Grendel's Game (35 page)

“Is there anything else?” Ekman asked. There was no response.

“Until we locate Stillen and connect Lindfors to the missing men, the investigation is temporarily blocked. So let's take tomorrow off and start again on Monday. I plan to brief Edvardsson and Norlander this afternoon. Garth, why don't you come with me.”

Rystrom nodded agreement as Ekman got up, and followed him down the hall to Rystrom's office.

“What do you propose if her car is clean and we don't come up with a computer at Lindfors's place?” Rystrom asked.

“There's got to be another computer somewhere. Unless, of course, she got rid of it before we started watching her,” Ekman replied.

“If we can't connect her to the men, then our best hope seems finding Stillen and pushing him until he cracks. His taking off shows he's beginning to break. What do you think?”

“It looks that way. He seems more likely to crack than Lindfors. To me, she's the one in charge. He's the accomplice doing the actual killing.”

59

Norlander's Meeting

E
kman picked up the phone and called Norlander at home. His wife answered.

“Yes, Fru Norlander, I really need to speak with him.”

“It's very inconvenient to call on a Saturday morning,” she replied, her voice sharp with displeasure.

“I hate to bother him, or you, but it's important.”

Ekman glanced at Rystrom and rolled his eyes.

“Sorry to disturb you, Commissioner, but there are some issues in the Westberg case that need your advice. Could we meet in your office this afternoon? Two o'clock will be fine. I'm going to see if Edvardsson can join us. Rystrom also will be there. Thank you, sir.”

He called Edvardsson's home.

“Malin, it's Walther. I apologize for calling on a weekend, but there's going to be a meeting this afternoon in Norlander's office and we need your guidance. Yes, at two. Thanks. See you then.”

Ekman knew he could have waited until Monday to meet with them, but wanted Norlander and Edvardsson to remember he'd asked for an urgent weekend meeting. The case had reached a standstill, which he hoped was only temporary. But if it came to a permanent halt—and Westberg's disappearance, let alone the other men's—was never solved, he didn't want to be accused of not consulting them at a critical juncture. In twenty difficult years as chief superintendent, Ekman had learned to protect himself from the hazards of bureaucratic infighting.

Norlander was already in his office when Ekman and Rystrom walked in at exactly two
P.M
. Casually dressed in crisp black slacks and a white cashmere sweater, he came to meet them. Shaking hands with both, he led them to a seating area, and indicating the couch, settled himself in an armchair facing them. Another chair had been drawn up for Edvardsson.

She knocked on the door and came in just as they sat down. All three men rose to greet her. She shook hands with Norlander first, then Ekman and Rystrom. When they were seated, Norlander turned to her, taking charge of the meeting in his soft, smooth voice.

“Malin, thank you for coming on a Saturday. After Walther's call this morning to request a meeting, I know we're both anxious to learn what's been happening in the Westberg investigation.”

Turning to Ekman, he said, “Walther, why don't you bring us up to date.”

Taking out copies from a file folder of the report he'd prepared last night, Ekman handed them to the other three.

“It may save time if you would take a few moments to review the report I drafted yesterday evening. It summarizes where we are at this point.”

After five minutes, the others looked up.

“The case is hanging in the balance now, isn't it Walther?” Edvardsson said.

“Yes, Malin. That's why I wanted your recommendations, and the commissioner's, about how best to proceed.”

There was a knock at the door. Norlander said, “Yes, come in.”

Rosengren opened the door and walked in. “Sorry to bust in like this, Commissioner Norlander, Fru Edvardsson, but I knew the chief was with you and thought you'd want to know right away what's happened.”

To Edvardsson, Ekman said, “This is Inspector Rosengren.”

“Yes, Rosengren?” Norlander said.

“We've found another computer hidden in a box in the back of Lindfors's basement storage locker,” he replied, his voice rising with excitement. “It's got all the chess games and e-mails with Gustaffson and Henriksson.”

“What about fingerprints?” asked Ekman.

“There weren't any on the computer,” Rosengren replied, his voice dropping.

“It was wiped clean?” inquired Rystrom.

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you for the information, Inspector,” said Norlander, going over to shake his hand. “I appreciate your getting it to us immediately. We'll discuss this and Herr Ekman will let you know what we've decided.”

After Rosengren had left, Norlander turned to Ekman. “What do you make of this, Walther?”

“Finding the computer in Lindfors's storage locker with all the information tying her to the missing men should be conclusive. But with the computer wiped of fingerprints, I'm troubled. What would be the point of her wiping it down and then hiding it?”

Rystrom interjected, “Perhaps she wanted to use it in the future, but if it were found, Lindfors wanted to deny it was hers. She wants to be able to claim it was planted.”

“That's exactly what her attorney would argue,” said Edvardsson.

“And how do we know it wasn't planted?” asked Norlander.

“We don't,” responded Ekman. “But if it was, the person who did it must have been Grendel. The question is, how did he even know we suspected Lindfors?”

“Stillen could have done it,” said Rystrom. “But that doesn't really make a great deal of sense,” he immediately added. “Because by implicating Lindfors, he also implicates himself, especially since he's taken off.”

“If it was Stillen who was careful enough to remove fingerprints from the computer, he also should have realized by doing so, he'd raise these questions about its being planted,” said Ekman, gazing at the ceiling. “The smartest course for him would have been to simply pitch it. That way there would be no connection to Lindfors or him.”

“You're right, Walther,” said Rystrom.

“So where does this leave us?” asked Norlander, to end this circular conversation.

“If Grendel knew enough about our suspicions to plant the computer in order to incriminate Lindfors, and through her, Stillen, it means either there's a serious leak in our investigating team . . .” Ekman paused, reluctant to go on, “or Grendel may be a member of our team.”

Norlander's eyes widened in surprise. “That's an outrageous idea, Walther. You can't be serious.”

“I hate to even suggest it, Commissioner, but it's a remote possibility we can't ignore.”

“If it turned out to be true, it would undermine the entire police force,” Norlander said quietly.

“This discussion mustn't leave this room,” he said, looking at each in turn. “Walther, you should pursue this unlikely possibility only as a last recourse. You agree with me, don't you?”

“Of course, Commissioner. We still have several other avenues to follow: finding Stillen and extracting a confession; confronting Lindfors with this new evidence to see if she'll break; and trying to find who outside our team is the press leak. We've alerted our force to look for Stillen, but we may need to make the hunt public. We'd simply identify him as ‘a person of interest' with no mention of a connection to the Westberg case. The problem is that the media might leap to that conclusion. What do you recommend, Commissioner?”

“If Stillen is dangerous, we need to find him quickly. Have our media officer make the request to the papers and TV. We'll risk them speculating about a tie to Westberg. It's probably unavoidable.”

“We'll do that today then.”

“Good,” said Norlander. “What do you think, Malin? Are we handling this properly?”

“Yes, of course. But Walther, I think it's time for me to sit in on your team meetings and try to provide immediate suggestions on the investigation's direction. Are you comfortable with that?”

Ekman had been expecting Edvardsson to intervene for some time. He'd prefer to totally control the investigation, but it was her prerogative as prosecutor.

“Certainly, Malin. Any insights you have will be much appreciated.”

“Excellent. I think we all have a clearer idea now of where the case is going,” said Norlander. Edvardsson would shoulder some of the onus if the police investigation publicly ran off the rails. Norlander got up.

“Thank you all for coming on a Saturday,” he said, as though he'd called the meeting. He shook hands with each of them as they left.

60

Looking for Leaks

“
S
o, who do you think is leaking information?” asked Rystrom, settling back in his chair in Ekman's office.

“I'd like to think it's no one, but I can't explain otherwise how Grendel can be following what we're doing and trying to confuse us with planted evidence. If that's actually what's going on.”

“I know we agreed it would be dumb of Stillen to wipe the computer and plant it to incriminate Lindfors. But maybe he did anyway.”

“Possibly, but I doubt it. He's been attached to Lindfors for years and as we heard, they're still lovers. We tried to turn them against each other, but I'm not sure we were at all successful. Besides, he didn't have an opportunity since we spoke with him and he took off. Unless he did it sometime ago. Lindfors's place has been watched around the clock,” said Ekman.

“Well, until we nab him, we can interrogate Lindfors again, show her the computer and what's on it, and see what happens. The likelihood, however, is she'll deny she's ever seen it before.”

“You're right. We'll have to do it anyway, but I suspect she'll have a lawyer with her this time. So that leaves us with finding the leak.”

“Who's high on your list?” Rystrom asked.

“We've already questioned Alrik, and I believe he's not the one. I'd also cross off Gerdi and Enar, because I trust them implicitly. I may be wrong, but that's my judgment. I'm not as sure about Rosengren and Alenius, particularly Rosengren. He tends to run off at the mouth and may be bragging to some drinking buddy. Alenius is not the talkative type,” Ekman added, laughing, “as you've seen. That leaves Bergfalk. He's a good, thorough investigator, but I'm uncertain about him.”

“Where do you want to start?”

“Let's begin with Rosengren.”

^“
S
it down, Rosengren,” said Ekman. “You and Alenius did a good job finding that computer and bringing us the news quickly.”

“Thanks, Chief. It's just part of the job,” he said, glancing down.

“Don't be so modest. You've got bragging rights,” said Rystrom.

“I guess I do, if you say so,” he said, smiling.

“Maybe you've already been bragging a little about your role in the investigation? You know, at a bar with some buddies?” Ekman asked.

“What do you mean, Chief? You think I've been shooting off my mouth where I shouldn't have?”

“If you have, it's entirely understandable. Think about it. Maybe you accidentally did?”

“No way. I remember you warned everyone about leaks, Chief. I don't even mention the investigation to friends on the force, let alone outsiders.”

“You're sure about that? A slip can happen. What we're trying to do is not blame anyone for letting information get out. We just want to trace it, to find out who might have overheard,” said Rystrom.

“It's important, Rosengren. So don't answer too quickly,” Ekman said.

Rosengren sat quietly for a moment. “No, there's nothing, Chief. I swear it.”