The Flood

by Kristina Ohlsson

  ‘I can’t answer that,’ Alex said. ‘But we have to stop this lunatic as soon as possible. Anything else is out of the question.’

  Anything else was out of the question.

  So true, so difficult.

  ‘I have to go,’ Alex said.

  Fredrika stared out of the window. Dark clouds were gathering in the sky, ready to party. Maybe the summer was planning to do what it so often did in Sweden: turn on its heel in the doorway and disappear.

  ‘I don’t like you meeting Tina Antonsson on your own.’

  ‘It’s not ideal, but on this occasion it can’t be helped.’

  ‘I’m here if there’s anything I can do.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  Fredrika was about to hang up when Alex said:

  ‘By the way, does the name Henry Lindgren mean anything to you?’

  She thought for a moment. The name Henry rang a bell, but she couldn’t pin down the context.

  ‘Do you want me to run a search? I think I’ve heard the name, but I can’t remember where.’

  ‘Same here. Check it out, see what you can find. I’m sure our colleagues have already done that, but I’m afraid they might miss any links to our investigation.’

  Fredrika swallowed. ‘What do you mean, links to our investigation?’

  ‘A man called Henry Lindgren has been found murdered. He was killed by an overdose of insulin, injected into the back of his neck.’

  Fredrika almost dropped the phone.

  ‘Oh my God,’ she whispered.

  ‘So you remember that case too.’

  ‘I’ll never forget it. But . . .’

  ‘I really do have to go.’ And Alex was gone.

  As Fredrika left the Lions’ Den she met Torbjörn Ross, ambling along the corridor.

  ‘Did Alex tell you what we found in Lovisa’s apartment?’ he asked.

  Fredrika nodded.

  Ross was wearing trainers and carrying a pair of Wellingtons. He looked at her for a long time.

  ‘The net is tightening,’ he said. ‘We’ll soon have the bastard.’

  It didn’t take Tina long to drive from her grandmother’s summer cottage in Högmora to the petrol station where she’d arranged to meet Alex Recht. The cottage had felt like a safe place to hide, but was that still the case? It had been locked up and deserted as usual when she arrived. Grandma was no longer around, and Tina’s parents didn’t like spending time there. They’d hung on to it for Tina’s sake.

  ‘Maybe you’ll have a family of your own one day,’ her mother had said. ‘It would be nice for you to have somewhere to escape to in the summer.’

  There was so much wrong with that assumption that Tina couldn’t even be bothered to respond.

  She had been thirty-five when Grandma died; she wasn’t exactly a teenager any more. The summer cottage was fun whether Tina had a family or not. Although fun wasn’t the right word. It was a place where Tina found strength and joy.

  And safety too, on this occasion.

  Unless she was wrong, and someone else was able to work out where she’d gone.

  This isn’t how I intended to spend my holiday, she thought.

  She’d been planning to take some of her annual leave later in the year and go over to Australia to visit Malin. That obviously wasn’t going to happen.

  She felt weak in both body and spirit as she drove. She was wracked with doubt, could hardly breathe.

  Should she have stayed away from Noah, realised it might be dangerous to look for Malin and Dan? The answer didn’t really matter, because Tina’s life had become so much poorer since Malin’s disappearance. Nobody could fill the gap she’d left behind, nobody could replace her. It was also a matter of right and wrong; you didn’t abandon friends you loved. You didn’t stop searching for them if you believed they’d been abducted, taken against their will.

  Please don’t let them be dead.

  Because then I will die too.

  She parked at the petrol station. A man was filling up his car, but there was no sign of anyone else. She’d found a picture of Alex online so that she’d recognise him. She positioned herself a short distance away from her car, constantly looking around to make sure she hadn’t been followed, checking that the man with the Wellingtons hadn’t come after her.

  A car pulled off the road and parked not far from the pumps. A tall, grey-haired man got out. He glanced in her direction and raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

  Tina nodded.

  She couldn’t stop thinking about the man with the Wellingtons.

  How would she know if she could trust Alex Recht? Noah might have been wrong; maybe Alex was the person behind all the bad stuff.

  If he’s the one who betrayed Noah, then I’ve had it.

  ‘Tina?’

  She nodded again. She was so tired. Alex took out his ID and gave her as much time as she needed to examine it. He jerked his head in the direction of the man filling up his car.

  ‘Someone you know?’

  ‘No,’ Tina said, handing back his ID.

  They waited until the man had paid and driven off.

  ‘Why here?’ Alex asked.

  ‘It seemed like a good place.’ That was the best she could come up with.

  ‘You look tired. Shall we go and sit in my car, have a chat?’

  She took a step backwards. ‘No.’

  ‘Okay, we won’t do anything you don’t want to do, or anything that doesn’t feel right.’

  Tina could see he was wondering why she was afraid to get in his car. She could also see endless patience in his eyes, oceans of calmness and wisdom.

  ‘I went to Malin and Dan’s house today.’

  ‘Noah’s brother and sister-in-law?’

  ‘Yes. I have a spare key, but I hadn’t used it before. Well, I had, but only when Malin asked me to.’

  ‘To water the plants and take care of the post when they were away?’ Alex said with a smile.

  ‘Exactly. But this time I went in anyway, because Noah said the police wouldn’t listen to him, and I thought I might find a clue, something that would help me work out what had happened to Malin and Dan.’

  She fell silent; it had started raining.

  Alex glanced towards his car.

  ‘How about this for an idea? You sit in the front seat on the driver’s side with the door open or closed, whichever you prefer. I’ll sit in the back on the other side. Okay?’

  Tina wished she was a little girl again so that she wouldn’t have to make decisions, wouldn’t have to worry about what was right or wrong.

  ‘Okay,’ she whispered.

  She waited while he got into the back seat, then she climbed in behind the wheel, leaving the door ajar.

  ‘So,’ Alex said gently. ‘Tell me what you think has happened to Malin and Dan and their children.’

  Tina rubbed her hands together. They were always a little too cold.

  What did she think?

  It was hard to sum up in a few simple sentences.

  ‘Something’s wrong,’ she began. ‘Very wrong.’

  ‘You don’t believe they’re in Australia?’

  ‘No. But . . . I can’t even guess at where they might be.’

  ‘Hmm. If we play with the idea that they actually are in Australia,’ Alex said slowly. ‘That for reasons neither you nor I can understand, they feel they have to behave in this way. What might be behind such behaviour?’

  She thought hard.

  ‘Nothing. Nothing at all.’

  ‘They couldn’t possibly be . . . running away?’

  ‘Running away?’

  ‘As I said, I’m just playing with the idea,’ Alex repeated. ‘I realise the move to Australia doesn’t add up, but I need to work out what the problem is.’

  Tina leaned back, keeping her eyes fixed on Alex. He met her gaze in silence.

  ‘Dan’s job can make him . . . vulnerable. He’s a psychologist, and some of his cases haven’t ended well.’

  ‘Are
you thinking of anything in particular?’

  His tone was too casual, as if he knew the answer.

  Noah, Tina thought. Of course, Noah’s already told him.

  ‘Dan had a client with serious mental-health issues about a year ago,’ she said. ‘As you perhaps know.’

  ‘That doesn’t matter. Tell me about this client.’

  ‘I’d call him crazy, but Dan always says you can’t use that word when people have mental-health problems. He was referred by the company he worked for; he was suffering from burnout and needed help. It didn’t take Dan long to establish that this guy had far more serious problems, to the extent that he actually tried to have him sectioned; in his professional opinion, the client was dangerous. Unfortunately no one listened before it was too late. One morning the school contacted the police when neither of the children turned up, and they couldn’t get hold of the parents. He’d shot his family, then himself.’

  Alex adjusted his position in the back seat.

  ‘Horrific. Did he ever threaten Dan?’

  Tina shuddered.

  ‘Definitely. Dan cancelled their last session, because the guy wouldn’t leave him alone.’

  ‘What did he do?’

  ‘He once turned up at the house in the middle of the night, yelling and banging on the door. And he sent threatening emails and text messages, said he’d harm Dan if Dan didn’t make him better.’

  ‘Did Dan report this to the police?’

  Tina sighed. ‘Malin wanted him to, but Dan’s boss chose to handle it differently. The practice works with a security company that provides support when necessary.’

  Alex’s interest was immediately aroused.

  ‘A security company? Which one?’

  ‘I think it’s called Solid Security.’

  ‘British?’

  ‘Swedish, as far as I know.’

  ‘Of course. Everything has to be in English these days.’

  For the first time during their conversation, Alex seemed old to Tina. Everything has to be in English. Why not?

  ‘You must have been close to the family,’ he went on. ‘You seem to know a great deal.’

  His words made Tina feel sad.

  ‘So did you find anything in the house?’

  She didn’t answer immediately; her brain had somehow slowed down.

  ‘You said you used your spare key. Did you find anything?’

  A police officer. With Wellingtons.

  ‘I didn’t think so at first, but then when I went into Hedvig’s room, there was a book on her bedside table with the corner of one of the pages turned down. When I opened it, I saw she’d made a note.’

  Quickly, so quickly that she stumbled over her words, Tina told Alex what Hedvig had written, and what had happened next. She couldn’t stop herself, it all came pouring out. Except for one detail: the fact that the man who’d tried to get her into his car had said he was a police officer. That she’d recognised his voice.

  But maybe I was wrong.

  ‘I saw the Wellingtons when I was passing the open car door. I was terrified; if that cyclist hadn’t come along I don’t think I’d have got away.’

  Only then, when she paused for breath, did she register how quiet Alex had gone. He was sitting there motionless, his expression grim and forbidding.

  ‘Where did he say he was taking you?’ he asked.

  Tina hesitated.

  I don’t know who I can trust.

  ‘To the police station,’ she whispered.

  ‘What?’

  ‘He said I had to go with him to the station to make a statement, but I didn’t believe him. Well, I believed he was a police officer, but . . .’

  Alex waited patiently for her to continue. His jaws were working, as if he were chewing something.

  ‘I just didn’t trust him. I thought he was dangerous, that he was going to hurt me.’

  ‘What was his name?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  The rain was hammering on the windscreen and the wind had got up. Tina still wasn’t prepared to close the door, and cold air swept into the car.

  ‘But he had a pair of Wellington boots behind the front seat, and that bothered you because you’d just read the note in Hedvig’s book about a man wearing Wellingtons.’

  Tina shrank down in her seat, feeling stupid.

  ‘I mean, I don’t really know what the note meant,’ she said. ‘Maybe I’ve got it all wrong, I’m just so stressed out.’

  Alex didn’t answer. He’d taken out his mobile and was searching for something.

  ‘Is this the man who tried to get you into his car?’

  Tina looked at the screen and felt her pulse rate increase.

  ‘Yes. That’s him. That’s him.’

  Alex opened the back door and got out. Tina got out too and joined him in the rain.

  ‘Is he really a police officer?’

  Alex was making a call.

  ‘Yes,’ he said grimly. ‘But not for much longer.’

  Where the hell had he gone? Malin went round and round the house, over and over again, becoming increasingly agitated with every step she took.

  ‘Dan?’

  Her voice was shrill, brought the children to their feet.

  ‘What’s wrong, Mummy?’

  Max clung to her while Hedvig looked on in silence.

  ‘I’m looking for Daddy,’ Malin said, failing in her attempt to produce a smile. ‘Have you seen him?’

  ‘No,’ Max replied.

  ‘But we heard him coming down the stairs,’ Hedvig added.

  Malin stared at her.

  ‘You heard him coming down the stairs, but you don’t know where he went?’

  Neither of the children spoke at first.

  ‘It’s happened before,’ Hedvig told her. ‘One minute he’s here, then he isn’t.’

  Malin’s palms began to sweat. She didn’t understand what her daughter was saying.

  There’s nowhere to go.

  ‘Let’s all look for him,’ she suggested. ‘Maybe he’s hiding, playing a game!’

  Max’s face lit up, but there was nothing but fear in Hedvig’s eyes.

  ‘Mummy . . .’ she said.

  ‘It’s okay, sweetheart.’ She stroked the girl’s arm reassuringly. ‘It’s okay.’

  It didn’t work. Hedvig was too old to be fooled by her mother’s convenient lies.

  Malin shook her hair; it was wet and messy. She’d only given it a quick rub with the towel.

  Because I was being as quick as I could, and still it wasn’t enough.

  She took Max by the hand.

  ‘Right, let’s find Daddy.’

  It was a stupid thing to say, as if there were a thousand places he could be. That wasn’t the case. The kitchen, the TV room, the hallway, the little cloakroom by the front door – that was the whole of the ground floor.

  ‘Dan? Stop messing around, you’re scaring the children!’

  No answer.

  Hedvig opened the cloakroom door for the second time.

  ‘We’ve already looked in there,’ Max whined.

  ‘I want to look again!’ The girl’s voice was strained; she was struggling to hold back the tears.

  ‘Right, so this is what we’re going to do,’ Malin said firmly, trying to rescue the situation.

  Too late. Max threw himself on the floor.

  ‘I don’t like it here, I want to go home!’

  He began to sob helplessly, and Malin crouched down beside him, put her arms around him.

  ‘We have to stay a bit longer, poppet.’

  ‘A bit longer?’ Hedvig said. ‘What does that mean? How much longer, Mummy? How much longer?’

  Something caught Malin’s attention, the tiniest movement at the very edge of her peripheral vision. The closet doors. Had they moved?

  Impossible.

  So impossible that it hadn’t even occurred to her to look inside, because although the closet was about a metre long, it wasn’t very deep.
They’d hung their jackets in there when they first arrived, and hadn’t opened the doors since.

  Because we’re not allowed to go outside.

  She stared at the closet, waiting for another movement. Nothing.

  ‘Mummy?’

  Mummy, Mummy, Mummy.

  ‘Hedvig, take your brother upstairs please,’ she said quietly.

  If he was in the closet (he is in the closet), it didn’t matter how much she lowered her voice; he would hear her anyway.

  ‘Why . . .’

  ‘Just do as I say, right now. Go into your room, close the door and push one of the beds up against it. Then sit on the bed and don’t come out until I call you. Do you understand?’

  Do you understand?

  Daddy’s in the closet and he’s gone mad.

  He’s dangerous.

  She looked Hedvig straight in the eye, wanting to shake her and yell that it was time to stop being a kid, she had to grow up and take care of her brother.

  Perhaps Hedvig grasped the seriousness of the situation, because she did exactly as she’d been told. She grabbed Max and hauled him to his feet.

  ‘Come on.’

  He let out a howl of protest.

  ‘I don’t want to BE here any MORE!’

  Malin straightened up, lost her balance, staggered backwards.

  The closet doors slid open.

  Dan emerged, clutching a big knife.

  ‘Me neither,’ he said. ‘Me neither.’

  Nothing was more sensitive than investigating a colleague, but sometimes it just had to be done. Alex, Fredrika and Berlin were in the Lions’ Den. Alex had chosen the location and Berlin had reluctantly agreed. Fredrika had been fully briefed.

  ‘You’ll understand why we have to be out of everyone else’s way when I explain what’s happened,’ Alex had said to Berlin when he opened the door.

  She certainly understood now.

  She was breathing heavily, staring at Alex as she listened.

  She’s disappointed, he thought. More than we are, because she likes Ross.

  ‘I can’t believe this is true,’ she said when he’d finished.

  Alex and Fredrika said nothing.

  ‘Where’s the woman who identified Torbjörn?’ Berlin demanded.

  ‘Tina. She’s in a safe place,’ Alex informed her.

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘She’s left Stockholm for the time being.’