the nights he'd spent with Baiba Liepa in a church in Riga the previous year. But he said nothing. Even if he wanted to, he had no time to think about her just now.
Pastor Tureson was an old man, tall and well built, with a mop of white hair. Wallander could feel the strength in his grip when they shook hands.
The inside of the chapel was simple. Wallander did not feel the oppression that often affected him when he went into a church. They sat on wooden chairs by the altar.
"I called Robert a couple of hours ago," Pastor Tureson said. "Poor man, he was beside himself. Have you found her yet?"
"No," Wallander said.
"I don't understand what can have happened. Louise wasn't the type to get herself into dangerous situations."
"Sometimes you can't avoid them," Wallander said.
"What do you mean by that?"
"There are two kinds of dangerous situation. One is the kind you get yourself into. The other just sucks you in."
Pastor Tureson threw up his hands in acknowledgment. He seemed genuinely worried, and his sympathy for the husband and their children appeared to be real.
"Tell me about her," Wallander said. "What was she like? Had you known her long? What sort of a family were the Akerbloms?"
Pastor Tureson stared at Wallander, a serious expression on his face. "You ask questions as though it were all over," he said.
"It's a bad habit of mine," Wallander said, apologetically. "Of course I mean you should tell me what she is like."
"I've been pastor in this parish for five years," he began. "As you can probably hear, I'm originally from Goteborg. The Akerbloms have been members of my congregation the whole time I've been here. They both come from Methodist families, and they met through the chapel. Now they're bringing up their daughters in the true religion. Robert and Louise are good people. Hard-working, thrifty, generous. It's hard to describe them any other way. In fact, it's hard not to talk about them as a couple. Members of the congregation are shattered by her disappearance. I could feel that at our prayer meeting yesterday."
The perfect family. Not a single crack in the facade, Wallander thought. I could talk to a thousand different people, and they would all say the same thing. Louise Akerblom doesn't have a single flaw. Not one. The only odd thing about her is that she has disappeared.
Something doesn't add up. Nothing adds up.
"Something's on your mind, Inspector?" Pastor Tureson said.
"I was thinking about flaws," Wallander said. "Isn't that one of the basic features of all religions? That God will help us to overcome our flaws?"
"Absolutely."
"But it seems to me that Louise Akerblom didn't have any flaws. The picture I'm getting of her is so perfect, I start getting suspicious. Do such utterly good people exist?"
"That's the kind of person Louise is," Pastor Tureson said.
"You mean she's almost angelic?"
"Not quite," Pastor Tureson said. "I remember one time when she was making coffee for a chapel social evening. She burnt herself. I happened to hear that she actually swore."
Wallander tried going back to the beginning and starting again. "There's no chance she and her husband were fighting?"
"None at all," Pastor Tureson said.
"No other man?"
"Of course not. I hope that isn't a question you'll put to Robert."
"Could she have felt some kind of religious doubt?"
"I believe that to be out of the question. I'd have known about it."
"Was there any reason why she might have committed suicide?"
"No."
"Could she have gone out of her mind?"
"Whyever should she? She's a perfectly stable character."
"Most people have their secrets," Wallander said after a moment's silence. "Can you imagine that Mrs Akerblom might have had some secret she couldn't share with anybody, not even her husband?"
Pastor Tureson shook his head. "Of course everybody has secrets," he said. "Often very murky secrets. All the same, I'm convinced Louise didn't have any that could lead her to abandon her family and cause all this
Pastor Tureson was an old man, tall and well built, with a mop of white hair. Wallander could feel the strength in his grip when they shook hands.
The inside of the chapel was simple. Wallander did not feel the oppression that often affected him when he went into a church. They sat on wooden chairs by the altar.
"I called Robert a couple of hours ago," Pastor Tureson said. "Poor man, he was beside himself. Have you found her yet?"
"No," Wallander said.
"I don't understand what can have happened. Louise wasn't the type to get herself into dangerous situations."
"Sometimes you can't avoid them," Wallander said.
"What do you mean by that?"
"There are two kinds of dangerous situation. One is the kind you get yourself into. The other just sucks you in."
Pastor Tureson threw up his hands in acknowledgment. He seemed genuinely worried, and his sympathy for the husband and their children appeared to be real.
"Tell me about her," Wallander said. "What was she like? Had you known her long? What sort of a family were the Akerbloms?"
Pastor Tureson stared at Wallander, a serious expression on his face. "You ask questions as though it were all over," he said.
"It's a bad habit of mine," Wallander said, apologetically. "Of course I mean you should tell me what she is like."
"I've been pastor in this parish for five years," he began. "As you can probably hear, I'm originally from Goteborg. The Akerbloms have been members of my congregation the whole time I've been here. They both come from Methodist families, and they met through the chapel. Now they're bringing up their daughters in the true religion. Robert and Louise are good people. Hard-working, thrifty, generous. It's hard to describe them any other way. In fact, it's hard not to talk about them as a couple. Members of the congregation are shattered by her disappearance. I could feel that at our prayer meeting yesterday."
The perfect family. Not a single crack in the facade, Wallander thought. I could talk to a thousand different people, and they would all say the same thing. Louise Akerblom doesn't have a single flaw. Not one. The only odd thing about her is that she has disappeared.
Something doesn't add up. Nothing adds up.
"Something's on your mind, Inspector?" Pastor Tureson said.
"I was thinking about flaws," Wallander said. "Isn't that one of the basic features of all religions? That God will help us to overcome our flaws?"
"Absolutely."
"But it seems to me that Louise Akerblom didn't have any flaws. The picture I'm getting of her is so perfect, I start getting suspicious. Do such utterly good people exist?"
"That's the kind of person Louise is," Pastor Tureson said.
"You mean she's almost angelic?"
"Not quite," Pastor Tureson said. "I remember one time when she was making coffee for a chapel social evening. She burnt herself. I happened to hear that she actually swore."
Wallander tried going back to the beginning and starting again. "There's no chance she and her husband were fighting?"
"None at all," Pastor Tureson said.
"No other man?"
"Of course not. I hope that isn't a question you'll put to Robert."
"Could she have felt some kind of religious doubt?"
"I believe that to be out of the question. I'd have known about it."
"Was there any reason why she might have committed suicide?"
"No."
"Could she have gone out of her mind?"
"Whyever should she? She's a perfectly stable character."
"Most people have their secrets," Wallander said after a moment's silence. "Can you imagine that Mrs Akerblom might have had some secret she couldn't share with anybody, not even her husband?"
Pastor Tureson shook his head. "Of course everybody has secrets," he said. "Often very murky secrets. All the same, I'm convinced Louise didn't have any that could lead her to abandon her family and cause all this
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