The Blood Spilt by Åsa Larsson Read Free Book Online Page A

examiner, Pohjanen.
    “She was certainly smashed up,” she said. “ ‘Impact marks from a blow to the skull…fractured skull…crush damage to the brain at the points of impact…bleeding between the soft tissue of the brain and the hard outer layer…’”
    She noticed fleeting expressions of distaste on the faces of both the prosecutor and Sven-Erik and carried on looking through the text in silence.
    Pointless, uncharacteristic violence, then. Most injuries about three centimeters long, with connective tissue between the edges of the wound. The connective tissue had been shattered. But there was a long wound here: “Left temple straight reddish blue contusion and swelling…the furthest edge of the impression wound is three centimeters below and two centimeters in front of the auditory canal on the left-hand side…”
    Impression wound? What did it say about that in the notes? She flicked through the file.
    “…the impression wound and the extended wound above the left temple with clear demarcation along its sides would suggest a crowbar-like weapon.”
    Sven-Erik continued his narrative:
    “After the service the priest got changed in the sacristy, locked the church and walked past the folk museum down to the river where she kept her boat. That’s where she was attacked. The murderer carried the priest back to the church. Unlocked the door and carried her up to the organ loft, put an iron chain around her neck, attached the chain to the organ and hung her from the organ loft.
    “She was found not long afterward by one of the churchwardens who had cycled down to the village on an impulse to pick some flowers for the church.”
    Anna-Maria glanced at her son. He had discovered the box of papers waiting to be shredded. He was ripping one sheet after another to bits. Sheer bliss.
    Anna-Maria read on quickly. A considerable number of fractures to the upper jaw and zygoma. One pupil blown. Left pupil six millimeters, right four millimeters. It was the swelling in the brain that caused it. “Upper lip extremely swollen. Right-hand side discolored, bluish purple, incision shows heavy bleeding, blackish red…” God! All teeth in upper jaw knocked out. “Considerable amount of blood and blood clots in the mouth cavity. Two socks pushed into the mouth and rammed against the back of the throat.
    “Nearly all the blows directed just at the head,” she said.
    “Two chest wounds,” said Sven-Erik.
    “ ‘Crowbar-like object.’ ”
    “Presumably a crowbar.”
    “Extended wound left temple. Do you think that was the first blow?”
    “Yes. So we can assume he’s right-handed.”
    “Or she.”
    “Yes. But the murderer carried her a fair way. From the river to the church.”
    “How do we know he carried her? Maybe he put her in a wheel-barrow or something.”
    “Well, there’s knowing and knowing, you know what Pohjanen’s like. But he pointed out which way her blood had flowed. First of all it flowed downward toward her back.”
    “So she was lying on the ground on her back.”
    “Yes. The technicians found the spot in the end. Just a little way from the shore where she kept her boat. She took the boat across sometimes. She lived on the other side. In Poikkijärvi. Her shoes were on the shore too, just by the boat.”
    “What else? About the bleeding, I mean.”
    “Then there are lesser bleeds from the injuries to her face and head, running down toward the crown of the head.”
    “Okay,” said Anna-Maria. “The murderer carried her over his shoulder with her head hanging down.”
    “That could explain it. And it isn’t exactly gymnastics for housewives.”
    “I could carry her,” said Anna-Maria. “And hang her from the organ. She was quite small, after all.”
    Especially if I was kind of…beside myself with rage, she thought.
    Sven-Erik went on:
    “The final signs of bleeding run toward the feet.”
    “When she was hung up.”
    Sven-Erik nodded.
    “So she wasn’t dead at that