Mari Jungstedt - Unknown

Several of the detectives began to fidget as soon as the pictures of Martina appeared.

"What's significant is that she seems to have been killed in more than one way," Sohlman went on pensively. "The victim was both strangled and knifed. One qualified guess is that she was first hanged from the noose, and afterward the perpetrator slashed her with a knife. The appearance of the incision indicates that it was probably done after death. Since she has no other injuries, it looks as if the perpetrator was able to cut her open in peace and quiet, so to speak. She didn't offer any resistance. But there's another issue."

Sohlman paused for effect and looked at his colleagues pointedly.

"We're not positive that she died from hanging. There are several indications that she was already dead when she was hung up in that tree."

"What sort of indications?" asked Knutas, looking startled.

"As I said, this is just a hunch-I'll gladly leave the confirming analysis to the ME-but I've seen quite a few hanging deaths when people committed suicide by kicking away the chair or whatever they were standing on and then were strangled by the noose. The deceased typically has specific types of injuries. These include bruises along the groove on the neck where the rope dug in, as well as hemorrhaging at the base of the neck muscles along the collarbone. These signs of vitality, as they're called, are easy to detect. You notice them at once if you've been at that type of death scene before. Martina doesn't have any of them. Something doesn't add up."

Jacobsson looked in surprise at the crime tech.

"So that means the murderer might have used several methods to kill Martina instead of settling for just one-and the hanging and stab wound in the abdomen were two of the methods. But what actually killed her?"

A tense silence followed. Wittberg was the first to speak.

"It's one thing when a killer stages an assault by using a knife, for example, to stab the victim and then continues to hack away even though the person is already dead. Or he keeps firing unnecessary shots at the victim. That's something that occurs in a fit of rage or because the killer is under the influence of drugs or has simply gone berserk. But this seems to be a different story."

"The murder feels ritualistic," murmured Knutas as he looked at the pictures.

"Yes," agreed Smittenberg. "The perpetrator would have had time to stop and think between the various steps; he should have calmed down."

"What about the motive?" said Jacobsson meditatively. "He had a definite reason for killing her in several ways. It symbolizes something. The modus operandi seems like some sort of ceremony, just as Anders said. The question is: Why is she naked? What does it mean?"

"There are no outward signs of sexual assault, but if she was assaulted it will show up in the autopsy. Yet the fact that she's not wearing any clothes clearly has sexual connotations."

"What sort of evidence have you found?" asked Wittberg.

"Not much so far," said Sohlman. "We're in the process of searching the entire promontory, and there's a lot of area to cover."

"We're continuing to go door to door in the summer-house area," interjected Knutas. "Let's hope it produces some results."

"How many summer houses are there?" asked Smittenberg.

"About twenty."

"Was the murder committed at the site where the body was found?"

"It's hard to say at the moment," said Sohlman. "I didn't see any signs of a struggle at the site. On the other hand, we haven't yet had a chance to examine everything thoroughly. The ME has to make his examination before we can move the body. Since the decomposition process has already set in, I would guess that she's been dead for two or three days. I can't give you a more specific time of death at the moment-but it seems likely that she was killed late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. It's virtually impossible to drive into the wooded area, so the perp probably carried her there if he killed her somewhere else. It's at least a couple of hundred yards away on foot, which means that we're dealing with someone who's quite strong. Martina was not a petite girl. She was both tall and muscular."

"I'm thinking about the decapitated horse in Petesviken," said Jacobsson. "I wonder if there's some connection. That seemed ritualistic, too."

"Of course we'll look for points of connection between the two cases," said Knutas. "We need to find out more about Martina Flochten's past. Who was she? What was she doing before the murder? Did anything unusual happen? Did her behavior change in any way? What sort of person was she? Can you take responsibility for finding out these things, Karin?"

"Sure."

"It's also important that we talk with every single summer-house owner around Vivesholm as soon as possible, and even more important, the guests who were staying at the hotel over the weekend. I'll leave that to you, Thomas. All the archaeologists have to be interviewed, too-the students taking the course, the teachers, and the others at the college. Since I don't want the press to get wind of this ritualistic angle, no one should say anything about it, and I mean not to anybody at all."

Knutas gazed sternly at his colleagues sitting around the table.

"If this gets out, we're done for. Then we'll have reporters chasing us all day long."

He stood up.

"At four o'clock this afternoon we're holding a press conference. Lars and I will handle it."

Staffan Mellgren looked haggard when Knutas met him in the reception area of police headquarters. His face was pale and his eyes red-rimmed and shiny. There was something jumpy about him, and his clothes were so wrinkled that it looked as if he had slept in them. They went up to Knutas's office where they could talk undisturbed. Mellgren declined the offer of coffee.

"How are you doing?" asked Knutas after they sat down across from each other.

"This is so terrible, what happened to Martina. I can't understand it."

"I want to start by talking some more about the student group. We understand that Martina was quite popular. Was there anyone who didn't get along with her?"

Mellgren shook his head.

"No, not as far as I know."

"Do you know of anyone who was particularly fond of Martina? Or maybe even in love with her?"

"Not exactly," he replied hesitantly, "but there are two guys who paid a lot of attention to her."

"Who are they?"

"Jonas is a Swede, from Skane, probably no more than twenty years old. Mark is American, a little older, about twenty-five, I would guess. Those two really get along-Mark and Jonas, I mean. They're as thick as thieves."

"In what way did they show an interest in Martina?"

"Well, they were always hovering around her. Both of them liked to talk and joke with her."

"Did one of them seem more fond of her than the other?"

"No, I don't think you could say that. I think they both liked her equally."

"Was the interest mutual?"

"I think Martina thought they were fun and nice as friends, but nothing more than that."

"How do you know that?"

"It's just a feeling."

"Are the two of them also staying at Warfsholm?"

"Yes."

"Have you noticed any strangers hanging around the excavation site?"

"Just the usual. People we know or one of the neighbors who drops by to talk for a while. Small groups of tourists show up several times a week, but they usually keep a safe distance away."

"As the leader of the course, do you have any idea who might have murdered Martina?"

"No."

"I've asked you this question before, but I'm going to have to ask it again: What was your relationship with her?"

"She was a student that I liked and respected, as a student, " said Mellgren in a sharp voice. "Of course there was nothing going on between us. I've already told you that."