"THE GIRL IN THE ROOT CELLAR" "We don't want to worry about that now." " Thanks." "And cheers." " Cheers." "There's an elderly gentleman standing somewhere behind me." "I recognize him, but I don't remember how I know him." "Do you know him?" "No." " Is he still standing there?" " No." " Good." " Margareta!" "Hello there." " I enjoyed our last meeting." " So did I." " Martin?" " No." " Try again." " Gunvald." " Nice to see you." "Don't you live..." " I asked to be transferred." " To here?" "Why?" " Change of scenery." "That sounds good." "We need reinforcement." " In your group?" " Yes." " No, that wasn't my intention." " There's only Martin and I." "No, I didn't..." "And then this trainee, but that doesn't work out at all,   so it would be just perfect." "I mean it." "It would be great having you along." "What do you say?" "I just saw Martin, but I don't know where he went." "He's mingling." "He took up the art in his old age." "Professional mingler." " You missed this, didn't you?" " A little." " Oh..." "No!" " My phone is ringing." "It's the professional mingler." "Hello, is this the mingler?" "Yes." "What?" "Oh." "Yes." "Okay, I'll be there." "Okay." "Bye." " Emergency call." "Want to come?" " Tell him I said hello." " On one condition." " I'll think about it." " Seriously!" " Seriously." "Okay." "Tell the technicians that we're on our way." " What?" " A find in the forest." " Where?" " Roslagskulla." "Why didn't you say hello?" "To Lena." " It was an emergency." " Oh, so you couldn't..." "No." "I had to make calls to people who thought they had the evening off   and ask them to go to a muddy forest." "That was my main priority." "I recommended her to apply for the position." "Hi." "Bloody hell." "Why does it have to be out here?" "Out among all the creepy-crawlies of the forest." "Can I use this?" "Hi." "I thought I might talk to..." " Yes, you do that." "Great." "Hi." "Oskar Bergman." " Do any other roads lead there?" " No." "Stop." " How old is your grandson?" " Eight." "Ugh!" "What do you think?" "Hard to tell." "No visible damages." "We're going to see Oljelund." "Let's go through the case when we're back." "Very well." "I already called the prosecutor." "As for the position..." "The recruitment office found some more or less capable profiles." "Magnus Svensson, Sture Lindbäck, Sten-Åke Alström..." "Do you know any of them?" " No." " Me neither." "They've got very good references." "Let's go through them after Friday." " Do you have any suggestions?" " No." " How's your sister doing?" " I don't know..." " I'm seeing her tomorrow." " I'm in here." "Around the age of five." "No external damages." "She's been dead for about a week." "The cold of the root cellar helped preserve the body." "Any sexual abuse?" " I can't determine that yet." " Cause of death?" "I only did the external examination, god dammit!" "I'm sorry." "It's just that she..." " We can come back, when you..." " I just work a bit too much." "I keep running into dead ends." " You never do that, do you?" " No." " Did you manage to identify her?" " No." "She's so skinny." "Almost transparent." "Esmeralda..." "Esmeralda?" "She wore this around her neck." " Did you find a match?" " I tried." "But no five- or six-year-olds are missing." " Do we know if she died in there?" " No." "The autopsy isn't finished yet." "She's been dead for about a week." "And somebody put food in there for her." "How she died, and when and where, we don't know." "The technicians found fingerprints on the plate   and footprints in the area around the root cellar." "There are no signs of struggle,   neither inside nor outside." "The dirt samples are being analyzed." "That food-thing is sick." "As if they thought she was alive and was going to eat it." "And the way she has been tucked up." "Was she placed there after she died?" " Maybe she was drugged." " Ugh." " Was she locked in?" " Not when the young couple came." "Okay." "This is where she was found." "At a place called Myrängsmaran." "Maren." "M-A-R-E-N." "3,1 kilometres away from the croft that we visited." " Who owns the grounds?" " Jan Ekman." "He's a baron." "His manor is located 4,2 kilometres north-west of there." "They rear horses." "I told him we'd like to talk to him." "Well done." "There are no other houses in the area." "The nearest village is situated here." "7,4 kilometres away." "It only has a ladies' hairdresser's and a pizzeria called La Madonna." " Did you get hold of..." " No." "Bye." "Am I interrupting you?" "She looks so strangely peaceful." "As if she's being looked after." "The name of the owner of the croft is Bernt Johansson." "He was born in '59 and lives there permanently." "I thought it looked more like a summer house." "He's single and works for the Swedish National Trust." "He has a game license." "I looked him up, but I can't find him in any of the other registers." " No kids?" " No." "And I can't get hold of him." " Pizza!" " Here come the pizzas." " Here." " Two Vesuvio Maxi." " No, one Vesuvio and one Acapulco." " No, two Vesuvio." "That's not what we ordered." " Do you want me to take them back?" " No." "We'll take these." "No." "I want the one that I ordered, and that was an Acapulco." " That'll take me half an hour." " It's okay." "You can go." "It's just so tiring." "It's the fourth time now." " Did you contact Europol?" " Yes." "And those are my scissors." "No." "They're police property." " Have some disgusting Vesuvio." " No." "I asked the technicians about the silver heart around her neck." "Okay." "Genuine Swedish silver is stamped with the "cat's paw"." "The degree of purity is indicated in thousandths, which is typically 925." "Sterling." "And they found such a stamp on the heart." " Genuine silver?" " Yes!" "But since 1988 the stamp was no longer required in Sweden." "So the heart is much likely older than that." "But, according to the technicians, the engraving is of a recent date." " So maybe if we find the engraver?" " Good idea." "Thanks." " Gunvald will assist you." " Yes..." "Not to worry." "I'll bring him along to the croft." "Do go sit by the fire place." "It's fairly chilly here." "The price on electricity is a killer." "And those property taxes!" "Paying tax for property you already bought with taxed money." " When did you buy the place?" " I inherited it." "What I'm talking about is the cost of heating a place like this." " Sell it." " I beg your pardon?" "Sell the manor." "This is a piece of cultural heritage dating back to Axel Oxenstierna." "Then use the journal of peerage to get the fire going." "Do you know the old root cellar near Myrängsmaren?" " The one near the ruined croft?" " Yes." " We found a body there." " What?" " Where?" " In the root cellar." " What did you find?" " The body of a child." "How awful." "Is there any..." "Do you know anything?" "No." "We're here to ask you, if you..." "No." "We never go there." "It's such a remote area." "It's 4,2 kilometres from here." "I'd call that walking distance." " Is that her?" " Yes." " Do you recognize her?" " No." "Families do come by once in a while." "We can't prohibit people from coming here." "With the right of access you never know what might happen." "Last year we had a break-in in the wine cellar." " How annoying." " Yes." "This is not about stolen vintage wine." "It's about a dead girl." "Presumably murdered." "Maybe someone else here at the manor noticed..." "No." "Anything else?" "No." "Well, if you do recall anything, we'd like you to call us." "Even the smallest detail may be of interest." "That's it for today." "I saw you peaking." "Hi." "I'd like a coffee and one of those cakes." "I'd like a mineral water, please." "Do you know anyone in the area, who has a daughter named Esmeralda?" " No." " Around the age of five." "Blond, blue eyes." "Mum?" "Do you know a girl named Esmeralda?" "From around here?" "Esmeralda?" "No." "Has anything happened?" " They want to know about her." " Why?" " Has she gone missing?" " I don't know." "Sorry, no." "Do you know who Bernt Johansson is?" "Okay." "Thanks." "Hi." "How are you?" "I'm tired." "Why did he ask questions about Bernt?" " Are they police?" " I don't know." "He also asked me about a little girl." "Yes, so if you could send it to me by e-mail." "That's great." "Thanks for all your help." "Yes." "Bye." " And you're looking for?" " Gunvald Larsson." " He's not here." " Oh." "Martin Beck, then?" " In there." "Is he expecting you?" " I don't think so." "And you're absolutely certain of that?" "I'll be damned." "But..." "If you could just send up the report as soon as it's ready." "Okay." "Talk to you later." "Lena?" " Come on in." " I don't mean to interrupt you." " Let me know if you're busy." " No, that was just Oljelund." " We're on this nasty case..." " Yes, I heard." "Oh?" "Have a seat." "Nice offices." "Yes." "They have been... done over quite a bit since you were here." "I came to ask you about something." " The position?" " That's right." "I met Gunvald at the party, and he told me about the position." " That it was still vacant." " That's correct." "So I started wondering if I..." "What I meant to ask you is whether you think it would be okay   with you if I applied for the position?" "Of course." "It would be just great working with you and Gunvald again." "Do you think so, too?" "That it would be just great?" "No need to be sarcastic." "I'm not." "You're an outstanding detective,   and we could use one of those, but we have many applicants." " I can't promise you anything." " I didn't ask you to." "I hate to seem rude, but I have so much work to do." "Of course." "Down the hall to your right." "Margareta Oberg." "In case you'd like to see her." "Who is she?" "Lena Klingström." "We worked together once." " Where is Gunvald?" " I don't know." "Is she applying for the position?" "And you're not too pleased about that." "Where did you get that idea?" "You've got those red spots on your neck like every time you're stressed." "Oskar?" "Over here." "I'm stressed for another reason." "Oljelund just told me on the phone   that Esmeralda hasn't been sexually abused." " That's good news." "What..." " She starved to death." " Blimey!" " In the root cellar?" "Yes." "How morbid it is to place a body in a root cellar." " On our very grounds!" " The location is unimportant..." " Then we get involved." " We've got nothing to do with it." "It's terrible to do something like that to a small child." "She was so sweet." "Who?" "Nils!" "Who was sweet?" "Bernt Johansson..." "Another person who hanged himself." " Another one?" " His brother in law." " I'm so sorry." "I..." " Did you read this?" " Where was it?" " On the window sill in the outhouse." ""Throughout my life I've been attracted to children." "I love them."" ""To be with them, hug them, touch them."" ""I made a mistake, and because of that a child has died."" ""It's in the root cellar in Myrängsmaren." "I can't go on."" ""I'm so sorry."" ""A mistake"?" "To starve a child to death?" " Well, the case is closed." " To him it is, not to us." "We still don't know who Esmeralda is, or how she ended up there." "Beck." "That's perfect." "Tell her we'll meet her there." "Come on." "Is that your brother?" "I'm sorry, but we have to do this." "This way." "Are you ready to answer some questions?" " Could I have some water, please?" " Oljelund?" "Water, please." " Did your brother have any children?" " No." "He lived on his own." "Thank you." "I just can't believe that he did it." "He..." "He loved his work, and he was so happy living there." "He was so steady." "What was your relationship like?" "Did you meet regularly?" "No, just... once in a while." " Do you know his acquaintances?" " I don't know if he had any." "Maybe he knew some people through his work, but I never met them." "Did he ever look after children of his friends?" "No." " Do you have any children?" " No." "Why do you keep asking me about children?" "My brother just killed himself, and you keep asking me questions." "What do they have to do with anything?" "We'll see to it that someone takes you home." "So Bernt Johansson kept the girl prisoner and abused her?" "If he kept her in the root cellar, he might have kept her at the croft." " There's no sign of sexual abuse." " I suppose there are other ways..." " Do we know when Johansson died?" " Not yet." "He might have put the food there." "He left her to starve to death, and then put the food there?" "The question still remains:" "Who is she?" " And where did she come from?" " There's no match in Sweden." "I've got cases from the Baltic states, Norway, Holland and Germany   via Europol involving children around that age from the last year,   but there are no matches." "Maybe I should go further back in time?" "So Bernt Johansson might have been abroad to bring back a child?" "Or some other paedophile." "Maybe he bought her." " From whom?" " The parents or on the Internet." "A group of paedophiles did that a couple of years ago." "How about going public in some of those TV-programmes around Europe?" " We must publish her picture first." " I'm taking care of that already." "They're preparing the picture." "It'll reach the media today." "And you look into the latest cases on child porn." "Johansson didn't have a PC." "The Internet is where the paedophiles meet." "Maybe he got rid of it to protect other paedophiles." "Or maybe he had an accomplice, who had a computer." "We have to learn more about his friends." "Alright." "And Oskar's idea about the TV-programmes?" "Yes." "Find out if they're interested." "WHO IS THE DEAD GIRL?" "Don't you think we ought to..." "No." " Would you like a cup of coffee?" " No thank you." "Do sit down." "Well, you see, we found this note." "Note?" "Yes." "A suicide note, written by Bernt." "Why didn't I get to see it?" "Because in that letter he admits to having done things   that I thought you weren't ready to hear when we last met." "Admits?" "What kind of things?" "Nils!" "Not now." "Nils alone." "He wasn't a paedophile." "I'm sure I would have noticed." "Do you know if he saw any women?" "No one that I knew of." "But..." "But?" "A couple of months ago I went to see him." "I arrived there slightly earlier than arranged, and..." "I saw a woman, who came out of the house and left." " Did you ask him who she was?" " Yes." "He said she'd lost her way and wanted to ask for directions." " She might have." " Yes." "But I thought she wore a sweater that he wears." "Or wore, rather." "At least she wore one like it." "What did she look like?" "She was fair." "Blond with longish hair." "Probably around the age of 35, I believe." "Nils?" "Nils!" "We're going back now." " Nils likes the forest." " We're not going that way." "Come on." "Nils wants to go to the croft." "What croft?" " Karin likes the croft." " What are you talking about?" "I don't like any croft." "Karin has been to the croft." "Nils?" "Karin never went to any croft." "Don't ever say that again." "You have to promise." "Never!" "Nils has to pee." "Nils?" " Hi." " Hi." "I ordered a latte." "I don't know if it's gone cold." "Thanks." " Would you like anything else?" " It's still hot." "Well..." " Are you done with that?" " Yes." "I'll take it, then." "I'd like to apologize for what happened back then." "Okay." "I was being silly and unfair." "It's okay." "Everything keeps spinning round my head." "Hugo's suicide and you popping up out of the blue..." "All the childhood memories that come back." "It feels as if I needed someone to blame for everything." "I understand." "Did you get an overview of your financial situation?" "It's one big mess." "But..." "He was up to here in debt, but we had a prenuptial agreement,   so they can't take everything away from me." "Vindö is my property." " You still have it?" " Yes." "It's lovely there." "You should come out there at some point." "No..." "I don't know..." "I only have one memory from the place,   and that was when dad made me run naked through the nettles." "He did?" "Why?" "I don't know." "I forgot." "Repressed it, more likely." "Maybe." "They're gone now, the nettles." "We made quite a few alterations." "You'd hardly recognize it." "How's Simone doing?" "So so." "She misses him." "Especially at night." "How do you tell your child that daddy took his own life?" "That he opted out of her." " But you can get help, you know." " Bereavement counselling, yes." "I'm thinking about it." "She's bragging about you to her friends." " About me?" " Yes." " Simone?" " Yes." "She tells them that she has an uncle who's a policeman." "That's a big thing among children." " Give her my love." " I will." "I meant to ask you..." "Now that things are like this, would you like to spend some time with her?" "How do you mean, spend time?" "Go to the cinema or..." " Me?" "Just me and Simone?" " Yes." "What do you mean?" "I think she would really like it." " I have to..." "...think about it." "Yes, I have to think about it." "But give her my love." " Hi." " Hi." "Gunvald?" "I'm tracking down known paedophiles, and there's one in the area." "Uno Manteg, 41 years old." "He has four convictions   for sexual abuse of children." " He lives in Åkersberga near..." " It might just be a coincidence." " Or it might not be." " I'll pay him a visit." "Alone?" "Alone." " Gunvald Larsson." "Police." " Sorry, I'm busy." " No good." " Do you have a warrant?" "I have a short fuse." " You'll be reported for this." " Get dressed." " Why?" " You're coming to the station." " No, I'm not." "You..." " You're coming to the station." "With or without that ridiculous imitation silk outfit." "Got it?" " You've got three minutes." " Okay." " Get going." " Okay!" "Are you ready?" "Are you ready?" "God dammit!" "Why do you lot always have to make such a fuss?" " What was his name?" " Bernt Johansson." " Is that him?" " Sharpen up!" "Do you recognize him?" "No." "And you've never been to the forest around Roslagskulla?" " I'm not that keen on deer." " No, you prefer little girls." " Do you recognize this?" " No." "Why am I here?" "Because you're convicted for sexual assault of minors." "I did my time, and I've also been in therapy." "Was that the reason why you ran off?" "How do you mean?" "Because you're in therapy?" "We found loads of child porn." "He's definitely in a paedophile network." " Was Johansson a member?" " I didn't see that name anywhere." " How about Esmeralda's name?" " No, there's no connection." "But these networks are always connected to other networks." " Thanks for helping us out." " You're welcome." "I went through the list of employees at Ekmans',   but I didn't find anything." "But that blond woman might be of interest." " And how do we find her?" " Ask at the manor." " Maybe they've seen her." " Well, let's try." " But they're not very talkative." " How about the son, then?" " What son?" " Their son." "Ekmans'." " Do they have a son?" " Yes." "A grown son." "He lives at home." " What?" " He's in the national register." "Didn't you see him?" " Visitors from the police again?" " I read about her in the paper..." "Why did you detain information?" "But I gave you our list of employees." "You forgot the minor detail about your son living here." "Maybe that was the reason why." "A minor detail of no interest." " We wanted to keep him out of it." " Of what?" "Everything." "He's a bit... different." "Different?" "He's an idiot." "Nils is mentally handicapped." "I'm sorry." "I should have mentioned it." "Our private life is not police business." "We're not criminals,   just because a crime is committed on our grounds." "Jan!" "We decided to let him live at home." "In the daytime, he has a personal assistant." " Who lives here?" " No, she lives elsewhere." "Where?" " Above La Madonna, a little..." " We know where it is." " What's her name?" " Karin Norgren." " Is she blond?" " Yes." "Around the age of 35?" "34." "What..." " Is she here now?" " No." " Where's Nils?" " Asleep." "We gave him a sedative." " Was he agitated?" " Yes." "Why?" "If we knew that, we could have saved millions on incompetent doctors." "Did you know that we found the body of a child?" "Yes, I read about it." "It's awful." " Did you know Bernt Johansson?" " Who?" " He lived at the croft." " Lived?" "Yes." "He died." " Did you know him?" " No." "Do you know which croft it is?" "No." "Well, maybe I passed by." "Is it the one by the road?" "That's the one." "Did you ever see a little girl in that area?" " In the forest?" " Or near the croft." "No." "Did you ever go to the croft yourself?" "No." "Why?" "You are Nils Ekman's personal assistant, right?" " What do you do?" " I spend time with him." "Do stuff with him." " But not on the weekends?" " No." " Do you ever go to the forest?" " Yes." "We go walking there." "Do you know if he goes to the forest on his own, when you're not there?" "I think so." "He likes it there." "He's a bit..." "What do you say?" "Different?" " She was a nervous wreck." " She's hiding something." " About Nils?" " Nils, Bernt or Esmeralda..." "She knows something." " Why didn't we bring her in?" " I have to think first." "Good luck." "Hello?" "Hi, boss." "Did you make up your mind?" "What?" "Yes." "Okay." "I'll be there." "Bye." "Oberg." "She was in a bad mood." " I have to go back." "Can I..." " Just let me out over there." "I'll call you." " Hi." " Hi." "You called?" "Lena Klingström applied for the position." " Is that good?" " Bloody good." " You worked together?" " It was very successful." " Then why did she quit?" " She got a position in Malmö." "After she stopped here." "Didn't she stop, because she and Martin had an affair?" "Are you into gossip?" "I'm making a qualified assessment of an applicant." "By sorting out who's been with who?" "You do understand that it may be a problem hiring a person   who had an intimate relation to one of her new superiors?" "Martin is not opposed to her coming back." "Will she get the job?" "Who were you?" "Hello?" "Open the door!" "No..." "God dammit!" "Hello." " Hi." "What are you doing here?" " Change of scenery." "I enjoy seeing some live stiffs once in a while." " Coffee?" " No thanks." "Here you go." " What's that?" " Bernt Johansson's autopsy report." "And?" "Murder." "He had a skull fracture that couldn't be assessed from outside,   but the trephination showed that the left half of the brain   was bleeding due to the fracture." "He died prior to the hanging." "Where the hell is he now?" " He wasn't there?" "Where is he?" " Get in the car and drive." "Your boots are all muddy." "You must have been far away from here." "You know we don't want you to go that far on your own." " Nils has things to do." " Yes, but Karin must be with you." "Nils wants to do it on his own." "Mum not sad." "Nils is clever." "Catches bad guys." " Locks them up in jail." " Did you catch bad guys again?" "You must be tired, then." " Someone must have..." " You could have just opened it." "I tried, but..." "Look." "11 or 11 ¹½, I think." " What's Nils' shoe size?" " 11." "Why?" "We think he's been near the root cellar." " We'd like to talk to him." " Like talking to a vegetable." "I'm getting tired of your comments about your son." "Me too." "I'm not ashamed of him like you are." "He's no idiot." "And we can't protect him from everything." "If he did..." "Alright, then!" "I'd better call our lawyer straight away." " Does he have a legal guardian?" " My husband?" " Yes." " No, Nils." " No, he doesn't." " Then I'd like to talk to him." "Alone." "Yes." "I'll wait outside." "This way, please." "Nils likes the forest." "Yes, the forest is a beautiful place." "Do you know where the root cellar is?" "The one in the forest?" "It's in the forest." "Did you ever go out there?" "It was very quiet." " Was it quiet when you were there?" " And then they screamed." "Who screamed?" "There was a little girl in the root cellar." "She was sweet." "Did you see her out there?" " She was hungry." " Oh." " So you gave her food?" " Fresh food." "Fresh food every single day?" "Did she eat the food?" "No one ate it." "Was the little girl happy, when you were there?" "She slept." "Was she never awake, when you were there?" " Were you always on your own?" " On my own." "Did Karin never go?" "Your assistant?" "Nils loves Karin." "Karin..." "Did you go to the forest with Karin?" "You don't really want to talk about Karin, do you?" " Nils has to pee." " Okay." "The Swedish police needs help in a tragic case." "In October, the body of a girl was found in a forest near Stockholm." "She was found in a root cellar, where she starved to death." "The identity of the child is still uncertain." "She is around..." " Grandpa, look." "I'm on TV." " That's very clever." " Look." " Yes." "Mum!" " Why are you shouting?" " I'm on TV." "Michael!" "I found the engraver." "It was him!" " Who?" "Jan Ekman?" " No, Bernt Johansson." "The shops keep the lists for a year." "He had the heart engraved with "Esmeralda" nine months ago." " Bernt Johansson?" " Yes." "It probably is some paedophile thing, then." "And the connection between Manteg and Johansson?" "Nothing." " Did you talk to the son?" " Yes." "Nils." "He brought Esmeralda the food." " Then maybe he..." " He's mentally handicapped." " He couldn't have done it alone." " He did manage to lock you up." "Yes, he might have locked up Esmeralda, but how about the rest?" "Bernt's murder and the fake letter?" "Hardly." " Is he covering up for someone?" " Well, maybe." "No, I don't know..." "Maybe." "She disappeared before I got to the house, so..." "Her hair was blond." "It might have been her,   but I can't say for sure that she's the one." " That's okay." " Who is she?" "Did your brother ever mention the name Karin?" "No." "She picked up Nils a couple of hours ago." " Where were they heading?" " I don't know where to." "We'd like to take a look at Nils' room, if that's okay?" " Why?" " It has to do with the root cellar." "What are we..." " What are we looking for?" " I don't know." "Take a look at this." " Like the ones at the pizzeria." " Maybe he used it to carry the food." "He probably found those in the forest." " Hi." " Nils!" "Nice to see you." "Could we talk to Nils, please?" "On our own." " Hi there, Nils." " Nils borrowed it." "I'm sure that's okay." "They have so many trays at the pizzeria." "You've found so many nice things in the forest." "Do you like collecting things?" "So do I. I collect all sorts of things." "I collect..." "Shipping uniform buttons and..." "Well, obviously you're doing just fine, so I'll pop down for a coffee." "Do carry on." "Bye." " Did you find this in the forest?" " That's Nils'." "Yes, it's yours." "Where did you find it?" "In..." "In the forest." "Where?" "Near the root cellar?" "That one, too." "This one?" "This one here?" "Did you find it near the root cellar, where you found the earring?" "Well done, Nils." " Martin?" " Esmeralda might be identified." "The German police told me   that a baby went missing in Berlin five years ago." " They never found her." " Why would it be her?" "Her parents saw the picture and notified the police." "Why would it be their daughter?" "They haven't seen her since back then." "Because she has an identical twin." "They sent her DNA-profile for us to check it with Esmeralda's profile." " It's unbelievable!" " What?" "The girl in the root cellar has been identified!" "Yes!" " We still have two unsolved murders." " Maybe not that much longer." "Welcome to Berlin." "The temperature is 16 degrees." "We hope you'll enjoy your stay and look forward to seeing you again." "Sperling." " How's the heart doing?" " It's beating." "Still." "You got me a bit worried after our last call." " Anything to do with ladies?" " Oh, you mean..." "In our age, one shouldn't get overwhelmed by emotions." " And how's your heart doing?" " I don't have one." " Did you manage to identify her?" " Yes." "At last." "How far did you get in the case?" "The baby disappeared from a Berlin hospital soon after its birth." "We spoke to everyone." "Staff, suppliers, visitors..." "We carried out 1,500 interrogations." "Not a thing." " Paedophiles?" " We've been in that direction." " It didn't lead anywhere." "And you?" " Nothing." "At least not yet." "Our current problem is trying to figure out when she left Germany." " Do you know?" " No." " When did she enter Sweden?" " We have no idea." "And we don't know who brought her in, either." "Or who left her to starve to death in a root cellar." "Did you come across Sweden during your investigations?" "No, not as far as I know." "A certain person is on my mind." "A Swede." "So I'd like to know if she was in Berlin, when the baby went missing." "Now, my dear Sperling." "How do we go about finding that out?" "Hotel guestbooks..." "Thanks." "Public registers." "Maybe she used credit cards." "Doctors." "Some of our registers can be combined." "Others can't." "It's probably like in Sweden." "But I'm sure you have some way of combining them." "Just like we do." "Do you have the address of the parents here in Berlin?" " Are you going to see them?" " Yes, I thought I might." "I'll give you the address." "So, what's the name of the Swede who's been on your mind?" "You've done nothing wrong, Nils." "I just want to know what you said." " Nils is always wrong." " No, you're not." "You're very nice." "Did they ask you about us?" "About the forest." "If we'd been to the forest?" "Did they ask you about the croft, too?" "Nils is cleaning." "Nils is really good at cleaning." "Did they?" "Did they ask you about the croft?" "If we had ever..." "Does he know?" "But who stole her in Germany?" "Where has she been for five years?" "Why did she die in the root cellar?" " And who hanged up Johansson?" " I know who did it." " Karin hurts!" " No, it doesn't hurt." "You say that every single time." "It doesn't hurt." "Nils!" "Nils." "Here you go." "Hush." "There we are." "Where did you put the photo?" "Our photo?" "Yes?" "Then get hold of her." "Now!" " She wasn't there." " God dammit!" "I think I know where she might be." "Hold on." "Please close the door." "And lower the torch." "She had a twin sister." "Yes, I know." "That was why I took her." "They had two, you see." "And you didn't have any." "I had a German husband." "And then I didn't have him any longer." "He thought the woman was to blame for miscarriages." " Is that what you think, too?" " No." "So you stole a baby in Berlin?" "And then I lost her, too." " Everything was Bernt's fault." " Why?" "Esmeralda had some trouble breathing." "And a fever." "Bernt wanted to take her to hospital." "In case she had asthma or something like that." "I didn't want her to go to the hospital." "Then he began snooping around." "You're lying." "I checked it." "You don't have a child." " You never had one." " I had it in Germany." "You hardly ever let her leave the house." "You don't let anyone see her." "And now she's ill, and you..." "Don't you think I see it?" " What?" " God dammit!" " Ylva." "What did you do?" " Nothing." "I just..." "I took a child, because they had two." "Since then I loved her more than life itself." "She's my only reason for living." "And now you're going to..." "What do you mean, took?" " Are you going to tell the police?" " Tell them what?" "I don't know what you did." "What do you mean, took?" "Are you saying that you stole a child?" " That Esmeralda is..." " Yes!" "You're completely out of your mind." "What did you..." " Are you going to tell?" " Yes, god dammit." "We have to tell." "You're completely out of your mind." "Mum!" "Then what happened?" "I..." "I protected my child." "I did what any mother would have done." "It's loaded." "Please leave." "Now." "No." "Get out!" " You..." " Get out!" "So you hid Esmeralda in the root cellar after you killed Bernt?" "Yes." "And then?" "Then I just tried to protect us." " You and Esmeralda?" " Yes." "I went home and stowed away all of her toys." "I knew you'd find his sister and start asking questions." "So I packed some food and went into the forest by bike,   and then..." "Then..." "Then what happened?" "I was hit by a car." "I must have been pretty upset, and so I was hit by a car   on my way to Roslagskulla." "I was taken to hospital." "I was in a coma." "I was there for a week." "I ran off as soon as I could and went to the root cellar." "And then she was..." "Esmeralda had already died?" "She was an angel." "I tucked her up and went to the croft to hang up Bernt." "And then I wrote the letter." "And then I went home." "Everything was his fault." "How did you find out that she did it?" "The earring." "It was a mere coincidence." "She wore a pair similar to the one we found, when she identified Bernt." "That was the first time we saw her." "At Oljelund's." "So I asked my German colleague to check her name in Berlin." "He found out that she had been admitted to a hospital in Berlin." "After having miscarried." "Then what about Karin?" "You and Bernt had an affair." "Didn't you?" "You were seen by the croft, but you claim that you've never been there." "Why did you lie about it?" "Don't worry." "You're not..." "We already solved the case." "I'm just trying to get the last pieces of the puzzle to fit." "We met at the pizzeria." "He came there to eat once in a while." "We talked, and then we met another time, and we..." "We started having an affair." " Did you know that he had a sister?" " Yes, but I never met her." "And that she had a daughter?" "But I guess you never met her, either?" "No." "I got the impression that..." "They didn't have all that much to do with each other." "And then suddenly he disappeared." "Without a word." "I went to the croft to look for him, but he was gone." "Why didn't you tell us?" "Because I'm married." "And then when you came to ask me about the dead girl and Bernt,   and he had disappeared..." "I was so scared." "I didn't want to get mixed up in anything." "I..." "They need water." "They're like children." "They dry up in no time." "They just shrivel up and disappear." "Do you know the name of this little plant?" " No." " No..." "But you know what the corpse of someone who's been killed looks like." "Yes." "Well, I don't know anything about that." "Sometimes, I get so damn fed up with you." "Because I take no interest in..." "No, because you're so preoccupied with your own shit." "Who the hell cares about that?" "Not me, believe me." "We're neighbours, Martin." "With 15 decimetres between us, year in year out,   and what do you do 90% of the time?" "You go around looking like a smashed toad." " How about a drink?" " No." "No, that goes to prove my point." "For crying out loud..." "Want to hear a story?" "No!" "Okay, then." "An American, a Russian and a Swede were in a pub." "A guy who looked like Jesus, came in, so they said: "Are you Jesus?"" ""Yes." Then the American said:" ""My back hurts." "Can you help me?"" "And so Jesus said: "Yes." And all of a sudden, he was doing just fine." "Then the Russian said: "I have a terrible migraine." In Russian." "Jesus knows every language, of course." "And then he was well, too." "What about the Swede, then?" ""No, dammit!" the Swede said." ""Don't touch me, I'm on sick leave."" "You liked that one, didn't you?" "What's the name of that plant?" "Tricecum terrinea." "A blood spur." "It actually consists of two plants." "They're completely identical." "They're like twins." " Beautiful plant, isn't it?" " Yes." "Martin?" "Don't you think it's time?" "Certainly." " Tell you what." "I'll bring a bib." " Yes, do that."