There were still a few things he needed to take care of to make it look like Bosse had performed the kidnapping alone, which would include demanding the ransom money from Thomas himself. After that, Thomas would be free of his problems and could finally start all over again. It would be worth it. It would have to be worth it. He could see no other solution, even if he had never wished for things to turn out this way. Liv was his wife, after all, and he still had feelings for her in spite of their differences. But that didn’t matter. What had his mother always said? You had to make sacrifices if you wanted to achieve anything. And Thomas was ready to do that. The time had come for his streak of bad luck to end.
29
According to the GPS, they were not that far behind the pickup truck. Once on the freeway, they were able to narrow the gap between them. They had driven to Gävle and then turned onto the E4 motorway heading to Stockholm. Soon after that, they exited the freeway again and found themselves back in a wooded area. The blinking dot on the screen had come to a standstill a few minutes earlier, and it looked as if the Porsche had reached its destination. Unfortunately, they hadn’t managed to close in enough for a visual, so Lars could do nothing more than hope that the pickup truck was there as well.
Although the GPS showed the tracker’s location, because of their need to remain undetected, Lars and Elin would have to find their way there without it. Up to that point, it had been easy: first, there was the county road to Falun and then the freeway. But after that, with the countless turnoffs, it became more difficult. Now, however, it was getting easier again as they neared their goal.
“Slow down, Elin. I don’t want to attract attention.”
Elin let up on her speed, but Lars could see that she was not happy. Her aim had been to catch sight of their quarry.
“It has to be right around here,” Lars said, “up ahead on the road to the right. But we’re not turning in there. I’m guessing that leads to a house, and we don’t want them to notice us. Better to keep driving a bit. We can park over there on the left.”
Elin followed his instructions and then turned off the engine. “Now what do we do?”
“We’ll sneak up there and watch. We’ll take the binoculars with us. We need to find out for sure whether Martin and Liv are there.”
The two of them set off down the road. Many of the houses were right on the street, but neither Lars nor Elin saw any cars. Either the residents were out, or he and Elin were looking at vacation homes that were vacant for the time being. They turned onto the narrow road that was supposed to lead them to the GPS tracker. Here, too, the houses stood on either side of the road, and most of them were quite small. The plots, however, were large enough that the houses had a fair amount of space between them. After Lars and Elin had walked about 200 meters, they finally spotted the end of the road. There stood a house on a large parcel of land, and in front of the house sat both cars.
“Elin, move to the side—quick! We’ll walk across the properties from here.”
Together, they left the road and crept through the undergrowth. The land that the houses stood on had been left in its natural state, with the trees and bushes almost as dense as the forest. As was the norm in Sweden, there were no fences here. It was anyone’s guess as to where one property began and the other ended, although the dividing line usually ran along the poles for the power and telephone lines, which always led from the road to two adjacent houses.
Lars and Elin did their best to remain out of sight and eventually arrived at the neighboring lot. There, they came upon a stack of firewood piled in a circular form and crowned with a tarpaper covering that came to a point in the center. From there, they had a clear view of the two cars and the house behind them. They crouched down to the left of the stack, and Lars pulled out the binoculars.
The pickup truck was parked with its tail end facing the house. The Porsche stood next to it and was facing the other way. A light was on inside the house, and they could make out the silhouette of a person walking around the room.
Lars and Elin kept quiet and remained hidden. After some time, the light went out and the door of the house opened. Two men emerged, and through the binoculars, Lars could see that both men were carrying a rifle and wearing a mask. Lars held his breath. Elin squeezed his arm. He raised his index finger to his lips, and Elin nodded.
The two men walked to the pickup truck, and one of them opened the hatch. One by one, two people climbed out of the truck, their hands in the air. The first was Martin without a doubt. The second was a woman with shoulder-length blond hair—probably Liv, although Lars couldn’t see her face. The four of them slowly entered the house: first, one of the men; then Martin, followed by the blond woman; and finally, the other man. The door closed behind them. Since the light in the house was now off, Lars was unable to see what was going on inside—it was darker in there than outside.
He turned to Elin. “Did you see that?”
Elin nodded.
“I recognized Martin. And the woman had to be Liv. Elin, it’s time. We need to call the police. Go back a ways, maybe to the nearest house, and call 112. Tell them that two people are being threatened with guns and that they were taken out of a car and escorted into the house. But no names for now!”
Elin nodded once more. “But I have to give them mine, don’t I?”
“Of course. Otherwise, they won’t take your call seriously.”
“What do you plan on doing in the meantime?” she asked.
“I’ll sneak up to the house. If it looks like an emergency, I may have to step in. But I hope we can just let the police handle it. Tell them to hurry!”
Elin dashed off.
Lars crept on all fours, first to the pickup truck and then to one of the cabin windows, where he cautiously peered inside. There was no one in sight. The view was of the main room of the cabin: a living room, kitchen, and dining room in one. To the right, by the rear wall beside the kitchenette, was an open door. Behind that were probably additional rooms into which all four people seemed to have disappeared. Lars waited. It was a good five minutes before anyone returned. He quickly drew back his head to avoid being seen. Then he squatted down and watched through the lower part of the window. One of the men had just come into the room, followed by the other. All of a sudden, the second one hauled off and bashed the other with his gun, and the first man collapsed in a heap. Lars stared as though riveted to the scene—this kept getting better and better.
The second man was now bent over the one on the floor and binding him with duct tape. Then he dragged him over to the kitchenette. He laid the other man’s rifle on the dining table, took his own gun, and headed for the front door. Lars needed to hide, so he leapt around the corner of the house. He had barely made it to the side of the house when he heard the door open. As he peered around the corner, he saw the man walk to the Porsche and open the door. He laid his gun in the car and took a silver case from the back seat. Then he carried the case to the house and disappeared inside, leaving the front door open.
Lars waited a moment, but the man didn’t return. Lars then slunk over to the window and peered inside to see what was going on. The man had apparently disappeared into one of the back rooms again, and the case was nowhere in sight. Lars waited. He was feeling great. His adrenalin had surged, and he was tense but focused—just like old times.
Finally, the man came back. Lars pulled away from the window and crept over to the door, positioning himself behind the panel. He had made up his mind. It looked like the man—probably Thomas Lind—was planning to abscond. He was unarmed and apparently felt completely safe. The moment had come to intervene.
Lars heard the man’s footsteps coming closer, so he prepared himself. As the man turned to close the door, he was startled to see Lars standing there. But it was too late. Lars executed a perfect karate chop, landing it right on the carotid artery. Good to know he could still do that.
The man slumped down without a sound. Lars pulled some cable ties out of
his pocket and used them to tie the man’s hands behind his back and bind his legs. Then he grabbed him by the armpits and dragged him into the house. He laid him beside the sofa and removed his mask. Yes, that had to be Thomas Lind. At least, he was breathing—Lars had feared he had struck him too hard.
Lars then cautiously made his way to the kitchenette. There was the other man, still bound and lying on the floor. Lars took the rifle from the dining table and walked through the open door to the rear of the house, where a corridor led to several rooms. He opened the first door. It was a child’s room with a large teddy bear and a Playmobil landscape. There was no one in it. He went to the next room. This one was a bedroom with a double bed. And lying upon it were Martin and the woman, both bound and gagged and both of them staring at Lars, wide-eyed. Lars fetched the knife from his pocket, flicked it open, and went over to Martin first. He set the knife down, and with a single, quick tug, he ripped the duct tape from his mouth.
“Wow, thanks! Thank God you’re here, Lars.”
“Listen, Martin. I’ve managed to incapacitate two men. Were there only two, or are there more?”
“No, we only saw two. Until this morning, it was only one.”
“OK, good. Let me cut off your ties.” Lars retrieved the knife and cut carefully through the tape to avoid injuring Martin. “Is that Liv?” he asked, when he was done.
“Yes. She also speaks German.”
Lars turned to the woman and set about freeing her as well.
“Tack så mycket!” Liv exclaimed, relieved and grateful.
Martin pulled the rest of the tape from his wrists and stretched his limbs. Both he and Liv looked worn out.
“We’ve informed the police,” Lars told them, “although I have no idea how long it will take them to arrive, and I’d rather get you out of here right away. Our car is about 200 meters from here. Can you manage that?”
Both Liv and Martin nodded. Lars started making his way to the door, carrying the rifle with him. Martin and Liv pulled on their jackets, which had been lying at the foot of the bed. They followed Lars through the hallway and into the living room.
“Now don’t be frightened! The two men are lying on the floor in here, but they’re both tied up and unconscious.”
As Liv and Martin followed Lars through the living room, they glanced at the men on their way by. On seeing the second, Liv stopped in her tracks and clasped her hands to her mouth in horror.
“No! That’s my husband. How could he do this to me? It doesn’t make sense.”
Martin placed his arm around her. “I’m so sorry, Liv,” he said. “But that is what we were thinking. Do you want to talk to him?”
“No! I want to get out of here. Let’s go to the car, like Lars suggested.”
Lars carefully scanned the area before stepping outside. Since all was clear, the three of them hurried down the road to the main street.
“Lars!” Elin met them on the road as she was coming from the neighboring property. “Is everything all right?”
Lars answered her in English: “Yes. These two people are Martin and Liv. This is my colleague Elin. She’s the one who called the police.” He turned to Elin. “What did they say? When are they coming?”
“They didn’t give any specifics except to say that they would send a patrol car right away. What happened to the two guys?”
“Both out of commission. Let’s get to the car.”
All four of them walked in silence as they headed to the street and then veered right to go to the Volvo. Martin and Liv got in the back.
“What do we do now?” Elin asked.
“We wait for the police to arrive. At that point, we’ll probably have to make our initial statements.”
Liv felt her jacket. “I don’t have my cell phone. Or my wallet.”
“Same here,” Martin added.
“You can use my cell phone,” Elin offered.
Liv gratefully accepted. She wanted to call her children.
After pondering the situation, Lars said: “I’m going back in there one more time. I want to make sure there’s no chance those two guys can free themselves. I can look for your cell phones at the same time.”
“Are we safe here?” Liv was feeling uneasy.
“Yes, I think so. Lock all the doors, and if someone comes, Elin will simply drive off. Understood?”
Elin answered for all of them. “Yeah, understood.”
Back at the cabin, Lars found the two men still unconscious. Their ties had held fast, but to be safe, Lars also bound the man in the kitchenette with cable ties, which were harder to break than the duct tape that was binding his hands and feet. Then he dragged the man to the sofa, tied both men to its legs, and made sure there were no sharp objects within reach. Once that was done, he searched for the wallets and cell phones but found nothing. Then he noticed a parka lying on one of the armchairs. He felt inside the pockets—yes, there was something there. He dug out two cell phones and two wallets, shoved them in his pockets, and left the house once more.
Just as he made it to the pickup truck, the patrol car pulled up. Lars laid the rifle on the ground and slowly walked toward the patrol car. The car stopped, both doors opened, and two policemen got out and drew their weapons.
“Hands behind your head! On your knees!”
Lars did as he was told. He knew the procedure. One of the officers went over and frisked him. He found the cell phones but no firearms and seemed satisfied. He picked up the gun.
Lars decided to speak. “I’m Lars Olsson, private detective. My colleague was the one who called the police. The two kidnappers are inside the house, and both are tied up. As far as I can see, there’s no one else there. We’ve freed the hostages.”
“OK. Stay with my partner. I’ll check the house.”
The first policeman walked to the front door. Lars stood up with considerable effort and started moving toward the police car. He had barely taken three steps when he heard a deafening blast. A shock wave gripped him from behind and catapulted him within inches of the patrol car. Suddenly, all was still. Then he heard a loud peal, like the sound of a giant bell. He saw smoke and blazing particles floating above him. The other policeman came out from behind the car door and helped him up. The policeman was talking, but Lars could hear nothing. He turned around. The house was in flames, and the front wall had fallen on top of the pickup truck. Burning objects were strewn all around, and a bush had caught fire. The policeman pulled Lars away from the flames and behind the patrol car. Then he pointed to the road. He was holding his radio to his mouth and appeared to be speaking with someone, but all Lars could hear was a loud clanging sound. Right at that moment, there was a second blast as the pickup truck’s tank was blown to bits. Lars’s breath was knocked out of him, and he was thrown to the ground again. Then something struck him from behind, and everything went black.
30
It was a total inferno. Everything was on fire. At first, Elin had been relieved that the patrol car came so quickly. She had introduced herself to the police, described the situation, and shown them the way to the cabin. Her main concern had been how long she should stay—she was slowly getting hungry. Martin and Liv had also wanted to leave. But then, all hell broke loose: first one explosion, then a second. The flames and smoke could even be seen from the street. Elin didn’t hesitate for a second but immediately took Martin and Liv in the Volvo and drove back up the road to the house.
Upon their arrival, there was third blast: a ball of fire was rising into the air right where the Porsche had stood. The patrol car was in front of them, and between it and the Volvo was a large piece of metal. Elin quickly drove over to the neighboring house, left the Volvo there, and flung open the car door. The air was so thick with smoke that it burned and stung. She raced toward the burning house, and as she passed the metal piece, she noticed two men lying behind it. One was the policeman; the other was Lars. She knelt down beside him and carefully turned him over. He was breathing but unconscious, and
the back of his head was bleeding. She had to get him out of the danger zone.
“Martin, can you help me?” She looked back. Martin had gotten out of the car and was looking around in disbelief. Liv was still sitting in the car as though frozen, apparently unable to budge.
“Yes, coming!” Martin finally got himself to move.
“Come on—we have to get Lars to the car! Help me pull him over there. But be careful! I don’t know how badly he’s hurt.”
Together, they lifted Lars by his upper body and dragged him to the Volvo. There, they laid him down, and Elin placed him on his side, bent his knees, and tucked one arm under his head. That was how you did a stable side position, wasn’t it?
“OK, now we still have to get the policeman!”
They ran back. The officer was in the process of getting up. He seemed to have just come to.
“Are you OK?” Elin asked.
The policeman stared at her blankly. He was still in shock.
“Martin, will you take him to the car? I’ll get the patrol car out of here. Otherwise, it will also get blown to bits.”
Martin helped the officer to his feet as Elin examined the piece of metal. It had to be the hood from the pickup truck. She figured she should be able drive over it. Time was running out. There was not much left of the house, and what did remain was in blazes. Both cars were in flames as well, and the fire had spread to several trees and bushes, one of which was dangerously close to the patrol car. Elin went to open the door, but the handle was too hot, and she yanked back her hand and blew on it. Then she pulled the sleeve of her jacket over the other hand—her right one—and opened the car door. She got in and sat down. Luckily, the key was in the ignition, so she started the car and put it in reverse. As she glanced in the rearview mirror, she could see Martin helping the policeman over to the neighboring property. The officer was limping and leaning on Martin.
Now the coast was clear. Elin started off slowly in reverse, and as soon as she felt the car moving straight back, she hit the gas full throttle. The car lurched backwards and rocked across the hood of the pickup truck. Then the tires landed firmly back down on the dirt road. Elin drove a bit farther down the road and onto one of the properties, now safely away from the fire. She climbed out and ran back to the others. The policeman was leaning against the Volvo.
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