The Princess of Burundi - Kjell Eriksson [128]
Lindell waited for a continuation but it never came.
“How do you know the money came from the shop?”
“I’ve worked there a long time,” Erki said. “I see a lot. I know.”
Lindell left the subject. She would get the details in due course.
“Did Berit know about the backpack?”
Justus shook his head.
“I didn’t take it all. I left half.”
“Where is it?”
“At home in the closet.”
“And she doesn’t know?”
“Only Dad and I knew.”
“Okay,” Lindell said. “I get it.”
She turned to Erki and asked if she could use the bathroom. He pointed to the hall. Lindell left the kitchen and closed the door after her. Two children sat on the floor. They had arranged all the shoes by the door into a big pile. Lindell caught sight of her boots near the bottom. From another room came the sound of music and loud peals of laughter. Lindell felt as if she were making an educational visit to a Normal Home.
In the bathroom she picked up her cell phone and called Haver. He told her that Ruben Sagander wasn’t home. His wife had been waiting for a few hours and had tried his cell phone but had been unable to reach him.
“What are you doing?” Lindell asked.
“We’ve sent out an alert,” Haver said. “We’re trying to figure out where he may have gone.”
“He’s armed,” Lindell said.
“We know,” Haver said.
“Is he the one?”
“We can’t say for sure, but the tracks in the snow appear to match up. He has a red-and-white pickup and he was at Akademiska Hospital on the same day the knife was stolen.”
“Have you asked about the knife?”
“His wife says he has a large number of knives,” Haver said. “The whole house is full of weapons and trophies.”
“Motive?”
“Money, most likely,” Haver said.
A short pause reigned before Lindell got the words out.
“I’m sorry for what happened.”
“It’s okay,” Haver said, but Lindell could hear that it wasn’t.
“I have to get home to Erik,” she said. “Justus is here with Erki Karjalainen and doesn’t want to go home yet. I think he should be able to stay awhile longer.”
Finally she told him about the money stolen from the shop and the cash in Justus’s backpack. She hadn’t been sure she wanted to tell Haver about this. She knew she had to, but it felt like a betrayal of Erki and Justus.
“Money,” Haver repeated.
“Ola, be careful.”
Lindell ended the call and blew her nose with a little piece of toilet paper. The children in the hall were singing a Finnish Christmas song in shrill tones. She dialed Berit’s number. When she answered, Lindell had to fight to keep the emotion out of her voice. She knew what a relief it would be for Berit to hear that Justus was fine.
“Thank God,” she whispered.
Lindell could imagine her expression. She swallowed and continued.
“One more thing. In the closet in Justus’s room there’s a lot of money. It’s John’s money. I’ll tell you later how he got it. It’s not just from poker, I can tell you. I’ll be over in a while so we can talk, then my colleagues will come down.”
“What about Justus?”
“He’s safe here. Give him a few hours. I promise you he’s fine.”
“Tell me more about the money. Where did it come from?”
“I’ll be over soon. Okay?”
She went back to the kitchen. Justus looked up.
“I was treated to a Finnish concert out there,” Lindell said lightly and tried to smile.
“It’s the grandkids,” Erki said.
“Can Justus stay with you a bit longer?” she asked.
Erki and Justus looked at each other.
“Of course. We’ll call Berit later. I’ll bring him back.”
Lindell nodded.
“I’m going home now,” she said, but paused. “Good-bye, Justus. I’ll see you.”
She gave Erki a look. He got to his feet slowly and when Lindell left the room he followed.
“There’s one thing,” she said as she searched for her boots in the pile of shoes.
Erki closed the door to the kitchen.
“I want…I know this is wrong, but there’s one thing.”
Lindell fished out one boot. She turned to Erki.
“This thing about dreams,” she said. “Aren’t children the most important?”
Erki nodded.
“I was thinking…Justus dreams of Africa.”
Erki glanced at the kitchen door and took a step closer.
“Africa isn