The Inspector and Silence (38 page)

Then the fire. Tongues of flame spurting out of the water, and soon the whole image is consumed by flames. A sea of fire. He can feel the heat in his face. Then he turns his back on it all and hurries away.

The same short dream. No more than one sequence, or a tableau. The third night now.

And when the image of Wim Fingher crops up, he is already awake. Inexorably awake. The murderer. Throughout the whole of the investigation he has been a mere stone’s throw away from the crime scene, and on two occasions Van Veeteren has been face to face with him without reacting.

Unforgivable.

The ultimate signal.

He got out of bed. Opened the balcony door: pale sky, a warm, barely noticeable breeze.

A few half-hearted back exercises in front of the mirror.

Then breakfast and the
Allgemejne.
That took an hour; the mate-in-three chess problem another half – it all depended on the knight, the most difficult of all the pieces to master.

He showered, dressed and went out. Another of those friction-free days, he noted. Blank and unspecified, and a temperature that ensured the air had no effect on the skin. Not many people about on the streets. Holiday time – more crowded in the centre, no doubt, around Keymer Plejn and Grote Square where the tourists generally gathered. But that wasn’t where he was going.

Instead he headed down towards Zwille. Crossed over Langgraacht and turned into Kellnerstraat from the opposite direction this time. It was only eleven o’clock, and he indulged in a glass of beer at Yorrick’s first.

Sat outside under one of the lime trees, and took his time. Observed what was happening around him. The few passers-by. The Art Nouveau facades. The green crowns of the trees and the pale sky. Listened out for any whispers and doubts inside himself, but there weren’t any.

So, let it come to pass, he thought. Emptied his glass and crossed over the road.

Pressed down the handle and walked in. A bell over the door announced his arrival. An elderly man – almost white-haired and with a full beard in the same shade – had been studying a map with the aid of a magnifying glass. He looked up. Gave him a nod and seemed to be slightly drowsy.

‘Good morning,’ said Van Veeteren. ‘I’m here in connection with that sign in the window.’

‘Welcome,’ said the man.

PRAISE FOR HÅKAN NESSER

THE INSPECTOR AND SILENCE

‘The atmosphere of the small town, the mysterious fringes of the forest full of aspens and blueberries, are evocatively drawn . . . The clarity of Nesser’s vision, the inner problems of good and evil with which Van Veeteren struggles, recall the films of Bergman

Independent

‘A rising Swedish star . . . Van Veeteren [the detective], disengaged, thinking of retirement and wonderfully enigmatic, makes an enjoyable change from all those fictional policemen who persist in taking their work home with disastrous consequences . . . an intense read’

Guardian Review

WOMAN WITH BIRTHMARK

‘Håkan Nesser is in the front rank of Swedish crime writers . . . A novel with superior plot and characters’

The Times

‘It’s set to become Nesser’s breakthrough novel in this country, and he is being favourably compared with Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson’

Sunday Times

THE MIND’S EYE

‘Van Veeteren is a terrific character, and the courtroom scenes that begin this novel are cracking’

Daily Telegraph

‘Håkan Nesser’s Chief Inspector Van Veeteren has earned his place among the great Swedish detectives with a series of intriguing investigations . . . This is Van Veeteren at his quirkiest and most engaging

Seven
magazine,
Sunday Telegraph

THE RETURN

‘Nesser made a strong impression with
Borkmann’s Point,
the first of his novels published into English.
The Return
is just as tense and clever’

Marcel Berlins,
The Times

‘Nesser’s insight into his main characters and gently humorous narrative raise his otherwise conventional police procedural to a higher level’

Sunday Telegraph

BORKMANN’S POINT

‘An absorbing tale with an unexpected ending’

Sunday Telegraph

‘The novel’s prime asset is the mordant clarity of Nesser’s voice. Its understatement is a pleasure in itself, as investigations pause for Van Veeteren to finish his beer’

Times Literary Supplement

Also by Håkan Nesser

BORKMANN’S POINT

THE RETURN

THE MIND’S EYE

WOMAN WITH BIRTHMARK

First published in Great Britain 2010 by Mantle

This edition published 2011 by Pan Books

This electronic edition published 2011 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-1-447-20110-6 PDF
ISBN 978-1-447-20109-0 EPUB

Copyright © Håkan Nesser 1997
English translation copyright © Laurie Thompson 2010

The right of Håkan Nesser to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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