Blue Blue Eyes: Crime Novel

by Helena Anderson

”According to Carlos neither you nor the new one have any reason to be here.”

  ”Get a grip, Stella”, Daphne snapped. ”I can hear it’s time you and Carlos were sent on a charm course.”

  Nikki had the print out of the flat in her hand while Daphne was driving. The flat had three rooms with a real kitchen and a large sitting room and was only ten minutes’ away from the station. The rent was only 50 Euros a week which was perfect for Nikki.

  ”I’ll take it”, Nikki said after they had spent five minutes in the flat. Daphne looked at her with approval while the landlord took out a standard contract and started completing it.

  ”I can help you”, Nikki said. ”What happened to your fingers?”

  ”An accident while at work. Thanks, could you fill out your information where I’ve put a cross?”

  A couple of minutes later Nikki received the keys and felt happy that the issue of where to stay had finally been solved.

  The sun had set over the sea and it was getting dark. The thermometer in the car still showed over 34 degrees and on the local radio they were talking about the lack of water on the island. Nikki and Daphne were hot and tired. The thought of going home, standing under a cool shower and then sleep was more appealing than spending hours within the walls of the station. Their energy was low when they arrived back again.

  Daphne took the chance to update the whiteboard with all the new information that had come in during the day while Nikki brought all the evidence material into the conference room.

  ”Do you have a mobile charger?”

  ”Sure, it’s in my office. Why do you ask?” Daphne looked up in surprise with the felt pen all ready.

  ”Both of Sten’s phones are discharged.”

  ”Give them to me and I’ll take care of it.”

  ”I can’t get over the fact that we finally found out about Sten’s secret. We did well not to give up. Thanks for keeping at it. But what kind of person was he actually? What was he doing with all of that? I mean it was everything from a Magnum to an AK47 as well as rocket weapons, hand-grenades and an unhealthy amount of ammunition.”

  ”I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many weapons at once before. You hadn’t got a lot on him in Sweden, had you?” Daphne stretched both her arms over her head, yawned widely and put the mobile phones on charge.

  ”No, he was clean. Respectable. Never been in the police records. Strange.” Nikki stopped and looked out through the window. The sky was dark. The only things giving some light were the stars and the moon.

  ”Really, I hope forensics will find some traces we can follow up on. But you can really say that Sten’s death has taken on a new aspect after today.”

  ”Really”, Nikki answered and tried different kinds of passwords on the mobiles before sighing in a bored way. ”Oh, I get mad with this. My will to do this is gone. Do you have a hacker in the station?”

  ”A hacker?” Daphne stretched her back and felt how stiff she was.

  ”Yes, you must have somebody expert on this?”

  ”No, as a matter of fact we don’t.” Daphne shook her head and massaged her lower back. ”We seldom have cases where we need an IT-hacker. Don’t forget you are in Cyprus. There are not so many strange things happening here as it probably does in your country.”

  Nikki checked the time and saw that it was just past ten in the evening. She activated the Wi-Fi on her mobile and asked for the station’s password. Once on the network she started up Skype and dialled the number to David in Tel Aviv.

  ”Please pick up”, she was praying impatiently. Nikki dialled the number again in pure desperation while turning on Sten’s and Karl’s computers.

  ”This is David.”

  ”Oh, David, you answered. This is Nikki. Sorry for disturbing you so late but I know from experience that you are a night owl.” She laughed quietly and smiled her best smile straight into the mobile.

  ”Nikki”, David said with a soft velvet voice. ”How are you?”

  ”I’m good although I’m so tired I could sleep standing up. By the way I’m in Cyprus working on a few cases.”

  ”Cyprus of all places. I’m working too. Suppose you need my help”

  She smiled apologetically. ”Sorry for not keeping in touch more in other circumstances, David.”

  ”It doesn’t matter. The main thing is not losing each other. So tell me, what’s wrong?”

  ”As you can see I have two mobile phones here and they are password protected. I can’t get into them.”

  ”Nothing worse than that”, David grinned. ”Take out the SIM-cards and make sure you don’t mix them up.”

  Nikki took out a small paper clip and straightened out one end of it, quickly put the point into the little hole by the white iPhone’s upper edge. Because of the large plastic gloves she was wearing she lost her grip a few times but after trying stubbornly Nikki had one of the SIM-cards in her hand. Then she repeated the procedure with the black iPhone.

  ”Well done”, she heard David encourage her in the background.

  ”Read me the numbers of the two Sim-cards please.”

  Nikki read the small numbers to David while he was writing them down.

  ”Do you need help with anything else? I can see you’re sitting there with two Mac-book Air. Can you get into them?”

  ”I’ve just put them on but suppose I will. Hang on a second.” Nikki turned to the computers and touched the key-boards. Both screens lit up and they didn’t seem to be protected by a password. ”They’re OK. Can I come back to you if I hit a fire wall?”

  ”You know that, Princess. Give me half an hour and I’ll call you back. Hopefully I’ll have the two passwords for you then.” David winked while hanging up.

  Daphne who hadn’t missed the conversation looked with curiosity at Nikki. She put both hands on her waist. ”So, who was that handsome man?”

  Nikki smiled as she replied. ”That was my David.”

  ”Your David?”

  ”Exactly. David was my absolutely first love. We were neighbours in the diplomatic part of Tel Aviv. His dad worked with mine. He is the Israeli information services’ IT-manager and usually helps me every now and then.

  Daphne whistled and looked at Nikki jealously. ”That sounds like a James Bond movie. He is good looking that David. Is he as kind as he is handsome or what?”

  Nikki smiled as widely as possible in reply before getting her hands on Karl’s computer. She carefully went through the history of the web-sites he’d visited. When she didn’t find anything special she clicked on the icon for G-mail and got stuck. The login demanded both user-name and password. Nikki did the same with Sten’s computer and it showed exactly the same screen picture. Sighing she clicked on the icon looking like a stamp, hoping they both had activated their mail accounts there. Disappointed she pushed the office chair with the help of the desk and rolled in to the dirty white wall. Yawning she got out her mobile phone from her white shorts and dialled Kerstin’s number.

  ”I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

  ”No chance Nikki. I’m at the office. How are you doing?”

  ”It’s moving forward. Since we spoke Daphne and I have met Barbro Hofvenskold and her daughter Therese. We’ve also entered Sten Arvidsson’s house. Did you say that you didn’t find anything on him in your systems?”

  ”He’s as white as snow” Kerstin answered curtly.

  ”Now you could say he’s as black as soot.”

  ”What do you mean?”

  Nikki chuckled. ”Well, our little friend had a false door in his fashionable house and what do you think we found there?”

  ”Have no idea, drugs?”

  ”There was a whole arsenal of weapons there. Everything from normal handguns to rocket weapons. You have no idea how it looks. And we’re talking hundreds of weapons and masses of ammunition.”

 
Kerstin gasped for air. ”Now I’m really surprised. I’ll have to put Goran on checking out this Sten a little closer I think. What is happening now?”

  ”Forensics are in the house. We also found a computer and two mobiles which probably belong to him.”

  ”Two mobiles?”

  ”He had a Swedish subscription on the one and the other had a Cypriotic SIM-card. I also got Karl Hofvenskold’s computer so I have a lot to do.”

  ”How was Barbro, by the way, could you get anything sensible out of her?”

  ”Well, maybe. We found out that Karl’s car has disappeared and that Karl was on his way to a meeting with somebody the same morning he disappeared. Tomorrow morning we’ll check out Barbro’s alibi but otherwise there was nothing special. On the other hand we found a threatening letter at Sten Arvidsson’s. The sender was a Swedish chairman of a local golf club.”

  ”Well done”, Kerstin said surprised. ”Check out that Olof, he sounds as though he has a few questions to answer. Here at home we’ve interviewed the sons of the Hofvenskold family and some of the staff at the head office. Anders, one of the sons, is on his way down to Cyprus now as far as I understand. We didn’t find anything worthwhile so continue with what you are doing and keep me posted. My bed is calling me now, talk to you later.”

  Nikki hung up, yawned loudly and leaned back in the worn-out office chair, tired.

  ”I’ll go home when David has called me back. I feel faint from fatigue at the moment.”

  ”Would you like me to make some tea meanwhile”, Daphne asked yawning.

  ”Thanks, I’d love some. Is there anything to go with it?”

  ”Let me have a look.” Daphne went into the kitchen and looked around the drawers and cupboards.

  Nikki had just started looking at Karl’s computer when her mobile rang.

  ”Are you ready with pen and paper?” David asked and told her the password he had managed to find.

  Nikki wrote down the combination of numbers and hid a yawn behind her hand. ”Thanks David, you’re a treasure. Could I ask you one more thing, do you have time?”

  David smiled in answer.

  ”I can’t access the victims’ G-mail. Do you have any idea of how to go about it?”

  ”Yes, I do. But first you have to follow my instructions so I can take control of the computers.” Nikki listened to David’s instructions carefully and did exactly as she was told. A moment later he could work freely in both the Macs. Nikki thought it looked funny seeing the cursor moving across the screen without her touching the pad.

  ”I’ll go and have a cup of tea, shout when you’re done”, Nikki said and went to find Daphne.

  ”So this is where you are hiding out. I was wondering where my cup of tea was.”

  ”I just had to check our systems to see if Carlos had reported Karl Hofvenskold’s car missing, and of course he hadn’t.” Daphne sighed and pulled a tired hand through her fringe. ”I think I’ll go bloody crazy soon. Everybody has to work like hell because that idiot is not doing his share of the work.”

  ”I can really understand that. Hey, let’s take five minutes’. The water should be ready for the tea now.” Nikki put a friendly hand on Daphne’s shoulder and they went into the kitchen.

  ”Oh, what a good fruit bar”, Nikki exhaled after taking a bite of the biscuit which tasted of apple and cinnamon. ”I love raw-food. Where do you buy these?”

  ”In the health store. I’ll show you the best health-store here in Pafos. We’ll probably pass there one of these days.”

  ”Thanks, I’d love to, oh they are good. If it’s OK I’ll have another one.”

  ”Eat, you never know when you’ll see food again”, Daphne answered smiling and had a sip of the lovely tea.

  ”Are you still there, Nikki?”

  Nikki startled and realized she was still Skyping with David.

  ”Oh, you frightened me. I had completely forgotten you were around”, Nikki giggled tiredly.

  ”Now you can read the mail on both computers.”

  ”Is that true?” She ran to the conference room and looked at all the mail on both screens. ”You are an angel, David. What would I have done without you?”

  ”I’ve written down their user-names and passwords in the notes on each computer, so you can easily find them next time you need to log in.”

  Nikki blew a kiss and bowed and curtsied to say thanks for the help. ”Thank you David, thank you my dear for all your help. I hope I didn’t disturb you too much?”

  ”Anything for you my Princess, you know that. Hugs and kisses. We’ll keep in touch babe.”

  ”Kiss”, Nikki said and hung up with a tired smile.

  Monday June 10th

  The side-effects of the disease started acting up. The unpleasant shaking and the body’s stiffness were similar to the ones he’d had the previous spring when he had gone to the doctor for help. He was weak and dehydrated. Two entire days without food or drink had made Patrik listless. Petros had come in several times and abused him with a promise to let Patrik go if he signed the documents. His chest was heaving with great effort and Patrik’s breathing was heavy and wheezing. He had no idea of what time it was or how long he had been locked up.

  But he did know he should have taken his medicine a long time ago. Once again he tried opening his swollen eyes and could barely make out the moon light in one of the openings of the dark room. Despite the suffocating air he was feeling cold. A cold sweat was pouring down his forehead and he felt feverish. Patrik tried thinking clearly but the dizziness was too rampant as well as the pain welling up like an electrically charged cord every time he tried moving. The cable ties were cutting into his wrists and both his hands and arms had been numb for a long time. Fearing for his life he heard somebody approaching the locked wooden door.

  ”Did you shit yourself?” Petros shouted and laughed cruelly. ”What do you want actually? Do you really want to die? Isn’t it better you sign these bloody papers?”

  Patrik tried nodding. He was prepared to sign now. But however much he tried moving his head, the body didn’t obey him. He could feel Petros’ hard look on his bruised body and then the pain came. The first kick hit his side. He tried rolling up into a little ball to protect his face but before he could he felt the next kick crushing into his jaw. Patrik turned, shouting in pain.

  ”You know what it takes to get your freedom back”, Patrik heard somewhere far away before losing consciousness. The next second he was brought back by a bucket of cold water. His breathing was erratic and the adrenalin was pumping fast through his veins. His thoughts were fleeting and he didn’t know if it was a dream or reality. Linn, the kids and Anna quickly passed by and then it all went black again. Another bucket of ice cold water made him wake up.

  The pain in his jaw radiated through his whole body and he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to suffer the abuse. Despite repeated attempts to make Petros understand that he wanted to sign Patrik couldn’t get the message across. All of a sudden he was jerked up. Petros tried making Patrik lean against the wall. His head was rolling from side to side until a steady hard hand held his chin. Petros forced him to open his mouth despite his jaw being broken. He screamed with pain. His heart was beating so heavily it almost broke his body and the taste of blood in his mouth grew stronger.

  Patrik felt something on his tongue but couldn’t make out what it was. Laughing Petros forced his head back and Patrik felt a little piece of metal slide down toward his throat. His jaw reflex reacted and went into spasm. His tongue once again stuck to his dry palate and however Patrik tried to swallow he couldn’t.

  ”Swallow you bastard”, Petros was shouting while holding his head with a tight grip.

  Patrik’s eyes fluttered and he once again tried swallowing. Something sharp pierced his throat and he fainted from the effort. More cold water. Patrik didn’t wan
t to come back to the cruel reality and his body was giving up. He was shivering from cold when the hazy picture of a lovely summer day appeared. Céline and Klas dressed in summer clothes, dancing around the Midsummer pole at Marstrand.

  ”Now we’re going to play a little game. Do you remember what games you played in your parties as a little child, perhaps it was fish pond?” Petros laughed loudly.

  Midsummer and fish-ponds, Patrik thought quietly and saw a well prepared table in front of his eyes. Suddenly he felt a cut in his throat. The fish-hook tore on the inside and once again he lost consciousness.

  Monday June 10th

  The call to the alarm centre came at 7.43 on the Monday morning. The woman calling in was hysterical and the operator had to repeat the question several times as she wasn’t speaking coherently. After many attempts she managed to say that there was a body in a sand bunker at the Mountain Hills Golf club. At the third missed stroke at the golf ball the woman had shovelled away enough sand to see part of the body. She had fainted with the shock. The alarm quickly went out to all units in Cyprus and a tired team of Forensic technicians immediately went - to the scene.

  Sam was the first of all the police to arrive since he had been out patrolling the area on the station’s motorbike. When he heard the alarm in the ear-piece he called the station just to be sure his colleagues had heard it. Both Carlos and Daphne were already in the big Land cruiser, on their way to the popular resort in Kathikas, up in the mountains 150 metres above sea level. To make sure the area did not get contaminated Sam immediately fenced it off with the police’s black and yellow tape. The crying woman who had found the body was sitting on a bench near the scene with her golfing friends. Sam had managed to get all the information from the group and had briefly interviewed them before the ambulance staff had taken over.

  Maria and Stavros had been working the whole night in Sten’s weapons’ cave. They had black circles under their eyes and their faces were pale. Both hid a yawn as they put on their rustling overalls and thin latex gloves. Stavros started taking pictures of the victim from every thinkable angle. While he was going around with the digital camera around his neck he also got an opinion as to what had happened to the victim. The eyes were missing in the face and the naked skin on the body was covered with sand. The possibility that the murderer had left any traces behind were slim since Stavros supposed they were dealing with the same offender as before.