‘Would you recognize the man who stopped you again if you saw him?’
‘Yes. I think so.’
‘Good. And you say you tried to speak to him?’
‘Yes. He was totally unresponsive. I also tried in English once.’
‘If he was Russian, he probably couldn’t understand you in either language,’ suggested Wallen.
‘But someone in the gang can speak Swedish –’ Anita pointed out, ‘the caller to your wife.’
‘Well, nothing was said to me that I could understand.’
‘No one spoke to you about the ransom? They didn’t try and get you to transfer money over the internet?’
‘No. I assumed if I was being ransomed that they were dealing with the family.’ He stroked his glass nervously. ‘But at the time, I had no idea that it was a kidnap. They might have just wanted to kill me.’ He stared at Anita, fear flickering in his eyes. ‘I just didn’t know what they were going to do.’
‘So were you threatened?’
‘No. Nothing like that. Naturally, I was scared. Cooped up in a metal box wondering what I was doing there. It would have been easier if they’d communicated with me. At least I might have known what was going on.’
Anita crossed her legs and scanned the notes she’d been making.
‘Your release. How did that happen?’
‘I was asleep. Of course, I had no sense of time in there. So I have no idea when it was. Two men in masks appeared and untied the rope bindings and replaced them with tape. Then they put tape over my mouth and placed the hood over my head. This really scared me as I thought it might be the end. I was put in a car and driven off. Then I was hauled out of the car. Definitely two people, as each took an arm and guided me. I could feel gravel crunching under my feet. Then they tied my feet to something with more tape, which turned out to be a bench in Östra Kyrkogården. That’s how I was found.’
‘Timings? How long was the drive and how long did you think you were trussed up in the cemetery?’
‘Difficult to estimate. I think the journey to the cemetery was about an hour. Similar time to when I was taken. But please don’t quote me on that as I was in a state of panic – I thought they might be taking me somewhere to finish me off. As for the time I was on the bench...erm,’ he puckered up his lips ‘...a good few hours. I remember hearing the birds singing. Dawn chorus. It seemed a lifetime before that fellow came to my aid and got in touch with you. I knew I was outside, but I couldn’t shout for help as I had the damned tape over my mouth.’ He absently ran a hand over his lips.
‘Thank you; you’ve been very helpful. Tomorrow, we’ll get someone down to put together a photofit of the man who flagged you down. At least we know we’re dealing with a port area. Of course, they may be long gone, but there may be some clues. There’s nothing you remember that was out of the ordinary during your captivity so we can narrow down the location, is there? You’re familiar with containers in your business. Anything different about this one?’
‘Not really. My space was quite small. They’d put a partition wall in with a metal door in it. I could tell that. My captors must have been occupying the other half. I could hear occasional murmurings from the far side.’
‘Anything else?’
‘Don’t think so.’ He was about to pick up his glass again when he stopped himself. ‘Well, there was the dog.’
‘What dog?’
‘One night, I heard this growling sound. I thought it unusual as you don’t get many stray dogs in Sweden. They tend to be rounded up. Well, I assume it was a dog, though I was half asleep at the time.’
‘OK. We’ll let you rest.’
Peter Uhlig stood up at the same time as Anita and Wallen. He fixed Anita with a pleading gaze. ‘These people need to be caught, Inspector. It’s not a matter of the money, though I realize that’s substantial. What they did to Mats Möller and myself is so wrong. You’ve got to stop them before they do it again.’
CHAPTER 14
It was ridiculous to feel nervous. Yet that’s exactly how Anita felt when addressing the team next morning. She’d done it on plenty of previous occasions, but never in the role of officer in charge. It was the sense of vulnerability which she found unnerving. As one of the team, Moberg was always there to shield her from any flack. Now she was acutely aware that she had no back-up from above; just a yawning chasm between her and the top echelons of the force, from which a great pile of the brown stuff could drop in her direction at any moment. Make one mistake, and the commissioner would hang her out to dry. After reporting to Commissioner Dahlbeck on her debriefing session with Peter Uhlig, her sympathy and respect for Erik Moberg was growing by the minute. Dahlbeck had promised that extra resources would be made available, though he was vague about how and when they would be forthcoming. He was worried about the opprobrium he’d receive from the business community if another kidnap took place. He’d left her with the same plea as Peter Uhlig had made the previous evening, though the commissioner’s words were couched in a threat – if this wasn’t sorted out swiftly, heads would roll. Anita knew whose the first head would be.
‘So, that’s where we are with Peter Uhlig.’ Anita had just given Hakim, Wallen and Brodd a résumé of her conversation with the businessman. ‘As you were with me, Klara, have you had any thoughts?’ She wanted to be seen to be involving everyone, particularly Wallen, who might prove a disruptive influence if not handled carefully. She could envisage the troublemaking Rolf whispering bitter somethings in Wallen’s ear about why Anita had been picked instead of her.
‘It’s obvious that the location is industrial, probably a port. He mentioned hearing a ship’s horn, probably a ferry’s, spasmodically. Uhlig didn’t think it was Trelleborg. I don’t think it’s Helsingborg either as the ferries going over to Helsingør run up to four times an hour; hardly spasmodic. There are a few daily ferries from Ystad. However, at the moment, we think...’ and Wallen glanced across to Anita for confirmation, ‘that Malmö is the most likely. The Finnlines ships come in up to three times a day.’
‘Not that we’re discounting the other ports,’ added Anita, ‘but we’ll concentrate on the docks here to start with. Sorry, carry on, Klara.’
‘If they kept Uhlig here, it follows the pattern of the Möller kidnapping. This gang is thorough and they do their research. What I did think strange was that one of them wasn’t worried about being seen by Uhlig. We’ve now got an impression of him.’ She stood up and stuck a photofit that had been constructed from Peter Uhlig’s description on the whiteboard.
‘Maybe he’s just cocky,’ chimed in Brodd. ‘Thinks he won’t be caught.’
‘Or maybe he knows that he won’t be hanging around long enough to be found.’ This suggestion came from Hakim.
‘That’s a very good thought,’ agreed Anita eagerly. She hoped that this investigation would bring her and Hakim closer together, though being over-effusive probably wasn’t the best way forward. Even Anita realized her ebullience hadn’t sounded right as she received funny looks from Brodd and Wallen.
‘You mean they’re just going to carry out these two kidnaps and then go elsewhere?’ queried Wallen.
‘That’ll make the commissioner happy,’ joked Brodd.
‘I think we have to consider this may not be the end,’ said Anita firmly. ‘If this is a Russian outfit, they might just bring in other personnel for the next job. The man up there,’ she said, pointing at the photofit, ‘isn’t either of the two men described by Mats Möller. Another thing that struck me as strange was the food Uhlig was given. They served up well-cooked meals. Down in the docks doesn’t strike me as an ideal environment to whip up quality cuisine. You’d expect them to go out and get takeaways as they did with Möller.’
‘Perhaps they were aware of the fact that we checked all the fast food outlets in the vicinity of the Möller workshop. OK, we didn’t get anywhere with that; I know the descriptions of the first two guys were too vague. But they wouldn’t want to risk t
he guy up there,’ Hakim waved at the photofit on the wall, ‘being identified. Making their own food would avoid that.’
‘Still a bit of a faff,’ said Brodd.
‘Attention to detail, I’d call it,’ countered Hakim. ‘This gang do things meticulously. There are no fingerprints on the hood cushion covers, which are well-nigh untraceable, or the bits of tape, which is sold everywhere. It’ll be virtually impossible to discover who purchased either of them. And just look at the way they fooled us with the police car stunt. By the way, it’s turned up in a country lane between Rydsgård and Blentarp. Totally burnt out. Forensics will have a go at it but don’t hold your breath that anything useful will be found.’
‘Do we know where they got hold of the police car?’ asked Anita.
‘Yeah. It was stolen from the film studios in Ystad. They’re shooting a new cop series there. The uniforms, too.’ Despite everything, there was a murmur of admiration around the table.
‘The police car incident does raise another question. We believe that the gang is Russian or certainly Eastern European. Our fellow here doesn’t appear to speak Swedish or English, unless he deliberately didn’t speak to the victim; part of the unnerving process. Yet at least one other member of the gang, definitely speaks Swedish and/or English. The man who threatened Mats Möller spoke in English with some sort of accent. The man who phoned in the ransom demand to Uhlig’s wife spoke Swedish. And then there’s the fake patrol officer who flagged down Ann-Kristen. According to her, he spoke Swedish, though she was too flustered to be sure about his accent. And her description is very vague. He was wearing a cap and had sunglasses on. Though she did say he was very well mannered!’
‘Well, when you think about it, to do what they’re doing, someone has to be able to communicate to get the money out of the victims.’ Anita stopped herself complimenting Hakim again.
‘The point is, does this gang have Swedes in it, or is it a purely outside operation? If it’s the latter, it’s going to be a damned sight harder to catch them. But whatever its make-up, are they getting inside help? Which brings me back to the fact that both the victims have done business together and have social connections. And is there someone behind all this who’s pointing the gang in the direction of the targets?’
That night Anita left work late. Even Hakim had given up trawling through CCTV footage trying to find the Volkswagen that Peter Uhlig had been whisked away in. Brodd had found out shipping movements in Malmö for the days that Uhlig was in captivity, and this heightened their belief that the businessman had been kept in one of the harbour areas. Then Brodd had gone off to visit his drinking buddy in hospital. Even Wallen had stayed on longer than usual; maybe she was responding to the extra responsibility that Anita was giving her.
A quiet drink in The Pickwick on the way home had given Anita time to momentarily unwind. She had been pleased with the team’s efforts, though that had been overshadowed by a call earlier in the evening from an irate Lasse. ‘Where the hell are you?’ With the sudden taking over of the investigation, it had completely slipped her mind that she’d arranged to babysit Leyla while Lasse and Jazmin went to the cinema. Her apologies and excuses had received a sullen response. He’d finished with ‘This was a break that Jazmin really needed.’ As Anita stared at her phone after Lasse had rung off, she realized that her son was becoming as good as his father at emotional blackmail. Now she would have a restless night blaming herself for letting him down.
Before leaving the pub, Matt the barman asked how Kevin was getting on. She gave him an evasive answer about him being busy over in Britain. As she walked home, she wished that he was still here. Someone to talk to about work. She could discuss things with him that she couldn’t with the team; certainly not now she had such a strained relationship with Hakim. Kevin was good for bouncing ideas off and giving her sensible advice. He understood the rigours of the job. And he’d make her laugh to take her mind off her worries. He’d certainly know how to handle Lasse and smooth that over. Maybe she would ring him tomorrow.
He withdrew his fist. The impact had made the heel of his hand hurt. He hoped he hadn’t broken anything. He gulped for air. It took a while for his heart to stop pumping so brutally. He looked down at the man in the chair; relaxed, still holding the sheet of paper between his hands. No movement. No sound of breathing. He didn’t care. He was scum; he destroyed lives. But not anymore; now he was dead scum.
He would have to think fast; think clearly. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and switched on the hi-fi system. He found a pop station and turned up the volume. The noise would cover his movements. It was twenty nerve-racking minutes before he was completely satisfied. He’d found a suitcase in a wardrobe, one of several showing signs of wear. The man obviously travelled a lot, spreading his poison far and wide like a Portuguese Man o’ War. Donning a pair of rubber gloves he’d found in the kitchen, he’d systematically gone about removing any possible traces of his visit – the police would be chasing shadows. When he’d finished, the man’s computer, phones, wallet, all the information that had been pinned to the notice board, some files he’d found in the bottom drawer of the desk – and even the piece of paper the dead man had been holding in his hands – all went in the suitcase.
The music was still playing loudly; it would cover the sound of his retreat down the corridor. With a tight grip on the case, he took one last glimpse at the man in the chair; the eyes staring, the face creased into a look of astonishment. He exhaled slowly. His nemesis was dead.
CHAPTER 15
The weekend came and went. On the domestic front, Anita had made it up to Lasse by babysitting on Saturday night. She paid for their evening out to salve her conscience. And she enjoyed spending time with Leyla, who was now a walking, almost-talking little lady who had fixed ideas about what she liked and disliked. When she wanted something, she would point to it aggressively. When she didn’t, she would stand stock-still in the middle of the room with her head fiercely bowed and a deep scowl on her face. Her tiny tantrums made Anita laugh. She could see that Leyla was as strong willed as her mother, Jazmin. There would be battles ahead! But what Anita loved most was the wide-eyed smile she received whenever she saw her granddaughter. Leyla would toddle up to her as fast as her little legs would go, arms outstretched.
Even when she was watching the sleeping child after reading her a bedtime story, Anita couldn’t get her mind off the kidnap cases. So far, nothing had given them any clues as to who was behind the snatching of Mats Möller or Peter Uhlig. The gang were good and had made themselves rich out of their efforts. Though there were things that didn’t totally add up, she knew the chances of finding them through the normal channels of detection were indeed remote, unless something unexpected turned up. She still couldn’t get out of her head the business link between the two men. Was it a coincidence they were targeted? Should they be investigating the cases from a business angle? Was there something in their dealings that made them ripe for exploiting? Who was in their circle? Had they upset anyone to the extent that he or she would have reason to help the kidnappers? The gang certainly knew enough about their victims to successfully deploy their different methods of extortion. But even if the perpetrators weren’t receiving inside help, any information might enable Anita to identify possible future targets.
The only problem with this line of enquiry was that Commissioner Dahlbeck had already dismissed the idea. He didn’t want any of his officers sniffing around Skåne’s high-profile business community. She had been told in no uncertain terms that that was off limits. He didn’t want to risk upsetting influential people by having the police digging into their backgrounds. So, she had resorted to a bit of private sleuthing. She’d rung Liv at a time that she knew Hakim wouldn’t be around. She remembered Liv saying that she’d been on a number of computer courses and had been keen to get into technical crime before the shooting. That was another thing Liv had in common with Hakim – they were geeks. (Anybody who knew their way round comput
ers and social media were geeks in Anita’s book.) Liv had been delighted to be asked to help. She would trawl the internet to see if there were connections that linked Möller and Uhlig to other prominent business organizations and families. Who were their known associates? Who got on with whom? Or, more to the point, who didn’t get on? Were there any hostile takeover bids or deals that had gone wrong? Anita suggested it might be worth contacting the business editors of the major regional papers – say she was doing some research. Pretend she’s a student. Just make sure she didn’t mention any police connection or else they would immediately think there was a story. And that would get back to Commissioner Dahlbeck. Anita left it up to Liv whether or not she told Hakim what she was up to. Heaven knows what his reaction might be!
After a couple of hours’ work in the office, Anita had driven down to Östra Kyrkogården again. She wandered around the massive expanse of neatly partitioned burial areas and along the road into the cemetery where the kidnappers must have driven. It was easy to see why cemeteries made such good drop-off points. No CCTV, except at the chapels, and unlikely that there would be anyone around in the small hours. The dumping of Mats Möller had been more brazen as that particular cemetery was in the centre of the city. Östra Kyrkogården was far quieter, with the apartment blocks on the eastern side some distance away through a thick blanket of trees. Was there anything symbolic in choosing burial grounds? Was it a subliminal threat that if their ransoms weren’t paid, this is where any future victims would end up? Or was the choice of location purely practical? Anita sat down on the bench that Peter Uhlig had been tied to. Clouds scudded across a grey sky. Summer was still holding its breath. The grave opposite her was for a baby boy. The dates read December 10th, 1958 to March 26th, 1959. Flowers were laid on the gravel in front of it. Were they from his parents, still remembering after all this time? They’d probably be in their eighties now.
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