A Beautiful Breed of Evil (The DI Stella Cole Thrillers Book 5) by Andy Maslen

Author:Andy Maslen [Maslen, Andy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tyton Press
Published: 2021-02-27T22:00:00+00:00

25

Umeå

Stella pulled off the forest road onto a single-track road, little more than a grass track, really, and trundled the Volvo through still more birches, their delicate leaves shimmering pale-green then gold in the sunlight.

She had the aircon switched to full, yet guiltily opened all four windows. She inhaled a sweet, sappy smell of summer growth and smiled. Despite the pressure to find Brömly’s killer, there was something about the Swedish countryside that gladdened her heart.

Hoping she wouldn’t meet anyone coming the other way, she noticed a slender arc of flattened vegetation to one side of the road. From the tyre tracks, she saw others before her had used it to squeeze past each other.

The track widened out into a V before merging with an area of grass in front of one of the prettiest houses Stella had ever seen.

It was painted the same shade of red as Mattsson’s. The doors, windows and a balustraded veranda were picked out in a contrasting white. An old fashioned ‘sit-up-and-beg’ bicycle that looked as if it weighed as much as the Volvo leaned nonchalantly against one corner of the house. She parked beside a dusty Audi A4 saloon, its metallic-grey paintwork speckled acid yellow by pollen from a nearby tree.

Here was another summer cottage facing the pristine waterfront of Lake Nydalasjön. She thought ruefully of her own urban flat, traffic thrumming beneath her window for twenty hours out of every twenty-four, and felt a pang of envy.

A wooden slatted table and two chairs sat beneath a tree that cast dappled shade over the two people sitting there, each with a mug before them. Inger Hedlund and her husband, Erik. She recognised them from their driving licence photos, which the Swedish Government thoughtfully made available to police officers with the necessary clearance.

She called out to the old couple, not wishing to startle them.

‘Hej!’

They turned, both smiling, and rose from their chairs. They manoeuvred themselves into an upright position with that care for aging bones and stiffened sinews old people took.

‘Hej!’ they called back in unison.

Inger Hedlund’s round face was smooth and plump. None of the dry, weathered look that smokers developed or careless sunbathers. Here was a woman who had looked after her skin. Her blue eyes twinkled and she projected a grandmotherly air.

Erik Hedlund matched her in eye colour, although his skin bore the marks of a life spent outdoors. Dark patches that might once have been melanomas spattered his bald head. His face bore the effects of the sun: deep lines and a leathery, teak-coloured complexion.

With the introductions out of the way, and her police ID produced, examined and returned, Erik offered coffee and ‘a little something to go with it’.

Feeling as though she might burst if she consumed any more food that day, yet desperate not to offend the hospitable couple, Stella smiled.

‘I’ve come straight from talking to another witness. They were just as hospitable as every other Swedish person I’ve met. Would you mind if I said no?’

Erik Hedlund laughed, a warm, whisper-edged sound that spoke of a man enjoying life and slow to take offence.

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