Secrets?

by Christer Tholin

  Lars nodded. “Maja’s right. You’d be risking it. Besides, you don’t have enough facts for the police to take a real interest. They could maybe drive by the cabin and knock politely on the door, but no prosecuting attorney will issue a search warrant on the basis of what you’ve got. Besides, you know how desperate the Swedish police are right now. The restructuring has created mass confusion, and the clearance rate is lower than ever. You read about it every day in the paper. So you really can’t expect the police to protect you if you insist on staying involved and something happens again. They just don’t have the resources for that.”

  Elin was not at all happy with the outcome of the discussion. “Then we should drive down there one more time and find out more. After that, we can hand it over to the police, and they can turn it into a real case.”

  Lars shook his head. “Best case scenario, it might work that way. Worst case, those four guys could catch wind of it before the police become actively involved, and they could get really pissed. And let me ask you one more time: as part of which assignment are you conducting this investigation? That is not your job as a private detective. I will also tell you honestly that I won’t have anything to do with it. I’m happy to help if these guys keep harassing you, but I will not support any private investigations that are none of your business and that could get us all into trouble.”

  Reluctantly, Elin admitted defeat. “Yeah, I understand. The two of you are probably right. I shouldn’t let myself get mixed up in every little thing. I can’t solve every crime that happens to fall across my path.”

  Maja was visibly relieved. “So let’s just shelve it! If none of these guys shows up again, then everything’s fine. If they do, then we can talk it over with Lars. Would that be OK with you, Lars?”

  Lars nodded. “Of course. It wouldn’t be right if these guys continued to watch and stalk you. But I also hope they’re happy now and will leave you in peace.”

  Elin took a sip from her glass. Fine, so this was probably the end of the story. The good part, of course, was that there would be no more ugly situations for Maja. Still, Elin was peeved that she’d no longer have the chance to investigate these guys. She would have loved to stick it to them. But Maja’s safety was obviously more important. She couldn’t take any chances there: she’d already drawn her into the job far more than she liked.

  The three of them clinked their glasses and chatted some more about this and that until Lars finally went home.

  10

  The attack was unexpected. He had lunged at her from the left, but that was just a bluff, and the hammer fist came suddenly from the right. At the last minute, Maja managed to block the blow but almost lost her balance in the process. Her opponent immediately took advantage and followed with a back kick. Maja went down. She looked up as her opponent bowed respectfully. Damn it! She’d failed to be present for just an instant, and that was all it took.

  “Well done, Per. You got me. That’s enough for today.” Maja stood and bowed in return. Per was one of her best karate students, and there wasn’t much more she could teach him. If her concentration lapsed at all, he would even get the upper hand, like today. An hour before, she’d gotten totally off balance as she was coming to the studio and noticed the guy in the brown parka standing out front again. Maja had only spotted him at the last minute, shortly before she opened the door, and it sent chills down her spine. She’d been so glad when he didn’t show for an entire week. For the first few days after the talk with Lars, she was still watching for the guy wherever she went, but after that, she truly believed it was over. That was why she was all the more shocked when he suddenly resurfaced today. She simply hadn’t expected it.

  Maja went into the changing booth and sat down on the bench. She needed to catch her breath for a moment. Did this mean it was starting all over again? She wanted nothing more to do with these guys, to never see them again. The assault in the park had affected her more than she had been willing to admit. That sort of thing just could not happen anymore. A short while ago, when the guy had stared at her, she was able to pull herself together and had merely gone into the studio and opted not to think about it. But by the end of the hour-long session, it had caught up with her and had such a negative impact on her reactions during the match. Now she made up her mind to call Elin, after all. Earlier, she had hesitated, but now it had to be. She opened her locker and took out her smartphone.

  Elin answered immediately. “Hi, Maja. What’s up?”

  “Hi, Elin. Are you busy?”

  “No, I’m bored, as usual. What’s going on?”

  “I really didn’t want to tell you, but that guy was standing outside my studio again.”

  “What? The one in the brown parka?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Where was he standing? What did he do?”

  “He was already outside the studio when I arrived, and he was watching me.”

  “Crap, I really thought this was over and that he wouldn’t show his face anymore.”

  “Yeah, I thought so, too. But now he’s scared the heck out of me again. You ... I have to ask you this ... did you do anything else that could have provoked these guys?”

  There was brief pause, and Maja could hear Elin clearing her throat.

  “Maja, honest to God, I did nothing. We agreed that we wouldn’t give them any excuses, and I’ve stuck to that.”

  “I noticed that you printed out something from the Internet. That’s why I thought ...”

  “Yeah, I was trying to find out more about the three guys that we managed to ID. But it was only over the Internet, and I didn’t get very far. All I discovered was that the guy in the brown parka is a nurse and that he works at Karolinska Hospital in Huddinge. But there was nothing unusual about any of those three. Which means that there was also no reason for me to get involved. Really, I didn’t do anything.”

  “I believe you. I’m just extremely upset. Why did he crop up again today after a week of peace?”

  “Maja, I don’t understand it, either. So is he still there?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t gone back out.”

  “Go and do it. See if he’s still standing there. If he is, I can pick you up after work, and then we can have another talk with Lars.”

  “OK, will do. Will you hang on?”

  “Does a bear shit in the woods? Of course I will.”

  Maja had to laugh—Elin and her sayings. But Maja had achieved her goal, and she felt a little better already. She emerged from the dressing room, made a slight nod to the receptionist, and walked outside through the entryway. She looked around. No, he was no longer there. He was neither standing where she had seen him earlier nor was he on the other side of the street. She took a breath and raised the phone to her ear.

  “Elin, he’s gone. I don’t see him anywhere.”

  “Good. Maybe he was there by chance and just wanted to see if you were still around.”

  “I hope so. Thanks, I feel better. It felt good to talk to you. And I consider it a good sign that he’s no longer standing outside the studio.”

  “Should I come pick you up, anyway?”

  “No, don’t worry about it. I was making myself needlessly crazy. Let’s just forget the whole thing.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, really. I can handle it. I’m a black belt, after all. I’m going back in to prepare for my next training session.”

  “All right, see you later.”

  “Kisses.”

  Maja was determined to avoid letting Elin take the incident too seriously, only to have the whole situation unravel once more. She could sense that Elin wanted to investigate these men some more, and she didn’t want to give her any excuses to do so. It was true that their talk had done her good and the guy was gone. Maja only hoped that he wouldn’t pop up again. She’d be sure to watch out for him in the next few days, but maybe this really was the last time she would see his face.

  Maja turned and went back to the studio.
Now she would resume her training with full concentration. A slip like the earlier one with Per would not be happening again.

  11

  Elin was back at the cabin. She had found a tree that allowed her to look through one of the windows, and from there she also had a view of the front door and the yard. It was easy to climb the tall spruce with its plentiful branches, even if she’d had to fight her way through a host of needles. Now she was comfortably seated on two neighboring boughs, not to mention well hidden.

  When Maja had called that afternoon and relayed that the man in the brown parka had suddenly shown up after more than a week, Elin had reached a conclusion: something unusual must be happening today. Otherwise, the guy would have stayed away. The men had left them alone for quite some time, and in the meantime, neither Elin nor Maja had made any moves in that direction.

  But today, something was in the wind—Elin was sure of that. The guy had just wanted to confirm that Maja was hard at work and not snooping around the cabin again. And so, Elin left the office early, rented a car, picked up her gear from home, and drove down there. She had parked the car two corners before the dirt road, left her smartphone and ID inside, and placed the key on the front tire. She did not want to risk having the men identify her and link her to Maja, in case they unexpectedly nabbed her.

  Markus’s car was already there by the time Elin had snuck through the trees to the hut. The Volvo, however, was not. Inside the cabin, Markus was busy at work, and no one else was in view. Elin had taken out her binoculars and was watching Markus through the window. He had pushed most of the living room furniture to the side to create more space and afterwards set up two large lamps. Now he was mounting a camera on a tripod. Elin’s instincts had been right: something was afoot today, and the only question now was “What?” She had to admit that there was nothing overly shady about taking a few shots. Still, she would wait until she knew exactly what was going on. Markus checked the different settings one more time and then sat down at the computer. Unfortunately, Elin couldn’t see the monitor—it was facing the wrong way. She zoomed in close with her digicam and took some photos of the room.

  For a long time, nothing happened. Markus was still just sitting before the PC. Elin’s mind began to wander. One week from today, it would be Midsummer. She had no idea why that came to her just now—maybe because of the flowers on the forest’s edge or the tall tree that held her. In any event, she and Maja had made no plans. Not that Elin cared about hopping around the maypole, an occasion to which her parents had always dragged her along. She’d really had enough of that by the time she was twelve at most, even though back then she still half believed the stories people told. And so, she had woven a garland from seven different flowers and laid it under her pillow that night, for it was said you would dream of your future beloved. She didn’t, of course—and certainly not of Maja. After that, she’d attended the Midsummer festival only with great reluctance, and once she was old enough to decide for herself, she was done with it. In spite of that, Midsummer was something you clearly had to celebrate. Good food, lots of wine, good company—those were all things she loved. She would broach it with Maja tomorrow. Maybe they could throw a party and invite a few friends.

  Just then, Elin remembered that she’d promised Maja she would not make any new moves that had to do with the four guys—definitely not without her consent. Now she was sitting here once again, observing. And she had gone ahead and done so without informing Maja. Still, she knew that if it took too long, Maja would be sure to figure it out. As a precaution, Elin had left a map of the cabin’s surroundings in her bedroom at home. It would be no more than a few hours before Maja found the map, assuming she hadn’t found it already. Shit, she would be pissed. Yes, Elin had a bad conscience. But what else could she do? She simply had to know what was going on here. If something good came of it, Maja would forgive her.

  Now Elin heard the sound of a motor as a car approached. Yes, she had guessed right: the blue Volvo turned into the yard just a few seconds later. She watched as the door of the cabin opened and Markus came out. The other three men got out of the Volvo, and after a quick greeting from Markus, the driver opened the tailgate. The tall man leaned in and pulled out a black bundle, some sort of bag with something heavy stowed inside. Maybe more gear? The man carried the bundle up the short flight of steps that led to the door. Elin looked closely: the bundle appeared to be moving—or was she seeing things? All four men had already disappeared into the cabin. Elin pointed the binoculars at the living room window. The tall man had laid his load on the couch, and the four of them were giving each other a high five. They seemed extremely pleased.

  For some time, they all milled about the cabin. Then one man went over to the camera as another turned on the large lights and Markus sat down at the computer. After that, the tall man walked over to the couch and untied the bundle. Elin froze. Damn, this could not be true. Inside the bundle was a little girl, maybe five, six years old. She appeared to be sleeping or unconscious—at least, she didn’t move very much. The guy with the tripod and video camera was the same one who always wore the brown parka, and it looked as though he was filming the whole thing. The driver of the Volvo was holding a still camera as he squatted next to the sofa. Now the tall guy began to undress the girl: first, her sandals; then, her little dress; and finally, her underwear, until she lay stark naked on the couch. The tall man stepped to the side to let the other two approach more closely with their cameras. Then they placed the little girl in different positions—some innocent, some obscene—and shot her from all sides. Elin didn’t just watch: she hit the camera’s shutter release again and again.

  Well, if that wasn’t enough to interest the police ... except that she’d left her cell phone in the car, so she couldn’t alert anyone. What should she do? Run back to the car and call the cops? That was probably her best bet. But what if she missed something crucial? Never mind—she had to get help. At that moment, she saw the girl come to, then squirm and strain to sit. Elin started climbing down the tree. Once down on the ground, she heard a scream that had to have come from the girl. One of the men then roared, and there was applause. After that, all you could hear was a whimpering sound. Bloody hell, what were they doing to her? Elin was seriously torn: run to the car or look in again? The girl shrieked once more. That was it. Elin dashed to the window and looked inside. No, this could not be real. Two of the men were holding the girl while one of them filmed, and the tall guy had pulled down his pants and was standing before the little girl, her legs spread wide. Elin was beside herself—there was no way she could let this happen. But what could she do? She set her camera and binoculars on the ground beneath the window, then removed her baton and pulled it out to its full length. She raced around the corner of the house to the door and cautiously pushed down the handle, which luckily wasn’t locked. The girl screamed again. Elin had no real plan: all that could help her now was the element of surprise. Could she knock down one or two of the guys and then grab the girl and run?

  Elin stepped into the house and took a deep breath. She found herself in a small, open hallway that led directly to the living room. It was now or never—before these scumbags woke up. With a loud cry, she stormed into the room. Markus was standing before the computer. Elin lunged at him with the baton and struck him on the shoulder and head as he collapsed onto the floor. Only three left, and they all shrank back. Elin leapt onto the couch and threw herself in front of the girl, shielding her.

  “Leave her alone, you pigs!” She tried to pull the girl up with her left hand. There was no resistance from the child, but she still seemed very dazed. Hell if Elin knew what those guys had given her.

  “Nobody move! The kid and I are going now.” Elin raised the baton, ready to strike at any time. Then she stepped away from the couch as she pulled the child behind her. The Volvo driver disappeared to the other side of the room. Good—one less. Meanwhile, the tall guy had pulled his briefs back on and was coming toward her. Elin bra
ndished her baton, and he shrank back. She took another step, then another as she held the two men at bay with her club. Markus still lay on the floor. Elin had just reached the middle of the room when the Volvo driver suddenly reappeared with a large knife in each hand.

  “You’re not going anywhere, bitch. We’re turning things upside down now. Hey, Kjell—catch!” He tossed one of the knives to the man with the balding head, the one who usually wore the brown parka. Kjell caught it, and now Elin was faced with two armed men standing between her and the door. Damn it! Her plan hadn’t worked. What should she do? If they captured her, that would be no help to the child. She had to get out of there, and she couldn’t do that with the kid in tow.

  Elin let go of the girl, brandished the baton one more time to keep the men at bay, and then turned toward the window through which she had watched it all from outside. That window was her only chance. It wasn’t too sturdy and had only one basic glass pane. Elin had made up her mind. She made a run for it. The tall guy lunged at her again, but with one blow from her baton, Elin whacked him on the arm and was already past him. She heard him howl—and then she jumped. She curled into a ball, making her body as compact as she could while she flew through the air. With a loud clatter, the window gave way as she tumbled through and landed outside on the grass. She rolled once to cushion the fall, but there wasn’t much room, and she crashed into a stack of wood. A stabbing pain shot through her thigh. Elin had no choice—she had to keep going. She raised herself up. God, that hurt! She hobbled to the other side of the pile of wood. Walking was hard—she must have really bashed her leg. Elin hid in the bushes behind the woodpile. There was no way she could run from these guys in this shape. She could also feel an intense pain in her side. Probing around, she carefully pulled out a large sliver of glass. The wound was bleeding heavily.

  Just then, Elin heard the men storming out of the cabin.