Ларс Кеплер - The Rabbit Hunter

Rex swerves again as an ambulance passes by silently, blue lights flashing.

He shudders and lowers his speed.

After Södertälje the traffic gets thinner and the highway is almost empty.

Rex speeds up again, passes a tranquil lake, and then there’s nothing but forest.

He looks at the GPS and sees that the turn-off for Nykvarn is five kilometres away. Then he’ll have to make his way to an isolated place called Tubergslund.

He passes a white van with a sheet of cardboard taped across its rear window, turns the indicator on and is about to pull back into the right-hand lane when he sees a thin figure trying to hitchhike on the other side of the highway.

Realising that it’s Sammy, Rex reacts instinctively and pulls off onto the gravel at the side of the road, braking so hard that the tyres slide across the uneven surface.

The van driver lets out a long blast of his horn as he drives past.

Rex gets out of the car without closing the door and runs back along the hard shoulder. He waits until a white bus has passed before rushing across the two lanes. He walks down the tall grass divider as a series of cars drive past. He quickly dashes across the other lanes, then starts running after Sammy.

A huge articulated lorry makes the ground shake. The turbulence once it’s passed swirls rubbish and dust into the air around him.

He tries to run faster when he sees Sammy up ahead, lit up in the headlights of the lorry as it thunders past. His thin frame turns red for a few seconds in the glow of its rear lights.

‘Sammy!’ Rex shouts, and stops running, gasping for breath. ‘Sammy!’

His son turns around, sees him, but keeps his thumb up as the next car approaches.

Rex hurries on, panting, sweat running down his back.

‘Sorry. I’m so sorry, I fell asleep...’

‘I was relying on you,’ his son says, and keeps walking.

‘Sammy,’ Rex pleads, trying to get him to stop. ‘I don’t know what to say... I don’t want to admit it, but the truth is that I’m an alcoholic. It’s an illness, and I had a relapse earlier this evening.’

Sammy turns around and looks at him at last. His face is pale and he looks exhausted.

‘I’m ashamed,’ Rex says. ‘I’m so ashamed, but I’m doing my best to deal with it.’

‘I know, Dad, and that’s really good,’ his son replies seriously.

‘Did your mum tell you I’m going to AA meetings?’

‘Yes.’

‘Of course she did,’ Rex mutters.

‘I assumed you didn’t want to talk about it,’ Sammy says.

‘I just want to say... I haven’t been taking it seriously, but I will be from now on.’

‘Yes.’

‘I’m bound to fall off the wagon again, but at least now I’m admitting I’ve got a problem, and I know it’s hurt you...’

His voice breaks and hot tears spring to his eyes. Cars rush past, lighting up Sammy’s face briefly.

‘Can we go home?’ he asks, and sees the hesitant look on Sammy’s face. ‘I don’t mean I should drive. We can walk to Södertälje and get a taxi from there.’

They start walking together as a police car passes by on the other side of the highway. Rex turns around and sees it stop right behind DJ’s car.

Verner Sandén leans back in his chair and looks at Saga, who is standing in front of his large desk.

‘I know how the Security Police work,’ she says quietly, putting her pistol and ID card on the desk.

‘You’re not being fired, you’re just on leave,’ Verner says.

‘There’s no way—’

‘Don’t get angry now,’ Verner interrupts. ‘I can’t deal with that.’

‘There’s no way in hell that I’m going to let a murderer keep killing just because it suits the Security Police,’ she concludes.

‘That’s why we’re paying for you to go off to the Canary Islands.’

‘I’d rather take a shot in the back of the neck,’ she says.

‘Now you’re just being childish.’

‘I can accept the fact that we’re saying the Foreign Minister died of natural causes, but I can’t let this go. That’s out of the question.’

‘Janus is in charge of the investigation,’ Verner explains.

‘He told me he’d been put in charge of the logistics surrounding the funeral.’

‘But after that he’ll be picking up where you left off,’ he says.

‘That doesn’t exactly scream high priority to me.’

Verner adjusts some papers in front of him, then clasps his hands together.

‘There’s no need for you to get angry,’ he says. ‘I think it will do you good to get away for a while, get a bit of distance from—’

‘I’m not angry,’ she says, taking a step closer to him.

‘Saga, I know you’re disappointed about the operation at the marina,’ he says. ‘But the upside is that this has led to us getting an increased budget, and that means we’ll be able to fight real terrorists much better.’

‘Great.’

‘We’re already getting requests from other security services to share our experiences.’

‘So you’re playing with the big boys now,’ she says with a smile, as irritable red spots start to appear on her forehead.

‘No... well, yes, we’re at least in the same playing field,’ Verner confirms.

‘Fine. Then I need to keep working,’ she says.

‘You had information on your computer that jeopardised the confidentiality of the operation. That’s a serious offence against the democratic state.’

‘I know what confidentiality is,’ Saga snaps. ‘But the Foreign Minister is dead — isn’t he?’

‘He died a natural death,’ Verner points out.

‘Who’s going to find the killer?’

‘What killer?’ he asks, looking at her without blinking.

‘Absalon was sliced open in front of his wife and children by the same—’

‘That’s very sad news.’

‘By the same killer.’

‘Janus doesn’t think there’s any connection between the deaths — which is why we’re having to deprioritise the investigation.’

‘I have to keep looking,’ she says in an agitated voice.

‘OK, so keep looking.’

‘No damn holiday.’

‘Fine... but you have to work with Janus.’

‘And Joona,’ she adds.

‘What?’

‘You promised Joona an unconditional pardon.’

‘No,’ he says.

‘Don’t you dare lie to me,’ she says threateningly.

‘If you’re referring to confidential material, I must remind you that—’

She sweeps her hand across his desk, sending his phone and a stack of reports flying.

‘I’ll continue the investigation with Joona,’ she says.

‘Why are we even talking about him?’

‘Joona understands killers, I don’t know how, but he does. And now you’ve sent him back to Kumla.’

‘You’re not to have any contact with Joona Linna, and that’s an order—’

Saga knocks a coffee cup and a thick folder to the floor.

‘Why are you doing that?’ Verner asks.

‘You promised Joona, you fucking promised him!’ she screams.

‘Now you won’t get that vacation after all,’ he says.

‘Fuck the fucking Canaries!’ Saga snarls, and marches towards the door.

While DJ helps Sammy with his black suit, Rex goes into his bedroom to call Sammy’s mother. As the call goes through, he sighs and thinks about everything that happened. The cops towed DJ’s car and Sammy and Rex caught a taxi home. Sammy was still asleep when Rex woke up at ten o’clock with a pounding headache. He went up to the kitchen and opened the door of the wine-cooler. He picked the most expensive bottle, a Romanée-Conti from 1996, pulled out the cork, and poured the wine away. He watched the red liquid swirl down the drain before getting the next bottle.