The Disappeared Read Free

your recollections of your work with Tova?’
    A sound from the corridor reminded them that Erland’s office door was open; he got up and closed it.
    ‘I don’t remember there being any problems.’ Spencer spread his hands wide, wishing he’d been offered a cup of coffee.
    ‘She wasn’t particularly conscientious, and both Malin and I wondered why she’d chosen such a tricky topic for her dissertation. It wasn’t easy to set her on the right track. As far as I recall, her dissertation wasn’t approved at the final seminar.’
    ‘Did you have many meetings with her?’
    ‘No, only a couple; Malin took care of the rest. I think that annoyed Tova; she didn’t really want to be supervised by a tutor rather than a professor.’
    Spencer’s stick slid to one side, and he propped it against Erland’s desk.
    ‘What’s this actually about?’
    Erland cleared his throat.
    ‘Tova Eriksson claims that you put obstacles in her way from start to finish. That you said you wouldn’t help her unless she . . .’
    ‘Unless she what?’
    ‘Carried out sexual favours for you.’
    ‘I’m sorry?’
    Spencer laughed out loud before the anger kicked in.
    ‘ I’m sorry , but surely you’re not taking this seriously? I hardly had anything to do with her! Have you spoken to Malin?’
    ‘We have, and she backs you up. But at the same time she acknowledges that she wasn’t present at your meetings with Tova.’
    The last sentence was left dangling in the air.
    ‘Erland, for God’s sake! The girl must be out of her mind. I’ve never overstepped the mark with my students, you know that.’
    Erland looked embarrassed.
    ‘You had a child with one of your former students. Several members of the department find that rather strange. Not me, of course, you know that, but some people.’
    ‘Like who?’
    ‘Now let’s not get upset . . .’
    ‘ Like who? ’
    ‘Er . . . Barbro and Manne, for example.’
    ‘Barbro and Manne! Bloody hell, Manne lives with his own stepdaughter, and . . .’
    Erland slammed his hand down on the desk in sheer frustration.
    ‘It’s you we’re talking about, Spencer! Manne was a bad example – I take that back.’
    He sighed heavily.
    ‘Another student saw you giving Tova a hug on one occasion.’
    Spencer ransacked his overheated brain.
    ‘She said her father had had a heart attack, and that was why she was finding it difficult to concentrate. She said she was spending a lot of time at the hospital.’
    ‘Her father is dead, Spencer. He was a town councillor; he died of leukaemia several years ago.’
    The stick slid to the floor and Spencer didn’t bother to pick it up.
    ‘Are you sure that’s why you gave her a hug?’
    Spencer looked at him, and Erland tried again.
    ‘I mean, a hug isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just as long as you know what’s behind it.’
    ‘She said her father was ill, Erland. That’s what she told me.’
    Erland shuffled uncomfortably.
    ‘I’m afraid this will need to be taken further, Spencer.’
    The April sunlight found its way into the room, making the shadows of the flowers in the window dance on the floor. Soon it would be the festival of Valborg, 30 April, and the students were getting ready to party. Picnics in the parks, raft racing on the river Fyris.
    ‘Spencer, are you listening to me? This is serious. Tova’s best friend has just been elected chair of the student union’s equality committee; it doesn’t look good if we don’t pay attention to what she is saying.’
    ‘But what about me?’
    His heart ached for Fredrika.
    ‘You’ve had a tough year; take some time off.’
    ‘If that’s your final word on the matter, there’s a risk that I won’t come back at all.’
    Consternation on the other side of the desk.
    ‘Listen to me, Spencer. This will all be sorted out by the summer. Girls like Tova are always caught out if they’re not telling the truth.’
    ‘ If they’re not telling the truth?’
    Spencer snorted and got to his