Vanished?

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Vanished? Page 14

by Christer Tholin


  “OK, then that’s probably unlikely. Can you think of anyone else who might have an unusual interest in your daughter? Someone at school, on the street, or in the supermarket? Maybe someone who didn’t look Swedish?”

  Liv tried to recall. “No, I can’t think of anyone. But I can ask Mai-Li. She’s our au pair.”

  “Yes, you should do that in any case. But wait just a minute!” Liv had already started to reach for her cell phone and now stopped short.

  “You should also ask her some other questions,” Lars continued. “The kidnappers wrote that you’re being watched. Have you noticed anything that might be related to that—people walking past your home, cars parked nearby? Or was anyone tailing you on your way here this morning?”

  Martin and Liv reflected. Finally, Liv said: “I have to confess that I haven’t even thought about it. My mind has been completely focused on Saga.”

  “And I didn’t get here until late last night. I haven’t noticed anyone. I did watch extra carefully this morning to see whether anyone was lurking near the house or tailing us, but there was nothing suspicious.”

  “All right. Then, Liv, please call Mai-Li now and question her on both points: first, whether any suspicious-looking people had, for example, been watching Saga or had even spoken to her before the kidnapping; and second, whether she noticed anyone yesterday who was hanging around the house or near it and who didn’t fit in.”

  Liv nodded and brought her cell phone over to her desk. While she was busy with that, Martin leaned forward and quietly said to Lars, “I’m glad we can talk to you. Those were good points. So what do you think?”

  “Well,” Lars answered, “it’s already looking like a case of kidnapping and extortion. But we won’t know for sure until they send a ransom demand. That’s why I wanted to keep an open mind and consider the other options first.”

  They could hear Liv speaking with Mai-Li. Liv then lowered the phone and addressed them: “Mai-Li hasn’t noticed anything. She wants to think about it some more and then call back. She also asked if she should take a walk around the block to see if anyone is watching the house.”

  Lars shook his head. “I don’t know much about Mai-Li, but there’s the risk that she could attract attention. And if the kidnappers are watching you, then they also know who Mai-Li is. It would be better if it were someone completely neutral.”

  Liv spoke briefly into the phone again and then hung up. She returned to the table and took her seat. “And now?”

  “Lars thinks it looks like extortion. But without a ransom demand, we can’t be 100 percent sure. Lars, what do you think? I originally recommended to Liv that she call the police, but she doesn’t want to.”

  “Under no circumstances do I want anything happening to Saga,” Liv interjected. “And the kidnappers were very clear that the police were to be kept out of it.”

  Lars looked first at Martin and then at Liv. Liv appeared frantic.

  “Well,” Lars said, “it’s obviously your decision, Liv. I have just two more things to add. First, if it has to do with extortion, then it’s one of a handful of cases in present-day Sweden. There have been a couple of kidnappings, but they were mostly of adult men. The names Erik Westerberg and Fabian Bengtsson come to mind. In those cases, there was a ransom payment, and they caught the perpetrators later. The police were involved in one of the cases, while in the other, they didn’t call in the police until after the young man had been freed. Kidnappings of children for the purpose of extracting ransom are virtually unheard of. I think there was one case like that back in the sixties. Of course, there could be a dark figure, where the kidnapping never comes to light. But it doesn’t matter. The fact is that the police have not had much experience with cases of that sort, which obviously doesn’t mean that they can’t be helpful. Because that’s the other thing: the police have vastly more means at their disposal for tracking down the kidnappers and also for arranging and monitoring a delivery, for instance.”

  “What would you do, Lars?” Martin asked. “You have a daughter, don’t you?”

  “Yes, two, actually. Both are even younger than Liv’s girl. That’s why I can easily imagine what you’re going through, Liv. It must be horrible. I would also want to be dead certain that nothing happened to my child. The problem is that once you involve the police, you may no longer have 100 percent control over the situation. Suddenly, you’re dealing with a whole team of police officers and technicians, all of whom are informed and who have their own ideas and goals. There may even be a prosecutor thrown into the mix, and he’ll also want to have his say. That means that you’ll no longer be able to make your own decisions. So that, Martin, is why I can easily understand Liv’s position.”

  “OK. Thank you for your honest assessment. So then what do you recommend that Liv should do? Just wait it out and go along with their demands?”

  “We can do a bit more than that. I’m not here to pitch our services, but there are definitely a few things that we can do to support you. We could trace the origin of the email, for instance, and locate Saga’s cell phone. Then we could also help with the ransom delivery and so on. And if at any point we feel it would be better to call in the police, we can always do that, too.”

  Martin looked at Liv. “What do you think?”

  Liv brushed a troublesome strand of hair out of her face and wrapped it around her finger. “I’m not sure. Maybe a little help would be good. On the other hand, I don’t want to bring even more people into this. It just increases the chance of a leak.”

  “Well, it would be a small team. I could get Elin on board, so that’s someone you already know. And then I would have to inform my boss or at least give him a general idea. Any additional team members would just be performing technical tasks, and they wouldn’t need to know the background information. What’s most important is that you would be making all the decisions—for every move we make. We can give you advice and suggest ways of going about things, but we will do nothing without a stamp of approval from you.”

  “That sounds good to me,” said Martin. “What do you say, Liv? I know that I would feel better with that kind of support.”

  “Yes, all right. Let’s draw up a contract—or however you go about it.”

  “Well,” Lars said, “let me call my boss first, and then we’ll take care of the details.”

  39

  Lars wasn’t sure how Tobias would react. As far as he knew, they had never taken on a kidnapping case before. He had gone to his car to be able to talk it over in private. Luckily, Tobias picked up right away. Lars explained the situation.

  “Lars, that’s not exactly our line of work. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but I’ve worked with them both before, and it’s important to me on a personal level to help them.”

  “But that has nothing to do with our agency. And our experiences with those two weren’t exactly the best. You almost bit the dust, and you were out for four weeks. I have no interest in going through that again.”

  “Yeah, well, Martin and Liv couldn’t help that, Tobias. They were victims, too. And last I checked, Liv paid us a good amount of money for that job.”

  Tobias seemed to be thinking it over. “OK, fine. But the minute you smell danger, I want to know about it! And in that case, I reserve the right to terminate the assignment.”

  “Agreed. Thanks.”

  “You and Elin can set up the contract.”

  “Great. Can I also use Elin on the assignment?”

  “Yeah, she’s always griping about getting out of the office, anyway.”

  “Thanks.”

  Lars was relieved. He hadn’t promised them too much, after all. He immediately called Elin.

  “Elin.”

  “Hey, Elin. It’s Lars.”

  “Hey, ‘Splosion Man.” That was her new nickname for him. ‘Splosion Man was a video game action figure who used explosions to finish off his opponents. After the explosion in Gävle, Elin figured it suited Lars.
Lars thought it was in bad taste at first, but somehow he also felt flattered.

  “’So, yeah ... ‘Splosion Man needs a sidekick. How ‘bout it, Elin?” Lars had no idea whether the character even had a buddy, but it didn’t matter.

  “What? Seriously? Field work? Chasing crooks?”

  “Yeah, something along those lines. And it starts now. Draw up a standard contract for Liv Ulldahl: two associates, minimum three days. Then bring it with you right away. We’re meeting at Liv’s company in Vallentuna.”

  “Liv Ulldahl again? Already? Uh, and how am I supposed to get there? By cab?”

  “No, take one of the company cars. You’ll need it. And Elin, no ‘Splosion Man quips or the like around Liv and Martin! I don’t think they’d find that funny.”

  “Right, got it. I’ll be outta here in a flash.”

  “Don’t forget the contract!”

  “How could I?”

  She was gone.

  Lars stuck his cell phone in his pocket. He leaned back and took a deep breath. Somehow, this new case was strange, almost like deja vu: Martin and Liv as clients, he and Elin as a team, a kidnapping. The fact that Liv had suffered another blow like that, and so soon ... that wasn’t just bad luck. But there was no point in bemoaning the situation. Now it was time to plan and coordinate the next steps.

  Lars went back into the building. The rain had stopped, but it was still gloomy outside. The young woman at the front desk was on the phone. Lars signaled to her and proceeded past the desk to Liv’s office. He knocked and entered.

  Liv and Martin were standing by the window and looked at him intently.

  “All taken care of,” he said. “Elin is on her way with a contract. Then we can get cracking right away. But I suggest we discuss our initial measures now. You haven’t gotten any more emails, have you?” He gave Liv a questioning look.

  Liv shook her head. “No, I just checked again.”

  Lars sat down at the table, where he was joined by the other two.

  “The way I see it,” he began, “there are four clues that we can pursue: the emails, Saga’s cell phone, whoever may be watching you, and the school. There must be someone there who witnessed how Saga disappeared. She couldn’t have been all by herself during the break.”

  “That’s true,” Liv said, “but asking around at the school is not such a good idea. I told them Saga was sick.”

  “Right. But I’m sure you know which of her classmates she normally hangs out with. We could contact them at home.”

  “Yes, of course. Well, at most, that would be three or four. But what will you tell them?”

  “We’ll come up with something. For instance, that Saga told us some strange story and that we want to verify it.”

  “Yes, that could work. Except that they don’t know you at all.”

  “Right. That’s why you should do it—by phone. I don’t want you driving around the neighborhood and potentially ruining the plan.”

  Liv nodded. “All right, I can do that. But the girls don’t come home until early afternoon.”

  “OK. I suggest that the two of us do it together later. You can call, and I’ll listen, all right?”

  “Yes, sounds good.”

  “Great! One other thing: I’m assuming the kidnappers will be getting in touch by email, but if they end up calling you, you need to insist that they let you speak with your daughter. We need to know that she’s all right.”

  “Yes, I’ll do that. I want to do that, anyway ... my poor little girl.”

  Lars cleared his throat. He had one more question. How should he present it? Or should he just forget it? He decided to go ahead and ask.

  “Liv, I’ve had another thought. It may be completely off the wall, but I’d like to ask, anyway. Could there be any link between what happened to you in September and your daughter’s kidnapping?”

  Liv and Martin stared at him. Liv frowned and brushed another strand of hair from her face. At last, she looked over at Martin, who shrugged his shoulders. She turned back to Lars.

  “I don’t think so. What possible connection could there be? Thomas wanted to ensure the sale of the company. Even if I still can’t grasp the means he resorted to, the fact remains that he almost succeeded. But then the whole thing got way out of hand, and he was killed in the process. The police have confirmed that as well, so that settles the matter. Why? What are you thinking?”

  It was obvious that Liv had to get a grip on herself to be able to talk about it. She gulped, the corners of her mouth twitched, and she became teary-eyed.

  “I’m sorry to stir things up again, Liv. I just find it hard to believe that you’re the victim of a kidnapping for the second time in a matter of weeks. That’s why I asked the question. But you’re right. It’s obvious that your husband was one of the kidnappers, and it’s also been proven that he died in the explosion. But it’s possible that there’s someone else in the background, someone who may have even forced your husband to abduct you.”

  Liv stared at Lars, wide-eyed. “That hadn’t occurred to me at all. And you’re the first person to suggest anything like it. If that’s true, I might even find it comforting. It means I wouldn’t have been quite so badly mistaken about Thomas, after all.”

  “If there is someone else that we haven’t run into yet,” Lars added, “then there’s a possibility that person has made contact with you in some way. Has there been anything unusual to do with your husband or the sale of the company? A strange enquiry or phone call?”

  Liv thought hard. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders. “No, there’s been nothing. A lot of people have expressed their condolences, but there’s been nothing strange. And my notarized signature canceled the sale of the company. After that, I heard nothing more about it apart from a written confirmation that the contract was null and void.”

  “All right, thank you. If you think of anything else, please let me know immediately!”

  Liv nodded.

  “So where do we go from here?” Lars continued. “I would like to monitor your own and your daughter’s cell phones, both the communications and the locations. Is that all right with you, Liv? I’ll need both numbers for that and also the name of the provider. Could you write those down for me?”

  “Sure.” Liv stood and went over to her desk.

  “Is it that easy?” Martin asked.

  “No. The police can obviously do it without any major problems. Unfortunately, we can’t.”

  “So how do you plan on doing it?”

  “We’re associated with an IT firm, and there’s a guy there who can do that kind of thing. It’s not exactly legal, but it’s effective,” Lars said, winking. “As soon as Elin arrives, I’ll drive over there.”

  “Do you mind if I tag along?” Martin asked. “Otherwise, I’ll have nothing to do but sit around.”

  “Sure, that’s no problem as far as I’m concerned,” Lars replied.

  Liv came over with a slip of paper that had the information for both phones. Lars thanked her and excused himself to go make another call. Martin then told Liv about the hacker and that he wanted to go with Lars.

  “Is that all right with you, or would you prefer I stay here?” he asked.

  “Martin, if it’s all the same to you, I’d really appreciate it if you stayed with me. I don’t want to be alone when the kidnappers get in touch.” She looked at him imploringly.

  “You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that. Of course, I’ll stay with you.”

  40

  Lars took the Kista freeway exit. Carl was expecting him. It had been a while since they had seen each other. There had always been something enigmatic about the guy, which was why Lars had said nothing over the phone and had confined himself to asking Carl what they needed to trace the sender of the email. According to Carl, that was easy. Using Outlook, they could call up the email properties and see the so-called header, which contained all the information about the IP address, etc. Liv had printed it out, and Lars had brought it with h
im to show Carl.

  Meanwhile, Elin had also arrived at Liv’s office. Liv had signed the contract, and then Elin had driven over to her house. Lars had sent her with some instructions that would allow her to identify a potential lurker without being noticed.

  Lars turned into the industrial park near the center of Kista. There were a large number of technology companies there, including such large firms as Philips and Samsung. There were also a lot of smaller businesses that dealt with technology or IT. Lars was lucky enough to find a parking space near Carl’s company—another Volvo had just pulled out.

  On getting out of the car, Lars wasn’t paying sufficient attention and stepped in a puddle. He cursed and shook his left leg. His boot would keep out the water, but it had splashed in such a way that half his pants leg was wet. A woman was hurrying by and gave him a sympathetic look.

  Lars locked the car and crossed the street, studiously avoiding any more puddles. On making it to the building without getting his feet even wetter, he pushed open the glass door. He took the elevator to the sixth floor and rang the bell for IT Experts Support AB.

  A short while later, a young woman flung open the door and stood there staring at Lars. She was dressed in jeans and a hoodie, with a pair of Birkenstocks on her feet.

  “Hej. Who are you here for?”

  “Carl. He’s expecting me.”

  She turned to the left and called out in a loud voice: “Carl, visitor for you.”

  Carl came shuffling up. He was stocky, his hair was tied back in a long ponytail, and he was wearing horn-rimmed glasses.

  “Hej, Lars. Come on in!”

  Carl led Lars through an open-plan office with a minimum of twenty irregularly distributed cubicles. The whole place was buzzing. Some of the team members were on the phone. Others were sitting at their keyboards, frantically typing away. Carl’s spot was in a corner, and he had a corner desk with four monitors and two keyboards. He had offered Lars coffee, but Lars had declined. He wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. The whole atmosphere just wasn’t his thing—it was way too hectic.

 

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