Joona Linna: Stalker Part 39

'What could I do for the police?' he asks.

'You might be a witness. It's possible that you knew the perpetrator,' Erik goes on. 'From what you've said, it sounds like he could be a colleague of yours.'

'How do you mean?'

'You've spoken about a preacher,' Erik says, watching Rocky closely. 'An unclean preacher who could have been a heroin addict, just like you.'

The priest seems lost in the view of the trees. A prison service van is visible in the distance, driving along the road between the tree trunks.

'I don't remember that,' Rocky says slowly.

'You seemed frightened of him.'

'The only people you're frightened of are the dealers ... Some are completely crazy, I know, there was one whose mouth was full of gold teeth ... I remember him because he loved the fact that I was a priest ... so I always had to do loads of c.r.a.p ... money wasn't enough, he wanted me on my knees, denying the existence of G.o.d before he would let me buy any gear, that sort of thing ...'

'What was his name?'

Rocky shakes his head and shrugs.

'It's gone,' he says in a low voice.

'Could the preacher have been the name you gave the dealer?'

'No idea ... But I used to feel like I was being stalked in those days. Presumably it was withdrawal, but you know ... once when I was supposed to pick up some new liturgical vestments ... It was morning, and the light was coming in through the Christening window ... there were a thousand colours on the altar rail and along the aisle ...'

Rocky falls silent and just stands there with his arms hanging by his sides.

'What happened?'

'What?'

'You were talking about the church.'

'Yes, the vestments had been dumped in front of the side-altar ... someone had p.i.s.sed on them, it had run all over the floor, in the cracks around the flagstones.'

'It sounds like you had an enemy,' Erik says.

'I know I thought people were creeping around outside the rectory at night. I used to turn the lights off, but I never saw anyone ... But once I did find big tracks in the snow outside the bedroom window.'

'But did you have an enemy who-'

'What do you think?' Rocky asks impatiently. 'I knew a thousand idiots, and practically all of them would have killed their own brothers and sisters for a couple of wraps ... and I'd smuggled a load of amphetamines from Vilnius and was waiting for the money.'

'Yes, but this is a serial killer,' Erik persists. 'The motive isn't money or drugs.'

Rocky's pale green eyes stare at him.

'I might have met the murderer, like you say. But how am I supposed to know? You're not telling me anything ... give me a detail, it might trigger my memory.'

'I'm not involved in the investigation.'

'But you know more than I do,' Rocky says.

'I know that one of the victims was called Susanna Kern ... Before she got married, she was Susanna Ericsson.'

'I don't remember anyone of that name,' the priest replies.

'She was stabbed in ... in the chest, neck and face.'

'Like they said I'd done to Rebecka,' Rocky says.

'And the body was arranged so that her hand was covering her ear,' Erik goes on.

'Is it the same with the others?'

'I don't know ...'

'Well, I can hardly help unless I know more,' he says. 'My memory has to have something to latch on to.'

'I understand, but I don't-'

'What were the other victims' names?'

'I don't have access to the preliminary investigation,' Erik concludes.

'So what the h.e.l.l are you doing here, then?' Rocky roars, and marches off across the gra.s.s.

68.

It's already five o'clock in the afternoon as Erik walks down the corridor of the Psychology Clinic with a cup of coffee in his hand. He can see a tall figure standing quite still against the ribbed gla.s.s of the stairwell. As he pulls out his keys and stops outside his door, he realises that it's his former patient, Nestor.

'Are you waiting for me?' Erik asks, walking over to him.

'Thanks for the lift.'

'You've already thanked me.'

The thin hand moving across his chest stops, as grey as silk.

'I just wanted to s-say that I'm thinking of getting another d-dog,' he said in a low voice.

'That's great, but you know you don't have to tell me.'

'I know,' Nestor replies, blushing slightly. 'But I was here anyway, checking M-Mother's grave, so ...'

'Was that OK?'

'Would it be p-possible to b-bury her any deeper, do you think?'

He falls silent and takes a step back when Nelly approaches down the corridor. She gives Erik a cheery wave, but when she sees he's busy she stops outside her own office and starts looking for her keys in her shiny bag.

'We can make an appointment for you to come and talk, if you like,' Erik says, glancing at his door.

'There's n-no need, it's just ...' Nestor says quickly. 'A d-dog is a big step for me, so ...'

'You're better now, so you can do whatever you like.'

'I know how I w-was when I came to you, I ... You can ask me for anything, Erik.'

'Thanks.'

'You need to get on,' Nestor says.

'Yes.'

'I walked and walked and suddenly it c-came to me,' Nestor says with unexpected intensity in his voice. 'I bent down and-'

'No riddles, now,' Erik interrupts.

'No, sorry,' the tall man says, and walks off.

Erik checks his watch. He's only got a few minutes before he's due to meet Margot Silverman, but he might just have time for a word with Nelly before then. He goes over to her room and knocks on the open door.

Nelly's already sitting at her computer, and for once she's got her reading gla.s.ses on. She's wearing a white tie-neck blouse with black spots, and a tight burgundy skirt.

'What did Nestor want?' she asks, without looking up from the screen.

'He's going to get a dog, and wanted to talk about it.'

'Maybe you need to tell him about the umbilical cord and the pair of scissors?'

'He's sweet,' Erik says.

'I'm n-not so sure,' Nelly says.

Erik can't help smiling as he walks over to the window and tells her that her idea for restructuring the crisis groups is already working well.

'Yes, it feels pretty good,' she says, taking her gla.s.ses off.

'I've got a meeting with the police, but ...'

She smiles. 'It's a shame I haven't got time to join you.'

'Nelly, I just wanted to say that you're right,' Erik says. 'There are always problems once you start telling lies.'

'Can we do this later?' she asks.

'It's just ... I want you to know that I'm going to do all I can to get Rocky out of Karsudden as soon as possible, and-'

'Hang on,' she interrupts. 'I don't want you to be upset, but I've spoken to Martin, and you know he likes you, he really does, but he says I have to report you to both the police and the Healthcare Inspectorate.'

'Good,' he says, and starts walking towards the door.

He leaves the room and sees that Margot Silverman and her colleague are waiting outside his door. They say h.e.l.lo and follow him to the floor below.

The meeting room has a gla.s.s wall facing the corridor, and new chairs that smell of plastic. Erik opens the window to let some air in and invites them to sit down. Margot fills a mug from the water dispenser, drinks, then refills it.

'Well, of course you know that Olivia Toreby has changed her mind,' he begins.

'Rocky remembers a nine-year-old alibi, but not a single d.a.m.n thing we can actually use,' Margot says, sitting down heavily.

'You wanted me to ask him about an accomplice, only we've ended up with the opposite ... Rocky was wrongly convicted, and-'

'What if he's just faking his memory loss?' she says.

'He isn't, but-'

'He's involved. He's mixed up in this somehow.'

'If I could just continue,' Erik says, running his hand over the surface of the table. 'The real murderer was never caught, and has suddenly started killing again ... Both in conversation and under hypnosis, Rocky keeps coming back to a preacher who-'

'A priest?' Adam says.

'A preacher who there's probably good reason to take seriously, in light of the alibi.'

'But you've got no name, no location ...'

'It takes time to find a way through the chaos ... but under hypnosis he described how the preacher killed a woman by chopping her arm off ... the problem is that I'm not completely sure how much of that is nightmares and how much genuine memories.'

'But you believe there's some truth in this?' Adam asks, leaning forward.

'He's mentioned the preacher several times, even when he's not hypnotised.'

'But nothing about the murder?'

'Rocky says he's prepared to help the police if he can at least, he was prepared to do so before, even if it was actually a fairly absurd situation. I'm trying to help him remember, but I don't know anything.'

'Everything is strictly confidential,' Margot explains.

'If you want his help,' Erik says, 'then you're going to have to go and see him, and give him some details: names, locations, things that could trigger the process of remembering.'