Henning Mankell - The Pyramid

Здесь есть возможность читать онлайн «Henning Mankell - The Pyramid» весь текст электронной книги совершенно бесплатно (целиком полную версию без сокращений). В некоторых случаях можно слушать аудио, скачать через торрент в формате fb2 и присутствует краткое содержание. Жанр: Детектив, на английском языке. Описание произведения, (предисловие) а так же отзывы посетителей доступны на портале библиотеки ЛибКат.

The Pyramid: краткое содержание, описание и аннотация

Предлагаем к чтению аннотацию, описание, краткое содержание или предисловие (зависит от того, что написал сам автор книги «The Pyramid»). Если вы не нашли необходимую информацию о книге — напишите в комментариях, мы постараемся отыскать её.

A collection of stories
The missing piece of the internationally bestselling Kurt Wallander mystery series: the story of Wallander's beginnings, told in five gripping short mysteries.
"What happened to Wallander before the series began?…Several years ago, right when I was done with the fifth book, Sidetracked, I realized that I had started to write stories in my head that took place long before the start of the series." – from Henning Mankell's foreword
At last, a key addition to the Kurt Wallander mystery series: the book of short mysteries that takes us back to the beginning. Here we meet Wallander the twenty-one-year-old patrolman on his first criminal investigation, Wallander the young father facing an unexpected danger on Christmas Eve, Wallander on the brink of middle age solving a case of poisoning, the newly separated Wallander investigating the murder of a local photographer, and Wallander the veteran detective discovering unexpected connections between a downed mystery plane and the assassination of a pair of spinster sisters. Over the course of these five mysteries, he comes into his own as a murder detective, defined by his simultaneously methodical and instinctive work, and is increasingly haunted from witnessing the worst aspects of an atomized society.
Written from the unique perspective of an author looking back upon his own creation to discover his origins, these mysteries are vintage Mankell. Essential reading for all Wallander fans, The Pyramid is also a wonderful showcase for Mankell's powers as a writer.

The Pyramid — читать онлайн бесплатно полную книгу (весь текст) целиком

Ниже представлен текст книги, разбитый по страницам. Система сохранения места последней прочитанной страницы, позволяет с удобством читать онлайн бесплатно книгу «The Pyramid», без необходимости каждый раз заново искать на чём Вы остановились. Поставьте закладку, и сможете в любой момент перейти на страницу, на которой закончили чтение.

Тёмная тема
Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

'We've examined it,' Nyberg answered. 'In order to remove the cover you have to loosen eight screws. This has not been done. The radio has never been opened since it was assembled at the factory. The finish still covers the screw heads.'

'There is a lot that's strange,' Wallander said. 'Something we shouldn't forget is the album with the distorted images. His widow tells us that Simon Lamberg was a man who had many secrets. Right now we should be concentrating on creating a better picture of who he really was. Clearly, the surface does not match up with what was underneath. The polite, quiet and fastidious photographer must in reality have been someone quite different.'

'The question is just who would know more about him,' Martinsson said. 'If, as seems to be the case, he doesn't have any friends. No one seems to have known him.'

'We have the amateur astronomers in Lund,' Wallander said. 'We have to get in touch with them, of course. Former assistants who worked for him. You can't live your whole life in a town like Ystad without anybody knowing you. And we've barely begun our conversations with Elisabeth Lamberg. In other words, we have a lot to dig into. Everything has to be pursued simultaneously.'

'I spoke to Backman,' Svedberg said. 'You were right about him being up. When I arrived at his apartment his wife was also up and dressed. It felt like the middle of the day, even though it was only four in the morning. Unfortunately he could not give any kind of description of the man who knocked you down. Nothing apart from the man's coat being mid-length and most likely navy blue.'

'Couldn't he even say anything about the man's height? Was he short or tall? What colour was his hair?'

'It all happened very fast. Backman only wanted to say what he felt sure about.'

'We know at least one thing about the man who attacked me,' Wallander said. 'That he ran much faster than I did. My impression was that he was of average height and fairly strong. He was also in much better shape than I am. My sense – even if it's somewhat vague – is that he may have been around my age. But this is really just a guess.'

They were still waiting for the first preliminary report from the medical examiner in Lund. Nyberg and the forensic laboratory in Linköping were in contact. Many fingerprints needed to be run through the various databases.

They all had a lot to do. Wallander therefore wanted to draw the meeting to a close as quickly as possible. It was eleven when they stood up. Wallander hadn't done more than walk into his office when the phone rang. It was Ebba from reception.

'You have a visitor,' she said. 'A man named Gunnar Larsson. He wants to talk to you about Lamberg.'

Wallander had just decided to make another trip out to see Elisabeth Lamberg.

'Can't anyone else deal with him?'

'He wanted to speak to you specifically.'

'Who is he?'

'He used to work for Lamberg.'

Wallander immediately changed his mind. The conversation with the widow would have to wait.

'I'll come out and get him,' Wallander said and got to his feet.

Gunnar Larsson was in his thirties. They went back to Wallander's office. Larsson declined the offer of a cup of coffee.

'I'm glad that you thought of coming in yourself,' Wallander began. 'Your name would have come up sooner or later. But this saves us some time.'

Wallander had flipped open one of his notebooks.

'I worked for Lamberg for six years,' Gunnar Larsson said. 'He let me go about four years ago. I don't think he's employed anyone else since then.'

'Why did he let you go?'

'He claimed that he could no longer afford to keep someone on. I think that was the truth. I think I had actually been expecting it. Lamberg didn't have more business than he could handle on his own. Since he didn't sell cameras or accessories, his profits were not great. And when times are bad people don't go and get their picture taken as often.'

'But you worked there for six years. That means you must have got to know him pretty well?'

'Both yes and no.'

'Let's start with the former.'

'He was always polite and friendly. To everyone: me and the customers alike. He had boundless patience with children. And he was very orderly.'

Wallander was suddenly struck by a thought.

'Would you say that Simon Lamberg was a good photographer?'

'There wasn't anything original about him. The pictures he took were conventional, since that's what people want. Photos that look like any other. And he was good at that. He never cut corners. He wasn't original, since he didn't have to be. I doubt that he cherished any artistic ambitions. At least I never saw any hint of it.'

Wallander nodded.

'I get the impression of a kindly but relatively colourless person. Is that right?'

'Yes.'

'Let us then proceed to why you feel you didn't know him.'

'He was probably the most reserved person I've ever known in my life.'

'In what way?'

'He never talked about himself. Or his feelings. I cannot recall a single instance where he described his own experience of anything. But in the beginning I tried to have regular conversations with him.'

'About what?'

'About anything. But I soon stopped.'

'Didn't he ever comment on current events?'

'I think he was very conservative.'

'Why do you think that?'

Gunnar Larsson shrugged.

'I just do. But on the other hand I doubt that he ever read the papers.'

I think you're wrong there, Wallander thought. He did read newspapers. And he probably knew a great deal about international affairs. He kept his opinions in a photo album of a kind that the world has probably never seen before.

'There was another thing I found strange,' Gunnar Larsson went on. 'During the six years that I worked for him, I never met his wife. Not that I was ever invited to their house, of course. To get a sense of where they lived, I walked past their house one Sunday.'

'So you never met their daughter?'

Perplexed, Gunnar Larsson looked at Wallander.

'They had children?'

'You didn't know this?'

'No.'

'They had a daughter. Matilda.'

Wallander chose not to add that she was severely handicapped. But evidently Gunnar Larsson had no idea that she even existed.

Wallander put his pen down.

'What did you think when you heard what had happened?'

'That it was utterly incomprehensible.'

'Do you think you could ever have imagined anything happening to him?'

'I still can't imagine it. Who could have had a reason to kill him?'

'That's what we're trying to ascertain.'

Wallander noticed that Gunnar Larsson appeared uncomfortable. It was as if he was unable to decide what to say next.

'You're thinking about something,' Wallander guessed. 'Am I right?'

'There were some rumours,' Gunnar Larsson said hesitantly. 'Rumours that Simon Lamberg gambled.'

'Gambled how?'

'Gambled to win money. Someone had seen him at the Jägersro racetrack.'

'Why would that start rumours? It's not unusual to go to Jägersro on occasion.'

'People also said he turned up regularly at illegal gambling clubs. Both in Malmö and Copenhagen.'

Wallander frowned.

'How did you hear this?'

'There are a lot of rumours floating around a small town like Ystad.'

Wallander knew all too well how true this was.

'There were rumours that he had heavy debts.'

'Did he?'

'Not during the time that I worked there. I could see that from his bookkeeping.'

'He may of course have taken out private loans. He could have ended up in the hands of a loan shark.'

'In that case I wouldn't know about it.'

Wallander thought for a moment.

'Rumours always start somewhere,' he said.

'It was a long time ago,' Gunnar Larsson said. 'Where or when I heard those rumours I really can't remember.'

Читать дальше
Тёмная тема
Сбросить

Интервал:

Закладка:

Сделать

Похожие книги на «The Pyramid»

Представляем Вашему вниманию похожие книги на «The Pyramid» списком для выбора. Мы отобрали схожую по названию и смыслу литературу в надежде предоставить читателям больше вариантов отыскать новые, интересные, ещё непрочитанные произведения.


Mankell Henning - When the Snow Fell
Mankell Henning
Henning Mankell - Wallander's First Case
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell - The Troubled Man
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell - Faceless Killers
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell - The Fifth Woman
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell - The White Lioness
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell - One step behind
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell - The Dogs of Riga
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell - Chronicler Of The Winds
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell - El chino
Henning Mankell
Отзывы о книге «The Pyramid»

Обсуждение, отзывы о книге «The Pyramid» и просто собственные мнения читателей. Оставьте ваши комментарии, напишите, что Вы думаете о произведении, его смысле или главных героях. Укажите что конкретно понравилось, а что нет, и почему Вы так считаете.

x