Marked for Life Read Online Free PDF

Henrik.
    â€œYes. He was good at his job.”
    â€œCan you elaborate? What was he good at?”
    â€œHe worked with all sorts of things. In the department he was in charge...”
    Kerstin became silent and lowered her head.
    Henrik noted that she swallowed hard, he imagined, to prevent tears from coming.
    â€œWe can take a little break if you like,” said Henrik.
    â€œNo, it’s okay. It’s okay.”
    Kerstin took a deep breath. She looked briefly at her lawyer, who was twirling his pen on the table, and then she started talking again.
    â€œMy husband was indeed the head of a department at the board. He liked his job and had worked his way up, devoted all his life to the Migration Board. He is...was the sort of person people liked. He was kind to everybody regardless of where they came from. He didn’t have any prejudices. He wanted to help people. That was why he liked it there so much.
    â€œThe Migration Board has had to put up with a lot of criticism recently,” Kerstin said, then paused before going on.
    Henrik nodded. He knew the National Audit Agency had recently examined the Migration Board’s procedures for arranging accommodation for asylum seekers, and they cited it for improper practices. During the last year, the board spent fifty million kronor on buying accommodations. Of that, nine million kronor had been spent on direct agreements, which are forbidden if done without the proper procedures. The Audit Agency had also found illegal contracts with landlords. In many cases no contracts were used at all. The local papers had published several articles about the audit.
    â€œHans was upset over the criticism. More refugees had been applying than they had anticipated. He had to quickly arrange accommodations for them. And then it went wrong.”
    Kerstin became silent. Her lip quivered.
    â€œI felt sorry for him.”
    â€œIt sounds as if you are well aware of your husband’s work,” said Henrik.
    Kerstin didn’t answer. She wiped a tear from her eye and nodded at the thought.
    â€œThere was the problem with improper behavior too,” she said.
    She quickly described how there had been assaults and thefts at the asylum accommodation center. Because of the stress of their situation, often arguments broke out among the new arrivals. The staff that had been temporarily hired to run the center found it hard to keep order.
    â€œWhich we know about,” said Henrik.
    â€œOh yes, of course,” said Kerstin and straightened her back again.
    â€œMany of them were in poor mental condition, and Hans tried to do everything he could to make their stay as comfortable as possible. But it was difficult. Several nights in a row somebody set off the fire alarm. People got scared and Hans had no alternative but to hire more staff to keep an eye on the center. My husband was personally very committed, I can tell you that, and he put his very soul into his work.”
    Henrik leaned back and studied Kerstin. She didn’t look quite as miserable now. Something had gradually come over her, perhaps a pride in her husband’s work—perhaps a sort of relief.
    â€œHans spent a lot of time at the office. There were late evenings, and every Sunday he left home after lunch and didn’t come back until dinnertime. It was hard to know exactly what time he would get home, what time to have dinner ready, so he always used to buy a pizza instead. Just like yesterday. As usual.”
    Kerstin Juhlén hid her face in her hands as she shook her head. The anguish and the misery of it all had immediately come back.
    â€œYou have the right to take a break,” said Peter Ramstedt as he carefully put a hand on her shoulder.
    Jana studied his touch. She knew this lawyer had a reputation of being strongly attracted to women and rarely hesitated to physically console his clients. If he got the chance, he was open to do more than that.
    Kerstin raised her shoulder