Closed Circles (Sandhamn Murders Book 2) (26 page)

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76

Margit didn’t argue with Thomas when he showed up at her office this time. Even if he still sneezed now and then, his color had improved and he no longer looked exhausted.

Thomas and Margit settled into one of the conference rooms to be alone.

While Thomas had been home resting, Margit had interviewed many of Nyrén’s acquaintances.

Juliander’s acquaintances and Nyrén’s all gave similar answers. No one knew of any enemies. Nyrén had been a valued colleague and friend. Shock and confusion were common emotions.

“No apparent motive, in other words,” Margit said. “No enemies or anything else.”

“Any explanation for Nyrén’s two toothbrushes?”

Margit shook her head. “No girlfriend. Everyone says he was a bachelor. Perhaps a visitor left the toothbrush.”

Thomas shared what Nora had told him while he was on his way to the station. He was just finishing when Carina poked her head through the door.

“Read this,” she said. She held out a sheaf of papers.

“What is it?” Margit asked.

“Printouts from the Internet. I’ve been researching General Mind Inc. as Thomas requested. Look what I’ve found.”

She smiled expectantly.

“Here are their American press releases from last winter. They announce a new, revolutionary way to implant teeth, a method that ensures the screws fasten into the jawbone.”

Thomas bent forward to read.

The English text used a great deal of superlatives, possibly to impress the stock market as well as the general public. Thomas was no better or worse at English than anyone else in Sweden, so he was able to get the gist of the text.

The company boasted about their new technique based on an EU patent that promised to outclass all its competitors. No other method could offer such secure implants and swift recoveries.

Thomas thought about the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people in the US and Europe who lost teeth and needed implants. They would certainly pay good money for this.

The American company could cash in on a new procedure that worked better than anything else—a method based on a mysterious EU patent—and Sweden was part of the EU.

“How likely would it be that someone else came up with a patent like Martinsson’s?”

“That was developed inside of twelve months?” Margit added.

“Not likely,” Thomas said.

If this patent was so valuable, how could they have bought it that cheaply from the Martinsson assets? If General Mind was, in fact, the buyer.

“We have to see Eva Timell again,” Margit said. “Let’s go.”

Norrmalm Square was much busier than the last time Margit and Thomas had been there. Four weeks ago, in high summer, the tempo had been slow. Tourists had strolled along with ice cream, though there were always one or two people with briefcases, their jackets slung over their shoulders and their sleeves rolled up.

Now a few late summer tourists remained, but the pace had picked up. People were coming home from their vacations and getting back to work. The office buildings filled up again.

Thomas took this as a heavy reminder of how long the investigation had been going on. He knew the first seventy-two hours were critical. Thomas wondered what they could still find after four weeks. He was close to believing that they might never catch the killer. But he wasn’t ready to give up yet.

They followed a man in a dark business suit into the building and then into the elevator. They waited in reception for Eva Timell.

She looked even more tired and worn out, her sunken cheeks showing how deeply the death of her boss affected her.

She escorted them into a small conference room. Though they’d come unannounced, a tray with coffee and a few snacks waited. Perhaps this was standard procedure in the higher class of law firms, Thomas thought. Margit immediately took a piece of that fine, dark chocolate.

Eva Timell busied herself serving coffee. She seemed reluctant to begin the conversation. The silence was palpable.

Today she wore high-heeled pumps, a black blouse, and a tight black skirt with a narrow belt around the waist. A necklace with a tiny gold heart hung around her neck. It was an almost childlike touch to her otherwise professional look. It hinted at a softness behind her formal demeanor.

“We just have one question,” Thomas began.

“Yes?”

Her voice was quiet even as her narrow fingers drummed nervously on her knee.

“It concerns a bankruptcy case from about two years ago,” Thomas said. “A dental practice that went under.”

Eva Timell looked at him, confused.

“What was the name of the company?” she asked.

“Olof Martinsson Dental Practice AB, owned by a dentist who was also a biochemist.”

Juliander’s assistant still looked as if the name didn’t mean anything to her.

“And?” she asked, raising her cup to her lips.

“It appears that Martinsson had developed a much faster and more secure method for implanting teeth than was previously known.”

“I’m sorry. What does this have to do with Oscar?”

“The patent became part of the bankruptcy proceedings. As the attorney in charge, your late employer sold it.”

“That’s part of his job,” Eva Timell said. “They’re supposed to get as much money as they can for the creditors. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand where this is going.”

“Let me be more clear,” Thomas said. “We need to know what company bought this patent.” He looked directly at her, his eyebrows raised.

Nobody had worked as close to Oscar Juliander as she had. If anyone could answer this question, it would be the elegant woman before him.

“I don’t know,” she said. “A dental practice? That sounds like a small company. Oscar didn’t normally take on such small cases.”

“Yes, we know,” Thomas said. “That’s why we’re asking you. We would like to see the paperwork on this bankruptcy. I’m sure you have it here in your offices.”

“Yes, probably, but it would take me some time to find it. We archive our documents with a depot in Dalarna. Do you know the date it concluded?”

Thomas thought. Had Nora mentioned the date? Not that he could remember.

“Why do you need that?” he asked.

“If it is concluded, the files are no longer here. If it’s still ongoing, there should be documents in the office. I’ll look now, if you don’t mind waiting for a moment.”

The door closed silently behind her as she left the room.

Almost ten minutes later, she returned with three large binders in her arms. She set them down on the polished mahogany in front of Margit and Thomas.

Olof Martinsson AB
was printed clearly on each spine.

“There are a few more,” she said. “I couldn’t bring all of them at once. These are the first three.”

Yes, indeed, the spines were numbered
I
,
II
, and
III
.

“There are many financial pages as well, but I believe the accountant has those. We usually don’t keep them here.”

Margit pulled the first binder close and began to turn the pages.

“Where would you find a contract?” Thomas asked.

Eva Timell took the third binder and opened it to the contents page. Then she went to pocket number four.

“Here are all the contracts related to the bankruptcy,” she said. “Are these the ones you’re looking for?”

Thomas nodded. He began to go through the contracts. The next-to-last document was a contract in English, just a few pages long and written in tiny print.

Assignment of patent rights. Oscar Juliander had signed the last page.

Bingo.

As far as he could make out, here was the contract in which Martinsson’s patent had been sold.

“Look,” he said. He turned the contract for Margit to see.

“General Mind Inc. is the buyer,” she read.

“So Nora was right.”

Thomas sent a silent thought of thanks to his childhood friend.

They now had the American contract to buy the patent right here in front of them, tightly drawn, well formulated, and irrefutable.

He read through the text to the amount of the sale. One hundred thousand Swedish kronor. Neither more nor less. They recorded the amount in numerals as well as words.

One hundred thousand kronor, just like Nora had said. The puzzle pieces fit too tightly to be a mere coincidence.

“Is this the entire amount they paid, or is this just an installment?” Thomas asked.

“I believe it was the entire amount,” Eva Timell replied. “That’s what it states in this contract.”

“So Juliander just gave away Martinsson’s life work for next to nothing,” Margit concluded.

“Was he aware he was underselling it?” The question hung in the air.

“Do you think it might still be only a partial payment?” Margit asked Thomas.

“With, perhaps, more coming under the table,” Thomas suggested.

“This is a lot to look into,” Margit said.

Thomas realized Eva Timell was listening to their conversation. They’d have to continue the discussion outside of the law firm.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to take these files with me,” Thomas said. “I hope this won’t cause any difficulties.”

“Is it absolutely necessary?”

“It is, unfortunately, but don’t worry. They will all be returned.”

Eva Timell didn’t look reassured, but she didn’t protest.

“If you run across anything else concerning General Mind Inc. please let us know,” Thomas said. “It’s extremely important.”

Eva Timell nodded, still looking anxious.

“I’ve never heard of this company before, but I’ll keep my eyes open.”

W
EDNESDAY, THE FIFTH WEEK

C
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77

Everyone gathered for the morning meeting in the large, stuffy conference room. Persson still didn’t look all that healthy. His eyes were red and he was breathing with difficulty, but he came anyway.

Erik sneezed loudly. Another one who’d caught the virus.

Margit recapped the information they’d gathered in the past few days. It supported their earlier picture of Martin Nyrén as a lovable, somewhat introverted man whose coworkers and friends liked him. Many colleagues mentioned his personal integrity. He seldom spoke about his private life but put his soul into sailing and the RSYC. He even kept a photo of his Omega 36 on his desk.

“One thing is interesting,” Margit said. “A friend mentioned Nyrén’s boat had been vandalized recently.”

“In what way?” asked Persson.

“Someone sprayed it with graffiti. It really upset him. It could have been kids, but my gut says no.”

“Another thing to look into. Did he report it to the police?”

“Yes. Kalle’s checking.”

“How is the technical investigation going?” Persson continued. “Did we find anything in Nyrén’s apartment?”

“Not much,” Erik said. “It was very clean. Unusually so. Any fingerprints we found were sent to the crime lab, but nothing matches.”

“Nyrén’s computer?”

“Still locked. I’m surprised a lower-level manager had such secure firewalls. We also brought in his computer from work but have found only work-related material on it. Nothing personal.”

“He worked for a government agency, so it’s most likely that his private e-mail is on his home computer,” Thomas said. “He didn’t want the government to have access.”

“A bureaucrat who protected his privacy,” Margit said. “What bad luck.”

Thomas spoke again to describe their visit to the Kalling law firm and explain their theory about the Martinsson patent.

“We believe,” he said, “that Juliander received money under the table to sell that patent cheaply to General Mind Inc. The money came to him through Liechtenstein, most likely.”

“So that’s the explanation for his credit card and his extra income,” Carina said. “A secret bank account for bribe money!”

“But why would such a large company take a risk by bribing someone?” Erik asked. He sneezed again.

Carina shifted away from him.

“It’s not unusual,” Thomas remarked. “Weapons manufacturers do it all the time, though they often call it a ‘commission.’” He used his fingers to draw quote marks in the air.

“Think about what Bofors did in India,” Margit said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me to find that General Mind had previously tried to buy the patent,” Thomas said, remembering Nora’s description of the inventor. “The dentist treated his research like a precious child. It’s conceivable he would refuse to sell. When the bankruptcy started, they probably saw their chance. They just had to find a lawyer with a good reputation who wanted to play along.”

“They probably studied his background carefully,” Margit said. “Millions were at stake. Profit is a strong incentive.”

“Think about Håkan Lans,” Persson said. His comment came out of left field.

“Who’s that?” asked Carina.

“The man who invented an early form of the computer mouse. He was a technical genius. He also invented satellite spyware.”

“What happened to him?”

“An American IT company cheated him out of his patents. He’s been battling in court about it for years, but no decision has been made.”

“That’s how capitalism gets its way,” Margit said.

“This company is untouchable,” Thomas said. “The contract is in order. I’m not a lawyer, but it looks airtight.”

Persson nodded in agreement.

“Since Juliander is dead, we have no one to prosecute for bribery,” Margit said. “We don’t even have a witness. Do you think that’s why he was killed? They wanted to keep him quiet?”

“Then they’d have done that as soon as they secured the patent,” Thomas said. “And what motive did they have? They were probably sure the bribe money would keep Juliander quiet.”

“Considering the facts, it seems impossible to prove that General Mind bribed a Swedish lawyer,” Persson said. “We have nothing concrete, just speculation.”

“It makes me furious,” Margit said, “that Juliander got away with it so easily!”

Persson smiled slightly.

“But the guy’s dead,” he said. “Don’t forget that.”

Thomas agreed. Bribes or not, Juliander was six feet under.

Margit remained irritated, but there was nothing more to say.

The door opened, and Kalle came in with a bundle of papers in his hands. He looked excited.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “We’ve finally gotten the Nyrén telephone lists. The telephone company apologized for being late, but we now know the people he contacted these past few months.”

He arranged the printouts on the conference table for everyone to see.

“Here’s the list of who Nyrén called and who called him.”

They leaned forward to look.

Martin Nyrén had sent a great many text messages from his cell phone.

“Have you attached names to these numbers?” asked Thomas.

Kalle nodded and pointed to another printout.

“Here are the names with the numbers.” He smiled in anticipation.

Thomas realized why at once. The top name on the list was familiar to everyone.

Ingmar von Hahne.

“We have to bring him in again,” Persson said.

Thomas and Margit were already standing up.

“We’re on it.”