04. Sidetracked
3 parts of 55 minutes each - First broadcast: 28.12.2001
Part 1: The incomprehensible happens in a rape field: On one of the warmest days of late summer, Inspector Kurt Wallander has to watch as a young girl pours petrol over herself and sets herself alight in front of him. Who was this girl, who was only slightly older than his daughter Linda and who said goodbye to life in such a cruel way? I live in a world where young people take their own lives because they can't take it anymore, he thought. If I'm to continue being a policeman, I have to understand why. Wallander and his team of investigators set to work investigating the crime, but solving the case has to wait for the time being, as the former Minister of Justice Wetterstedt is found murdered near his villa. A children's comic and a bag of jelly babies are found at the crime scene. The vistas left behind by the perpetrator are bestial: Wetterstedt has been scalped. Initial investigations reveal that Wetterstedt had contacts with young prostitutes and was involved in dubious art deals. Wallander's joy at the return of his daughter Linda is short-lived. The perpetrator seems to have struck again. The body of forty-year-old Björn Fredman is also found scalped on the railroad embankment.
Part 2: All the evidence points to the murderer of Björn Fredman being the same perpetrator who is also responsible for the murder of Justice Minister Wetterstedt. Without wanting to admit it, detective Wallander and his team of investigators must now assume that a serial killer is at work. They set about the investigation at full speed. A visit by Wallander and his colleague Ann-Britt to the dead man's family sheds new light on the victim. The wife is almost enthusiastic about the terrible news of her husband's death, and her 15-year-old son Stefan also sees this as just punishment for his disloyal father. For years they had been bullied, humiliated and beaten by this man. Fredman seemed to be no stranger to illegal business practices. Suspicions of drug dealing and pimping are voiced, which are confirmed by Fredman's business partner Peter Hjelm. Parallels with the Wetterstedt case become clear, who also had a reputation for surrounding himself with illegal prostitutes. A second attempt by Wallander to question Stefan's sister Louise fails again due to the family's resistance. What secret are the Fredmans hiding? And where is Louise? Against Stefan's vehement opposition, Wallander succeeds in finding out where Louise is. In the psychiatric ward, he learns that Louise has not spoken for a long time. And then events come thick and fast: Wallander's apartment is burgled and the murderer strikes a third time, following the same pattern. A race against time begins.
Part 3: Driven by concerns that the serial killer will strike again, the investigation is in full swing. During the investigation at the home of the third victim, Liljegren, traces are found that lead to the prostitute milieu. Wallander questions the well-known prostitute Elisabet Carlén, who seems to know more than she is letting on. Wallander's renewed attempt to find out more about the Fredman family's daughter Louise also fails due to Stefan's massive resistance. What does the wall of silence mean and which trail is the right one? Wallander confronts Elisabet Carlén with the photographs showing the underage burn victim Dolores, whereupon she reveals the name of the trafficker Logard. At Logard's house, Wallander and Forsfält are greeted by a scene of horror: underage asylum seekers are being held captive there in inhumane conditions. Logard, surprised by the investigators, opens fire and Forsfält is seriously injured. Stefan, who has abducted his sister Louise from the psychiatric ward, narrowly escapes the investigators' grasp in his cellar hideout. There Wallander finds the key to solving the case: Louise's diary...
© Photo: Nille Leander