The Man on the Balcony. Maj Sjowall

so far. We'll have to let him come round a bit. Seems done in.’

      ‘So do you,’ Kollberg said.

      He was right; Rönn looked unnaturally pale and his eyes were swollen and red-rimmed.

      ‘What do you think?’ Martin Beck asked.

      ‘I don't know what to think,’ Rönn replied. ‘I think I'm sickening for something.’

      ‘You can do that later,’ Kollberg said. ‘Not now. Let's listen to this tape.’

      Martin Beck nodded. The spool of the recorder started turning again. A pleasant female voice said:

      ‘Questioning of schoolgirl Eva Carlsson born fifth of February 1959. Examining officer Detective Inspector Sonja Hansson.’

      Both Martin Beck and Kollberg frowned and missed the next few sentences. They recognized the name and voice all too well. Sonja Hansson was a girl whose death they had very nearly brought about two and a half years earlier when they used her as decoy in a police trap.

      ‘A miracle she stayed on in the force,’ Kollberg said.

      ‘Yes,’ Martin Beck agreed.

      ‘Quiet, I can't hear,’ Rönn said.

      He had not been mixed up in it that time.

      ‘ … so then this man came up to you?’

      ‘Yes. Eivor and I were standing at the bus stop.’

      ‘What did he do?’

      ‘He smelled nasty and he had a funny walk, and he said … it was so funny what he said.’

      ‘Can you remember what it was?’

      ‘Yes, he said, “Hello, little girlies, will you jerk me off if I give you five kronor?”’

      ‘Do you know what he meant by that, Eva?’

      ‘No, it was so funny. I know what jerk is, because sometimes the girl sitting next to me at school jerks my elbow. But why did the man want us to jerk his elbow? He wasn't sitting down and writing or anything, and anyway…’

      ‘What did you do then? After he had said that?’

      ‘He said it several times. Then he walked off and we crept after him.’

      ‘Crept after him?’

      ‘Yes, shadowed him. Like on the movies or TV.’

      ‘Did you dare to?’

      ‘Humph, there was no harm in it.’

      ‘Oh yes, Eva, you should watch out for men like that.’

      ‘Humph, he wasn't dangerous.’

      ‘Did you see which way he went?’

      ‘Yes, he went into the flats where Eivor lives and two floors above hers he took out a key and went inside.’

      ‘Did you both go home then?’

      ‘Oh no. We crept up and looked at the door. It had his name on it, see.’

      ‘Yes, I see. And what was his name?’

      ‘Eriksson, I think. We listened through the letter box too. We could hear him mumbling.’

      ‘Did you tell your mother about it?’

      ‘Humph, it was nothing. But it was funny.’

      ‘But you did tell your mother about what happened yesterday?’

      ‘About the cows, yes.’

      ‘Was it the same man?’

      ‘Ye-es.’

      ‘Are you sure?’

      ‘Almost.’

      ‘How old do you think this man is?’

      ‘Oh, about twenty at least.’

      ‘How old do you think I am?’

      ‘Oh, about forty. Or fifty.’

      ‘Is this man older or younger than I am, do you think?’

      ‘Oh, much older. Much, much older. How old are you?’

      ‘Twenty-eight. Well, can you tell me what happened yesterday?’

      ‘Well, Eivor and I were playing hopscotch in the doorway and he came up and stood there and said, “Come along with me, girlies, and you can watch me milking my cows.”’