Chapter 22 Chapter Twenty Two

The office was dead silent. Melander clasped his hands behind his neck and looked at the ceiling; Martin Baker leaned on the windowsill, looking at Melander thoughtfully; Lehn just sat there blankly. Finally it was Martin Baker who broke the silence. "What happened to Eriksson after his wife died? I mean, not outwardly, but his state of mind?" "I'm not a psychologist," Melander said, "and I haven't seen an expert opinion. As far as I know, Eriksson has never been to a doctor since he returned to work in September 1961. Maybe He should have gone to see a doctor."

"But he changed after the incident, didn't he?" "Yes." Melander said, "Obviously his mind has changed." He put his hand on a large stack of papers that Stenlengren had collected from various archives. "Have you seen any of these?" he asked. Lehn shook his head. "Only saw part of it," Martin Baker said, "that's no rush, I think if you can give us a briefing, we can have a clear idea soon." Martin Baker wanted to praise Melander a word or two, but he didn't because he knew that Melander didn't like it. Melander nodded and put the pipe back in his mouth.

"Well," he said, "when Eriksson came back to work, he became quiet and kept everything to himself. It was useless to encourage and support him from other colleagues. They were very patient with him at first, knowing that he was in trouble. I feel sorry for him. But he only said a word or two when he had to, and he didn't listen to others, so everyone avoided him. Eriksson was very popular in the past, and everyone probably hoped to wait until When the worst was over, he was able to return to normal, but Eriksson went from bad to worse, becoming more irritable, sullen and domineering. He began sending letters full of complaints, threats and accusations for several years at a time. I think we've all gotten one or two."

"I don't," Lehn said. "Probably not to you personally, but you have seen the letter he sent to the riot squad." "I've seen it," Lehn said. "He first reported Neiman and Huert to the Disciplinary Office for dereliction of duty. He sent many complaint letters, and then he began to accuse everyone of dereliction of duty. He even took part in a copy of the officials in other places. He beat my little one. The report, and you, Martin, right?" "Oh, yes," said Martin Baker, "that I wouldn't re-investigate his wife's murder, but that was a long time ago, and in fact, I've forgotten the character."

"About a year after his wife's death, Eriksson went so far that the division chief asked him to be removed." "For what reason?" "The team leader is a good person. He has always tolerated Ericsson's actions, but in the end Ericsson was too shameful. The team leader must take care of others. He said that Ericsson could not get along with others, It might be better for him if he was transferred to a more suitable sub-bureau. The team leader probably said so. In short, Eriksson was transferred to the new jurisdiction in the summer of 1962, and he was not very popular there. How about it, and the new boss is not as supportive of him as the old boss, and the other patrolmen have criticized him, and he has picked up some bad habits."

"What vice?" asked Martin Baker. "Getting violent?" "No, Eriksson is not a rough guy. Many people think he is a bit of a nice guy. He behaves well with everyone. The problem is, he is too sloppy. He can grind things that can be done in fifteen minutes. Hours and hours spent dwelling on insignificant details. Sometimes he would completely ignore instructions from above and go to do things that he thought were important but irrelevant. He would overstep his authority and meddle in other people's work. He would criticize his colleagues as well as his superiors. In fact, all his reports and complaint letters are written in this way - saying that everyone in the bureau, from the bottom to the top, from the police cadets to the chief of the branch, has failed in their duties. I think he probably also scolded the Minister of the Interior. Yes, because the Minister of the Interior was the highest officer in the police back then."

"Does he think he's perfect?" Lehn asked. "Maybe he thinks he's superior." "I said I'm not a psychologist," Melander said, "but it looks like his wife's death made him feel resentful toward the entire police force, not just Nieman and Nieman's men." Martin Baker walked back to the door, one hand propped on the filing cabinet, in his standard pose. "You're saying he refuses to accept that the police force is the place for this to happen?" he said. Melander nodded, smoking an extinct pipe. "Yes, at least I think he thinks so."

"Do you know his private life during this period?" Martin Baker asked. "Not much is known, he was a loner, he didn't have any friends in the department. He gave up training as a police officer when he got married. He used to go to shooting practice, but otherwise, he didn't participate in any police sports." "What about his relationship? He has a daughter, how old is she now?" "Eleven," Lehn said. "Yes," Melander said, "he raised his daughter alone in the same house he and his wife lived in when they first got married."

Melander had no children, but Lehn and Martin Baker couldn't help but think how hard it was for a single police dad. "Did he get someone to help with the baby?" Lehn asked in disbelief. "I mean, what happens when he goes to work?" Lehn's son has just turned seven years old. For the past seven years, especially during holidays and weekends, he has been amazed to find that a single child can sometimes occupy all the time and energy of two adults 24 hours a day. . "Until 1964, he put his daughter in a nursery. Since both parents were still alive, they would help with Eriksson's night shift."

"And then?" Lehn asked. "After 1964?" "We don't know anything after that," Martin Baker said, and looked at Melander questioningly. "Yes," Melander said, "he was fired in August of that year. Nobody misses him, and anyone involved with him, for whatever reason, just wants to get rid of him as quickly as possible." "Don't we even know what he did later?" asked Martin Baker. "He applied for a job as a night watchman in October of that year, but I don't know if he got the job, and then he disappeared." "Is the fact that he was fired," Lehn said, "that was the straw that broke the camel's back?"

"What's the meaning?" "I mean, was he fired because there were too many faults, or because he did something special?" "Actually, the camel was about to break down, but the fuse was because he broke the rules. On Friday, August 7th, Eriksson was on duty outside the American embassy in the afternoon, before the 1964 anti-Vietnam War parade. You guys I probably also remember that at that time, only one person was left to monitor in front of the American embassy, ​​and everyone didn't like that job, because it was just walking around outside boredly." "But back then we could still swing batons," Martin Baker said. "I remember a guy who was pretty good," said Lehn. "Anyone who can play a baton as well as he does is guaranteed to be in the circus." Melander glanced lazily at Le En, and then looked at his watch. "I promised Saga to go home for lunch," he said, "will you let me go on—" "Sorry, I just happened to think of that guy." Le En muttered sullenly, "Please tell me." "As I said earlier, Eriksson was supposed to spy on the embassy, ​​but he didn't. He got someone to change shifts with him at the embassy, ​​and then he ran away. Eriksson, a week or more ago, Sent to a building on Fegyshov Street where a porter died in the basement. The porter put a rope to a pipe in the boiler room and hanged himself. There was no possibility of death. The police were in a locked room in the basement. Found a bunch of loot - cameras, radios, tv's, furniture, rugs, pictures and all sorts of stuff that was stolen in the past. The concierge was in charge and a few days later they caught the men who hid the loot in the cellar In fact, Eriksson only needs to call people, that is, people from the branch office, to work together to seal off the area, and then report the situation. But Eriksson felt that the matter was not over yet. I remember he seemed to feel that The concierge was murdered, and he hoped to catch more accomplices. Instead of going back to the embassy, ​​he slipped to Fegyshov Street and asked the residents about it. He really shouldn't be absent from work. Normally, maybe not It will be noticed that, unfortunately for him, a large demonstration took place in front of the embassy that afternoon. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the gate to protest the invasion of the United States. Because the demonstration came suddenly, the embassy’s own security personnel were caught off guard, and our Eriksson disappeared, so it took a long time for the police to arrive. The process of the demonstration was peaceful , people shouted slogans, stood around with placards, their representatives walked into the embassy, ​​and handed over the written protest statement to the ambassador. But you also know that the general police are not used to handling demonstrations, they treat it as a riot A large group of people were dragged into the police station, some were treated badly, and they blamed it all on Eriksson, who was immediately arrested for serious dereliction of duty. Fired, officially resigned a few days later, stepped down and bowed." Melander stood up. "I, Melander, will step down and take a bow," he said. "I don't want to miss lunch, and I hope you don't come to see me again today, but if you need it, you know where I will be." He put away the pouches and pipe, put on his overcoat, and Martin Baker went and sat down in his chair. "Do you really think Eriksson killed Neiman?" Melander asked standing at the door. Lehn shrugged, and Martin Baker said nothing. "I don't think it's possible." Melander said, "If he wanted to kill Nyman, he should have done it when his wife died. After ten years, the hatred and revenge should gradually fade away. Check it out. Wrong direction, but good luck to everyone and bye." he left. Lean looked at Martin Baker. "Perhaps he's right." Martin Baker sat silently, casually looking at the documents on the table. "I'm thinking about what Melander said. About Eriksson's parents, maybe they are still living in the same place ten years ago." He began to look at the pile of documents attentively.Le En didn't say anything, just looked at him coldly. Martin Baker finally found what he was looking for. "This is the address. It's on the road to Grassodra in Siget."