“Smart girl! How did they take you out of there?”
“I had to wear a blindfold over my eyes. They told me they were bringing me back to Mama. And then, I got into a car.”
“Were you wearing the blindfold the whole time?”
“Yes, I wasn’t allowed to take it off until I got to Mörby Centrum.”
“Who brought you inside Mörby Centrum?”
“It was the same man.”
“What did he say?”
“He gave me my cell phone and said I should call Mama and tell her to come pick me up.”
“All right.” Lars leaned back in his chair.
“Is it OK if I ask you a few questions, too?” Elin was squatting beside the coffee table.
Saga nodded.
“Was there a window in the nice playroom?” Elin asked.
Saga shook her head.
“Hmm. And can you tell us about the video they made of you? The one where you were holding the newspaper?”
“They said it would make Mama happy if I sent her a greeting. Mama would be sure to send one back, but she didn’t. And I also wasn’t allowed to have my cell phone.”
“Yes, I see. Did you see the car that brought you to Mörby Centrum? Maybe when you got out?”
Saga shook her head and looked at her mother. “Mama, can I go to my room?”
“Yes, soon, just one more question!” said Elin. “How long did the car ride take? Was it short, or did it take a long time?”
“I don’t know. It took a while. And I couldn’t see anything the whole time.”
“Do you think it was as long as a school lesson?”
Saga stared straight ahead. She seemed to be thinking. “I think so, yes, definitely that long.”
“Thank you, Saga!”
Elin looked at Lars, who nodded at Liv.
“I would say that’s enough,” Lars said. “It’s fine if she goes to her room now.”
Saga disappeared up the stairs. Lars then translated the conversation into English for Martin.
“So what have you concluded from it all?” Martin asked.
“Not much,” Lars replied. “They evidently treated Saga well. On the other hand, they made sure that she wouldn’t be able to reveal anything about the place where they were holding her. It’s also highly unusual that they had a woman taking care of her. That was where they took a risk.”
“Yes, but maybe the woman was wearing a wig and heavy makeup, which would make her hard to recognize,” Elin interjected. She was speaking from experience as she thought about Maja’s disguise.
“Yeah, that could be. Children are also not very good as witnesses. They have a hard time giving good descriptions of people,” Lars added.
“Why did they let Saga go without first having the money transferred?” asked Martin. “I still have trouble believing that.”
Elin and Lars looked at each other.
“We’ve already discussed that,” Lars replied. “In our view, there are two possibilities.”
Liv had appeared somewhat absent during the entire conversation, but now she was suddenly wide awake as she turned to look at Lars.
Lars continued. “Either they cut their action short for some reason—although I’m having a hard time coming up with a good reason for that, especially since they were so close to getting the money ...”
“Or?” Martin asked.
“Or they had achieved what they wanted,” Lars replied.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well,” Lars said, “Liv was forced to sell the company. That may have been the real reason for the kidnapping.”
“You mean, it was never about the money?” Martin asked. “They only wanted the company?”
“Yes,” said Elin, interrupting. “They probably knew enough about Liv’s financial situation to realize that she had no way of raising that amount without selling the company.”
“But that would mean that the buyer of the company was behind the kidnapping,” said Martin.
“Yes, you’re right,” said Lars.
“But then shouldn’t we be able to nail them?” asked Martin.
“In theory, yes. Except that to do that, Liv would have to call in the police.”
They all turned to look at Liv, who immediately shook her head.
“No, no way. I just want to put it all behind me. The company doesn’t matter to me. All I want is a normal life.”
“Is there even a chance that Liv could get the company back? I mean, from a purely theoretical standpoint.”
“A chance, yes—if you can prove that the buyer blackmailed her. But that’s hard to do. They handled everything very professionally. It would be very hard to establish a connection to the kidnapping. On top of that, they’re based in Russia. It would be different if they were in Sweden.”
Elin didn’t like this at all. The case seemed to be hastening to its end. “But that’s exactly what the kidnappers were counting on,” she said, “that Liv would be happy to have her daughter back and not have to pay ransom on top of it. Why should she look into it any further? But what makes me mad is that they can get away with it so easily. They did kidnap a young girl, you know.”
For a moment, they were all silent. Then Martin began to speak. “Liv, what do you plan on doing over the next few days? Will you be sending Saga back to school?”
Liv spontaneously shook her head no. “Absolutely not. And most certainly not tomorrow.”
“Yes, but at some point she’ll have to go back.”
“Yes, I know. I can … I don’t know what to do.” She covered her face with her hands.
“We could keep a close eye on her,” Lars offered.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Martin said. “What do you say, Liv?”
Liv looked relieved. “Yes, that would help. Preferably both children.”
Thursday, November 19
52
It was time now. The car should be coming at any moment. It was sure to have the same destination as the day before. Elin shut her laptop and got out of the car. She positioned herself next to the entryway to the train station. From there, she had a good view of the entrance to the parking lot—and yes, the Audi was turning into the lot. Elin followed it with her eyes. The driver found a spot a bit farther to the left at the rear of the parking lot. The man got out of the car, pulled his jacket over his dark hooded sweatshirt, and rummaged around in the car before setting off for the train. Elin took out her cell phone and acted as though she were phoning someone. Instead, she took a picture of the man. Unfortunately, his face didn’t come out too well—everything under the hood was dark. She let the man pass and then followed at a safe distance. She noticed that he bent forward and also teetered a bit as he walked. Just as she expected, he made his way to the platform for the trains heading to Södertälje.
Elin had to wake up early to get to Östertälje in time to wait for the man. The night before, she had noticed from the tracking program that the two cars had switched places again, so she decided to find out the other man’s identity. She had arrived at the parking lot at 6 a.m. and nearly frozen her feet off just waiting there. But things were now finally moving again.
The train was due to arrive in ten minutes. Meanwhile, Elin was watching the man out of the corner of her eye. Unfortunately, he was inconspicuously dressed in a dark jacket, jeans, and black Western boots, and she didn’t want to get into the same train car, so that meant she would have to watch him like a hawk every time the train came to a stop.
The train pulled in. There were not many people on the platform. It was probably too early for most, which Elin completely understood. A couple of passengers got off. The train was nearly empty. Elin watched to see exactly where the hoodie man got in and then chose the car directly behind his. She stood near the door so that she could quickly exit the train.
It was only a few minutes before they arrived at Södertälje Hamn, the next station. Elin got out and watched closely. The guy had already d
isembarked. He hurried to the other side of the platform where another train had pulled to a stop. There was a lot going on here. Everywhere, there were people walking and standing around. Elin pushed her way through to the other side and leapt onto the train. Once more, she managed to get into the car right after the man’s. Just as she made it, the doors closed and the train pulled out. Wow, that was close.
They arrived at the next station about two minutes later again, and Elin did the same thing. And once again, the guy was walking in front of her on the platform. He was heading down the stairs to the exit. Elin followed him at a safe distance. The man marched over to a large glass door and out the building, straight to the large parking lot in front of it. Crap, thought Elin, it was also a park-and-ride—the man had probably parked his car there. Elin looked around. Of course, there was not a single cab in sight. Damn, there was no way she’d be able to stay on his tail.
Elin stopped at the underpass and followed the hooded man with her gaze. His car appeared to be farther to the back of the parking lot, and there might be another exit on the other side. Elin had never been there before, so she didn’t know. She ran down the street behind him. She wanted to at least see which car he got into. At last, the guy stopped.
It was a low car, a roadster that was painted yellow and black. Elin paused to see which exit he would take. Damn it all—of course, it had to be the one she just came from. All right, well, back we go again! But now she could see his license plate number. She took another quick picture with her cell phone and immediately shot off another text to Transportstyrelsen.
The car exited the parking lot and sped away. Powerful-sounding engine, thought Elin. She walked back to the train station and took the next train back. The reply from Transportstyrelsen came after she had transferred trains. The car was a Ford Mustang, registered in 2004; the owner was Per Brorsson of Södertälje. It had not been reported stolen.
That might fit. Elin immediately checked and found only one person in Södertälje under that name. He was thirty-one years old. She would look into this a little more closely.
The first thing she had to do now was to retrieve the tracker from the Audi. That was actually the task Lars had assigned her to, but she doubted he would be sore if she managed to also identify the driver. Tonight, she should also get the tracker from the BMW, which had since been reported stolen. That was the reason Lars didn’t want the trackers to stay on the cars. If the police got involved, they would be able to trace things back to Lars and Elin, and that could lead to some uncomfortable questioning. And so, she decided to keep watching the BMW on her screen today so that she knew where the car was parked.
It was almost noon now. The BMW was still dutifully parked near Liv’s house. Elin had adjusted the GPS program settings so that she would hear a beeping sound the minute the car moved. That would give her a chance to work on other things at the same time. So far, she hadn’t found much on Per Brorsson. He had managed to remain pretty anonymous on the net. He had also been extremely cautious with the stolen Audi.
Finally. It was Lars calling.
“Hej, ’Splosion Man.”
“Hey, Elin. Did the thing with the GPS tracker work?”
“Is Norrland in Sweden? Of course—and there’s more.” Elin told Lars about how she had followed the guy and the results of her pursuit.
“But we never discussed this, Elin.” Lars sounded more amused than mad.
“I know, but it got results.”
“I hope the guy didn’t notice you.”
“No, no need to worry.”
“OK, well, if we could get the name of the other guy—I mean the driver of the BMW—then I could pull a few strings with some contacts of mine, and maybe something will come of that.”
“So should I try to find out his name?”
“Yeah, if you want. But no more initiatives, OK? You know what Liv told us.”
That was cool. She would have a chance to take off again. And she would find a way to get the other guy’s name.
Saturday, November 21
53
Martin had woken up early. He was sitting alone at the breakfast table and had already made himself coffee. He had used fewer grounds this time because he found Swedish coffee to be too strong, but now the stuff was too weak and still didn’t taste good. It would probably work better to make it strong and then dilute it with milk.
And why was he awake so early? Well, he had had plenty of sleep in the past two days, so his sleep requirements had been met. But there was also another reason. He felt a bit as though he were in a vacuum, as though he were hanging in mid-air.
Martin had booked a return flight to Berlin for the following day, but he wasn’t at all sure that he wanted to go. On the one hand, Saga was back safe and sound, and there was no longer anything he could do to help. Also, his work was waiting for him in Berlin. And, of course, there was his daughter. On the other hand, he would love to spend some normal time with Liv—a time without kidnappings and other worries. When exactly that would happen was another question.
For Liv, it would be a long time before she found closure with the whole affair. That much had become clear to him. Saga had stayed home on Thursday, and Liv had watched over her like a mother hen. Not that Martin couldn’t understand that. On Friday, Saga had wanted to go back to school, and Lars’s agency was there to monitor the situation: his co-workers were working shifts around the clock. Of course, they couldn’t go with them into the school, but they watched out front, and both children were equipped with GPS trackers. But Liv was still ill at ease whenever the children were gone. Upon hearing her cell phone ring, she had immediately become alarmed and imagined the worst, but it was just someone from her company. She then drove over there at around noon to inform her employees of the completed sale and that the transfer of ownership would take place on December 1. They weren’t too enthusiastic about it. After all, they had no idea what types of changes it would bring. Liv didn’t exactly come home in a good mood.
Martin and Liv had spoken again that evening. Liv was even more up in the air than he was. With the sale of the company, she had lost her career and now needed to regroup, which was not so easy given her constant fear for her children. It would be best if she could go on vacation for a couple of weeks, but the children had school, so that was out of the question.
And now Martin, too, would be leaving. After all, he couldn’t stay away from his law practice any longer. He would probably return to Sweden for Christmas, and he hoped that things would be back to normal by then.
Little Hampus was coming down the stairs at that moment, still in his pajamas. He had taken in very little of all the commotion and was probably wondering why his mother had been crying so much and what all the strange people had wanted there.
Hampus uttered a “hej” as he came into the kitchen. Then he went straight to the fridge and took out a carton of milk. Once he had found a bowl and the corn flakes, he sat down and started eating his breakfast. Martin asked him about Saga, but the boy just shrugged his shoulders. He had his own room—how should he know what his sister was doing? Saga had spent the past few nights in Liv’s room, which was surely the best solution for them both.
Martin decided to take a quick stroll, and he hoped the rest of the family would be up by the time he came back. He pulled on his boots and jacket and was about to open the door when he remembered the alarm. That was something Lars’s agency had installed, including video monitoring of the driveway and yard. He entered the six-digit code. The unit beeped twice, and the LED light switched from “armed” to “alarm off.”
Martin opened the door and breathed in the fresh morning air. It was still dark outside, but the sun was visible just above the horizon, and the scattered clouds were deep red in color. It was cold and damp, probably barely above freezing. He walked down the driveway and turned onto the street. The parking space on the property diagonally across the street was vacant. Lars had already informed him that the watchers had not
shown again since Thursday.
It felt good to get out and walk a bit. Most of the houses were old and big and, without exception, constructed of wood. Some of the properties were hidden by hedges, but most were easily seen from the street. It was lovely here. It must be even more beautiful in the summertime, when the trees were green and the flowers in bloom. Martin thought about how they would spend his last day there. Maybe they could take a drive somewhere and do something together. It was looking as though it would be a sunny day—so far, there were only a few clouds in the sky. And it would do everyone good to be outside. Martin quickened his pace.
54
“So one more time, from the beginning!”
Maja wasn’t as thrilled as Elin had hoped.
“You’re telling me you want to solve the case in your spare time?” Maja continued. “Even though that rich bitch hasn’t paid a single cent of the ransom and she doesn’t want people looking into it any further? Did I get that right?”
“She still had to sell her company,” Elin countered.
“For how much? Ninety itty bitty millions? Oh yeah, I really feel for her.”
“Well, regardless, those guys kidnapped a ten-year-old girl and held her hostage for three days. They shouldn’t get away with that so easily.”
“OK, fine. But how do you expect to nail these guys? Without a ransom payment, it’s just not going to be that easy to prove, is it?”
“Maja, I just want to find out if the company sale was the real motive behind the kidnapping. So far, that’s been nothing more than conjecture.”
Maja laid her index finger on her lower lip and said, “OK, let’s assume we can find a connection.”
Elin was glad she said “we.”
“What do we do with that info?”
“Well, for me, that would solve the issue. We would tell Liv, and she could decide whether she wanted to do anything with the information or not.”
“OK, so it’s mostly about your wanting to know how it all fits together?”
Vanished? Page 19
