The Dead of Summer Read Online Free PDF Page A

here,’ she said sympathetically, ‘but I’m afraid it’s necessary. We need to gather as much information as we can about Peter Bovide, and do it quickly, so that we can catch the murderer.’
    She switched on the tape recorder and ran through the standard statements. Then she leaned back in her chair and studied the man sitting in front of her. She knew that he was fifty-two, but she thought he looked older. His hair was thinning, and he had deep lines on his face.
    ‘How long have you been running the company together?’
    ‘Five years. Peter had dreamed of doing it for a long time – starting his own company, I mean – and recently things have really taken off. This is too bloody awful.’
    He stared down at the table.
    ‘How did you divide up the work?’
    ‘Peter mostly handles the administrative and financial sides of the business, plus he goes after more jobs and writes bids. I take care of the practical matters. Meaning, I find the men to do the work and things like that. Make sure that everything is going smoothly. I also get more personally involved in the operational side than Peter does. I spend as much time as I can out at the construction sites. Peter mostly stays in the office. You might say that he’s the brains of the company while I’m the heart.’
    Jacobsson raised her eyebrows at this use of metaphor. She felt an instant empathy for this man who spoke of Peter Bovide as if he were still alive.
    ‘How did you happen to meet?’
    ‘It was back in the nineties, when there were very few construction jobs to be had. We were both working extra hard as longshoremen at Slite harbour. After that we often ended up working at the same building sites, and we became good friends.’
    ‘Why did you decide to start a company together with Peter?’
    ‘I’ve spent my whole life working for other people, and I thought it was about time for me to run my own business. Peter was always a driving force at the construction sites. He inspired the other guys to work more efficiently and pick up the tempo, so I trusted him. If I was going to try starting my own company, I wanted to do it with him. And I’d saved up a fair amount of money, so that was enough for our initial investment.’
    ‘Are you married? Do you have children?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Could you describe Peter? What was he like?’
    ‘Everybody liked him. He was the quiet type, very meticulous. And he was a workaholic, he really was. Never stopped working.’
    ‘How was his marriage?’
    ‘Vendela and the kids were everything to him. He was one of the few guys I know who actually had a great relationship with his wife. He put in long hours, but he always went straight home when the work was done.’
    Johnny Ekwall sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. Jacobsson paused for a moment before asking her next question.
    ‘And the business was doing well, you said?’
    ‘Yes. It was tough in the beginning, but for the past year the work has been pouring in. People are building like crazy. We’ve also had some big jobs that paid really well. Things are going better and better. We’ve even been thinking about hiring a couple more guys. And now this happens. It’s so damn unfair.’
    ‘Do you have any idea who might have wanted to harm Peter?’
    ‘Not a clue.’
    ‘Have you noticed any changes lately? Somebody new he’d made contact with, or anything like that? Think carefully. Every detail is important, no matter how small.’
    Johnny Ekwall hesitated before replying.
    ‘Well, actually, Peter told me that sometimes he felt like he was being watched. Just recently, not long before he died.’
    Jacobsson gave a start.
    ‘What do you mean by “watched”?’
    ‘As if someone was literally tailing him, shadowing him.’
    ‘When did this happen?’
    ‘Once when we were having coffee at the company office, as usual. He suddenly got up and went over to the window to look outside. I asked him what was going on, and he told me that he thought he’d