The House That Jack Built Read Online Free PDF

nothing to prove. Just observe and listen to what’s being said. Then we can discuss it afterwards.”
    Sanne tried to keep up with Ulrik, walking quickly through a door, down another short corridor. They were in a long room with several small bays on the right. The other side was clear, creating a long connecting passage between the bays. The large, grey tiles covering the floor and the white glazed tiles on the walls made the room resemble an old-fashioned operating room.
    Ulrik led her to the far end of the room where three dark shadows were visible under the fluorescent lights. Allan turned around as they approached, waved them over.
    â€œWhere’s Lars?”
    Frelsén and Bint stood on either side of the examination table with Mira’s body. A large, gaping incision revealing bluish flesh and yellow fat ran from a point between her breasts and her pubis. She was lying on a table with diagonal grooves that allowed blood to run off. Today, however, they weren’t necessary.
    Ulrik removed his cap.
    â€œLars has applied for a transfer to Nordsjælland’s police. I’ve given him another assignment. Until further notice, I’ll be leading this investigation.” He looked around the room.
    Frelsén snorted. “That is the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a long time,” he mumbled to himself.
    â€œExcuse me?” Ulrik took a step closer.
    â€œYeah, yeah. I won’t be poking my nose into your affairs.” Frelsén rested his hands on the table and leaned over the body, seemingly unaware of its presence. “But Lars is one of the best investigators I’ve worked with.” He let his gaze drift from Ulrik to Sanne.
    She was fourteen again. The mopeds barking on a hot summer evening. The engine vibrating between her thighs.
    â€œI think we should get back to the autopsy.” Ulrik was sweating.
    â€œThat’s why we’re here.” Frelsén winked at her. “Bint?”
    Bint eased his hands into the opening and reached inside the body. Sanne looked away. She had witnessed a couple of autopsies at Syddansk University Hospital, but the atmosphere had been very different in that bright room. There were no windows here. No one was getting out of this one unscathed.
    â€œLiver, 1,456 grams.” Bint turned to note down the weight. She focused on his hand, the felt pen dancing across the whiteboard. Heart, brain, and kidneys were already marked down. Her gaze followed Bint back to the table. Frelsén stood on the other side, studying the body’s face.
    â€œShe’s a strange mix. Eastern European — Czech or Slovak maybe. But there’s something else too — Ukrainian or Georgian.”
    Sanne leaned toward Ulrik, whispered, “How on earth could he know that?”
    â€œThe face,” Ulrik whispered back. “The bone structure, I suppose. I’ve never really figured it out. But he always hits the mark dead-on.”
    Sanne returned to her original position. Ulrik was still sweating. Bint struggled to keep the intestines from moving on the scale.
    â€œThere’s no body odour, no gasses.” Frelsén sniffed above the body. “In the old days we used to make a small incision by the belly button and hold a lit cheroot next to it — this was before the smoking ban. The flame could shoot up to three metres in the air.” Sanne closed here eyes, happy she’d had a light breakfast. Frelsén continued, unmoved. “But this girl, she’s pumped full of glutaraldehyde. It destroys all microbial bacteria.”
    â€œWhat?” Ulrik said.
    â€œGlutaraldehyde. When I was at university, it was used to preserve the bodies for anatomy classes. They’ve switched to formaldehyde these days.”
    Ulrik’s Adam’s apple jumped. Allan took two steps back and sat down on the room’s only empty chair.
    â€œAnd how —?” Allan asked.
    â€œThe smell is unmistakable. There