Buried Angels Read Free Page B

who live here?’
    ‘They’re sitting out back, waiting for the medics, who unfortunately have been delayed because of a traffic accident. They both seem to be suffering from shock, and I thought they could use some peace and quiet. I also thought it would be best if we didn’t let them tramp about inside the house before you had a chance to secure any evidence.’
    ‘Good thinking.’ Patrik patted Östen on the shoulder and then said to Martin. ‘Shall we go and have a talk with them?’
    Without waiting for a reply he headed towards the back of the house. As they turned the corner they spotted a few pieces of patio furniture a short distance away. The chairs and table were shabby, as if they’d been subjected to years of all kinds of weather. Sitting at the table were a man and a woman, both in their mid-thirties, looking lost. When the man caught sight of Patrik and Martin, he stood up and came to greet them, holding out his hand, which was hard and callused, as if accustomed to working with tools.
    ‘Tobias Stark.’
    Patrik and Martin introduced themselves.
    ‘We don’t understand what happened. The firemen said something about arson. Could that be right?’ said Tobias’s wife, who had come over to stand next to her husband. She was slender and petite. Even though Patrik was only of average height, she barely reached to his shoulder. She seemed delicate and fragile, and she was shivering in spite of the heat.
    ‘That’s not necessarily true. We don’t yet know anything for certain,’ said Patrik, wanting to reassure them.
    ‘This is my wife Ebba,’ Tobias told them. Then he wearily rubbed a hand over his face.
    ‘Why don’t we sit down?’ said Martin. ‘We’d like to hear a little more about what happened.’
    ‘Sure, we can sit over there,’ said Tobias, pointing to the patio furniture.
    ‘Who discovered the fire?’ asked Patrik when they were seated. He was studying Tobias, who had a dark patch on his forehead. Like Östen, his hands were black with soot.
    Noticing the direction of Patrik’s gaze, Tobias glanced down at his hands. It appeared he hadn’t realized until now how dirty they were. He spent a few moments wiping his palms on his jeans before he answered the question.
    ‘I did. I woke up and noticed a strange smell. As soon as I realized that there was a fire downstairs, I tried to wake Ebba. It took a few minutes because she was sound asleep, but finally I managed to get her out of bed. Then I ran to get the fire extinguisher. There was only one thought in my mind: to put out the fire.’ Tobias spoke so fast that he was out of breath, and he had to pause for a moment.
    ‘I thought I was going to die. I was absolutely convinced of it,’ said Ebba, picking at a cuticle. Patrik gave her a sympathetic look.
    ‘I took the fire extinguisher and sprayed it like crazy at the flames in the front hall,’ Tobias went on. ‘At first nothing happened, but I kept on spraying, and all of a sudden the flames went out. But there was still a lot of smoke. There was smoke everywhere.’ Again he had to stop to catch his breath.
    ‘Why would anyone … I don’t understand,’ said Ebba vaguely, and Patrik suspected that Östen was right: she was in a state of shock. That would also explain why she was shivering as if she were freezing. When the medics arrived, they were going to have to pay special attention to Ebba and also make sure that neither she nor Tobias was suffering from smoke inhalation. Many people didn’t realize that smoke could be deadlier than the actual fire. Drawing smoke deep into the lungs could have consequences that didn’t show up until later.
    ‘Why do they think the fire was deliberately set?’ asked Tobias, rubbing his face again. Patrik assumed that the man hadn’t had much sleep.
    ‘As I said, we don’t know anything for sure at the moment,’ he replied evasively. ‘But there are certain indications. I don’t want to say more until the technical experts