“I’ve called every hospital in Skane,” said Robert Akerblom. “She hasn’t been admitted anywhere. Besides, a hospital would have been in touch with me if anything had happened. Louise always had her ID card on her.”

“What make of car did she drive?” asked Wallander.

“A Toyota Corolla. 1990 model. Dark blue. Registration number MHL 449.”

Wallander wrote it all down.

Then he went back to the beginning again, methodically going through the details Robert Akerblom knew about what his wife was doing that afternoon. They looked at maps, and Wallander could feel unease growing within him.

For God’s sake, let’s not have the murder of a woman on our plates, he thought. Anything but that.

Wallander put down his pen at a quarter to eleven.

“There’s no reason to suppose that your wife won’t be found safe and sound,” he said, hoping his skepticism was not/apparent. “But needless to say, we’ll treat your report with the utmost seriousness.”

Robert Akerblom was slumped down on the chair. Wallander was afraid he might start bawling again. He suddenly felt incredibly sorry for him. He would have loved to console him. But how could he do that without showing how worried he really felt?

He got up from his chair.

“I’d like to listen to her telephone message,” he said. “Then I’ll drive over to Skurup and call in at the bank. Have you got somebody to help out with the children?”

“I don’t need any help,” said Robert Akerblom. “I can manage on my own. What do you think has happened to Louise, Inspector?”

“I don’t think anything at all as yet,” replied Wallander. “Except that she’ll soon be back home again.”

I’m lying, he thought.

I don’t think that. I’m just hoping.

Wallander followed Robert Akerblom back into town. As soon as he had listened to the message on the answering machine and gone through her desk drawers, he’d go back to the office and talk to Bjork. Even if there were very clear procedures for how to go about looking for a missing person, Wallander wanted all available resources placed at his disposal right away. The disappearance of Louise Akerblom indicated from the start that a crime had been committed.