He stopped at the sausage stand opposite the hospital and stood there for ages wondering what to order; but then he kept on walking without having eaten anything at all.
The whole time, the same thoughts were running through his mind. Could what he now envisaged really be true? Could he have misinterpreted what had happened so fundamentally?
He wandered around town and eventually went to the marina, walked to the end of the pier and sat down on his usual bench. He took the photo out of his pocket and examined it yet again, then put it back.
*
The penny had dropped. Baiba had been right, his beloved Baiba whom he was now longing for more than ever.
Behind every person there’s always somebody else. The mistake he had made was to confuse those in the foreground with those lurking in the background.
Everything added up at last. He could see the pattern that had eluded him thus far. And he could see it very clearly.
A fishing boat was on its way out of the harbour. The man at the helm raised a hand and waved to Wallander. He waved back. Thunderclouds were building up on the horizon. At this moment he missed his father. That didn’t happen often. For a short while after his father’s death, Wallander had been aware of a frightening vacuum, but at the same time it was a relief that he had passed away. But at this moment neither the vacuum nor the relief was still there; he simply missed his father and longed to relive the good times they’d had together, despite everything.
Perhaps I never saw him as he really was, didn’t know who he really was, nor what he meant for me and for others. Just as little as I understood until now about Hakan von Enke’s disappearance and Louise’s death. At last I feel I’m getting closer to a solution, rather than drifting further and further away from it.
He realised that he would have to make another journey this summer, which had already involved so much travelling. But he had no choice. He knew now what he needed to do.
Once again he took the photo out of his jacket pocket. He held it in front of him, then tore it in two, right down the middle. Once there had been a world that brought Stig Wennerstrom and Hakan von Enke together, but now he had torn them apart.
‘Was that the case even in those days?’ he said out loud to himself. ‘Or was it something that came about much later?’
He didn’t know. But he intended to find out.
Nobody heard him as he sat there, at the very end of the pier, speaking aloud to himself.
39
Looking back, he had only vague and disjointed memories of that day. He eventually left the pier and went back into town, stopped outside a newly opened cafe in Hamngatan, peered in through the door, then left immediately. He made another tour of the streets before stopping at the Chinese restaurant near Stora Torget that he usually frequented. He sat down at an empty table - there were not many customers at this time in the afternoon - and somewhat absent-mindedly chose a dish from the menu.
If anybody had asked him afterwards what he had eaten, he probably wouldn’t have been able to tell them. His thoughts were elsewhere. He was formulating a plan to confirm his suspicions. He now held different cards in his hand; everything he had believed earlier had been proved wrong.
He sat there for ages, poking at his food with his chopsticks, then suddenly devoured everything, far too quickly, paid the bill and left the restaurant. He returned to the police station. On the way to his office he was stopped by Kristina Magnusson, who invited him to join her family for dinner that weekend. He could pick the day, Saturday or Sunday. Since he couldn’t think of an excuse to turn her down, he told her he’d be delighted to join her on Sunday. He hung his home-made ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the handle of his office door, switched off his mobile phone, and closed his eyes. After a while he straightened his back, scribbled a few notes in his notepad and knew that he had now made up his mind. For better or worse, he needed to determine whether things really were as he now thought. To make sure he wasn’t mistaken, hadn’t allowed himself to be fooled again. In a sudden outburst of anger he hurled his pen at the wall and cursed loudly. Just once, no more. Then he called Sten Nordlander. The connection was poor. When Wallander insisted that it was absolutely vital that they talk, Nordlander promised to call him back. Wallander hung up, and wondered why it was so difficult to call certain parts of the archipelago. Or was Nordlander actually somewhere else?
He waited. He spent the time going over all the thoughts filling his head. His brain was like a tank full to the brim. He was worried that it might start to overflow.
Sten Nordlander called forty minutes later. Wallander had placed his watch on the desk in front of him and noted that the hands pointed to ten minutes past six. The connection was now perfect.
‘I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I’m moored at Uto now.’
‘Not far from Musko, then,’ said Wallander. ‘Or am I wrong?’
‘Not at all. You could say without fear of contradiction that I’m in classic waters. Submarine waters, that is.’
‘We need to meet,’ said Wallander. ‘I want to talk to you.’
‘Did something happen?’
‘Something’s always happening. But I want to talk to you about a thought that’s occurred to me.’
‘So nothing’s happened?’
‘Nothing. But I don’t want to discuss this on the phone. What are you doing for the next few days?’
‘It must be important if you’re thinking of coming here.’
‘There’s something else I need to take care of in Stockholm,’ said Wallander, as calmly as he could.
‘When were you thinking of coming?’
‘Tomorrow. I know it’s short notice.’
Nordlander thought for a moment. Wallander could hear his heavy breathing.
‘I’m on my way home,’ he said. ‘We could meet in town.’
‘If you tell me how to get to wherever you’ll be, I can make my way there.’
‘I think that would be best. Shall we meet in the lobby of the Mariners’ Hotel? What time?’
‘Four o’clock,’ said Wallander. ‘Thank you for agreeing to meet me.’
Nordlander laughed.
‘Do you give me any choice?’
‘Do I sound that strict?’
‘Like an old schoolmaster. You’re sure that nothing’s happened?’
‘Not as far as I know,’ said Wallander evasively. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, then.’
Wallander sat down at his computer and with some effort eventually managed to buy a train ticket and book a room at the Mariners’ Hotel. Since the train was due to leave early the following day, he drove home and took Jussi to his neighbours’. The husband was in the farmyard, tinkering with his tractor. He raised his eyebrows at Wallander when he saw him approaching with the dog.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to sell him?’
‘Completely sure. But I have to go away again. To Stockholm.’
‘I seem to recall that only the other day you were sitting in my kitchen and telling me how much you hated big towns.’
‘I do. But I have to go for work reasons.’
‘Don’t you have enough crooks to deal with down here?’
‘I certainly do. But I’m afraid I do have to go to Stockholm.’
Wallander stroked Jussi and handed over the leash. Jussi was used to this by now, and didn’t react.
But before leaving, Wallander had a question for his neighbour. It was only polite to ask at this time of year, as autumn was approaching.
‘How’s the harvest looking?’
‘Not too bad.’
Very good, in other words, Wallander thought as he made his way back home. He’s usually pretty gloomy when it comes to forecasting crop yields.
Wallander called Linda when he got in. He didn’t tell her the real reason for his journey; he simply said he’d been called to an important meeting in Stockholm. She didn’t question that, merely asked how long he was going to be away.
‘A coup
le of days. Maybe three.’
‘Where will you be staying?’
‘At the Mariners’ Hotel. For the first night, at least. I might stay with Sten Nordlander after that.’
It was seven thirty by the time he had packed a few clothes into a bag, locked up the house and settled in his car to drive to Malmo. After much hesitation he had also packed his - or rather, his father’s - old shotgun and a few cartridges, as well as his service revolver. He was going to travel by train and wouldn’t need to pass through security checks. He didn’t like the idea of taking weapons, but on the other hand, he didn’t dare travel without them.
He checked into a cheap hotel on the outskirts of Malmo, had dinner at a restaurant not far from Jagersro, and then went for a long walk to tire himself out. He was up and dressed by five the next morning. When he paid his bill, he made arrangements for his car to stay in the hotel car park until he returned, then ordered a taxi to take him to the train station. He could feel it was going to be a hot day.
Wallander usually felt at his most alert in the mornings. That had been the case for as long as he could remember. As he stood outside the hotel, waiting for his taxi, he had no doubts. He was doing the right thing. At long last he felt he was approaching a solution to everything that had happened.
He spent the train journey to Stockholm sleeping, leafing through various newspapers, half solving a few crossword puzzles, and simply sitting back and letting his mind wander. His thoughts returned over and over again to that evening in Djursholm. He recalled all the photos he had at home of that occasion. How Hakan von Enke seemed worried. And just one picture of Louise when she wasn’t smiling. The only picture in which she was serious.
He ate a couple of sandwiches and drank coffee in the restaurant car, surprised by the prices, then sat with his head in his hands, gazing absent-mindedly out the window at the countryside hurrying past.
Shortly after Nassjo, what he always dreaded nowadays happened. He suddenly had no idea where he was going. He had to check his ticket in order to remember. His shirt was soaked in sweat after this attack of forgetfulness. Yet again he had been shaken.
He checked into the Mariners’ Hotel at about noon. Sten Nordlander arrived shortly after four. He was tanned, and his hair had been cut short. He also seemed to have lost weight. His face lit up when he saw Wallander.
‘You look tired,’ Nordlander said. ‘Haven’t you made the most of your holiday?’
‘Apparently not,’ Wallander replied.
‘It’s lovely weather - shall we go out, or would you prefer to stay here?’
‘Let’s go out. How about Mosebacke? It’s warm enough to sit out in the sun.’
As they walked up the hill to the square, Wallander said nothing about why he had come to Stockholm. And Sten Nordlander didn’t ask any questions. The walk winded Wallander, but Nordlander seemed to be in good shape. They sat out on the terrace, where nearly all the tables were occupied. It would soon be autumn, with its chilly evenings. Stockholmers were taking advantage of the opportunity to sit outside for as long as possible.
Wallander ordered tea - he had a stomach ache from drinking too much coffee. Nordlander decided on a beer and a sandwich.
Wallander braced himself.
‘I wasn’t really telling you the truth when I said that nothing had happened. But I didn’t want to talk about it on the phone.’
He was observing Nordlander carefully as he spoke. The expression of surprise on his face seemed to be completely genuine.
‘Hakan?’he asked.
‘Yes. I know where he is.’
Nordlander’s eyes never left Wallander’s face. He doesn’t know, Wallander thought, and felt relieved. He hasn’t the slightest idea. Right now I need somebody I can rely on.
Nordlander said nothing, waited. There was a buzz of conversation on all sides.
‘Tell me what happened!’
‘I will. But first, let me ask you a few questions. I want to make sure my interpretation of how all these events are connected is correct. Let’s discuss politics. What did Hakan stand for, during his time as an active officer? What were his political views? Regarding Olof Palme, for example? It’s well known that a lot of military men hated him and didn’t hesitate to spread absurd rumours about him being mentally ill and being treated in a hospital, or that he was a spy for the Soviet Union. How does Hakan fit in with that?’
‘Not at all. As I’ve told you. Hakan was never one of the main antagonists of Olof Palme and the Social Democratic government. As you no doubt recall, he actually met Palme on one occasion. I think he thought that the criticism of Palme was unfair, and that there was an overestimation of the Soviet Union’s capacity for waging war and their desire to attack Sweden.
‘Have you ever had reason to believe that he wasn’t being honest?’
‘Why would I? Hakan is a patriot, but he is very analytical. I think he was turned off by all the extreme hatred of Russia that surrounded him.’
‘What were his views on the USA?’
‘Critical in many ways. I remember him saying once that the USA is in fact the only country in the world that has used a nuclear weapon to attack another country. Obviously, you can talk about the special circumstances that applied at the end of the Second World War, but the fact remains: America has used an atomic bomb on people. Nobody else has done that. Not yet.’
Wallander had no more questions for the moment. Nothing of what Nordlander said was surprising or unexpected. Wallander received the answers he thought he would get. He poured himself some tea and decided that the time was now ripe.
‘We spoke earlier about there being a spy in the Swedish military. Somebody who was never exposed.’
‘Rumours like that are always flying around. If you don’t have anything else to talk about, you can speculate about moles digging their tunnels.’
‘If I’ve understood those rumours correctly they suggested there was a spy who was in many ways more dangerous than Wennerstrom.’
‘I don’t know about that, but I suppose a spy you don’t catch is always going to be a bigger threat than any other.’
Wallander nodded.
‘There was also another rumour,’ he continued. ‘Or rather, there is a rumour that still persists. That this unknown spy is in fact a woman.’
‘I don’t think anybody believed that. Not in my circles, at any rate. There are so few women in the armed forces with access to classified documents, it’s just not credible.’
‘Did you ever speak to Hakan about this?’
‘A woman spy? No, never.’
‘Louise was a spy,’ Wallander said slowly. ‘She spied for the Soviet Union.’
At first Sten Nordlander didn’t seem to grasp what Wallander had said. Then he realised the significance of what he had just heard.
‘It can’t be possible.’
‘It not only can be, it is possible.’
‘Well, I don’t believe it. What proof do you have?’
‘The police found microfilms of classified documents, and also several photographic negatives hidden in Louise’s handbag. I don’t know exactly what they were, but I’ve become convinced that they prove she was participating in high-level espionage. Against Sweden, for Russia, and before that for the Soviet Union. In other words, she was active for a very long time.’
Sten Nordlander eyed him incredulously.
‘Do you really expect me to believe this?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Questions are welling up inside me, arguments protesting that what you say can’t be true.’
‘But can you know beyond question that I’m wrong?’
Nordlander froze, beer glass in hand.
‘Is Hakan involved in this as well? Did they operate as a pair?’
‘That’s hardly credible.’
Nordlander slammed his glass down on the table.
‘Do you know or don’t you? Why don’t you tell me straight?’
‘There’s nothing
to suggest that Hakan cooperated with Louise.’
‘Then why is he hiding himself away?’
‘Because he suspected her. He was on her trail for many years. In the end he began to fear for his own life. He thought Louise realised that he suspected her, and that meant there was a significant risk that he might be murdered.’
‘But Louise is the one who’s dead.’
‘Don’t forget that when her body was found, Hakan had already been missing for a long time.’
*
Wallander watched a new Sten Nordlander emerging. He was normally energetic and straightforward, but now he seemed to be shrinking. The confusion he felt was changing him.
There was a minor commotion at a neighbouring table: a drunken man fell over and knocked down several bottles and glasses. A security officer came hurrying up, and calm was soon restored. Wallander drank his tea. Sten Nordlander had stood up and walked over to the fence. He gazed down at the city stretching out before him. When he returned, Wallander said, ‘I need your help to persuade Hakan to return.’
‘What can I do?’
‘You’re his best friend. I want you to come with me on a trip. I’ll tell you where tomorrow. Can we use your car? Can you leave your boat for twenty-four hours or so?’
‘No problem.’
‘Pick me up at three o’clock tomorrow outside the hotel. Dress for rain. I have to go now.’
He didn’t let Nordlander ask any questions. He didn’t look round as he walked back to the hotel. He still wasn’t absolutely certain that he could rely on Sten Nordlander, but he had made his choice and there was no going back now.
That night he lay awake for hours, tossing and turning between the damp sheets. In his dream he saw Baiba hovering over the ground, her face completely transparent.
He left the hotel early the next morning and took a taxi out to Djurgarden, where he lay down under a tree and slept for a while. He used his bag containing the shotgun as a pillow. When he woke up, he strolled back through town to the hotel. He was waiting there when Sten Nordlander drove up to the entrance. Wallander put his bag on the back seat.
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