Firewall by Henning Mankell Read Free Book Online Page A

Hökberg told her to do. That doesn't make her any less guilty, but it gives an appropriate picture of their relation to each other."
"Does it even matter?" Höglund said. "Whether they needed the money for clothes or something else?"
"I suppose not, at this point. The prosecutor certainly has enough evidence to convict Hökberg."
"They've never been in trouble with us before," Martinsson said. "I made a quick search of our database. And they were both doing well at school."
Wallander again sensed that they were taking the wrong approach to the case. Or at the least that they had been too hasty in writing off other explanations for the murder. But since he couldn't put this hunch into words, he said nothing. The motive for the murder could very well have been to do with money. They simply had to keep their eyes open for other possibilities.
The phone rang and Hansson answered. After a while he put the receiver down. "That was Nyberg," he said. "They found the knife."
Wallander nodded and shut the file in front of him. "Naturally, we still have to speak to the parents and make sure we conduct a thorough background investigation, but I think we can safely forward the preliminary information to the prosecutor."
Holgersson raised her hand to speak. "We need a press conference. We've been barraged by calls from the media. It is still a far cry from normal that two young girls commit this kind of violent crime."
Wallander looked at Höglund, but she shook her head. Over the past few years she had often dealt with the media, a job he thoroughly despised. But not this time. Wallander understood.
"I'll do it," he said. "Do we have a time?"
"I'm going to suggest 1 p.m."
Wallander made a note.
They divided up the tasks and he brought the meeting to a close. Everyone wanted the matter disposed of as rapidly as possible. It was an exceptionally unpleasant case, and no-one wanted to spend more time on it than they had to. Wallander would visit the Hökberg family. Martinsson and Höglund would talk to Eva Persson and her parents.
Soon the room was empty. Wallander could feel the symptoms of his flu getting worse. At least maybe I'll infect a journalist, he thought and dug into his pockets for a tissue.
He bumped into Nyberg in the corridor. Nyberg was wearing boots and a warm coat, his hair splayed in all directions. He was clearly in a bad mood.
"I heard you found the knife," Wallander said.
"Looks like the county can no longer afford to pay for basic upkeep," Nyberg said. "We were ankle-deep in leaves, but we eventually found it."
"What kind of a knife?"
"Kitchen knife. Pretty big. The tip broke off, probably from hitting a rib, so she must have used a surprising amount of force. But then again it was a cheap knife."
Wallander shook his head.
"It's hard to believe," Nyberg said. "I don't know what happened to the basic respect for human life. How much money did they get?"
"We don't know yet, but probably about 600 kronor. It couldn't have been much more. Lundberg was at the beginning of his shift and he never carried a lot of cash at the start."
Nyberg muttered something under his breath and walked away. Wallander went back to his office. For a while he sat at his desk without knowing what to do next. His throat hurt. Finally, he opened the file with a sigh. The Hökbergs lived to the west of Ystad. He wrote down the address, got up and put on his coat. As he was leaving the phone rang. He picked it up. It was Linda. The noises and clatter in the background made him think she was calling from the restaurant.
"I got your message this morning," she said.
"This morning?"
"I wasn't at home last night."
Wallander knew better than to ask her where she spent the night. It would only make her cross and she'd slam down the phone.
"Well, I didn't call for anything special," he said. "I just wanted to know how you were."
"I'm fine. How about you?"
"I've got a slight cold. Otherwise things are the same. I was wondering if you had any plans to come