One Step Behind

"Cooking is one of the few things I can do."

She pointed out the refrigerator and a large freezer that were also hooked up to gas tanks. "They're full of food," she said disdainfully. "That's the way my parents want it. They pay someone to come out here and change the gas. They want food to be here in case they decide to come out for a couple of days. Which they never do."

She sounded like she was spitting. "My mother's an idiot," she said. "She's completely ignorant. She can't help it, I guess. My father, on the other hand, is not an idiot. But he's ruthless."

"I'd like to hear more."

"Not now. When we eat."

It was clear that she wanted him to leave the kitchen, so Wallander went out to the front of the house and called Ystad. He got hold of Höglund.

"I was right," he said. "She's here, just like we thought."

"Like you thought," she corrected him. "To tell the truth, I don't think any of us were so sure."

"Well, everyone's right some of the time. I think we'll be back in Ystad some time tonight."

"Have you talked to her?"

"Not yet."

She told him some calls had come in from people who thought they recognised the picture of Louise. They were still in the process of checking them. She promised to get back to him when they were finished.

Wallander went back into the house. He kept returning to the same thought. He had to get her to tell him what she didn't even know she knew.

She set the table in the large glassed-in veranda that had been added on to the side of the house. She asked him what he wanted to drink and he opted for water. She drank wine. He worried that she would get drunk and become impossible to talk to, but she had only one glass. They ate in silence. Afterwards, she put on some coffee. She shook her head when Wallander started clearing the table. A sofa and some chairs stood in a corner of the veranda. A lone sailing boat drifted by with limp sails.

"It's very beautiful here," he said. "This is a part of Sweden I haven't seen before."

"They bought the house 30 years ago," she replied. "They claim I was conceived out here, which may be true since I was born in February. They bought the house from an old couple who'd lived here their whole lives. I don't know how my father heard about it but one day he came to see them with a suitcase full of 100-kronor notes. It looks very impressive, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's a large sum of money. Neither of them had ever seen so much money in their lives. It took a couple of months to convince them, but they finally accepted the offer. I don't know what the exact amount was but I'm sure he paid nothing close to what it was worth."

"Do you mean that he swindled them?"

"I mean that my father has always been a scoundrel."

"If he simply made a good deal perhaps he should be called an ambitious businessman."

"My father has been involved in deals all over the world. He smuggled diamonds and ivory in Africa. No one really knows what he does now, but lately a lot of Russians have come out to visit him in Skårby. You can't tell me they're up to anything legal."

"As far as I know he's never been in trouble with us," Wallander said.

"Yes, he's good," she said. "And persistent. You can accuse him of a lot of things but he's not lazy. Ruthless people don't tend to rest on their laurels."

Wallander set his coffee cup down. "Let's talk about you instead," he said. "That's why I'm here, and it's been a long trip. We'll be heading back soon."

"What makes you think I'll be coming with you?"

Wallander looked at her for a long time before answering. "Three of your closest friends have been murdered," he said. "You were supposed to have been there when it happened. Both of us know what conclusion to draw from that."

She curled up in her chair and Wallander saw that she was frightened.

"Since we don't know why it happened, we have to take every precaution," he said.

The importance of what he was saying finally seemed to sink in. "Am I in danger?"

"We can't rule that out. We have no motive, therefore we have to consider all possibilities."

"But why would anyone want to kill me?"

"Why would anyone want to kill your friends? Martin, Lena, Astrid?"

She shook her head. "I don't understand it," she said.

Wallander moved his chair closer to hers. "Nonetheless you're the one who's going to help us," he said. "We're going to catch whoever did this. And to get him, we have to know why he did it. You got away. You're the one who's going to tell us."

"But when it's completely incomprehensible?"

"You have to think back," Wallander said. "Who could have targeted you as a group? What united you? Why? There is an answer. It has to be there."

He quickly changed tack, knowing that she was starting to listen to him. He didn't want to lose this opportunity.

"You have to answer my questions," he said. "And you have to tell the truth. I'll know if you're lying. And I don't want that."

"Why would I lie?"

"When I found you, you had just tried to commit suicide," he said. "Why? Did you already know what had happened to your friends?"

She looked at him with surprise. "How could I have known that? I had the same questions as everybody else."

Wallander knew she was telling the truth. "Why did you want to kill yourself?"

"I didn't want to live any more. Is there ever any other reason? My parents have ruined my life, just like they ruined Jörgen's. I just didn't want to live any more."

Wallander waited. Maybe she would keep talking. But she didn't say anything else.

For the next three hours he led her step by step through the events of the summer. He didn't leave anything untouched, however minor. He went through everything, sometimes more than once. There were no limits to how far back he could go. When had she first met Lena Norman? Which year, which month, what day? How had they met, how did they become friends? When she said she couldn't remember, or if she became unsure of herself, he slowed down and started again. An unclear memory could be overcome with patience. The whole time he was trying to get her to think about whether there had been anyone else there.

"A shadow in the corner," he said. "Was there a shadow in the corner? Anything you're forgetting?"

He asked about everything that might have seemed unexpected. As time went on she started to understand his methods, and then it was easier. Shortly after 5 p.m. they decided to stay the night and leave Bärnsö the following day. Wallander called Westin, who promised to come and get them when Wallander called. He didn't ask about Isa, but Wallander was sure he had known she was out there all along. They took a walk on the island, talking the whole time. Now and again Isa interrupted herself to point out places where she had played as a child. They walked out to the northernmost point. To his surprise she pointed to a shelf in the rock where she claimed to have lost her virginity one summer, but she didn't say with whom.

When they returned to the house it was starting to get dark. She walked around turning on the kerosene lamps, while Wallander called Ystad and talked to Martinsson. Nothing much had happened. No one had identified Louise. Wallander told him he was staying the night, and that he would return with the girl the next day.

Isa and Wallander continued their conversation all evening, pausing only to have tea and sandwiches. Wallander walked out in the dark and relieved himself against a tree. The wind moaned in the treetops. Everything was quiet. He was begi