AFTER LEAVING HIS fifth voicemail message for Åke Pettersson, he sighed heavily and switched off his phone.
“Where the hell is he?” he growled.
“Who?” said a colleague, as he sat down on a chair with a cup of coffee.
“Åke and a few of the lads were going to meet last Friday, but apparently he never showed up. That’s almost a week ago. I’ve left a bunch of messages on his phone, but he hasn’t called back.”
“Oh you know Oxen, he’s always hard to pin down,” said his colleague with a wry smile.
Chief Inspector Raino Cederberg of the Umeå Police looked at his colleague sternly. Åke Pettersson was like a son to him and his silence was worrying.
Cederberg lifted the paper cup to his lips and realised it was empty. In frustration he crumpled the cup and tossed it into the bin. He walked over to the vending machine, inserted a few crowns into the coin slot and made his selection. Nothing happened. He shook the machine angrily until it reluctantly spat out the desired item.
“Damn machine!” he said, devouring the chocolate bar in two bites.
“DAD! LIZA DOESN’T WANT to clean her room!” yelled Pontus.
“Don’t push! Dad! Pontus is hitting me!” cried Liza.
Kalle clattered about in the kitchen putting plates into the dishwasher and pretending not to hear. The children had been acting up a lot recently and he no longer had the energy to deal with them. He had been speaking to a family councillor who advised him to be firm. However, he found it hard to be assertive – it didn’t come naturally to him. Mia had always been the voice of authority in their family.
“Ouch!” Now it was Pontus’ turn.
This was the final straw. Kalle raced up the stairs and into Liza’s room.
“What’s going on?” he snapped.
The children immediately stopped fighting and turned to look at their father. They weren’t used to him adopting that tone.
“He…” began Liza, bursting into tears.
“That’s enough! Pontus, go and tidy your room. Liza, tidy up in here. I don’t want to hear another word. We’re a family and we’re going to stick together and help each other. I shouldn’t have to keep nagging, you should do what I ask. That also includes your homework! Understood!”
Both children stared at their father, dumbfounded.
“Come on! Get a move on!”
Pontus walked slowly into his room, which was next door to Liza’s, and opened his school bag.
Liza stubbornly refused to move and stared down at her feet, on the verge of tears.
“And I don’t want to hear any more of your whining, Liza. You’re far too old to carry on like this.”
Kalle turned to leave.
“As soon as you’ve finished your homework, tidy your room,” he added. “You’re not going to bed until I see that it’s done.”
He went downstairs to continue with the dishes but as soon as he reached the kitchen he slumped down at the table and put his head in his hands.