Firewall - By Henning Mankell & Ebba Segerberg Page 0,54

she saw Wallander she got out.

"What happened?"

"There's been a break-in."

"I wouldn't have believed anyone could have such utter disrespect for the dead."

"I know you were divorced, but were you familiar with his flat?"

"We were on good terms. I visited him here many times."

"I'm going to ask you to return later today," Wallander said. "When the forensic team has finished, I want you to go through the flat with me. You may be able to notice something that's gone."

"Oh, I doubt that," she said, without hesitation.

"Why do you say that?"

"I was married to him for many years. I knew him fairly well then, but not later on."

"What happened?"

"He just changed."

"In what way?"

"I didn't know what he was thinking any more."

Wallander looked at her thoughtfully.

"But even so, you may be able to see if something's been taken. You said yourself that you visited him here many times."

"I could probably tell you if a lamp or a painting was missing, but nothing else. Tynnes had many secrets."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just what it says. I didn't know what he was thinking or what he did. I tried to explain this to you during our first telephone conversation."

Wallander was reminded of what he had read in Falk's diary the night before.

"Do you know if your husband kept a diary?"

"I'm sure he didn't."

"Did he ever keep one?"

"Never."

She's right on one score, he thought.

"Was your ex-husband interested in outer space?"

Her surprise seemed genuine.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering."

"We used to look up at the stars, when we were young, but I can't think of any sign of interest after that."

Wallander switched to a new topic. "You said that your husband had many enemies, and that he appeared worried."

"Yes, he actually said that to me."

"What else did he say?"

"That people like him always had enemies."

"Was that all?"

"Yes."

"People like me always have enemies?" he repeated.

"Yes."

"What did you think he meant?"

"I've already told you, I no longer understood him."

A car drew up where they were standing and Nyberg got out. Wallander decided to end the conversation for now and wrote down her phone number. He said he would be in touch later in the day.

"One last question: can you think of any reason why someone would steal his body?"

"Of course not."

Wallander had no more questions. When she had climbed into her car and backed out of her parking space, Nyberg came over.

"What's happened?" he said.

"A break-in."

"Do we really have time for this right now?"

"It's connected to the other events. I don't know exactly how yet, but I'd like to see if you find anything in there."

Nyberg blew his nose. "You were right," he said. "Once our colleagues in Malm枚 brought in that relay it was obvious. The substation workers were able to show us exactly where it belonged."

Wallander suppressed his excitement. "No room for doubt?"

"None at all."

Nyberg went into the building. Wallander looked down the street in the direction of the department stores and the cash machine. The connection between H枚kberg and Falk was confirmed. But what it meant he didn't yet know. He started back to the police station. After only a few yards he picked up his pace. Anxiety drove him on.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

When he got back to the station, Wallander set about constructing a reliable outline of the now chaotic mix of details, but the key events remained sharply separated in his mind. They collided only to continue on their separate ways.

Shortly before 11 a.m. he went to the gents' and rinsed his face in cold water. That too was something he had picked up from Rydberg. Nothing is better for you when your impatience is threatening to take over your mind. Nothing is ever better than cold water.

Then he went on to the canteen to get more coffee, but the machine was broken, as it often was. Martinsson had at some point suggested that they all pitch in to buy a new one. His argument was that no-one could reasonably expect good work from police officers without dependable access to coffee. Wallander looked unhappily at the machine and remembered that he had a tin of instant coffee somewhere in his desk. He returned to his room and started looking for it. He found it in the bottom drawer with some shoe-cleaning equipment and a pair of frayed gloves.

Then he compiled a list of the events of the case. He made a time line in the margin. He was trying to break through the surface of the case to the layer in which all the events were