Vanished?

by Christer Tholin

  Next, Maja had strutted up to the house across from Liv’s and rung the doorbell. When no one answered, she had walked back and acted like she hadn’t seen the person in the Audi, who had bent down to avoid just that. Maja had then stopped beside the car and fumbled around with one of her boot zippers. To do that, she had to lean against the Audi, which made it easy to stick the GPS tracker on the underside of the car.

  Afterwards, Maja was in high spirits and could hardly sit still at the movies. She and Elin spent a great evening together. Maja was even of the opinion that Elin should use her much more often. Elin had to laugh as she thought about it.

  On arriving at the office, Elin had immediately fired up her computer and accessed the GPS program. The red dot that represented the BMW was showing it as parked in front of Liv’s house again, while the Audi, whose tracker had been assigned a yellow dot, was now in Södertälje. The town of Södertälje was seventy kilometers south of Stockholm, where there was quite a lot of organized crime. It seemed to Elin that a stolen car would fit in well there.

  In any case, the two watchers had apparently switched places again. Maybe the other one lived in Södertälje, or maybe that was where they were hiding Saga. Elin had an overwhelming urge to investigate the matter, but Lars had been very clear on that. So there she sat, watching the dots. The good thing about the program was that you could both see where the transmitters were at any moment and also trace their movements from the time the tracking began. Of course, Elin had already checked that. Early that morning, at 5 a.m., the BMW had driven from Bromsten to Danderyd and had taken its place in front of Liv’s house again. Then, the Audi had driven to Södertälje and was now parked at a large park-and-ride next to the Östertälje commuter rail station. From there, the driver had probably transferred to the train. That meant that there was nothing more Elin could unearth about the man (she was assuming they were dealing with a man here as well).

  It was a different situation with the driver of the BMW. Elin had used the Internet to find out who was living in the building the man had gone into earlier in their surveillance. There were five units, the sixth being the pub. Unfortunately, it was impossible to see the exact location of each apartment in the building, which was why Elin decided to use the exclusion principle to pinpoint who he was. There was an older married couple, both over seventy. Then there was a young couple in their early twenties and a single woman in her fifties. None of those were a possibility. Elin guessed that the balding man was in his mid-thirties, and there were only two men who might fit that age group. One of them lived in the building with his girlfriend and was thirty-three years old. The other appeared to be living alone and was thirty-six. Elin was betting on the bachelor, but she had no way to be sure. She had googled their names, but unfortunately both names were common in Stockholm, so that led her nowhere. Several of the residents had Facebook pages, but none of their photos resembled the balding man. She would have to do some more probing at the actual location.

  The phone rang. It was Lars calling to tell her that the sale of the company had been concluded and the money had already cleared. Maybe something would happen by tomorrow, and once Saga was released, they would try to get the money back from the kidnappers.

  Or would Liv call in the police at that point, after all? That would be bad, Elin thought, because as private detectives, they would then be out of the game. And Elin fervently hoped to be able to work on the case some more.

  50

  Liv was desperate. She was pacing up and down the living room.

  “Martin, it’s been more than two hours already. What’s taking them so long? Was it wrong to ask for the video?”

  “I don’t get it, either. I also expected a faster reaction. It can’t take that long to shoot a picture or video. But aside from that, they could at least have already sent the account number, after all we did get two emails in a row yesterday.”

  “Should I send them another email?” Liv had already sent a second email an hour after her first one. In it, she said that her bank was only open until 4 p.m. today, which meant that she needed the account number soon. But the kidnappers hadn’t budged.

  “No, I don’t see how that could help,” Martin told her. “They have your two emails, and now they need to respond.”

  “This is driving me insane. I’ve gotten all the money together—and I was so happy that everything went so smoothly. And now they’re not getting in touch. Damn it all, I don’t want to lose another day.”

  “Liv, by when do we need to leave to make it to the bank? Maybe it would be better to wait for the email there.”

  Liv stopped in her tracks. “I think we need to allow twenty minutes, and then we’ll need some time at the bank to make the funds transfer. So by 3:30 at the latest.” She looked at the clock. “That means in just under half an hour.”

  “Shouldn’t we slowly start getting ready?” Martin suggested. “It makes no difference where we wait.”

  “And what if they never get in touch?”

  “Well, then there would have been no point in going. But what do we have to lose? If we wait here and they email us just before four, we’ll never make it to the bank in time.”

  “You’re right. I’ll tell Mai-Li.” Liv disappeared upstairs to the children’s room. Mai-Li had just fetched Hampus from school and returned home with him.

  Martin picked up his phone and informed Lars, who was also surprised that they still hadn’t received any messages from the kidnappers. But he thought it was a good idea to go to the bank now.

  Martin retrieved his jacket and put on his shoes. Finally, Liv came back downstairs and got ready.

  As they were leaving the house, the sun was an orange ball that lingered just above the horizon.

  “Is it sunset already?” Martin asked

  “Yes, at around a quarter past three, which is right about now.”

  “Wow, that’s early.” In Berlin, the sun would be going down an hour later.

  “Yes, by the winter solstice, it will even be setting a half hour earlier. After that, things will start to improve again.”

  They got into the BMW i3, Liv’s city car.

  “So where is the bank, anyway?” asked Martin.

  “In the city,” Liv answered, “but not too far in. I had set up an account there back when I lived in Stockholm. After we moved, I never switched branches since I do most things over the Internet, anyway. I could make the transfer at another branch, but with such a large sum, there might be complications. Besides, I’ve already told the people at my branch, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Liv started the car. There was no sound from the electric motor. The only noticeable thing was that all the lights went on. Martin had offered to drive, but Liv thought it would be faster if she drove, and she also needed to keep herself occupied.

  They made it to Stockholm in good time even though the rush-hour traffic was slowly starting to pick up on the other side of the freeway. Martin looked about. Even from the freeway, there was still a lot to see: water again and again and, to the left, a large building that was the natural history museum—even he could translate that much. At that point, things got a little more modern with the university. As they exited the freeway, they had to wait at several traffic lights, and there was also more traffic, but that didn’t delay them much.

  At last, they arrived at their destination, and Liv found a parking spot on a side street. The small car was practical in that way since it didn’t require a lot space. There was a ticket machine where Liv could pay for parking, but instead, she simply typed away on her smartphone. She explained to Martin that there was an app where you entered your license plate number and the parking zone, and then you started the parking, which could be stopped at any time. Martin had heard that that existed in some parts of Berlin, but he hadn’t tried it yet. It sounded useful, and he made up his mind to download the app.

  Martin and Liv went into the bank. One corner featured a seating area with couches and armc
hairs, and there was a machine where you could get yourself a cup of coffee. Liv asked Martin what he wanted and came back to the couch carrying two cups of the steaming brew. They sat there sipping their coffee, which was cool enough to drink. Martin was watching the activity in the room. There was a whole line of people waiting their turn. Martin had already noticed a number of times that, in Sweden, you had to take a number to get in line. That was also the case here at the bank. As soon as a customer left the counter, the number would change on the large display, and there would be a soft dinging sound. Then the next customer would step up to the counter. An elderly lady, all bundled up in a scarf and warm hat, had just finished. After her, a young man rushed up to the counter. He seemed to be in a hurry but had still dutifully waited his turn.

  “Do we need to take a number?” Martin was worried that they would have to wait a long time, after all.

  “No, we’re not going up to the counter. We’re going to an area in the back, where we’ll get immediate service. My assistant is waiting for me there.”

  They drank their coffee in silence. Liv checked her phone once again, but every time, she would just shake her head. There was no email.

  After quite a while, Martin looked up at the clock. It was almost a quarter to four. He couldn’t understand it. Had something gone wrong? Were Liv’s emails not getting through? Maybe the cloaking through the proxy server had created a blockade of sorts. He understood nothing about that sort of thing, but he could easily imagine that something might not be working as it should. Or was this just a way of pressuring Liv? But then why do it over the release of the account number? That made no sense. Quite the opposite—it gave him doubts about how things would go with Saga’s release.

  Liv was sniffling. She looked at him with tearful eyes and sighed. “We’ll never get this done today,” she said.

  Right at that moment, Liv’s cell phone rang. She held it up, and Martin could see that the call came from Saga’s phone. They both held their breath. Were the kidnappers planning on transmitting the account number over the phone? Or would there be new instructions?

  “Hello? This is Liv Ulldahl.”

  Martin couldn’t understand the rest, but he could see that Liv was thoroughly agitated. She was speaking very rapidly in Swedish, and the tears were streaming down her face. She seemed to be firing off one question after another.

  Finally, Liv turned to Martin excitedly. “It’s Saga. She says she’s free. We’re supposed to pick her up at Mörby Centrum.”

  “What?” Martin couldn’t believe it. “But we haven’t paid them a thing.”

  “I know. Let’s go now!”

  They dashed out of the bank to the car. Liv switched her phone to handsfree mode and insisted on driving herself. Unfortunately, things weren’t moving as quickly as they had hoped. There was a lot more traffic heading out of the city, and the traffic lights were taking a long time to change. Sometimes they would be lucky and make it through, and other times, they would have to wait a long time.

  Martin was listening to the conversation between mother and daughter. Liv had gotten herself under control, and Saga also seemed composed.

  During one of the pauses, Martin told Liv, “I’m calling Lars. Is there anything I should know about Saga?”

  “She says she’s fine and was treated well. She was never tied up or anything like that.”

  Martin took out the dedicated cell phone and entered Lars’s number.

  “Lars.”

  “It’s Martin. Lars, guess what? Saga is free. We’re on our way to Mörby Centrum, where we’ll be picking her up.”

  “What? I mean, how did you manage to transfer the money so fast?”

  “That’s the thing. We haven’t transferred anything.”

  “I don’t get it. Go through it with me one more time. Did you get a message?”

  “No, nothing. We were waiting at the bank, and then all of a sudden, Saga called and asked us to pick her up.”

  “You spoke with Saga herself?”

  “Yes, she’s still on the line.”

  “And I’m keeping her on the line until I’m there with her myself,” Liv threw in.

  “I heard that,” Lars said. “Which phone is Saga using to call?”

  “Her own cell phone.”

  “OK, that’s great. All right, you pick up Saga, and Elin and I will meet you at Liv’s. I absolutely want to speak with Saga. If anything else happens, call me! Good luck!”

  Lars seemed skeptical, and no wonder—Martin could hardly believe it himself.

  It took them twenty minutes to get to Mörby Centrum. The traffic on the freeway was brisk, but downtown it was moving slowly. Liv didn’t waste any time on a parking garage but parked instead in a small pull-off between the taxi stand and the buses. She and Martin leapt out of the car and ran to the entrance, pushing their way through the swinging doors. And there she was, standing in the middle of the hall by a large column with a bench, where she had said she would be waiting. Liv rushed up to Saga, and they fell into each other’s arms.

  Martin scanned the area. Was there anyone else there watching them? It was virtually impossible to know. There was so much going on there. There were two supermarkets, a hallway that led to the parking garage, an escalator to the second floor, and another one that went down to the underground station. There were people walking every which way. Three young girls were standing by the column, laughing. At the post office in one of the supermarkets, people were waiting in line—there were apparently no numbers to take.

  A crowd of people had noticed that this was no ordinary reunion and had gathered around Liv and Saga, both of whom were crying and holding each other. Saga’s cell phone had fallen, so Martin picked it up. He put his arm around Liv’s shoulders and said: “Come on, let’s go. We’re drawing a crowd here.”

  Liv looked up and nodded as the tears streamed down her face. She clasped Saga’s arm as they left the shopping center. They hurried to the car, and Liv and Saga climbed into the backseat. Martin started the car. He would figure out the way to Liv’s house.

  51

  Lars was sitting across from Saga and Liv, who were seated close together. Liv had laid one arm around her daughter’s shoulders. Saga was pale, but she seemed in reasonably good shape. Liv and Saga had already spoken at length with each other, and the au pair had made pizza for everyone. Saga had practically wolfed it down.

  The BMW was still parked on the neighbor’s property, so Martin had picked up Lars and Elin in downtown Danderyd. While driving down Liv’s street, the two of them had ducked down to avoid being seen. Martin had then driven around, and they had gone in through the terrace at the rear of the house.

  Liv had wanted to spare Saga all the questioning, but she had ultimately agreed to it. Lars’s argument that her memory would be at its freshest now had made sense to everyone.

  “Saga,” Lars began, “we would like to know what happened during the past three days. Can you tell us about it? Your mother will stay beside you the whole time, and if it gets to be too much for you, we can take a break. Is that OK with you?”

  Saga nodded.

  “On Monday, when you were at school, what happened there? Did someone speak to you during the break? Is that right?”

  Saga nodded again.

  “Who was that?” Lars asked.

  “A man,” Saga answered. “He said I was supposed to go with him to see the principal.”

  “Did you know the man?”

  “No.”

  “Can you describe him?”

  Saga thought about it. “He was really big, and he was wearing a long coat and a hat.”

  “And his face? Did he wear glasses or have a beard?”

  Saga shook her head. She couldn’t describe him any further.

  “What happened then?”

  “The man walked over to the school building, and I followed him. We went in, and he held the glass door for me. I went through, and then all of a sudden, he pressed a cloth against m
y face. It smelled horrible. I don’t remember anything after that.”

  “Saga, you’re doing great. Did you notice anything unusual before the man appeared? Anything in the schoolyard or on the way to school?”

  Saga looked at her mother and thought. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “And where did you wake up?”

  “In a playroom.”

  “Was it nice, this playroom?”

  “Yes, it had everything. Dolls, Playmobil, a Wii. But I was all alone. And the room was small.”

  “Did anybody come to see you?”

  “Yes, a woman. She would bring me food. And sometimes she would play with me.”

  “What kind of games did the two of you play?”

  “Bowling, on the Wii.”

  “What did the woman look like?”

  “She had long red hair.”

  “Was she fat or thin?”

  “Uh, normal, I think.”

  “What was she wearing?”

  “Um, some kind of jogging suit. A pink one.”

  “And she also brought you food?”

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of food?”

  “Hamburgers. And pizza.”

  “For breakfast, too?”

  “No, for breakfast they had corn flakes, but they didn’t have my pops.”

  “What did the woman say about why you were there?”

  “She said that Mama had to go out of town and that Mai-Li was sick. That’s why I had to stay there a few days. But I didn’t believe it.”