Without a Trace Read Online Free PDF

and red oedemas.’
    ‘So he was beaten, which resulted in bleeding and swelling,’ Nina said.
    ‘Five ribs in the lower right-hand side of his ribcage have been broken, and his lung collapsed. His left eyeball was punctured with a pointed instrument …’
    Nina’s hands lay motionless on her lap. The air felt ice-cold on the back of her throat as she breathed in.
    The doctor put the notes down.
    Nina raised her chin and tried to keep her voice steady. ‘These are means of torture,’ she said. ‘Classics, tried and tested. These methods have names.’
    His face was calm but serious as he gazed at her. ‘I’ve seen them in other parts of the world,’ he said, ‘but never before in Sweden.’
    She said nothing for a while. Then: ‘If he does survive, will he ever make a full recovery?’
    ‘The soles of his feet will heal, even if it takes a few weeks. His groin will be extremely painful for a month or so, and he’ll probably be left with some degree of chronic aching and weakness. We’ve stitched his eye back together, and the fluid will gradually build up again, but there’s a risk of permanent sight impairment. There’s also a risk of limited function in his shoulders, besides ongoing pain … The unknown factor is really the shortage of oxygen. We don’t yet know if he’s suffered any brain damage.’
    Nina sat where she was, unable to move. ‘And mentally?’
    ‘Long-term rehabilitation,’ the doctor said, getting to his feet.
    Nina reached for her mobile, switched off the recording, then saved the file. She seemed to be moving slightly awkwardly, as if the chair had made her stiff. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘Can I see him? Just through the door of the operating theatre?’
    The doctor shook his head.
    ‘When will he regain consciousness, to the point at which he can be questioned?’
    He gave her his card, with the direct number of his mobile, and said she was welcome to call at any time. ‘I keep expecting the patient’s wife to get in touch,’ he said, as they left the room. ‘Do you know where she is?’
    Nina glanced at him. How much did he know? How much could she tell him?
    She stepped out into the dimly lit corridor. The door of the consulting room slid shut with a hiss. Dr Kararei gave the impression that he was the sort of man you could trust.
    ‘This must stay between us for the time being,’ she said, ‘but Nora Lerberg is missing.’
    The doctor started to head towards the exit, and Nina walked alongside him. ‘We’ve located the three children,’ she went on. ‘They’re with an aunt in Vikingshill, but we haven’t managed to track down his wife. No one knows where she is.’
    They reached the entrance to the department.
    ‘Could she have been responsible for this?’ Nina asked.
    ‘If she had help, then theoretically it’s possible,’ the doctor said. ‘But I’d say it’s extremely unlikely.’
    They shook hands.
    She clutched her mobile all the way through the building. Images danced before her eyes: bound hands, strung up, suffocated, beaten …
These methods have names
.
    She walked quickly through the wide entrance hall, past the information desk, the flower shop and the cafeteria, past the patients’ toilets and taxi phones.
    When her mobile rang she jumped, as if it had burned her.
    ‘Nina? Nina Hoffman?’
    ‘Annika Bengtzon. What can I do for you?’ She walked out into the rain, not bothered that she was getting wet.
    ‘I just wanted to say hi. That was you I saw outside Lerberg’s house earlier today, wasn’t it? Out in Solsidan?’
    Nina unlocked her car with the remote and slid into the driver’s seat. ‘I can’t tell you anything about the case, I hope you understand that,’ she said, and shut her eyes.
    Shoulders dislocated bilaterally, with extensive swelling in the surrounding tissue
.
    ‘Nothing at all?’
    Nina opened her eyes and looked up at the façade of the main hospital building.
    Hands tied behind his back, then strung up by the