Impact Epub

by Lourdes Daza-Gillman

  “Yes, there was one man but he was asleep,” he smiled. “That’s what most people do on the bus that early.”

  “Was she tall, short…do you remember anything else at all apart from the fact she was walking so fast?”

  “She was tall and athletic looking. If it hadn’t been for her clothes I might have thought she was out jogging.”

  “How tall?”

  “Maybe one eighty,” he said rubbing his chin. “Something like that.”

  “Are you sure it was a woman?” asked Mohamed.

  Markström stared at him with sudden interest.

  “Yes, it was definitely a woman,” he replied, the colour rushing to his face. “I’m one hundred per cent positive. She carried herself like a woman.”

  “Did you actually see her coming out of the house?”

  He shook his head emphatically.

  “No, I didn’t. But my mother cleans for a family who own a property a couple of hundred metres from where you found the body, and apparently the neighbouring house has been empty for some time. So where else could she have come from?”

  “Do you know the name of the family?”

  “No, sorry, I don’t. But I can find out. All I know is that they’re Argentinian diplomats. My mother says they also have an apartment in Östermalm and are hardly ever home.”

  “Where is your mother’s house in relation to the cottage?” asked Mohamed.

  “Three or four hundred metres away,” replied the bus driver, drawing a small map of the area showing his mother’s house and the crime scene.

  “Is there anything else you remember?”

  “Yes,” he replied cautiously. “I was curious about her so I kept looking out to see whether she made it to Ingarö Centrum, but I never saw her again.

  “Maybe she lives in the area,” said Sanna.

  The bus driver pondered this for a moment and shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’ve been driving that route for a long time and usually notice when new people move into the neighbourhood. I’d never seen her before, nor had any of my colleagues.”

  After ten minutes of inconsequential chit chat, Sanna thanked Jonas Markström for his help.

  “Get in touch if you think of anything else. We may get back to you later during the investigation,” she added.

  CHAPTER 30

  A Young Woman

  SANNA’S IRRITATION WAS PALPABLE during the morning meeting when Blom informed them about a new murder, this time of a young woman whose body had been discovered at a rubbish tip in Huddinge.

  “Sanna, you’ll have to deal with this. The other teams are too busy,” he explained.

  She growled under her breath. She already had quite enough bodies on her plate. And now she was supposed to handle a new case that had nothing to do with their serial killer. Blom obviously didn’t understand that the team was already stretched to breaking point. More work would just be a distraction and cause yet more delays.

  She hurried back to her office and slammed the door. Her blood was boiling and she had half a mind to call it a day and go home.

  There was no time for pussy footing around. She grabbed the phone and called Samir Mohamed.

  “Hi Sanna.”

  “Hi, take a look at this new case and update me when you know more,” instructed Sanna, hanging up before he had a chance to respond.

  Samir Mohamed held the phone in his hand, puzzled. He was just about to call her back when it dawned on him what she was talking about. The body at the rubbish tip. He was pleasantly surprised to receive her instructions. Since his promotion to criminal assistant he had been assigned to duties such as surveillance missions and report writing. This was the first time Sanna had entrusted him with a murder case. Although he was pleased, he was also a little nervous.

  The phone rang again.

  “Mohamed, team up with Monika Lind and use Javier as a sounding board,” said Sanna.

  JAVIER MENDEZ WAS BUSY scrolling through a series of images on his computer when Thorén entered his office.

  “Boy, you look gloomy,” she remarked with a broad smile.

  “Hmm,” he replied without looking up.

  She approached the desk and peered over his shoulder.

  “Wait a minute, scroll up again!”

  He did as instructed.

  “Stop, stop! No, down a bit… there, stop! I recognize that guy.”

  “Which one?”

  “That one!” she replied, leaning closer and pointing to a man standing beside Nina Jay. “Yeah. It’s definitely him – a real sleaze ball. He looks like the man who threatened the Bergling brothers.”

  “When was that?”

  “A couple of weeks ago, three maybe.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure…Yes, now I remember where I’ve seen him before. He was a suspect in an investigation six or seven years ago in Malmö.”

  “Oh yeah – was he convicted?”

  “No. He had a good lawyer. It was a huge case but, incredibly, even though we had loads of evidence, nobody was convicted. One day all the data got corrupted and we had no technical experts available to help us. We realised that a continuation would only be a waste of time and money.”

  “What do you mean – corrupted?”

  “Somebody downloaded a virus that destroyed crucial email evidence. We suspected an inside job but could never prove it.”

  “Yeah, nothing surprises me anymore,” grimaced Javier.

  “The question is whether Nina Jay is involved in something similar. If your photos are anything to go by she’s definitely no angel. She’s got a lot of interesting friends, don’t you think?”

  “I’m starting to realise that.”

  He took out his camera and scrolled through his photos of Nina Jay.

  “Images from yesterday’s surveillance operation. Look at the man who’s delivering the envelope.”

  Thorén took the camera.

  “It’s the same guy.”

  “How do you know? You can hardly see his face.”

  “I know, but look at the earing and tattoo just under his ear.”

  “I’ll be damned, you’re right!” he laughed.

  They stared at each other.

  “So, what was he doing at the Bergling brothers’ house and why was he threatening them?” said Thorén. “And what has all this got to do with Nina Jay? Is she involved in the murders?”

  CHAPTER 31

  A Witness – the Bartender

  IT WAS A FEW MINUTES PAST NINE by the time Thorén and Javier entered the interview room.

  The bartender from the pub in Vasastan had contacted them after speaking to his colleague Ruth Bengtsson, who was on maternity leave. Apparently, she had information about Konrad Berg and his friends.

  The young woman had already arrived. Apart from glancing repeatedly at the clock hanging to the left of the door she seem fairly composed.

  The Detective Inspectors introduced themselves and briefly summarized their respective roles in the ongoing investigation.

  Ruth Bengtsson was an attractive young woman in her twenties. She had a gracious manner and elegant posture and was wearing a stylish black top with a low neckline, revealing her well-formed breasts.

  Her long brown hair was combed back and wound into a neat bun. She hugged the mug and delicately sipped her warm coffee.

  “You do understand that this is a witness interview?” said Thorén congenially.

  “Yes,” said Ruth Bengtsson with a gentle smile.

  After the usual formalities Thorén began the interview.

  “So, apparently you often chatted to an acquaintance of Konrad Berg’s?”

  “Yes. Tore told me about your visit to the pub and also showed me the drawings. She looks like one of our regulars. Her name is Annelie. On a couple of occasions I saw her talking with the man you’re interested in – Konrad Berg.”

  “You mean this woman?” asked Javier, placing a facial composite image onto the table. They had r
eceived the portrait ahead of schedule.

  Ruth Bengtsson leaned forward to take a closer look and nodded.

  “Annelie who?”

  “Sorry, that’s all I know,” she continued. “Except for the fact that she’s a cop.”

  “A cop?” exclaimed Javier.

  “Yes, but you’d never have guessed it, she was very nice.”

  Javier and Thorén smiled at each other.

  “We weren’t friends exactly but would chat sometimes when the bar was quiet,” she said, slowly sipping her coffee. “Occasionally, Annelie stayed late and that’s when she met the man you’re interested in.”

  Javier frowned. “How do you know she’s a cop?”

  “Well, once she completely forgot the time and as she was rushing off she mentioned that she was going out with a police car on patrol, or something like that…”

  “Do you know what they talked about? Were they arguing?”

  “No, I really don’t know. But I do think it’s strange that I haven’t seen her since then. Of course I’m on maternity leave now, but the guys at work haven’t seen her either.”

  Javier put his hand on his chin and looked attentively at the witness.

  Upon hearing that the woman they were looking for was a cop, Thorén’s expression had changed. “When did you last see her?”

  “Oh, ages ago… a couple of years at least, maybe three. I figured she had moved to another police district.”

  “Did Konrad Berg usually come in on his own?” asked Javier.

  “He was alone the first time, but came in with his pals a few weeks later,” she replied solemnly. “I think there were four or five of them. There was a loud man from Norrland who was really full on and spent the whole time flirting with Annelie.”

  Thorén nodded. Javier made notes on his tablet computer.

  “They drank a lot!” continued Ruth Bengtsson.

  “Annelie as well?” asked Thorén.

  “No, not as far as I could tell, but it’s odd, she acted as if she was drunk anyway!”

  Javier looked at her intently. “Why do you think it was odd?”

  “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but she was quite well-endowed, and, even though she was very feminine, she was tall and fit looking. I would have thought that a woman with that kind of body could easily handle the small amount she drank.”

  “How much did she drink?” asked Thorén.

  “Two, three beers maybe…”

  “What happened then,” asked Javier.

  “They left the bar together. The man from Norrland had his arm around her shoulders and that was the last time I saw her.”

  “Thorén stared keenly at the witness. “Was she wearing a uniform?”

  “Not when she was at the pub. But I’m pretty sure I saw her in uniform once in town when I was meeting friends. She was with another uniformed cop.”

  “You sound unsure,” said Thorén.

  “Yeah, I was quite far away but it definitely looked like her.”

  Javier pondered this new information. It was the second time they had heard reports of women behaving as if they were drunk or drugged while with these men. It wouldn’t be easy to prove but was certainly revealing.

  “Do you remember anything else?”

  Ruth Bengtsson scratched her eyebrows.

  “Who were the others in the group? Can you remember anyone’s names?” added Thorén.

  “No, sorry, I wish I could be more help,” she replied, stroking the corners of her mouth.

  There was a brief silence.

  “Oh yes, I do remember something. One night my boyfriend came to pick me up from work and while I was clearing up he got into a heavy discussion with Annelie. They were so wrapped up in their conversation that in the end I had to wait for them to finish! They hardly noticed I was there.”

  Get to the point, thought Javier.

  She smiled. “My boyfriend is a bit of a computer nerd and so, apparently, is Annelie.”

  “Did you ever find out what the conversation was about?” asked Thorén.

  “Not really, my boyfriend said that he enjoyed talking with her, but nothing much else.”

  “Nothing at all? Not even about what she was working on, for example?” prodded Javier.

  “Oh yeah, she was a hacker. Well at least that’s how my boyfriend described it. But I’m pretty ignorant about things like that. I can ask him if he remembers anything else.”

  “That would be great, but we’ll probably need to talk to him ourselves,” said Javier.

  They concluded the interview and Ruth Bengtsson promised to contact them as soon as she had more information.

  KIM SPENT THE MAJORITY OF THE DAY and a good portion of the evening reviewing the status of the investigation and planning what remained to be done. They stared at a document lying at the top of a pile on the kitchen table. It was a list of subjects numbered according to their importance. The name at the top of the list referred to the main protagonist, the man who had acted the most aggressively. The number to the left of each name indicated the order in which the subjects had been killed and a cross on the same side indicated subjects that hadn’t been dealt with yet.

  The men’s identities were never alluded to. That type of information could be dangerous if it ended up in the wrong hands.

  Kim began to emphatically cross out each subject that had a number to the left to indicate that these subjects had been exterminated.

  x) Subject 1 – Oxen (Umeå)

  2) Subject 2 – Gothenburg (Completed)

  1) Subject 3 – Malmö (Completed)

  4) Subject 4 – Ingarö (Completed)

  3) Subject 5 – Täby (Vasastan) Stockholm (Completed)

  x) Subject 6 – Tyresö

  x) Subject 7 – ????

  Two subjects to go… or maybe three. Kim drew a heavy red circle around subject 1 – the man from Norrland. Just the thought of him produced an adrenalin rush.

  Kim had been determined to deal with him much earlier. But circumstances dictated otherwise and the plan had been put on ice while they concentrated on the subjects whose information was more easily accessible. It was crucial to avoid unnecessary risks.

  Kim stood up and walked to the window. Apart from a newspaper delivery van parked outside one of the buildings, the street was deserted. Now and then there was the sound of a distant car passing by on one of the side streets.

  Kim studied the list again, still tormented by memories of the attack. It was time to stop brooding, time to focus on the job in hand and complete the project.

  Kim’s solid computer skills had come in handy. In particular, their experience with databases had been instrumental in uncovering essential information about the men. However, there had been a few pitfalls. Kim’s skills were almost useless when it came to finding out more about Subject 1. So far all they knew was that his friends called him Oxen and without a surname it was impossible to trace him.

  Despite the uncertainties, Kim had intensified their investigation, counting on being able to find a link to subject 1 via the other men. After two fruitless weeks of solid work they concluded that the man lived abroad and had been in Sweden that day purely by chance. Kim decided to alter the original plan.

  Oxen was a powerfully built man. He would have to be treated as a special case. Kim would have to develop a specific plan for him and be unusually methodical during the preparation process.

  There was only one way to do it. First they must deal with the other subjects, the ones whose personal information was easily accessible.

  Kim ran their hand through their short, cropped hair and tried to organize their thoughts. Time passed slowly and it was hard to be patient and stick to the plan. They couldn’t get thoughts of Subject 1 out of their head. However, just when Kim had started to give up hope and concede that Oxen was an impossible target, he appeared out of the blue.

  Kim had been participating in a course based in Umeå and, one day, while the class was eating lunch at
a nearby restaurant, there he was, sitting a few tables away.

  Kim’s heart had stopped.

  The man from Norrland was every bit the towering figure they remembered. He was at least 1.98 metres tall and must have weighed more than 120 kilos. He was wearing a black t-shirt, which was so tight it could almost have been painted onto his body. His muscular arms were sunburnt as if he had recently returned from a trip abroad.

  The man got up from the table and headed towards the exit, placing his tray onto a trolley before leaving the restaurant.

  Kim picked up their tray of half-eaten food and followed him. This was a golden opportunity.

  A few minutes later Oxen walked into a nearby bank. Careful not to be seen, Kim sneaked in behind him. He entered the lift and disappeared.

  Kim walked over to the nearest cashier. “Excuse me,” they said timidly. “Do you know the name of the man in a black t-shirt who just went up in the lift? It’s embarrassing, but we were friends at school and I’ve forgotten his name.”

  The cashier smiled in a friendly manner and happily obliged.

  Kim almost fainted with relief. Now they had him. He wouldn’t get away this time.

  AS SOON AS THEY DISCOVERED that Nina Jay had been in contact with the man who had threatened the Bergling brothers, Javier Mendez and Cecile Thorén headed straight to Sanna Johansson’s office to report their findings. The same man was in three different sets of photographs.

  Sanna studied the pictures. “Yes, I see what you mean about his earring and tattoo. I’m pretty sure the body type matches the man on Ingarö but I’m not sure about the tattoo.”

  “Believe me Sanna! I’m sure. Even though his cap was almost covering his eyes I could see the earring glittering in the moonlight and the tattoo as well,” said Thorén.

  Sanna scratched her neck and looked thoughtful. One of Thorén’s best qualities was her ability to observe details other people seldom noticed.

  “Okay. This means we need to rethink the investigation. Nina Jay has a suspicious background. She could have hired a killer, possibly the man who threatened the Berglings. One of the brothers could have seen something and she’s trying to silence them. What’s his name?” asked Sanna.

  “I have a contact in Malmö, so I’ll find out,” replied Thorén, glancing first at Javier and then at Sanna.