Marked for Life Read Free

mortgaged. That was as good a reason as any for her to keep her distance from Jana and her airs.
    Out of the corner of her eye, Jana noted the disdainful looks from the female inspector but chose to ignore them. She opened her briefcase and pulled out a notepad and pen.
    Gunnar Öhrn drank the last few drops from a bottle of mineral water, then handed out packets to everyone which contained copies of everything they had documented about the case so far. It included the initial report; photos from the crime scene and immediate vicinity; a sketch of the Juhlén house where the victim, Hans Juhlén, had been found; and a short description of Juhlén. Lastly came a log with times and investigative steps that had already been taken since the victim had been discovered.
    Gunnar pointed to the timeline that had been drawn on the whiteboard. He also described the initial report of the conversation with the victim’s wife, Kerstin Juhlén, which had been signed by the police officers in the patrol car. They had been the first to interview her.
    â€œKerstin Juhlén was, however, hard to talk to properly,” said Gunnar.
    She had initially come close to being hysterical, had screamed loudly and talked incoherently. At one point she started to hyperventilate. And all the time she had repeatedly said she didn’t kill her husband. She only found him in the living room. Dead.
    â€œSo do we suspect her, then?” said Jana and noticed that Mia was still glaring at her.
    â€œYes, she is of interest. We have detained her. She hasn’t got a verifiable alibi.”
    Gunnar thumbed through the packet of papers.
    â€œOkay, to summarize then. Hans Juhlén was murdered some time between 15:00 and 19:00 yesterday. Perpetrators unknown. The forensic experts says the murder took place in the house. That is, the body had not been transported from anywhere else. Correct?”
    He nodded to Anneli Lindgren to confirm.
    â€œThat’s right. He died there.”
    â€œThe body was taken to the medical examiner’s lab at 22:21 and inspectors continued to go through the house until after midnight.”
    â€œYes, and I found these.”
    Anneli put down ten sheets of paper with a single sentence written on each. “They lay well hidden in the back of the wardrobe in the victim’s bedroom. They appear to be short threatening letters.”
    â€œDo we know who sent them and to whom they were addressed?” asked Henrik as he reached across to examine them. Jana made a note about them in her notepad.
    â€œNo. I got these copies from forensics in Linköping this morning. It’ll probably take a day or so before they can get us more information,” said Anneli.
    â€œWhat do they say?” said Mia. She pulled her hands inside the sleeves of her knitted sweater, put her elbows on the table and looked at Anneli with curiosity.
    â€œThe same message is on each one—‘Pay now or risk paying the bigger price.’”
    â€œBlackmail,” said Henrik.
    â€œSo it would seem. We spoke to Mrs. Juhlén. She denies any knowledge of the letters. She seemed genuinely surprised about them.”
    â€œThey hadn’t been reported then, these threats?” said Jana and wrinkled her brow.
    â€œNo, nothing has been reported by the victim himself, his wife or anybody else,” said Gunnar.
    â€œAnd what about the murder weapon?” said Jana, switching the topic.
    â€œWe haven’t found one yet. Nothing was near the body or in the immediate vicinity,” said Gunnar.
    â€œAny DNA traces or shoe tracks?”
    â€œNo,” said Anneli. “But when the wife came home, a window was open in the living room. It seems fairly clear that the perpetrator gained entrance that way. The wife closed it, unfortunately, which has made it more difficult for us. But we did manage to find two interesting handprints.”
    â€œWhose prints?” said Jana and held her pen