The overflowing ashtray on the coffee table had just swallowed up his last fag, which gave him a legitimate reason to head down to the 7-Eleven at Mariatorget and get a bit of fresh air.
As soon as he opened the front door and stepped out into the street he could feel their eyes on him. He twisted his head round, checking every possible angle, but obviously they were far too professional to give themselves away so easily.
Even though it was still early, there were already four or five people squeezed into the shop. A gym-pumped guy with tattoos over by one of the shelves gave him a quick glance and HP froze mid-stride. He was almost certain hed seen the man before. And his pretence of innocently browsing the picknmix sweets convinced him: raspberry jellies didnt exactly fit into a low carb, high fat diet. HP had no choice but to turn on his heel and get out of the shop at once. Really he ought to have gone straight back to the flat, but without cigs he was finished.
Instead he carried on down Hornsgatan towards the Slussen junction, trying hard to resist the temptation to drift through the morning traffic just to give his pursuers a challenge. The walk took less than five minutes, but in spite of the fact that it wasnt even particularly warm, his t-shirt was sticking to his back and he had to sit down on one of the benches outside the underground station to catch his breath.
He was worn out, not only physically, and it wasnt until he was fishing through his pockets for a cigarette that he remembered a lack of fags was the reason for this little outing in the first place. There was a newsagents just inside the doors to the station, and he glanced round a couple of times before getting to his feet and heading in that direction.
A train must have just arrived, because in the middle of the doors he was suddenly confronted with a great tide of people on their way out.
Office workers in suits and ties, early bird tourists and perfectly average Swedes on their way to work. He put his chin to his chest and elbowed his way through the crowd, ignoring the disgruntled complaints as he did so.
Out of nowhere he was shoved in the side and almost lost his balance. He looked up angrily, but faces were streaming past on all sides and it was impossible to tell who had pushed him.
Then the rush was suddenly over and he was left standing in the ticket hall. Instead of making his way to the little kiosk, he stood there while his brain tried to find the right synapse. One of the faces that had gone past had seemed familiar as well. The bodybuilder in the 7-Eleven might just have been a phantom, but this was something else. The eyes, forehead, the set of the face, it was all horribly familiar. But there was something that wasnt right, something missing that was stopping him putting the pieces together.
It took him another few seconds before his brain finally made the right connection.
The beard!
He took a couple of hesitant steps back towards the doors, then a few more, faster now. He rushed out into the square and even leapt onto one of the benches to get a better view, his head spinning like some fucking Linda Blair.
Erman! he yelled. Ermaaaaaan!
But all he could see were peoples backs as they hurried away from him, none of them any more familiar than all the others.
He opened his mouth to shout again, but then he noticed the looks he was getting from people around him. In spite of the bustle of the square, a small crowd of onlookers was gathering around the bench he was standing on, as if they all wanted to see what was happening but didnt dare get too close.
A couple of teenagers were pointing at him and giggling, a dad was dragging a small child closer, and some German Stieg Larsson tourists already had their cameras out.
He caught sight of his reflection in one of the stations glass doors. Bright red face, hair all over the place, eyes bulging like ping pong balls. Add a week or sos stubble and his shabby clothes, and it was hardly surprising that people were staring. He looked totally fucking mad!
Schwedisch Dummkopf, ja, ja – sehr gut!
Embarrassed, he got down quickly from the bench, fixed his gaze on the cobbles and did his best to blend into the crowd as he headed off towards Guldgränd.
He had been mistaken.
He must have been mistaken.
For the umpteenth time, his raging imagination had broken its reins and galloped off.
That had to be it.
Theres no such thing as ghosts, he muttered.
No
Such
Thing
As
Ghosts
You understand that this contravenes any number of regulations, Normén?
She nodded.
Absolutely. Like I said, Ludvig, I really appreciate …
Well, enough of that. Youve got half an hour or so, then I want everything back by the time Ive finished eating. Sunessons in charge of stores today, Im sure you remember him?
Transferred from Norrmalm? Sure. He worked as a duty officer for a while.
Good, there wont be any problems there, then. Just smile and wave … The corridors will be full of the lunchtime crowd, so therell be plenty of people about. But Sunessons mean, he always brings a packed lunch. Probably doesnt want to miss the lunchtime horse-race …
Runeberg leaned forward and carefully pushed a folded copy of Metro towards her.
This is all you need …
And youre quite sure its there?
Yes, I checked the register of confiscated property after you called.
Good!
For a moment she wasnt sure what to say. Even though it hadnt been mentioned explicitly, she was pretty sure she knew why Runeberg was helping her. He was best mates with Tobbe Lundh, and godfather to his son, Jonathan. The same Jonathan who, together with his friend Marcus, had created the internet phantom MayBey whom they then used to torment her for months, spreading rumours and gossip about her online, and even making her think Henke was in serious danger, until she eventually worked it all out and put a stop to the whole charade.
She really only had herself to blame: she was the one who had embarked on an affair with Tobbe Lundh, even though she knew he was a married man with a family.
Either way, Runeberg seemed to feel partly responsible for what had happened.
She suddenly found herself regretting that she was exploiting his guilty conscience like this. The entire plan was actually pretty idiotic from the start … Stigssons instructions had been unambiguous:
For the duration of this investigation into terrorism, obviously you can have no contact whatsoever with your brother. I repeat: no contact whatsoever. Is that clear, Normén?
But she had no choice. She had to get into that safe deposit box before Stigssons team got there. She only needed a quick look, then, once she had assured herself that there was nothing in there that could make things even worse for Henke, she could theoretically even tip them off about the boxs existence. Give them a bit of help with the investigation. At least that was what she was trying to tell herself …
Runeberg seemed to notice her hesitation.
Off you go, Normén, the clocks ticking and my foods about to arrive …
A waitress was approaching with a heavy tray, and Rebecca stood up before the young woman reached their table; she picked up the newspaper and put it in her shoulderbag.
Thanks again, Ludvig, Im really …
He smiled and shrugged.
No problem, Normén. Now, off you go.
By the way, he added when she had started to walk off towards the door, if this all goes to hell Ill probably be looking for a new job, so you can expect to hear from me …
A brisk three-minute walk took her to the staff entrance.
She held the card against the reader beside the turnstile, holding it upside down on purpose so no-one would see Ludvigs photograph on the front.
The guard gave her a quick glance, then nodded in recognition.
First obstacle cleared.
She followed the glass walkway between the buildings, holding her head up and trying to look like she was having a perfectly ordinary day at work. That shouldnt be too difficult, seeing as she had actually worked there until last winter. In theory she was still employed at the Security Police, so there wasnt that much difference.
Yet she still felt like a stranger, someone who didnt belong. She couldnt help glancing at the little spherical cameras on the ceiling, and did her best to stay as far away from them as possible.
She turned off right into a yellow-painted corridor. At the far end she stopped at a broad metal door with a small white sign.
CONFISCATED GOODS DIVISION.
She held Ludvigs card up against the reader.
A bleep, but nothing happened. Shit!
She tried again, slower this time.
Another bleep, and this time the lock began to whirr.
Calm now, Normén!
She stepped inside a small reception area. A short distance behind the counter sat an older, slightly fat man with a pudding bowl haircut. A television screen fixed to the wall was showing a horse-race, and the man pulled an irritated face when he was obliged to look away from it.
Hi, Sune, she said, with exaggerated bonhomie.
No, no, you stay where you are, Ill be okay on my own, she went on when the man made a half-hearted attempt to stand up.
Just need to double-check some stuff we seized last week.
Good, the overweight man muttered, letting his heavy frame sink back in his chair. Dont forget to sign yourself in …
He waved his hand towards the counter as he turned his attention back to the television screen.
Rebecca pulled the register over and scrawled something illegible in place of her name.
Done!
Without looking away from the screen, Sunesson raised one hand and pressed a button on top of his desk. The door to Rebeccas right buzzed and few moments later she found herself in a large storeroom filled with racks of metal shelving.