Håkan Nesser - Woman with Birthmark

He paused, but the chief inspector didn't say anything.

“Anyway it's a woman,” said Schmidt. “She had a first-class ticket, single cabin. She embarked, collected her key from Information, and evidently spent an hour in her cabin.”

“Do you have her name?”

“Yes, of course. The ticket and the cabin were booked in the name of Biedersen.”

“Biedersen?”

“Yes. But they never ask for ID proof when the passenger pays cash, which she did, so it could be a false name.”

Van Veeteren sighed deeply.

“Hello? Are you still there?”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything else, or can we allow them to set sail? They are over an hour late now.”

“Of course,” said Van Veeteren. “Cast off and get under way.”

The call was terminated. Reinhart took off the earphones. Crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back, making the chair creak.

Van Veeteren put his hands on his knees and got to his feet with difficulty Walked back and forth over the creaking floorboards before pausing in front of one of the windows. Rubbed the pane with the sleeve of his jacket and peered out into the darkness. Dug his hands down into his trouser pockets.

“What do you think she was called?” asked Reinhart.

“It's started raining again,” said Van Veeteren.

Håkan Nesser was awarded the 1993 Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Prize for new authors for his novel Mind's Eye (published in Sweden as Det Grovmaskiga Nätet). He received the best novel award in 1994 for Borkmann's Point and in 1996 for Woman with Birthmark. In 1999 he was awarded the Crime Writers of Scandinavia's Glass Key Award for the best crime novel of the year for Carambole. Nesser lives in Sweden and New York City.

Laurie Thompson taught Swedish at the University of Wales and was editor of Swedish Book Review from its launch in 1983 until 2002. He has been a full-time literary translator for several years and has translated more than forty books from the Swedish. He was born in York, but now lives in rural West Wales with his Swedish wife and several cats.