Secrets?

by Christer Tholin

  Lars followed Maja’s suggestion. As he made the next turn, they spotted a silver Toyota parked by the side of the road.

  “That could be it. Stop here.”

  Lars stopped the car next to the Toyota, and Maja got out and looked inside. She tried opening the door, but the car was locked. Then she went over to the right front tire, felt around, and did the same thing on the other side. She had a look of triumph on her face as she held up the key. Lars was impressed. Maja pushed the button, and the Toyota unlocked. She opened the door on the driver’s side and crawled in. She looked around but found nothing. Then Lars climbed in on the passenger side and opened the glove compartment. There lay a wallet and smartphone, and inside the wallet was an ID.

  “This is Elin’s. So this is the car she took—probably a rental. And now we also know why we couldn’t reach her by phone. But why did she leave it in the car?” Lars asked.

  “Probably to be safe, in case someone nabbed her.”

  “Which hopefully hasn’t happened. All right, then let’s head to the cabin. We’ll leave everything here as we found it—just in case we miss Elin.”

  “Good idea.”

  They got out of the car, and Maja locked the Toyota and placed the key on the left front tire. Then they drove back to the beginning of the dirt road, and Lars turned onto it without delay. “Should we drive all the way to the cabin? We wouldn’t exactly go unnoticed.”

  “No, if I remember correctly from what Elin said before, there was another little turnoff. We can park the car there and sneak over to the cabin. I don’t want to lose any more time. We need to hurry in case something has happened to her.”

  “All right. It looks like Elin has also parked here before.”

  Lars careened around the bends to the fork, where he turned and parked the car by the side of the road, ready to go. He grabbed his backpack and got out.

  Maja came over to the other side of the car. “Do you want to take the road or go through the woods?”

  “Let’s take the road. It’s faster, and it will be easier on my leg. If someone comes, we can always hit the bushes.”

  Maja looked at his leg. “What’s wrong with it? Did you sprain it?”

  “No, it’s an old thing. Gunshot wound in the knee, from when I was with the police.”

  They set off on their way, moving quickly even if Lars had to make a vigorous effort to drag his leg behind him. They walked in silence, both of them lost in thought. Lars was still hoping to find Elin happily lying somewhere in the underbrush, her camera aimed at the cabin. But she had been gone more than four hours now, and that seemed very long.

  Ahead of them stood the cabin, with two cars parked out front. Lars headed to the left between the trees and signaled to Maja to follow. Under cover of the trees, they stole their way past the cars until they came to where they saw the small set of steps that led to the cabin entrance. Lars began to move again, this time around the nearest corner of the house. He scanned the edge of the woods along the hut but could spot nothing. If Elin was lying in wait somewhere, she was well concealed.

  The sound of voices suddenly came from the hut, as though some men were watching football and the players had just scored a goal.

  “Maja, you’re more agile than I am,” whispered Lars. “Can you sneak over to the window and look in?”

  Maja nodded and slunk away. Lars watched as she stole along the side of the house to the window, raised herself up, and peered inside. She didn’t look for long, but hurried back by the same way. Lars watched her anxiously.

  Maja had panic in her eyes and gasped: “They have Elin. She’s tied to a chair, and the guys have knives.”

  “Shit. Worst case.”

  “You can say that again. What do we do now?”

  “Call the police.” Lars took out his cell phone. “Damn it—no reception. You?”

  Maja looked at her cell phone and shook her head.

  “Maja, you’re faster than me—run back to the car! I think we had a connection there. Then call 112 and tell them that four men have taken a woman hostage and are holding her at knifepoint. Her life is in danger. They need to come now. Got it?”

  Maja nodded and was about to take off, but Lars held her back.

  “Wait,” he whispered. “After that, come right back. We’ll meet over there behind the stack of wood. All right? We may need to step in before the police arrive.”

  Maja gave him a thumbs up and dashed off.

  Lars walked slowly over to the woodpile that he had pointed out to Maja. From there, he had a good overview and would wait for her. He looked at his watch. It was shortly before 9 p.m., though still broad daylight outside. Now, one week before Midsummer, the sun would not be setting for an entire hour, and even then it would never get fully dark. That meant they had to be careful to avoid being caught.

  It wasn’t long at all before one of the men came out the front door. He was the tallest of them, and now he ran past the cars and into the woods. Lars ducked. Damn it all—had they noticed something? Lars stayed very still, then quietly took his backpack and opened it. As noiselessly as he could, he rummaged around and brought out the pepper spray. In Sweden, it was forbidden to have it for private use, but there was no denying that it was extremely effective. Lars took it with his left hand. Then he unhooked his brass knuckles from his belt and slid them onto the fingers of his right hand. Finally, he removed the knife from his belt, also with his right hand. Now he was armed and ready. If the tall guy happened to sniff him out, he’d be in for a big surprise.

  But as the man was returning from the woods, the others emerged and were leaving the cabin. It looked like two of them were carrying something—yes, it was Elin on the chair. It appeared that much of her upper body was bare. The men were all armed with knives, and the tall one shouted that he had found a good tree. What was that supposed to mean? Were they going to hang Elin? Lars braced himself. No way he could let that happen—not for all the world.

  There was a noise from behind. Lars turned around, spray in hand. It was Maja. He dropped his hand, relieved. “Did you call?”

  Maja nodded. She was out of breath. “The police are coming.”

  “Listen, Maja, these men have carried Elin into the woods and they’re heading to a tree. Every one of them has a knife. I don’t know what they’re planning, but it doesn’t look good. We need to step in. One of them is in the house right now. Can you take him out when he comes out?”

  Maja nodded. She pulled out her baton and extended it to its full length.

  Lars continued: “Your best bet is to go over there and wait for him by the Volvo. I’ll head over to the others, back there by that tree. See them? Follow me there as soon as you’ve knocked that guy down. Then we’ll tackle the other three and get Elin out of there. Agreed?”

  Maja nodded and darted over to the Volvo. No sooner was she in position than the first guy came out and yelled into the forest: “I found some scissors!”

  Lars rushed off to where the other three were—he would have to move fast. He could hear the fourth guy descending the steps, followed by a thud. For a second, he looked back, but the man was no longer in view. Maja had apparently succeeded.

  The next statement by the other men confirmed it: “Hey, Justus, what’s up? Did you get too excited and fall down?” shouted one of the men. The other two snickered.

  Lars approached them from the side and so far had gone unnoticed. But now there was nowhere to hide. The balding man was holding a rope and standing next to Elin, who was still bound to the chair. Lars recognized him as the one he had followed. The other two, including the tall one, were standing between Lars and Elin. It was time to attack. Lars burst in.

  “Hey, who the hell is that?” the man beside Elin bellowed, pointing at Lars. The other two turned, but Lars had already approached the first and decked him with his right fist. The guy fell backwards onto the ground. Lars had no time to deal with him, though: the tall guy was already headed his way. He lunged at Lars
with his knife, but Lars yanked out the canister and hit the spray button long and hard.

  “Aaah, fuck! What is that stuff?” Writhing in pain, the tall guy dropped his knife as he held both hands to his eyes. Now the balding man was on his way. He’d let go of the rope and was hurtling towards Lars. Where the hell was Maja?

  There she was. Maja leapt out and rammed the man in the side. Keeping her balance, she raised the baton, but the balding man had already rolled away and was back on his feet. He quickly checked things out, then turned around and bolted into the woods.

  “Come on, we need to free Elin. I’ll cut her loose. You keep those guys in check.” Lars ran to the chair and sliced the cable ties with his knife. Elin ripped the duct tape from her mouth with her first free hand.

  “Thanks! Am I glad you’re here. That was close—they were going to finish me off.”

  Lars was now done with the cable ties. All that was left was the rope around Elin’s leg. But it was too thick, and the knots were too tight—it would take too long to undo. Lars handed it to Elin: “You’ll have to carry it. Come on, let’s get the hell out of here before they’re back in business. We’ll run to my car.”

  Elin stood, grimaced, and sat back down on the chair. “Lars, I can’t run. My right leg is injured.” She looked up at him with a helpless expression.

  “I’ll carry you,” Maja broke in and took two steps toward Elin. “Come on, let’s go.”

  “No, wait! First, we have to go back to the cabin and free the girl,” Elin countered.

  “What girl?” Lars asked, surprised.

  “They’re holding a little girl hostage. They’ve done terrible things to her. Please! We can’t leave her behind,” Elin pleaded.

  Lars thought for a moment. “OK, then we’ll all go together. Under no circumstances can we separate. That’s the only way we’ll have a chance.”

  Maja laid Elin over her shoulder and walked to the hut, baton still in hand. Lars secured their retreat. The tall man was still kneeling on the grass and rubbing his eyes, while the other lay next to him, motionless. The balding man was nowhere in sight.

  Lars, Maja, and Elin made it safely back to the hut, where they saw the fourth man lying next to the BMW. He was moving slightly and seemed to be coming to. Lars aimed the pepper spray at him and waited until Maja and Elin had disappeared into the house. After that, he followed and locked the door. He could bolt it from inside, which he did right away. Then he walked down the hall to the main room and looked around: tall lighting fixtures, a computer, a kitchenette, and a naked little girl huddled on the couch. Behind her, a shattered window. Elin and Maja were sitting next to the girl, who was bleeding from her crotch and still looked totally numb.

  Elin had laid her arm around the child and was inspecting the metal collar around her neck. “This is secured by a screw. I need a screwdriver or a knife.”

  “Here.” Lars handed her his knife. “What happened to the window?”

  “Oh, that was my attempt to escape,” replied Elin.

  Just as she managed to remove the screw and open the collar, they heard a noise at the door. Someone was trying to open it from outside. The little girl stared at the hallway in terror.

  “Crap, that’s what I was afraid of,” said Lars. “At least one of them is already back on his feet.”

  Now someone was pounding against the door with a hard object.

  “That door won’t last too long. Is there somewhere we can hole up?” Lars was unsure that the sharp glass edges on the shattered window would keep the men out if they failed to break down the door.

  “There’s a little bedroom back there,” Elin answered.

  Lars walked over and examined the room. It had a bed, a nightstand, a chair, a wardrobe, and a small window.

  “Yeah, let’s all go in here. It’s better than the big room.”

  Maja took the little girl in her arms, while Lars went back to Elin and helped her up. Together with Lars, she hobbled her way to the bedroom. Then Lars shut the door, turned the key, and walked over to the wardrobe.

  “Maja, help me out. I want to barricade the door with the armoire.”

  Together, Lars and Maja pushed the armoire in front of the door. Lars assessed the situation: “It won’t hold them back forever, but it will buy us some time. At least, we have a better chance of defending ourselves in this room than in the big one.”

  Elin was sitting on the bed, with the girl beside her. She had wrapped the child in a sheet and laid her arm around her. Lars’s knife was lying next to Elin on the other side, and she had just finished using it to free her leg from the rope. The girl was staring blankly into space.

  “Now all we can do is hope that the police can make it here fast,” said Maja.

  “Did you call them? When was that?” asked Elin.

  “Right before we rescued you. Although I had to run practically all the way to the car before I got a connection.” Maja checked her smartphone. “So the call was twenty-three minutes ago. What do think, Lars, how long before they arrive?”

  “We have to figure on half an hour, anyway. And that’s only if they have an available unit. Otherwise, it takes even longer. Right now, they have a large contingent in Tyresö, where they’re searching for the girl. If we had known that the kid was here, we could have told them that. That would have bumped us to the top of their priority list.”

  “Can’t we call them again?” Elin asked.

  “How? There’s no reception here,” replied Maja.

  “There’s a telephone over there.” Elin pointed at the nightstand. There stood an old-fashioned telephone with a rotary dial.

  “Do you think it works?” Maja walked over and picked up the receiver. She raised her forefinger and grinned as they all heard the dial tone.

  “They definitely have Internet here, along with everything else they need for those awful pictures of theirs. I’m sure an Internet call would be no problem,” Elin explained.

  Maja dialed 112. Shortly afterwards, she was on the line.

  “Yes, hello, this is Maja Gustafsson. I called close to half an hour ago about an assault on a woman by four men—near Vidja. We just rescued the woman and discovered that the four men were also holding a little girl hostage. We’re assuming it’s the same girl who’s missing in Tyresö. We’ve barricaded ourselves in the cabin, but the four men are trying to break in right now, and we’re in urgent need of help ... yes, I’ll wait ... they’re on the way? ... OK ... thank you ... yes ... goodbye.”

  Maja hung up. “The police will be here soon, although I can’t say exactly when.” She looked at the others. “We’re going to make it.”

  Just then, there was a loud crash followed by a triumphant roar. The men had broken through the front door of the hut. From the next room came the sound of footsteps and voices—there were at least three guys. Lars noticed that the girl began to tremble. Elin held her close, but it didn’t seem to help.

  “They’re in the bedroom,” one of the men bellowed from the living room. Lars believed it was the tall one. Someone was working on the latch and then threw himself against the door. The armoire shook.

  “Let’s go! We can break this door down, too.” And they immediately started pounding against the door with something big and hard. The wardrobe shook with every blow, and on the fifth blow, the door made a loud crunch.

  Lars looked at the two women. “We’d better get ready. Elin, we’re pulling the bed forward. Then you and the kid can take cover in the corner. I want you out of the way.”

  Elin nodded, took the knife, stood with difficulty, and picked up the child. Maja and Lars pulled the bed forward and set it on its side. Then Elin and the child crept behind it and into the corner. Lars and Maja pushed the bed in front of them and then looked at each other and nodded: they were ready. They got into position, standing side by side in the middle of the room.

  The blows against the door were working—there was more and more crunching, and the door had already given way quite
a bit. One more hefty blow, and the guys were hooting.

  “We’ve almost got it. One more serious whack.”

  A short pause. Then the sound of a man lunging against the door. There was a good, loud crash as the wardrobe shook some more. Soon they would be in.

  Right at that moment, Elin spoke up: “Do you hear that?”

  Lars listened. Oh, yes, that was a good sound—a police car siren. And it seemed to be coming closer. Seldom had he been so happy to hear it.

  The men at the door had obviously heard it, too.

  “Shit, the pigs. Move it—clear out. Markus, take the PC.” There was a commotion outside, and the door slammed shut. Finally, both cars started, and afterwards all was still—except for the sound of the siren, which grew louder and louder. Lars exhaled. That was close.

  “Should we go outside?” asked Maja.

  Lars shook his head. “We’ll wait until the patrol car is here. Don’t want to find out that one of those guys is still lurking around here waiting for us.”

  Maja and Lars set the bed back up, and all four of them sat down on it.

  Maja embraced Elin. “Oh, girl, the things you get involved in. Shit, you have no idea how scared I was for you.” She stroked her back. “Where are you injured?”

  Elin took stock. “My thigh is mush. First, I crashed against a stack of wood after jumping through the window, and then that nutjob slammed it with the baton. I also have a bump on my head, and I’m bleeding here on my side, where a glass sliver went into me.”

  Maja examined the spots. “You need to see a doctor in any case.”

  Elin nodded. “Thank you both again for coming. I know I tried to go it alone, against my promise. I’m sorry.”

  “The main thing is I have you back.” Maja hugged Elin once more.

  Lars patted Elin on the shoulder. “You have my respect. Your instincts were right again. These guys really are the worst of the worst. I suspect that quite a few people will be thanking you for your initiative. Although it would obviously have been better if we’d done it together.”