"Hi." "Hi." "Hello, Sebbe." "That's a neat drawing." "What is it?" " A sun." " I think it looks like a lion." "No, it's a sun." " Has he been doing this all day?" " Yes." " It's lukewarm." " But I just reheated it." " It's lukewarm." " I'll give it another go." "Thanks." "What did I tell you ?" "I can't eat lukewarm food." "It makes me want to puke." " It can't be that hard to learn." " No." " I could really do with a gin now." " With dinner?" "With dinner?" "How so?" "It's in the microwave oven." " Before dinner." " I don't have any gin." " You don't have any ?" " You can have a beer." "No thanks." "Damn it." "Kitty?" "Sit down." " Please..." " Please ?" " Do you want a beer?" " Nope." "What's the matter with you ?" " Nothing." " Nothing ?" " Then why do you keep nagging ?" " I'm not." "You're nagging right now." " Please stop that." " Are you telling me what to do ?" " No, I'm not." " Sure you are." "You just told me what to do." "That's what you did." " Eh ?" " Mum..." " Go upstairs." " He stays." "No, you go upstairs right away." "Why do you treat me like this in front of the kids?" "Don't you think I know what you're doing ?" "You think I'm stupid?" "I told him to stay, and then you just send him away!" "You think I'm a retard?" "Are you listening to me ?" "What the hell are you saying?" "I'VE GLUED MY TEETH TOGETHER" "Christ..." "You want me to break it open?" "With what?" "Sit still." "Be quiet." "Thanks, Martin." "I'd been having a few quick ones in front of the telly." "When I went to brush my teeth, I got the tubes wrong." "I got my hands on some damn superglue." "I had a bit of a doze on the bog, and when I woke up my teeth were glued shut." "Right here." "They were stuck." "What a mess." "They're changing the waste pipes in this hovel." "Yesterday they asked me if I could stay out of my flat for a few days." "And that's when I thought:" "You've got an extra room." "I could just crash there." "Cheers, Martin." "I want to bring the kitty." "Please, can't I, mum ?" "Okay." "Wait." "What the hell is this ?" "Gin." "You said you didn't have any." "Fix me a drink." "Where the hell are you going ?" "What the hell are you up to, Monika ?" "What the hell are you up to ?" "You fucking cunt!" "Give me that bottle!" "Fucking cunt!" "Mum, you were supposed to get the cat." "I want to bring my kitty." "I couldn't find it." "It's the chimney sweeper." "Lars!" ""I used glue instead of toothpaste." He's not quite right in the head." "I had to force his mouth open with a palette knife." "A man was stabbed to death in Västertorp." "Hey." "The house belongs to Monika Everdag." "31 years old. 32 in October." "Single mother." "Two boys aged 14 and 6." "Bedrooms are upstairs." "The basement has a rec room with an exit." " Why are you whispering?" " Go on, Oskar." "We received the call at 09.31 a.m." "The victim was found by two chimney sweepers   named Jörgen Floman and Lars Ahlén, Ahlén with an acute accent." " An acute accent?" " Yes." "He had that?" "How interesting." "Yes, I questioned him rather informally." "Good." "I wondered if it would be okay if I took care of the cat?" " Just temporarily." " Of course." "The victim's name is Stig Wixell." "He was 36 years old, a plumber by trade." "Unemployed." "Lives in Stockholm." "Former husband of Monika Everdag." "The murder weapon itself had been wiped clean." "But there were fragments of prints on the shards of the gin bottle." " From whom ?" " We don't know." " No blood on the shards?" " No, only in the kitchen." "The cause of death was a stab in the chest before he was rolled up." "The knife passed the ribs and entered the aorta." " Any cranial damage ?" " No." "But the stab through the carpet is only superficial." "It seems to be some kind of subtle signal." "Here's the toilet, kitchen..." "Here's the living room." "The flat only has one room." "That'll do just fine." "And there's no telephone, but you can borrow this." "Thanks." "The prints belonged to Everdag, and we got the result from the DNA test." "It was her blood in the kitchen." "The murder was probably preceded by a fight." "Maybe that was why she divorced him." "Because he smacked her around." "Smacked her around?" "You sound as if you were in a men's sauna." "Do you know what it sounds like in there?" "Can anyone check if she ever reported Stig Wixell for battery?" "Now." "It's just increased so much." "Perhaps it's just that more of them dare to make the report." "Are some women attracted by violent men ?" " No, you think so?" "I guess you do." " Of course." "After all, I'm a man." "I spend all day in a sauna." "Stop." "Go a few steps back." "That has nothing to do with Monika Everdag." "It's an entirely..." "WOMAN BATTERED B Y HUSBAND." "HEAD INJURIES." "LIVES IN DJURSHOLM." "CLAIMED TO HAVE FALLEN." "ADDRESS" "You want a quick one?" "A tripple soy shot gets you going at once." "Coffee is for amateurs." "Do you want one?" "No thanks." "So, how do you feel about it?" " About what?" " The two of us." "I only just woke up." "I..." "I bumped into Janefäldt,   and I just told him right away that we'd come out." " Come out?" " Yes, you and I." "You know, a jaded cop   and an old shower masturbator from Bagarmossen." "Two jaunty homosexuals in the prime of life." "But he just stared at me as if I'd fallen off the Moon." "What the hell are you doing ?" "You live here while they're changing the waste pipes." "No funny stuff!" " So comedy is not appreciated?" " No." "You want me to warm some milk for you ?" "Beck speaking." "No, I want to have another look at the house first." "Yes, with Gunvald." "Well, I'm on my way." " Are you buying a house?" " No!" "Simone, no playmates today." "We're throwing mum a party." " I know that, dad." " Did you bring the math book?" "Bye, love." "Yes ?" "I'm on my way." "If she was the victim of battery, it may be manslaugther, not murder." "And then there's the carpet." "Why roll up the victim in a carpet and just leave him there?" "Maybe it was to prevent the kids from seeing the victim." "I mean, him being their father." "What do you think?" "And you found nothing in the database?" "Did you?" "Pardon me?" "No, nothing." "Maybe she didn't report him." "But it's all a bit odd." "They were in the middle of a..." "What did she call it?" ""A rotten custody case." This would have been to her advantage." "This may have been the first time." "Maybe this was where it started." "This is her blood." "And he had no alcohol in his blood." "So where does the bottle fit in?" "It was gin, wasn't it?" "Gin..." "Maybe she was the one who had been drinking." "Yes, there was gin in the bottle." "Was it gin in that bottle?" " What's the matter, Gunvald?" " Oh, nothing." "It feels as if we've overlooked something." "It seems strange that an entire family simply disappears." " What about women's shelters ?" " I've thought about that." "Would you be so kind as to find Stig Wixell again ?" " Does he look like a wife batterer?" " He looks like you." " What do you mean?" " I mean, he could be anyone." "You really know how to cheer people up." " Hello." " I'm Gunvald." "Larsson." "Lillemor?" "I'm just here to congratulate my sister on her 40th birthday." "Happy birthday." "I didn't know you had a brother." " We don't associate." " Regrettably." "So, this is Gunvald Larsson, he is Lillemor's older brother." "In absentia so to speak." " Would you care for some champagne?" " I'm driving." "I won't be staying." " Thanks for your acknowledgement." " You're welcome." "How are you ?" "It's my birthday, and I want to remember this as a happy occasion." "Mum ?" "Who's he ?" " I'm Gunvald, and I'm your uncle." " I have an uncle?" "Come see the cake." "But I want to know..." "Dad, you're being unfair." "Why did you come here ?" " You don't have any clue ?" " No." "On September 4, at 10.45 p.m.,   we received a police report from Danderyd Hospital." "It concerned a suspicion of a brutal case of wife battering." "The wife herself did not wish to report her husband." "And that wife was you." "You come marching in here and wish me a happy birthday   only because you suspect Hugo of having beaten me, is that it?" "Yes." "I considered the report to be correct." "Oh, you did?" "So you humiliate me and upset my daughter   because of a police report that's utterly groundless ?" "Do you really think I'll stoop to your level and discuss that with you?" "After all these years?" "You really are incredibly uncongenial." "I'm sorry." "But if there is anything I can do to help..." "I love Hugo." "Thanks for tonight, honey." "It was such a wonderful party." " What did he want?" " Who?" " Gunvald?" " What the hell did he want?" "I don't know." "Maybe he really just wanted to wish me a happy birthday." "You've turned 30 and 35, been married and had a child   without him ever showing his face." "Well, I just find it rather peculiar." "That he suddenly just turns up." "Don't you think so?" "Listen to me." "I love you." "You know that." "What a lovely speech you gave." "And tomorrow I'll do nothing but sleep in all day." " How many are they?" " Seven." " Surveillance ?" " Five." "Plus one from Västerås and a volunteer." "They're all experienced." "Okay, let's continue." "Good morning." "I suppose you've all read the investigation report." "We're chasing one or more culprits for the murder of Stig Wixell." "The person we're looking for right now is Monika Everdag." "She may be the culprit or at least possess important information." "We believe that the murder may have to do with wife battering,   so we'll visit women's shelters in order to gather information." "She may have been in contact, or presently is in contact, with one." "That we don't know." "We'll have to split up into groups." " Questions ?" " Is she still in Stockholm ?" "We don't know, so we are surveilling addresses in Sundsvall." "There's a nationwide warrant out for her arrest." "Thank you so far." "Gather your things, and I'll show you to your seats." "I don't want you to show this to Sebastian." "Who killed dad?" "Was it him?" "WOMEN'S SHELTER" "Yes, and there are several reasons for that." "We've come to look for..." "I guess it's quite common that women, who get so severely battered   that they end up in the hospital, won't report their husbands, right?" "About half the women file a report after the first instance,   but a huge part of them withdraw their report." "Don't they dare?" "These women often blame themselves for having provoked the battering." "And maybe they still like the man, and they have children with him." " So they simply let it go on?" " Yes." "Regrettably." "Far too often." "If you would like a lecture on this, I'd be happy to come by the station." "No thanks." "We're looking for a woman who may have been battered." "Her name is Monika Everdag." "Have you been contacted by her?" "Or do you know anything about her?" "Yes." "I was wondering..." "Were you there when the victim was found?" "Yes, it was quite nasty." "I'm sure it was." "But you didn't find anything   that might lead to someone outside the family ?" " What do you mean?" " Something..." "She lived there on her own." "She was divorced." "But she might have seen someone else." "Did you find addresses or numbers ?" "No, we've checked the phone, and we found no address book,   so it's rather tough going." "Then he hit me more and more often." "With candelabres and cables." "But he always hit me where it wouldn't show so much." "He sometimes poured hot water over me in the morning." "And the children..." "Once he was about to cut off one of my toes,   and then Leo came and tried to push him away." "And then all hell broke loose." "But he kept changing more and more." "I wasn't allowed to see anyone or go anywhere." "When someone called, I didn't dare tell them anything." "But sometimes we also had a good time." " When was this recorded?" " Sunday." " Where is Monika ?" " I cannot tell you that." "Why ever not?" "Her tormentor is dead." " How do you know ?" " He was murdered in her house." "Wasn't that her ex-husband Stig Wixell?" "Yes." "He wasn't the one who beat her up." " He wasn't the one?" " No." "She wasn't talking about her husband?" "Who was it, then ?" "I don't know." "And you won't tell us where Monika is ?" " No, not at present." " Why not?" "Because the person who beat her up might find out and seek her out." "How would he find out?" "Because he's a police officer." "Hi there." "How are you doing ?" "I've checked out some addresses, but we haven't found anything." "But what about her car?" "It wasn't at the house, was it?" "No, we've put out an APB." "I think she's hiding somewhere in town." "But where?" "Maybe she withdrew money from her account." "Come on." "If we're lucky, we might find an ATM and an area we can start surveilling." "Did you hear that the guy who beat up Everdag is a police officer?" "Hold on a second." "Wixell wasn't a cop." " No, but he didn't do it." " Says who?" "Monika." "We've found a women's shelter that's hiding her and the children." "It wasn't Wixell who beat her up but a police officer." " So, who was it?" " She won't say." " Why not?" " Because she doesn't trust anyone." "Certainly not cops." "If it's an officer who's behind this, it's an unpleasant turn of events." " Then he might also be..." " The killer, yes." "And now he's hunting Everdag who's been hidden by a shelter." " You have a visitor." " I have ?" "Dear me." " Hi." " You said you'd seen a report." " Yes, can I take your..." " No thanks." " You told me it wasn't..." " It was." "We we're arguing, and I was provoking Hugo, and he lost his temper." "It's nothing I can ever condone or accept, but we love each other." "Has he hit you on other occasions ?" "That's none of your business." " It isn't?" " No." " I'm your brother." " When it suits you." " We have nothing in common." " Besides our parents." " Who are dead." " Yes, thank God." "Why are you interfering with my life?" "Because you're my sister." "Hugo is no wife batterer." "He battered you." "You're his wife." "Why the hell are you defending him ?" "Because I was partly responsible for what happened." "Because we're a family, if you have any grasp of what that means." "Why did you come here ?" "To ask you not to ruin anything." "For me." "For my family." "I know what you're like." "You've already ruined enough." " Hey..." " I must go." "Just explain to me what you mean." "What did I ruin?" "Why can't I have my cat?" "It's my cat!" " Yes, but she's not here now." " I wan't my cat!" "Stop it!" "Sebastian isn't here." " He left." " Where did he go?" "I don't know." "He was just gone." "You call Viola and tell her that I've gone towards Slussen." "Honey." "Mum..." "Monika!" "Hello?" "Hi." " Did you leave work early?" " No." "That's odd." "I called you but they couldn't get hold of you." "I'd probably just turned my cell phone off." " How is the project coming along?" " Fine." "Cheers." " Hi." "Would you like some coffee ?" " Very much." " Anything new ?" " Not a bloody thing." "Martin is frustrated because of the women's shelter,   and Gunvald is just frustrated by definition." "What about you ?" "I'm probably also one of the frustrated ones." "By definition ?" "No, I'm not that kind of guy." "You volunteered for this assignment, didn't you?" "Yes." "Why ?" "Well, Martin Beck is Martin Beck." "I guess lots of officers would like to work with him one day." " And then there was the case." " What about it?" "I thought it was interesting." "The victim in the carpet, the family gone missing..." "But most of all because of the wife battering." " I'm a bit sensitive to that." " Wife battering?" "I've seen quite a lot of shit." "What I find so sick or just repulsive is..." "Sure, you can hurt someone." "But to sexually molest the person you've just beaten to smithereens..." " Don't you think?" " Sure." "You want to smoke ?" " What kind of a man does that?" " I don't know." "Something must happen inside their heads." "I guess they're really overstrung after all the pummelling." " Perhaps it's the blood." " The blood?" "In what sense?" "That they bleed." "Maybe there's a connection." "That it turns them on." "They get turned on by seeing the blood of the woman they've beaten ?" " Yes." " Would it turn you on?" "I'm sorry." "It just sounded so disgusting." "I know." "Are you up for a drink at the Riche?" "No thanks." "All they need is a name." "They promised not to leak it to anyone." "Sure, but you don't get it." "He's a police officer." "And so are they." "He'll find out right away where we are." "He'll find us." "And then he'll come over here and kill us." " Did they contact you ?" " What did you expect?" "An officer." "What did you tell them?" "That we'd focused on the wrong man." "Which they found very strange." "Why ?" "Monika Everdag had been beaten and had every motive to..." "No, she didn't." "It wasn't the victim who'd beaten her up, was it?" "It wasn't the guy in the carpet." "It was someone else entirely." "What's the matter with you ?" "Take is easy." "Gunvald." "I apologize." "I'm a bit..." " A bit what?" " I've had a bit of whiskey." "Indeed?" "Whiskey?" "What do you mean by that?" "Are you drinking on the job ?" " Martin ?" " Don't ask me." "What the hell is that supposed to mean? "Don't ask me"?" "I mean that you've been very unfocused for a while." "I have no idea why you show up reeking like a bar." "What's happening?" "He hasn't been drinking on the job." "He's very careful with that." " What's the matter with him, then ?" " I don't know." "You knew this was a high risk project." " Yes, but you knew that as well." " But you underfunded it." "How are you to attract investors if you don't have any bait for them ?" "This was a great project with a marvellous potential." "Biochemistry." "That's the future of business." " This was..." " A risky project." "How much are we talking about?" "Peanuts for us." "Two and a half million for you." "We forgot to mention that we've taken care of a little cat that we found in the house." "We suppose it belongs to them." "Yes, one of the boys mentioned a cat." "Great." "But tell them from me that we've got the cat,   and if they want it, we can come by and hand it over." "Otherwise we can just leave it at the women's shelter." "Thanks for your offer, but in their present situation that's impossible." "I was thinking about the children in case they might miss it." " I'll ask them." " That's great." "Thank you." "It didn't upset you that dad was late, did it?" "No." " Did you have lasagna today ?" " Yes, it was good." "Look at that." "My uncle is a police officer." " How did you know ?" " Mum told me." "Did you and mum visit uncle after he came by?" " No." " Did mum see him on her own?" "I don't know." "I want to go now." "I've read her two chapters, now." "She refuses to go to sleep." " Does he know anything ?" " Who?" "Gunvald." "What are you talking about?" "He's a police officer, right?" " And he just pops in." " What do you mean?" "Lay off!" "I'm no idiot." "I can put two and two together." "And I don't believe in chance." "I won't talk to you when you're like this." "The project is just a lot of trouble." "I'm an idiot." "Won't you sit down with me ?" " What's wrong with the project?" " We have to raise a loan on Vinde." "Excuse me?" "Why would we do that?" "Two and a half million." "Never." "I inherited Vinde." "That's not getting mixed up in your affairs." "What do you mean "my" affairs ?" "That's what we're living on." "That's why I'm doing what I do." "This isn't about what's mine and what's yours." "Well, maybe I can borrow the money from Gunvald, then." " I'm going to bed now." " You do that." "You've got a phone by the bed." "Do you remember his number?" "Otherwise I've got it here." "Here you go." " Where did you get this?" " From your pocket." " Are you going through my clothes ?" " Yes." "What the bloody hell are you doing?" "Do you want to ruin everything ?" "What the hell are you doing, Hugo?" "I work my arse off to get this family..." "Don't you touch me!" "Don't you touch me." "Lillemor." "I'm sorry, honey." "Hi there." "What the hell are you doing here?" "Spying on us, or what?" "No." "Not at all." " I've been thinking about something." " The report?" "I thought we'd already discussed that." ""You've ruined enough," you said." "Did you get a bad conscience ?" "Since the first time I saw that police report..." "You reacted." " Yes." " Isn't that just great?" "What do you mean?" "You're my sister." "No." " I'm not your sister." " Yes." "I was your sister, and you were my brother." "You're not anymore." "I've actually thought quite a lot about you after you showed up." "It took a wife battering to do it." " To get me to react?" " To care." "What I'm about to tell you now I should have said long ago." "You deserted me." "You deserted me when I needed you the most." "You abandoned our family, and you did so without a word." "Mum and dad you'd hated." "You'd hated them all your life." "But the one thing I never understood was how you could abandon me." "How you could just leave me there." "Did you hate me too ?" "I hope it was worth it." "But what if I contract an additional loan in the house ?" "No, no." "Okay." "And there's no possibility that you might, you know..." "No, I understand that." "Thank you." " Beck speaking." " Hi, this is Daniel Orrberg." "I'm surveilling the ATM which we know Everdag used." "Any news from the shelter?" " No." " Time is running out." "I know." "I'll try and put some pressure on them again." " I'll just stay here and..." " Yes, you do that." "Yes." "Great." "Bye." " Bye-bye." " Bye." "Have fun." " Call me later." " Sure, I will." "You never tire." "I'll take a shower." "Simone went to play with Jenny." "We'll manage this." "You know we will." "Do I?" "You go and have a shower." "I have to ask you to try again." "We're very worried about Monika." "I understand that you're also worried,   but then it's for the best if we cooporate." "I implore you to please try again and then call me immediately." "Thanks." "I'll just pop by the Everdags." " Do you talk about me?" " I beg your pardon ?" "Will you please get out." "Please get out." "Why ?" "I'm your husband, am I not?" "Do you want a towel?" "Are you going to leave or what?" "Have you met with him often ?" "If you mean Gunvald, I haven't seen him since my birthday." "Don't you stand in there and bloody lie to me." "I saw you in the street." "Don't you lie to me." " Why can't you tell me..." " You're out of your mind!" "I'll see my brother if I want to." "Pardon me." "I just think that you involve him in our private life." "But what are you really up to?" "Do you want to ruin our mariage ?" "Do you want to ruin our family ?" " Just because I see Gunvald..." " What did he say about me ?" "Did he say that I was a bastard who hit my wife ?" "That I was a bastard who deserved a beating himself?" "Maybe that is what you need." "What the hell did you just say?" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Hugo, I didn't mean it." "We throw so much shit at each other." "Can't we just stop now ?" "Sure." "Of course." "Then he explained that it was the blood that made them exited." " Who did?" " Daniel Orrberg." " We went out to dinner yesterday." " I don't like that guy." "Because we had dinner?" "Jealous?" "That thing with the blood can trigger some kind of primitive hormone stuff." "This isn't about hormones." "It's about men who..." "Bodil Lättemark." "Just a moment." " It's Viola Furnäs." " I'll be in my office." "What did she say?" "She really tried piling the pressure on Monika, but..." "At least she got out of her that he has a tattoo." "A scorpion." " Where ?" " In his rectum." " No, it's on..." " The inside of his wrist." " This is Daniel." " It's Martin." "Where are you now?" "At a gas station." "I had to go and change a window wiper." " Is there a problem ?" " I need everybody at the station." "The board wants a briefing." "When can you be here?" " I'm coming as fast as I can." " Good." "You really need to hurry." " Are you sure it's him?" " We fear it." "Was he the one who called about the cat?" "You'd found a cat in Monika's house that he wanted to hand over." " How did you get in ?" " The door was unlocked." "Have you become sloppy?" "Or maybe it was Leo ?" "You know how he is." "Thanks for the bottle, by the way." " The bottle?" " Yes." "The one that you hit me over the head with after I'd slipped." "That was very brave of you." "Do you remember what I said?" "I'll always find you." "Did you kill Stig?" "Stig ?" "I had to Stig it to him." "He turned up in the morning, fool as he is." "He came to pick up the boys." "I was asleep." "I had to get up and open the door with one mother of a hangover." "Then he started accusing me of having it on with other men's wives." "Then he went all crazy and wanted to fight with me." "I stabbed him." "But of course you know that." "Drink this." " What is it?" " Honey..." "Drink." "Are the children in there?" "Hello." " Any word from Daniel?" " He said he was at a gas station." "Monika ?" "You go to that door and tell them to get a move on." "Or I'll go in there and cut those boys' throats." "Do you understand what I'm saying?" "Monika ?" " My name is Martin Beck." " What do you want?" "We are privy to your situation." "We know what you've been through." " We think you may be in danger." " Leave." "I don't want to talk to you." " Please." " This is what we'll do, then." "I'll slip my card through the letter slit to you." "And once you feel capable of it, I'd really like to talk to you." "Okay." "Great." "Turn off the gas." "Now!" "Help is on the way." " Are you okay ?" " Yes." "He went up." "Shots have been fired." "Cordon off Västgötagränd and Siargatan." "Gunvald!" "Gunvald!" "Onto your stomach!" "Hands to your side!" "What the hell was that all about?" "First he ruined my coat, and then he almost fell off the roof." " That's what happened." " Get up." "Sure, okay." "Don't rush off." "This is what happened." " Hi." " I'm her brother." "She fell in the shower." "According to her husband." "Dad, when are we going to visit mum?" "Soon, love." "Mum hurt herself very badly when she slipped in the shower,   so the doctor has to fix her up." "But then we'll go and see her." "Oh, how the little ghost wanted to be just as harrowing as its dad." " Hi." "Is your dad in ?" " Yes." " What are you watching ?" " "The little ghost." Do you like it?" " No." "Where's your dad?" " Upstairs." "You watch "The little ghost", and I'll go and haunt your dad a bit." "It feels as if your fear traps you in place." "As if you live inside fear itself,   and all the people around you simply become..." "Is she any better?" "Thanks." "Mum!" " Careful." " I'm sorry." "Hey, baby." "Come here, Simone." "Come."