have to do with Mats?’ Her lower lip began quivering. ‘It’s just so awful.’ She reached for a packet of tissues and used one to wipe away the tears that had welled up in her eyes.
‘Yes, it does,’ replied Gösta. ‘We want to talk to all of you, but we’d like to start with Erling, if he’s here.’
‘He’s in his office. I’ll show you where it is.’
She got up and, after blowing her nose quite loudly, escorted them to an office further along the corridor.
‘Erling, you have visitors,’ she said, stepping aside.
‘Well, hello. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?’ said Erling heartily as he stood up and shook Gösta’s hand.
Then he looked at Paula and seemed to be feverishly searching his memory.
‘Petronella, right? This brain of mine is like a well-oiled machine. I never forget a thing.’
‘It’s Paula, actually,’ she told him, reaching out to shake his hand.
For a moment Erling looked a bit embarrassed, then he merely shrugged.
‘We’re here to ask you a few questions about Mats Sverin,’ Gösta told him. He sat down in one of the visitor’s chairs in front of Erling’s desk, which prompted Paula and Erling to sit down as well.
‘Yes, it’s awful,’ Erling said with a strange grimace. ‘Everyone in the office is very upset, and naturally we’re all wondering what happened. Is there anything you can tell us?’
‘Not much at this time.’ Gösta shook his head. ‘I can only confirm what you were told yesterday when we rang your office. Sverin was found dead in his flat, and we’re investigating his death.’
‘Was he murdered?’
‘That’s not something we can either confirm or deny.’
Gösta could heard how formal his words sounded, but he knew that he’d catch hell from Hedström if he gave away too much information, which might damage the case.
‘We need your help,’ he went on. ‘From what I understand, Sverin didn’t come to work on Monday, or on Tuesday either. That was when you contacted his parents. Was it usual for him to miss work?’
‘On the contrary. I don’t think he’d taken a single sick day since he started here. As far as I recall, he was never absent for any reason. Not even for a dentist’s appointment. He was punctual, dedicated, and very conscientious. That’s why we got worried when he didn’t turn up or contact us.’
‘How long had he worked here?’ asked Paula.
‘Two months. We were really lucky to find someone like Mats. The job had been advertised for five weeks, and we’d brought in a few candidates for interviews, but none of them had the qualifications we were looking for. When Mats applied, we were concerned that he was over-qualified, but he assured us that the job was exactly what he wanted. He seemed especially keen to move back to Fjällbacka again. And who can blame him? It’s the pearl of the coast.’ Erling threw out his hands.
‘He didn’t give any particular reason for wanting to move back?’ asked Paula, leaning forward.
‘No, except that he wanted to get out of the big-city rat race and have a better quality of life. And that’s precisely what our town has to offer. Peace and quiet and a great quality of life.’ Erling carefully enunciated every syllable as if giving a PR presentation.
‘So he didn’t mention anything about his personal circumstances?’ Gösta was beginning to get impatient.
‘He didn’t talk about his private life. I knew that he was originally from Fjällbacka and that his parents still live there, but other than that I can’t remember him ever saying much about his life outside the office.’
‘Sverin was involved in a very unpleasant incident shortly before he moved here from Göteborg. He was assaulted and beaten so badly that he ended up in hospital. Did he mention that?’ asked Paula.
‘No, never,’ said Erling in surprise. ‘He did have several scars on his face, but he said that he’d got his trouser leg caught in his bicycle wheel and taken a fall.’
Gösta and Paula exchanged looks of astonishment.
‘Who attacked him? Was it the same person who …?’ Erling almost whispered the questions.
‘According to his parents, it was an act of unprovoked violence. We don’t think it has any connection to Sverin’s death, but we can’t rule it out,’ said Gösta.
‘So he never mentioned his years in Göteborg?’ Paula insisted.
Erling shook his head. ‘I can only repeat what I already told you. Mats never talked about himself. It was as if his life started when he took the job here.’
‘Didn’t you find that rather odd?’
‘Not really. I don’t think anyone gave it much thought. He wasn’t anti-social by any means. He laughed and joked and joined in the chat about TV shows and the sorts of topics that come up during a coffee break. I don’t think anyone really noticed that he never discussed anything personal. It’s only now, after the fact, that it’s occurred to me.’
‘Was he doing a good job?’ asked Gösta.
‘Mats was an excellent financial officer. As I said, he was conscientious, methodical, and painstaking with his work. Those are all desirable qualities in someone who’s in charge of financial matters, especially in such a politically sensitive office as ours.’
‘You have no complaints about him?’ asked Paula.
‘None. Mats was extremely talented in his field. And he has been an invaluable resource for Project Badis. He came on
