You're Mine Now

by Koppel, Hans

  ‘What on earth is she doing there?’

  The mobile phone was somewhere outside Ikea at Väla shopping centre. It hadn’t moved at all. The blue bubble was still in exactly the same position. Anna was holding the computer.

  ‘It must be in one of the cars,’ she said. ‘Hedda, you stay here. If the bubble moves, let us know.’

  Her daughter nodded obligingly.

  Anna and Magnus got out of the car. They looked around uncertainly before starting to walk between the cars and peer in through the windows.

  A father came out of Ikea. He was pushing an overfull trolley while his five-year-old son was eating a hotdog. The father stopped, let go of the shopping trolley and pulled a serviette out of his jacket pocket. He wet it with his tongue.

  ‘Don’t you feel sticky?’ he said, in irritation. ‘Come here, let me…’

  He wiped around the boy’s mouth.

  ‘Please try to get it in your mouth, not just on your cheeks.’

  He threw the serviette into a rubbish bin and carried on towards his car, loaded his purchases into the back and strapped his son into the back seat.

  ‘Don’t drop anything now.’

  Anna turned back to her daughter with a questioning look as the car drove away. Anna shook her head. The blue bubble was still there.

  ‘It has to be in one of the cars,’ Magnus said. ‘Where else could it be?’

  The confidence with which he said it made Anna think laterally. If it wasn’t in one of the cars, where could it be? She went down on her hands and knees and peered under the cars. But all she saw was rubbish from a nearby hamburger chain. She got up again, looked slowly round as if she were a periscope.

  She went over to the rubbish bin, lifted the lid and rummaged around in the discarded paper plates, paper cups and scrunched-up serviettes. The phone was lying at the bottom of it all.

  ‘I’ve found it,’ she cried, and held it up triumphantly.

  They drove home via Ödåkra and Allerum. As the sky darkened, the headlights swept over forest and fields, avenues, houses and farms. In the passenger seat, a faint blue light shone from Kathrine’s mobile phone. Anna scrolled through the list of missed calls. Most of them were from her, three from Ditte and one from another friend. The last dialled call was to Anna and she was also the recipient of the last text message.

  ‘What was it doing in the bin?’ Hedda asked.

  Hedda’s question made Anna’s skin crawl.

  ‘You steal a mobile because you want it,’ her daughter continued. ‘Why put it in the bin then?’

  ‘Can you be quiet, sweetheart? I want to listen to Granny’s voicemail.’

  She heard her own voice, then Ditte’s, then her own again, several times. No one else had left a message. Anna went back to the list of recently dialled numbers. The last two were to Anna’s mobile and her direct line at work. The day before that, her mother had spoken to two Stockholm numbers that Anna didn’t recognise, for three and nine minutes respectively.

  ‘You’ll have to contact the police,’ Magnus said.

  ‘Darling.’

  She sent him a stern look.

  Too late.

  ‘What?’ Hedda piped up from the back seat.

  ‘Nothing, sweetheart.’

  ‘Has something happened to Granny?’

  ‘I don’t think so, I’m sure there’s an explanation.’

  ‘Why are you going to talk to the police then?’

  ‘Just to be on the safe side. Oh, is that the time? Straight to bed when we get home. Did you have anything to eat before we went out?’

  ‘Yes.’

  Hedda looked out of the window. Anna stretched back her hand and patted her on the knee.

  ‘Clever of you to find Granny’s phone.’

  ‘It was you who found it.’

  ‘Thanks to you. I had no idea there were apps like that. Hedda, are you crying?’

  Anna looked up the Stockholm numbers on the computer. They were both at the same address in Huddinge. She went out into the garden to phone. The noise of the waves down in the sound was almost like traffic. Lars Johansson didn’t answer and Barbro answered Major Erik Wellin’s phone with the same name. She sounded quite old.

  ‘Yes, hello, my name is Anna Stenberg. I’m sorry to be calling you so late, but it’s important and I hope you can help.’

  ‘I’m not going to buy anything.’

  ‘And I’m not trying to sell you anything. I’m Kathrine Hansson’s daughter.’

  ‘Sorry, who?’

  ‘Kathrine Hansson.’

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t know anyone by that name.’

  Anna broke out into a sudden sweat. Was her mother having an affair with the major? And his wife had no idea? No, that would be some farce at the theatre.

  ‘My mother has disappeared and I’m sitting here with her phone. Apparently she called this number on Monday and talked to someone for nine minutes, shortly after six in the evening.’

  ‘I’m sorry?’

  ‘Nine minutes is quite a long time. Might she have talked to… anyone else?’

  ‘No, I’m the only one on this number. My husband died a while ago. But wait a moment, now that you say that, someone did call to ask about Anneli, yes, that’s right.’

  ‘Anneli?’

  ‘A neighbour. She’s dead now. I didn’t quite understand the connection, something to do with her son, I think.’

  ‘Her son?’

  Magnus opened the terrace door and looked out. Anna held up her hand to show she didn’t want to be disturbed.

  ‘Sorry, I’m not quite with you.’

  ‘A big, grown man still living at home with his mother. Though, who knows, maybe he looked after her. Someone who commits suicide can hardly be of sound mind. The police asked lots of questions, they certainly did.’

  ‘What was the son called?’

  ‘Erik. Erik Månsson.’

  Anna couldn’t get out a word. Magnus took it to mean he could say something.

  ‘Hedda wants you to come.’

  ‘Was there anything else?’

  ‘No, thank you,’ Anna said and hung up.

  She stayed standing where she was with the phone in her hand. Her mother had been making enquiries about Erik Månsson. And now she’d disappeared. And Erik Månsson had stopped terrorising her. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

  ‘Has anything happened?’ Magnus asked, anxiously.

  Anna looked at her husband.

  ‘Darling, we have to talk.’

  44

  They had sat up the greater part of the night and not slept in the few hours that remained. Surprisingly little had been said, and yet there was nothing more to say. The atmosphere was oddly polite. No shouting or dramas, they were remarkably relaxed with each other.

  Tiredness lulled them into a mental trance and as they drove to work they discovered a shared world that had always been there, which they’d never been aware of before: Bäckström’s extension, the windswept tree by the stables, the newly painted line down the middle of the road that made it all look so clean.

  ‘Thanks for the lift,’ Anna said, when he dropped her off outside the police station.

  When she leaned forwards to kiss him, he turned his face away.

  ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come in?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes. But thanks.’

  She didn’t want him there. She had just told him the bare minimum. That they’d met at Mölle, ended up in bed together and now he was obsessed. Nothing about the video, no details and no comparisons. He had asked. After hours of silence side by side in the darkness of the bedroom, where every breath was registered, he had finally asked the question that was inevitable for men.

  How was it then?

  Said gruffly, almost in passing. Anna had sighed with a heavy conscience and said that it was just something stupid that had happened.

  ‘Call as soon as you hear anything,’ he said.

  Anna went into the police st
ation.

  ‘Detective Inspector Karlsson,’ she said to the woman in reception, who immediately lifted the phone and dialled a short number.

  ‘Who can I say is here?’

  ‘Anna Stenberg. I know where he sits.’

  She marched towards the lift and the woman behind the desk leapt up.

  ‘You can’t just…’

  Detective Inspector Karlsson became quite agitated when Anna stepped into his office.

  ‘I’m afraid I haven’t got time.’

  She put the mobile phone down on his desk.

  ‘My mother’s mobile phone,’ she said. ‘It was in a rubbish bin outside Ikea.’

  ‘Well, there you go,’ Karlsson answered, and made a mental note that he must have a serious word with the civilian employees at reception, tell them they couldn’t just let any old eccentric in. ‘And how did you find it?’

  ‘My mother has an app that makes it possible to see where the phone is. My daughter checked on the computer.’

  ‘How smart.’

  ‘I checked the last numbers she’d called.’

  Karlsson folded his hands on his belly and leaned back in the chair. It might be just as well to think of it as entertainment.

  ‘One of the numbers was to a woman in Stockholm who was a neighbour of Erik Månsson’s mother. My mother talked to her.’

  ‘Erik Månsson?’ Karlsson said.

  ‘Who made the video. You obviously managed to talk some sense into him.’

  Karlsson nodded.

  ‘Yes, yes,’ he nodded. ‘And so? Your mother talked to his mother?’

  Karlsson was already finding it hard to follow. Strange how crazy people really believed their own stories. They lived in parallel worlds. For them it was real.

  ‘No, my mother spoke to Erik’s mother’s neighbour. Erik’s mother is dead, she committed suicide.’

  ‘Aha, I see,’ Karlsson said.

  Anna glared at him in such a way that he straightened up.

  ‘You think I’m nuts,’ she said. ‘You think I’m sitting here making it all up.’

  Karlsson opened his hands, palms to the ceiling.

  ‘I’m no psychologist.’

  Anna leaned forwards and lowered her voice.

  ‘Now you listen to me carefully and don’t interrupt with any of your idiotic comments, which neither I nor anyone else is in the slightest bit interested in.’

  Karlsson didn’t dare say a thing. He sat in silence for some time after Anna had finished talking. It wasn’t until she gave him a stern look that he pulled himself together, stretched and cleared the lump in his throat.

  ‘This woman that both you and your mother spoke to,’ he said, looking through his notes. ‘She was a neighbour of Erik Månsson’s mother?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And how did you mother get in contact with her?’

  ‘I have no idea. The only thing I know is that my mother is missing and that my mother loathes Väla shopping centre more than anything else in the world. She would never go there.’

  Karlsson’s breathing was weary and audible.

  ‘Your mother,’ he said, ‘do you have any pictures of her?’

  Anna got her mobile out of her bag, found a photograph and held the phone out over the desk. Karlsson put his glasses on, held the mobile up in front of him and studied the picture. Anna could almost swear that he was taken aback.

  ‘What is it?’ she said.

  ‘Nothing,’ Karlsson replied, handing back the phone. ‘But tell me, in what way would this lad…?’

  ‘Erik Månsson.’

  ‘Quite. What makes you think he’s got something to do with your mother’s disappearance?’

  Anna shook her head, exasperated.

  ‘I don’t know. My mother has disappeared and he’s stopped calling and harassing me. It might be because you went to talk to him, but I’ve got a horrible feeling that there’s a connection. Does that sound strange? Maybe it’s just my imagination working overtime, I’m sorry.’

  She looked at Karlsson with uncertainty and he shrugged.

  ‘Do you think that Erik Månsson is dangerous?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she shook her head. ‘I really don’t know.’

  ‘Was he violent towards you?’

  ‘Violent? No, not physically.’

  She looked down at the photograph of her mother. Karlsson stood up.

  ‘Look, I’ll take one of my colleagues and go round to see the troublemaker. But we mustn’t think the worst. After all, your mother hasn’t been missing more than…’

  ‘Forty-eight hours,’ Anna said. ‘Nearly forty-eight hours.’

  45

  Karlsson tugged at the mint that he’d found nestling in his coat pocket. He’d bought a big bag on the Denmark ferry a couple of weeks ago, and this poor, lonely sweet must have fallen out and stayed there. Every day was full of small surprises.

  ‘What do I think?’ he said, and popped the mint in his mouth. ‘I don’t have a bloody clue, I only know that Anna’s mum went in the entrance to Erik’s stair as I went out. Thought she was quite a lady, full of energy and life.’

  ‘Sixty-seven?’

  ‘It’s in the eyes. You don’t necessarily have to hop into bed with everyone you meet.’

  Karlsson was pleased with the way he’d formulated that, proof that he was on top of the impossible gender politics of the day. The lift stopped on the top floor and he and Gerda got out. Karlsson pressed the bell. Erik Månsson opened the door. When he saw Karlsson his shoulders sagged despondently.

  ‘What is it now?’

  Karlsson gave him a broad smile.

  ‘Have you got a minute?’

  ‘I haven’t been anywhere near that crazy lady. Haven’t phoned, sent a text message, nothing.’

  ‘Take it easy, we know.’

  ‘Her mother was here as well,’ Erik said. ‘Came just after you. Same thing. It’s not me that’s harassing her, it’s her that slandering me. Totally absurd.’

  ‘Can we come in?’

  Erik held the door open reluctantly.

  ‘This is my colleague, Gerdin.’

  Gerda held out his hand.

  ‘Are you moving?’ he said, pointing at the removal boxes that were stacked against the wall.

  ‘Seriously thinking about it,’ Erik replied. ‘It’s not easy to be accepted in this town. You just get accused of one thing after the other.’

  Karlsson looked at him.

  ‘So Anna Stenberg’s mother was here?’ he said.

  ‘Yes,’ Erik nodded. ‘She came just after you. Why?’

  ‘No one’s heard from her for a couple of days. What did she want?’

  ‘Same crap. Ranted on about me leaving her daughter in peace.’

  Erik took a deep, jagged breath.

  ‘How can you even listen to her? Can’t you see that I’m the victim here? Anna Stenberg is obsessed. I mean, honestly, why would I be interested in her? Yes, we had a night together at Mölle, a couple of afternoons here in the flat. Yes, it was stupid of me to film our afternoons together, but it wasn’t that serious. And I’ve deleted the videos.’

  ‘Sorry, could I use your toilet?’ Gerda asked.

  Erik pointed him in the right direction, thankful for even the brief change of focus.

  ‘How long was Anna’s mother here?’ Karlsson asked, forcing him back to the awkward situation.

  ‘I don’t know. Quarter of an hour, half an hour maybe? Why? I tried to talk to her, she refused to listen. Just took her daughter’s side.’

  ‘Did things get heated?’

  ‘Heated? No, I wouldn’t say that. But it’s not very nice when people come round and question you, first the police and then someone you’ve never met.’

  ‘So you argued?’ Karlsson prompted.

  ‘I wouldn’t say that. I think she was worried that I’d upload the video on to the internet or something like that. Which I would never do, by the way. The truth is that Anna wanted to spice up
her dull suburban life with an affair and then tried to make herself even more interesting by pointing me out as a mad stalker. All I want is for you all to leave me alone.’

  Karlsson nodded glibly, watching Erik with interest.

  ‘She’s making it up?’ he suggested.

  ‘She’s twisting it, at least. I’m not the crazy one here.’

  Gerda came out of the bathroom.

  ‘Phew, that’s a relief,’ he said, and started to wander around the flat. ‘Smelt of chlorine in there. Have you been bleaching clothes?’

  ‘What? Oh yes, yes.’

  Karlsson demanded his attention again.

  ‘Did Kathrine say what she was going to do after she’d been here?’

  ‘Why would she do that?’

  ‘And you don’t know how long she was here?’

  ‘I’ve already said.’

  ‘But if you were going to guess a bit closer, would you say fifteen or thirty minutes?’

  ‘No idea. It might have been more.’

  ‘An hour in fact?’

  ‘I don’t know, I tried to be helpful.’

  ‘But it wasn’t longer than an hour?’

  ‘I shouldn’t think so. Why?’

  ‘Nice flat,’ Gerda shouted, unnecessarily loudly, from over by the window, where he was standing admiring the view.

  Erik turned towards him, took a breath as if to say something, but couldn’t find the words.

  ‘Might be interesting to compare it with the log on Kathrine’s phone,’ Karlsson continued.

  ‘The log?’

  ‘To check any calls she made or where the text messages were sent.’

  ‘Why? Has she disappeared or something?’

  Erik blinked and swallowed. Karlsson saw it quite clearly.

  ‘I said that when we arrived,’ he said, and smiled.

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Why do you think we’re here? We’re trying to establish her movements before she disappeared. Strange isn’t it, don’t you think? That an older woman should just disappear.’

  ‘Maybe she’s gone somewhere.’

  Karlsson nodded in agreement.

  ‘Good thinking. Easy to imagine, given that Denmark’s right across the water. She might be there.’