HE KNOCKED GENTLY AND popped his head around the door.
“Are you busy?”
Sanna’s head was buried in a report and she looked up in surprise.
“Yes, but come in.”
He ambled into the room, pulled up a chair next to Sanna’s desk and sat down.
“I’m not sure where to begin…”
He cowered at her obvious annoyance.
Anders Segelström was a shadow of the unfriendly, slightly arrogant man Sanna was used to dealing with. He looked at her with trepidation. It was too late to deny the charge against him – he should have done that from the beginning so as not to arouse suspicion. He had been thrown for a loop by her accusation and had answered like an idiot instead of feigning ignorance. And now he was forced to explain himself.
Sanna waited patiently. She had no intention of prodding his memory. He had been one big headache since they started working together and now it appeared that he had acted inexcusably and potentially damaged the investigation. Moreover, she was infuriated by his late apology. Ever since she had confronted him about woman number ten he had been on sick leave.
“Ingalill Segelström is my sister,” he said finally. He seemed almost embarrassed by the family connection.
Sanna’s attitude towards him began to mellow. She had been all fired up to give the bloody good for nothing an earful. But his explanation had suddenly dampened her desire for revenge. Although she had pondered over Ingalills relationship to Segelström, she hadn’t been prepared to hear that one of the women in Börge’s collection was the sister of a colleague.
She looked at him harshly. “Is that a good explanation for his behaviour?” she thought. No, probably not. Within the police force officers had to be objective and treat all criminal cases in the same way – according to the rulebook. It was unacceptable to react differently because of a conflict of interest.
She said nothing and waited.
“I… I have the stuff you are looking for on woman number ten.” He ran his fingers through his hair nervously.
Sanna leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She was unsure what to say next.
“I know it was unbelievably stupid,” he continued.
“That’s an understatement!” replied Sanna curtly. She was angry but for some strange reason she couldn’t express her feelings. Could it be that she felt sorry for him?
“How serious is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“What happened to her?” she raised her voice in irritation.
“She’s alive, if that’s what you mean.” He took a deep breath. “Svenson dumped her. This might sound odd but I’m glad she turned out to be the ordinary type – the type that doesn’t interest him for long.”
She studied him. Anders was the kind of man who tended to look down on women. In his eyes they were just sex objects. How had he reacted when he discovered that his sister was being used as a sexual tool? A man had seen his sister as nothing but a dumb blonde – a sex object that even a predator wouldn’t be interested in.
“You understand that I take this very seriously.”
“I do.”
“Now it’s my turn to consider the options. You removed evidence for personal reasons…” She stared straight at him. “What would you do if our situations were reversed?”
He was cornered. Of course he would have acted strictly according to the rulebook and shown no mercy.
“You would have followed regulations, wouldn’t you?”
He looked down.
“Wouldn’t you?”
He nodded slowly.
“Then in all good conscience I should do the same. What do you think?”
He looked at her guardedly. He had already humiliated himself enough. He would receive a reprimand and his reputation would be permanently damaged. From now on he would be considered untrustworthy.
“Leave the material with Mohamed for registration and ask him to deliver it to Kalle immediately. I’ll get back to you when I’ve thought it over.”
He turned to leave the room.
“Don’t forget, all the material!”
A crime had taken place and she had a duty to report it. However, there was one other option. If Anders Segelström reported what he had done directly to the head of the department, Blom himself would be responsible for deciding the consequences.
She did what she thought was best – all things considered – and wrote an e-mail to Anders:
“…I am giving you the chance to personally report your impropriety to Blom. I would like you to write him an e-mail and send me a copy. Please provide him with a detailed and accurate account of how you came by the information as well as what motivated you. If you choose not to do this I will be forced to submit an official report myself.”
Anders Segelström followed her instructions and wrote the e-mail, effectively releasing Sanna from any further obligations. What Blom did with the information was his own decision.
AFTER TWO WEEKS OF WALKING from one location to another the members of Rosie the Riveter were exhausted. They decided to place the placard permanently in Humlegården. However, since not everyone could be on site at the same time to watch over it, they made a list of who should stand guard the first weeks. After this they would reassess the situation and decide whether to make a new timetable or not.
Several hundred people had signed the placard wherever they could find a space.
A few onlookers donated a set of felt pens. Others had written their own texts. Some had even written short poems.
For two weeks now the members had been taking it in turns to supervise the now valuable placard so that nobody could deface or steal it. Each member had been assigned specific weeks. This week was Samuel and Anna’s turn.
“Do you have any coffee? I forgot my thermos at home,” asked Samuel.
“Yeah, sure,” said Anna. She brought out a couple of mugs and poured the warm liquid into them.
Two uniformed police officers approached. “Do you have a permit to demonstrate here?”
“Come on, we’re not demonstrating,” said Anna with a smile.
“You need a permit to stand here with a placard!” insisted one of the officers.
“Please, we’re not bothering anyone. We just want to get more signatures,” begged Anna.
“You seem to have more than enough signatures and I advise you to remove the placard otherwise we will be forced to confiscate it.”
A group of passers-by, who had been observing the interaction with the police officers, stopped.
“Let them stay here. You should be taking care of criminals instead of harassing kids making peaceful protests,” said one man.
Eventually the police relented and allowed the young group to remain there for a couple more days.
Inevitably, the placard had attracted the attention of the mass media. The evening papers were full of stories describing how the protest action had begun with a secret message discovered in Lill-Janskogen, Frescati a month ago. The text was illustrated with a picture of Rosie the Riveter:
IF YOU THINK LIKE US – SIGN HERE!
I want to move freely!
I want to be able to walk home through the park and go jogging along the tracks!
I want to dress as I please!
I want to go out and party if I feel like it!
I want to be able to decide over my own life and be a free woman!
WITHOUT FEELING SCARED!
It was a simple message in simple language. The people who signed the placard were mostly women but there were also a few men who had shown solidarity.
The press were jubilant. Journalists were busy interviewing people and publishing statistics on violence. There was an interview with the Minister of Equality who agreed there was a problem but wasn’t able to present any concrete proposals for change.
It seemed as if society had been woken up from a deep slumber and the fuss – caused by a single placard – lasted for almost a month.
The protest caused ripples throughout the country. Several women’s groups and organizations contacted Rosie the Riveter to offer their support.
SANNA WAS DUMBFOUNDED. She never dreamed that her action would have such an impact.
There were women who would never have dared to do something similar unless rallied to action by someone else.
Sanna was both pleased and disappointed. Pleased because so many women in similar or worse situations had the courage to go back to the place they were attacked but disappointed because the newspaper coverage revealed that a high proportion of men in Sweden, like in any other country, viewed women as second-class citizens.
Despite all Sanna’s attempts to ignore the commotion around Rosie the Riveter’s petition, her curiosity won over in the end.
She inspected her new bicycle and thanked the staff in the workshop for their help. It was time for its maiden voyage. She planned to cycle through the city to Humlegården where the famous placard had been standing for the last few days.
She intended to look at it from a distance. For some reason she was fearful of being recognized and singled out:
“There goes the mystery woman who has caused all this commotion.”
Although on a rational level she knew she was being stupid, she didn’t dare to go closer. She dismounted and wheeled her bicycle through Humlegården treading warily like a cat on hot bricks. At first she gave the placard a wide arc, viewing it from a distance of several metres but she soon decided that she was being ridiculous and approached the group.
She picked up a blue felt pen and found a tiny space in the corner of the placard. She wrote:
“Women’s rights shall be respected by EVERYONE in society!!”
BECAUSE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH revealing the footprint of a child, Forensics had returned to the crime scene to take their own shots from different viewpoints as well as carry out more blood stain tests and obtain usable DNA samples. They also carried out a more detailed inspection of the kitchen and other rooms in an effort to recover evidence proving that the child had been present during the assault.
Kalle was lying on the sofa at home for the fourth day in a row with a bad stomach. In his hands was the latest report, which had finally arrived six weeks after being requested. Forensics had maintained that, since they had a shortage of staff, Svenson’s case was no longer considered a priority. The report confirmed that Viktor had been in the room with his mother at some point during the attack. This information would have undeniably been very helpful in their efforts to prevent Svenson’s visit to the hospital but now it was too late – Viktor was dead.
Kalle lifted the receiver and punched in a number. It was still engaged. He wanted to find out whether Sanna had made any progress in her attempts to prosecute Börge Svenson for Viktor’s death but she had been unavailable all day.
AT TEN PAST TWO on Monday afternoon Sanna Johansson arrived at the office on Kungsholmen. She rushed into her room and slammed the door. She had been at court in Frescati all morning and was livid. Once again she had witnessed the incompetence of the justice system.
Kalle had intended to accompany her but he was hit by a violent bout of stomach flu that wouldn’t let up and he didn’t dare leave the secure confines of home.
The prosecutor had already warned her that things didn’t look good and that she should be prepared for anything.
Although Sanna had never been overly optimistic that her attacker would be convicted it certainly didn’t cross her mind that she would be reprimanded instead.
The prosecutor had summoned the fingerprint division of the County Police to provide expert testimony regarding the discovery of the defendant’s fingerprints on the club. He also presented Sanna’s detailed account of the incident.
The defendant stubbornly denied the charges and described how the plain-clothes policewoman had pushed him down onto the ground and then kneed him in the back.
“The police woman screamed “wrong place,” as if I had no right to be there and then kicked and punched me.”
The lawyer for the defence accused Sanna of police brutality.
After Sanna’s unprovoked attack he had been taken to the hospital where it was confirmed that he had sustained a number of bruises on his arms and lower back.
Unfortunately, there were no witnesses. It was one person’s word over another and even though the assailant already had a record of violent behaviour, it was impossible to determine who was guilty.
Sanna Johansson was ordered to pay five thousand kronor in damages for pain and suffering caused as well as harassment. Her explanation that it was a question of life or death was not considered sufficient motive for the degree of violence she subjected him to. The man’s defence lawyer had insisted on setting a precedent and demanded an internal inquiry against Sanna Johansson. The judge demanded that he calm down. His client already had a police record and a more in-depth investigation might result in undesirable consequences.
AGNES SAT IN AN OLD ARMCHAIR that creaked every time she moved. She had a computer on her lap and was writing furiously.
“Do you have everyone’s addresses?” asked Mikaela.
“Yes, I think so,” answered Agnes without looking up. “I have most of the women’s organizations as well as other organizations such as The Swedish Association for Sexuality Education, Amnesty, Men for Gender Equality, Fryshuset and a bunch of political parties.
I have also suggested that everyone coordinate with other organizations around the country. It’s important that all the demonstrations occur at the same time,” continued Agnes.
“Right on,” said Mikaela.
“Woo hoo!” shouted some of the group. Others made a thumbs up signal.
“Done it!” exclaimed Hanna waving her hands in the air triumphantly. “We’re on Facebook! I’m sending an invite to all my contacts plus their friends. Information spreads like wildfire on Facebook…”
“Awesome!” said Agnes. “Have you updated the blog as well?”
“Of course! I’ve also published all the latest pictures.”
“All of them?” asked Agnes. They had taken a lot of photographs.
“No, of course not. Only the best ones obviously,” she replied, a little put out.
The seven other members present were busy preparing the information leaflets that needed cutting out. Each A4 page contained six leaflets. Together they had already made one thousand copies that would be distributed as quickly as possible in the city. The templates had also been sent electronically to the organizations they were in contact with.
Now was the time for real action. Not just talking or writing about the problem. It was going to be a peaceful but spirited demonstration.
THE NEW COPIES OF THE “hidden files” that Sabine Keikkonen had recovered were delivered. Sanna inserted one of the discs into her computer and opened the so-called “Xclusive” folder, quickly scrolling through its contents to get a rough idea of the scale of the project. Some of the fifteen women that they had discovered earlier had also been placed into the newly discovered folder. Ingalill Segelström was one of these.
Sanna contacted Kalle, Thorén and Javier to update them.
“We need to allocate new resources.” She looked at Javier and Thorén. “How much work is left on the four women?”
“We should be finished in a few days,” said Javier.
“Okay. Then I suggest that you, Javier, continue with that and that Kalle and Thorén take care of the new stuff.” She paused. “You can divide up the work if you want. There are eight women, some of whom we have come across earlier. Included are three women that you have already reviewed, Kalle.”
“I’ll take care of them since I’m already pretty up to snuff on the nature of their relationship with Svenson. There are one or two who I’m curious to find out more about,” replied Kalle.
Sanna nodded and turned to Thorén.
“Good!” said Thorén enthusiastically. “I’m most interested in Ingalill Segelström. “I’ll start with her.”
Javier scratched his head.
“I’ll help you as soon as I’m finished with the report.”
Sanna nodded and gave him the thumbs up.