ANDERS SEGELSTRÖM was astonished. He put down the pathology report and made a note on his tablet computer.
Findings from the preliminary pathological examination carried out the same day as the discovery of the fifty-year-old man’s body in Tyresö indicated that the victim had suffocated to death. The only sign of violence was a burn wound typically associated with the use of a Taser gun – a tool that was commonly used by police officers. In addition, a piece of paper with the letter S had been inserted into the head of his penis.
He picked up the receiver to call Sanna Johansson but changed his mind. He had intended to notify her that all the indications pointed to this being the work of their serial killer. He got up from his chair and walked to Blom’s office, only to find that his boss wasn’t there.
As Segelström turned to leave he saw Sanna approaching. The colour rose in his face.
“How’s it going with the Tyresö case?” she asked.
“It’s going well,” he said guardedly. “I received the forensics report today.”
“And?”
“There was a letter inserted into the victim’s penis.”
Sanna looked at him intently. “Is that the report in your hand?”
“This? No… it’s another case I want to talk to Blom about,” he replied, averting his eyes.
At that moment Allan Jonsson hurtled down the corridor towards them waving a piece of paper.
“Sanna! It looks like the same killer!” He glanced at the papers in Segelström’s hands. “I see you’ve already told her!”
Segelström shook his head.
“But the report’s in your hand!” insisted Allan Jonsson.
Segelström walked away, embarrassed.
“Did I say something stupid?”
“No, nothing.”
“Haven’t you received the report yet?”
“Yes, but I haven’t had time to read it yet…”
“We’ve got our fourth victim! It’s Bosse Krom! There was a letter inserted into his penis, so it has to be our serial killer – unless we’re dealing with a copycat.”
Sanna stared fixedly at him. “Gather the team and tell them there’s a meeting in thirty minutes in the investigation room. Segelström too.”
She turned and headed towards her office but paused after a few steps and turned to Jonsson.
“By the way, hold off reporting the new information until tomorrow’s meeting.”
AFTER A QUICK GLANCE AT the forensic report on the fifty-four year old man, Sanna decided to check out the case more closely.
She strolled over to the window. It was a cloudless December day and the sun was beating down. She grabbed her helmet and made her way to the garage, climbed onto her motorcycle and rode off to Solna’s Forensic department. According to the pathologist, the receptionist would provide her with a pass.
As soon as Sanna was authorized to enter the building, she made her way to the Autopsy room/Morgue, House T9. The pathologist was waiting for her at the end of a long corridor.
“Hi, good to see you again,” said Roberta Suares amiably.
Sanna smiled. “It’s always better to talk face to face with the experts and get the details first hand.”
They entered the room. The pathologist opened the door to a cold chamber and pulled out a bunk containing the body of the fifty-four year old man. The autopsy had already been performed and his body had been stitched back together.
It took about half an hour for Roberta Suares to fully brief Sanna on her findings so far. At the end of her summary she added:
“He had high levels of alcohol in the blood but no other toxic substances.”
“So no drugs?”
“No.”
The pathologist shifted the corpse to reveal the burn wounds.
“The attacker used a Taser.”
Sanna photographed the injury with her iPhone. She enlarged the image to take a closer look.
The pathologist walked over to her. She pointed at the photograph.
“Look. There’s a defect in the Taser. One of the shots caused a deeper wound than the others. You can compare it with the burn wounds on the other victims and see whether it was the same gun.”
“You’re right! Damn, we didn’t think of that!” she exclaimed, smiling broadly.
“Segelström already knows. I’m sure he’ll mention it when he delivers his report.”
“I see,” said Sanna, reluctant to let on that she had already spoken to him. “Did he notice it himself?”
“No, I pointed it out to him, and he was very excited about the discovery.”
The pathologist continued chronicling her observations and thirty minutes later Sanna was on her way back to the police headquarters. She was curious about Segelström. Was he reverting to his previous pattern of behaviour or did he intend to share the details at the morning meeting?