Firewall - By Henning Mankell & Ebba Segerberg Page 0,132

He still hardly accepted it, but deep down he knew it must be true.

Since it was still early, he decided to wait. Perhaps his anger would subside over the course of the day. First he would go back to the H枚kbergs. Then he remembered something that he had forgotten to do. He stopped outside the video shop that had been closed when he came here last. He was going to rent the film with Al Pacino that he wanted to see. He then continued on to the H枚kberg house and stopped outside. Just as he was about to ring the bell the door opened.

"I saw you pull up," Erik H枚kberg said. "You were here about an hour ago, but you didn't call in."

"Something came up that I had to attend to."

They went inside. The house was quiet.

"Actually, I came to speak to your wife."

"She's resting in the bedroom upstairs. Or crying. Or both."

Erik H枚kberg's face was ashen. His eyes were bloodshot.

"My son is back in school," he said. "I think it's the best thing for him."

"We still don't know who killed Sonja," Wallander said. "But we're optimistic that we're closing in on whoever is responsible."

"I have always been against the death penalty," H枚kberg said. "But I don't know about that any more. Just promise not to let me get close to whoever did this. I don't know what I would do to him."

He went upstairs to get his wife. Wallander walked around the living room while he waited. The silence was oppressive. It took almost a quarter of an hour, then he heard footsteps on the stairs. H枚kberg came down alone.

"She's very tired," he said. "But she'll be down shortly."

"I'm sorry that this conversation can't wait."

"We understand."

They waited for her in silence. Then she turned up, barefoot and wearing black. Beside her husband she looked very small. Wallander shook her hand and expressed his condolences. She wobbled slightly then sat down. She reminded Wallander of Anette Fredman. Here was yet another mother who had lost a child. He wondered how many times he had found himself in this situation. He had to ask questions that would be salt in already painful wounds.

This situation was perhaps worse than many of the others. Sonja H枚kberg had not only been the victim of murder. Now he was about to confront them with the idea that she may also have been raped on an earlier occasion. He groped around for a way to begin.

"To find Sonja's killer we have delved into the past. There is one particular incident that has come to our attention and that we need more information about. Probably you are the only people who can give us that information."

H枚kberg and his wife watched him intently.

"Can we look back about 3 years?" Wallander said. "Sometime in 1994 or 1995. Did anything unusual happen to Sonja during that time?"

Ruth, Sonja's mother, spoke very quietly. Wallander had to lean forward to catch her words.

"What kind of thing are you looking for?"

"Did she ever come home looking as if she had been involved in an accident? Did she have unexplained bruises?"

"She broke her ankle once."

"Sprained," Erik H枚kberg said. "She didn't break her ankle. She sprained her ankle."

"I'm thinking more of bruises on her face and body. Did that ever happen?"

Ruth H枚kberg jumped in. "My daughter was never naked in the house."

"She may have been extremely upset or depressed during this time," Wallander said.

"She was a moody girl."

"So neither one of you can think of anything unusual along these lines?"

"I don't even understand why you're asking these questions."

"He has to," Erik H枚kberg said. "It's his job."

Wallander was grateful for this.

"I don't remember her ever coming home with bruises."

Wallander decided he couldn't keep going around in circles.

"We have information to indicate that Sonja was raped at some point during this time. She never reported it."

Ruth flinched as if she had been burned. "It's not true."

"Did she ever speak of it?"

"That she had been raped? Never." She started laughing helplessly. "Who said this? It's a lie. It's nothing but a lie."

Wallander had the feeling that she was withholding something. Perhaps she had suspected something of the kind. Her protestations were unconvincing.

"The information we have is quite compelling."

"Says who? Who is spreading these lies about Sonja?"

"I am afraid I can't tell you that."

"Why not?" Erik H枚kberg blurted out.

"It's standard practice during investigations of this nature."

"Why is it?"

"For now it has to do with making sure the source remains protected."

"What about my daughter?" Ruth screamed. "Who is protecting her?