Arne Dahl - Misterioso

Hultin frowned.

“I visited their cellar stronghold in Gamla Stan, without being allowed to enter the inner sanctum. The Guardian, David Clöfwenhielm, kindly informed me, in accordance with the motto of most fraternal orders, which is ‘obedience to higher powers,’ that a small breakaway group had been formed within the Order of Mimir. It’s called the Order of Skidbladnir, named for the ship that belonged the god Frey. It was supposed to be large enough to accommodate all of the gods and yet so small that it could be folded up and stuffed into a sack.”

“So what the hell does Mimir mean?” asked Chavez.

“Don’t you know your Nordic mythology?” said Hjelm.

“As you might have guessed, I’m better at old Inca mythology.”

“Mimir was the guardian of the spring of wisdom beneath Yggdrasil, the world tree. It was from that spring that Odin drank in order to become the wisest of all the gods.”

“Get to the point,” said Hultin.

“Twelve out of the approximately sixty brothers in the Order of Mimir formed the as-yet-unconsolidated Order of Skidbladnir. As I understand it, not everybody in the Order of Mimir appreciated the secession; it was viewed as a betrayal of sacred lifelong oaths. Four individuals were mainly responsible for the secession; one at the top, so to speak, and three others. They were Johannes Norrvik, Kuno Daggfeldt, and Bernhard Strand-Julén.”

Hjelm paused to study the effect of this revelation. No reaction. He went on.

“Johannes Norrvik, a professor of commercial law, is currently on an academic sabbatical in Japan. But the leading force behind the secession is now sitting in room 304, sniffing suspiciously at Jorge’s Colombian coffee beans. I think you know him, Hultin. The retired judge of the Svea Court of Appeals. Rickard Franzén.”

“Aha,” said Hultin forcefully, without changing expression.

“So what do you think? Should we regard this connection as sufficient reason to spend the night at the Franzén villa in Nockeby? The former judge is supposed to go out this evening, alone. And he won’t be home until late.”

Hultin sat in silence for a moment, running his index finger along his nose. “What do the rest of you think?” he asked without looking at anyone specific.

A democratic tactic , thought Hjelm, then said, “I can’t see any other clue that bears the same weight.”

“Me either,” said Norlander.

“Ultimately, it depends on whether we think a minor controversy within this type of organization is sufficient grounds for murder,” said Holm. “It seems a bit vague.”

Chavez nodded. Gunnar Nyberg said nothing as he stared down at the table.

“Gunnar?” said Hultin.

“Sure,” said Nyberg. “It’s just that I had other plans for tonight.”

“I’ll think about whether we can do without you. The rest of us, at any rate, will be going out there. Separately and incognito. Not a word to anyone. We don’t want the press lurking in the Franzén raspberry bushes. So shall we bring in the highly esteemed judge?”

“Use the intercom,” said Hjelm.

Hultin pressed 304 and said, “Come on in, Franzén. Room 300.” He went over to the whiteboard, now covered with scribbling, and pulled down the covering. “The last thing to fade away on old dispensers of justice is their eyesight,” he said.

The door opened, and the corpulent former judge of the Svea Court of Appeals made a stately entrance. He walked right over to Hultin and shook hands.

“Superintendent Hultin,” said Rickard Franzén at once, “I hope the years have healed the wounds between us.”

“I’ll need a rough sketch of the layout of your house and the surroundings,” Hultin merely replied, “and a description of how you’re planning to spend the evening. Don’t change your plans. Our man undoubtedly knows what they are. Is it possible to gain entrance to your house from the rear?”

Franzén studied him for a moment. Then he took a fountain pen out of his vest pocket, leaned forward, and began drawing on a blank piece of paper on the table.

“The house,” he said, pointing. “The pathway, road, and both neighboring houses. The trees, shrubbery, fence, gate. In here the stairs, vestibule, hallway, living room. My wife sleeps two floors up. A kitchen door opens onto the terrace in back. Here. There are never any cars parked on the road, so you should avoid parking there. I’m supposed to be at the home of my old colleague Eric Blomgren in Djursholm at seven o’clock. He’s someone else you know, Hultin. I always take a taxi out there and back. We play chess until around midnight, put away half a bottle of Rémy Martin, and reminisce about the old days. I have a feeling that we’re going to be talking about you tonight, superintendent. Was that all?”

“For the time being. Now I’d like to ask you to return to the other room and wait. Hjelm will be there in a minute to take another statement from you. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Rickard Franzén laughed loudly as he left Supreme Central Command. Everyone except Hultin stared after him in astonishment.

“All right,” said Hultin, his voice devoid of expression. “We’ll go in the back way, in case the killer is already out there somewhere, keeping watch. I assume it’s possible to gain access from some distance, through neighboring properties. And we need two men tailing Franzén in the taxi and out to Djursholm, just in case the pattern is broken. Chavez and Norlander in two cars. You’ll rendezvous out on Drottningsholmsvägen.”

They both looked disappointed.

Hultin went on, pointing at Franzén’s sketch. “Two of you will watch the front of the house from outside, one from each direction on this road. What’s it called?”

“Grönviksvägen,” said Hjelm.

“Grönviksvägen,” said Hultin. “It’s going to be a cold job. Söderstedt and Holm, with walkie-talkies in the most appropriate shrubbery.”

They too looked disappointed.

“Hjelm and I will be inside the house. We also need to keep watch on the old lady and the kitchen door and the windows on the ground floor. Do you think we can manage that on our own, or do we need Nyberg to help out? I’m afraid we’re going to need Nyberg. Do you think you can cancel your plans for tonight?”

“Sure, sure,” said Nyberg, frowning. “It’s a dress rehearsal.”

“Do you sing in a choir?” asked Holm.

“How’d you know that?”

“I do too. In Göteborg. Which choir is it?”

“The Nacka Church choir,” said the huge, lumbering Gunnar Nyberg, suddenly enveloped in a whole new light.

“Sorry,” said Hultin. “Dress rehearsal canceled. I’m sure you know your part. Okay, we’ll stop now. I suggest you go downstairs to the cafeteria and get something to eat. The operation starts at seventeen thirty, in a little less than an hour. Hjelm, I’d like to see you for a minute.”

Hultin and Hjelm remained in the room. Hultin was packing up his papers and said without looking up, “Good work, man.”

“Everything came together perfectly, if that’s what you mean.”

“That’s what I mean,” said Hultin, and exited the room through his mysterious door on the left.

He was lying in a sticky brown mire. He tried to get up but couldn’t, tried to crawl but couldn’t, tried to squirm forward, but couldn’t even do that. The more he moved and fought and struggled, the tighter the mud squeezed around his body, pulling him downward. He opened his mouth and was just about to scream when the brown murk started pouring into his throat. As his nose sank into the mud and his nostrils filled up and only when the horrible last minute of death by drowning remained, did he notice the stench for the first time.