Helene Tursten - Detective Inspector Huss

Charlotte escorted them to the entryway. Demonstratively she opened the door wide to show them out. Tommy stopped and looked at the gaudy cowboy boots without saying a word. He caught her eye and smiled knowingly. It was more than she could handle. Her hands were shaking when she grabbed hold of Tommy’s jacket and pushed him out.

Tauntingly he said, “Watch out, that could be assault on a police officer.”

“Fuck that! I’m going to report you! The von Knecht family isn’t just anybody! You’re going to lose your job!”

With all her might she slammed the door shut.

They said nothing to each other until they were sitting in the car. Tommy looked at Irene. “We were tough on her. What if she has a miscarriage?”

“It would be more the fault of all the alcohol and God knows what else she’s put in her body. And she won’t be reporting it to any lawyer. By the way-the cowboy boots. And the jacket. We have to find out who’s upstairs,” said Irene.

She started the car, made a “Göteborg U-turn,” and rolled down the street. When they were out of sight of the house, she stopped the car and asked, “Do you want the first shift, or shall I take it?”

“I’ll take it. If anything happens I’ll call you. Otherwise you can come back after you meet with the Narcs.”

“Aren’t you going to be there?”

“It’s better if you go. You were the one out in Billdal.”

“Yep, God knows I was. . Okay, we’ll do it like this. I’ll be at headquarters in about half an hour. It depends a little on the streetcars and buses.”

She climbed out of the car and headed off toward St. Sigfrid’s Circle.

BIRGITTA WAS the first person she ran into at the division. She beamed and waved Irene into her office. There was restrained excitement in her voice.

“I’ve been looking for you. You said you were going to question Charlotte in more detail. That stirred up something in the back of my mind. I began rummaging through the little I have on Bobo Torsson. And I found this!”

Triumphantly she pointed at a list of names. Her index finger stopped on the name Charlotte Croona. Eagerly she went on, “I was startled when I saw this name the first time. But I had forgotten all your society gossip and never fixed the name in my mind. When you started saying that Bobo and Charlotte had some closer contact, it clicked. This is the list of the people busted in the raid in nineteen eighty-nine, when Shorty went to jail!”

“You’ve got to be kidding! Did Jonny ask Shorty if he knew Charlotte?”

“Yes. He says he doesn’t have any idea who she is. But the interesting thing is that Charlotte was arrested for possession of half a gram of cocaine. She got off with a suspended sentence, since she didn’t have a prior record. I searched, but couldn’t find a thing on her after ’eighty-nine.”

Irene sat and tried to think. She told Birgitta that Tommy was staking out the place, trying to find out who Charlotte’s gentleman caller was.

Birgitta suggested, “Could it be the father of her child? If you’re right about Henrik really becoming sterile after having the mumps. Can we check that out?”

“No. We have no chance of getting hold of those records. I’m basing my suspicions on Sylvia’s reaction when I mentioned the possibility. And on ‘Paul Fig-Ball.’”

“‘Paul Fig-Ball’?”

Irene explained. Birgitta agreed that it was a long shot. But she had an idea. “What if Bobo Torsson is the father of Charlotte’s child? Maybe they had a relationship the whole time.”

“Possible. We’ll have to check that out somehow. Do we have time to eat before the meeting?”

“Sure, if we wolf it down.”

ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT Annika Nilsén and two inspectors from Narcotics were in place. Irene was taken aback when she saw them, and for a bewildering moment wondered if Nilsén had dragged along a couple of suspected dealers. But at the same time she knew that was how the undercover Narcs had to look in order to blend in. How great was the risk that they might actually blend in too well and start taking part in the activity they were assigned to monitor? To judge by the appearance of these two undercover agents, they were already a well-established part of Göteborg’s narcotics scene. Which of course was the intention. From Violent Crimes, there were Superintendent Andersson, Irene Huss, Birgitta Moberg, and Hans Borg.

The latter looked as if he would rather lie down and sleep off his lunch. He had put his chair in the farthest corner and now sat with his head tipped back and his eyes closed.

Andersson briefly introduced everyone. The two Narcs were Stig Bertilsson and Daniel Svensson. Irene would have guessed Cheech and Chong.

Andersson began by reporting on what had led Violent Crimes to Billdal. He spoke for a long time about their suspicions and the evidence of Bobo Torsson’s involvement in selling narcotics. Then he switched to talking about Bobo’s death in the parking lot at the Delsjön golf course.

“The techs determined that the bomb on Berzeliigatan and the bomb that killed Bobo were constructed on the same principle. In cach case the bomb was made from heavy iron pipe. The interesting thing is that it seems to be the same type of pipe, old-fashioned, heavy drainpipes, but of different dimensions. We had a good tip from a lady who lived in the building, but who wasn’t home when it went off. She arrived right afterward, broke down, and had to be taken to the hospital. But she’s okay now. Yesterday Fredrik met her by pure chance down on Berzeliigatan. They stood and watched as the men dug through the rubble. She started to ask how the bomb was constructed, Fredrik told me, and then she said something damned interesting. She had complained several times that there was a pile of old pipes left in the cellar from the renovation several years earlier. At that time all the drainpipes and water lines were replaced. But nothing happened. The pipes just stayed there. She had seen them as recently as two weeks ago.”

Irene waved her hand and was recognized. “It must be possible to dig down into the cellar and find those pipes. And the lady who saw the pipes might know approximately where to dig.”

Andersson nodded and rubbed his hands. “Precisely. That’s already been decided. But first we have to pull out von Knecht’s safe. How’s that going, Borg?”

Hans Borg jumped. He was unlucky enough to have his chair slip out from under him as he sat leaning against the wall. With a crash it hit the floor, and he banged his head. Cheech and Chong exchanged glances.

Borg rubbed his sore head and tried to collect his tattered dignity. Apart from these two things, he didn’t seem any the worse for wear. He picked up the chair and sat down again. Embarrassed, he said, “Excuse me. The boys are planning to pry the safe loose this afternoon, if all goes well. After that they’ll start digging for the pipes in the cellar. It’s going to take some time.”

Andersson interjected, “How long? How soon can they start digging down there?”

“Tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. If they know exactly where to dig.”

“Okay. See that the old lady is there to show them, so we don’t waste a lot of time searching in the wrong spot. Have you got anything else?”

“Yes. This morning that teacher at Ascheberg High School called. The one who loaned me a felt pen and paper in the parking garage when I needed to put up a note that we wanted tips if anyone saw anything. He called and said that he had come upon something. He’s a part-time teacher at the school and doesn’t have a parking place right outside the building. That’s why he’s allowed to use a spot in the parking garage, which is about a hundred meters down the street. Last Tuesday night he worked late, until five-fifteen. When he set off for home, he rushed toward the parking garage. That’s when he saw a light-colored car in the teachers’ parking area that he had never seen before. Since it was after school hours he decided not to worry about it. But he remembered it now, because the newspapers said that no one had seen anything unusual around that time. And that was unusual! Only the teachers can use these parking places until six at night. And he says that none of the teachers who usually park there has a light-colored car. He’s not sure of the exact color.”