The Man Who Watched Women (53 page)

Without waiting for an answer he went into his office, shrugged off his jacket and sat down behind his desk. He switched on the computer and picked up ‘Lövhaga 2014, Visions and Aims'. He just had time to open the folder before Annika knocked on the door, came in and handed over his print-out.

‘Thank you.'

Haraldsson put the folder to one side and read the email.

Dear Thomas,

With regard to Edward Hinde's phone call, which you approved yesterday. (By the way, this is something we need to discuss; I would prefer to be consulted when an inmate's security arrangements are changed.) Apparently the call this morning means that Riksmord will be coming to speak to him later today. This is not a problem as far as I am concerned, but as usual you will need to approve a visiting order.

Yours sincerely,

Victor Bäckman

Thomas read the email again. Hinde had called Vanja Lithner, and now she was coming to Lövhaga. Today.

This didn't feel right.

It didn't feel right at all.

Haraldsson stood up and hurried out of his office.

Edward Hinde was sitting in his usual place reading on the upper floor in the library when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. A wave of irritation swept over him. Was it the new inmate? If so he would have to have a word with Igor in the very near future so that Igor could explain to the new guy that there were rules which must be followed. His rules.

But it wasn't the new guy. It was Haraldsson. Edward closed the book about Napoleon and put it to one side. Haraldsson nodded to the guard who was standing a little way off, pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Edward. He leaned forward across the table, an eager expression on his face.

‘I want to be there,' he whispered. Edward didn't know whether this was because they were in a library, or so that the guard wouldn't hear them. It didn't matter.

‘Be where?' Hinde wondered in all honesty.

‘I want to be there when you speak to Vanja Lithner.'

‘I don't think so.'

‘This is non-negotiable. I am
going
to be there.' Haraldsson emphasised the point by almost slamming his fist down on the table. He stopped himself about a centimetre from the surface. Because they were in a library, Hinde assumed. There was no real reason why Haraldsson should be concerned about the guard hearing a thud from their direction.

‘I don't think so,' Hinde repeated calmly.

‘In that case I won't allow you to see her.'

Edward's eyes darkened, but Haraldsson was prepared for that. He had his reason at the ready.

‘I never promised that you would be allowed to see her,' he said somewhat smugly. ‘I said you could make a phone call, not that you could see her. That will cost you an answer.'

In his mind's eye Hinde saw himself stand up, quickly lean forward, grab hold of Haraldsson's head and slam it down on the table. Before the governor or the guard had time to react he saw himself move around the table, yank back Haraldsson's head, place the palms of his hands on Haraldsson's temples, and twist. Heard the sound of his neck breaking.

However tempting the picture might be, he wasn't going to do it. Still, it was time to show who was in charge here.

‘You seem to be an ambitious man, Thomas,' he said quietly, but with an intensity that made every syllable hit home. ‘Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this job means a lot to you.'

Haraldsson nodded, not entirely comfortable with the direction this conversation was taking.

‘I have your … gifts in my cell,' Hinde went on. ‘How will you explain to the board that you smuggle things in for me?'

‘I shall deny it.'

‘And will anyone believe you?'

‘They'll believe me more than they'll believe you.'

Edward remained motionless, apart from his eyebrows, which shot up enquiringly. ‘Really?'

‘Yes.' Haraldsson looked into those dark, searching eyes and wished he was as certain as he hoped he sounded.

‘So if I reveal our little agreement, the fact that I tell you everything I know in return for the things I want, they'll believe you and not me.'

‘Yes.' Haraldsson could hear from his voice that his wish hadn't been fulfilled.

‘And how will you explain the items I have?' Hinde asked in a perfectly ordinary tone of voice, which contrasted sharply with the intensity of his gaze.

‘Someone else gave them to you.'

‘And you're prepared to gamble your entire career on that?'

Haraldsson sat in silence. He felt like a chess player who had only his king left, while his opponent had suddenly acquired another queen.

‘If they don't believe you, it won't just be a question of losing your job. You might be behind bars when the baby arrives.'

Haraldsson leapt to his feet and went down the stairs without a word. Edward grinned. The plan was progressing nicely.

Haraldsson stormed back to his office. That hadn't gone according to plan at all. Now he would have to approve the visiting order. Hinde would see Vanja Lithner without him. But he would make sure he spoke to Vanja immediately afterwards. Force her to tell him what had emerged during the meeting. He could do that. It was his institution. His rules.

For a moment he toyed with the idea of going to Hinde's cell and searching for the photo of Jenny, the jar and the bottle. But what reason could he give if someone found him in the empty cell? An unscheduled search. He would never do that himself. It wasn't his job. It would just look suspicious. And what if he didn't find the items? No, the best thing would be to allow Hinde to have his meeting, and then to pump Vanja for information. It wasn't an ideal situation, but what he did with the information he gleaned would be key. Vanja would have to report to Torkel. He could go higher up immediately. There was still hope.

It could still be an utterly perfect day.

She was expected.

The guard opened the gate as soon as he saw her. There was only one way into Lövhaga, and that was via the small security post. On her first two visits she had had to show her ID at the window, but now they recognised her and waved her through straight away. She walked along the path towards the main building, past the high fence topped with barbed wire. On the other side lay the open section. She could see some of the inmates sitting outside enjoying the sun in the exercise yard. It was obviously far too hot to play football; they had taken off their tops and were lying there relaxing. One of them sat up to look at her.

‘Are you coming to see me?' he shouted, flexing his muscles.

‘You wish!' she replied and continued to the second gate set in the second fence, which was also topped with barbed wire. This was the barrier separating the secure unit from the other buildings. This time the guard insisted on seeing her ID, and she had to hand over her gun. But he was also expecting her.

‘That was quick,' the guard said. ‘They said you probably wouldn't be here until about twelve.'

‘There was hardly any traffic.'

‘Haraldsson asked me to take you straight in.'

‘He's not going to be there, is he?' She couldn't hide her displeasure at the thought.

‘No, but he asked me to let him know when you arrived.' The guard locked her gun in the grey safe, took out the key and called his colleague over the radio. ‘Edward Hinde's visitor has arrived.'

Vanja nodded to him and went to wait on the gravelled area outside the security post. After a few minutes another guard came to collect her. He led her to a huge reinforced door and opened it for her. They passed through two more security doors, turned left down a corridor and went up some stairs. They didn't seem to be heading for the same room as last time, although it was difficult for her to tell exactly; the interior of Lövhaga looked the same everywhere. Institutional pale blue, and poor lighting. Finally the guard stopped.

‘Wait here. As you're alone we need to make sure he's properly secured before you go in.'

Vanja nodded, but a part of her was wondering if they would have had the same concerns about security if she had been a man. Probably not. But perhaps it was hardly surprising. Hinde definitely had a particular relationship with women. Even though she was convinced that she could take care of herself, she was grateful. She respected danger, although she would never admit to anyone that she was slightly nervous. She went into a small waiting room and sat down on a sofa. The room was dark and stuffy; the only light came from a small barred window high up. She leaned back on the hard sofa. Tried to calm her nerves. Everything had happened at top speed today. The meeting that had been interrupted by Hinde, and the rapid, unexpected trip to Lövhaga. And then there was Sebastian's behaviour. He really had overstepped the mark today, and seemed to have lost the plot completely. Torkel had called a few minutes after she left to tell her that Sebastian had gone after her in Ursula's car. Vanja had switched on her blue light, and fortunately there had been no sign of Ursula's car in her rear-view mirror.

She was glad that Sebastian wouldn't be with them for much longer. That was the only positive aspect of this situation. She could understand that Sebastian was extremely stressed by what had happened. However cold and emotionally disturbed he might be, it was obvious that this had had a significant effect on him. But it was still crazy to allow him to remain anywhere near the investigation. She would never be able to understand why Torkel, whom she still respected, had defended him for such a long time. But she hadn't known Sebastian in his glory days. That had to be it. She hadn't seen him at his best. Because Torkel was no idiot. Apart from this error of judgement, he was the best boss she had ever had, and she decided not to make too big an issue of what had happened. Sebastian's book had actually impressed her once upon a time. So he had had something. But not any longer. And now Torkel realised that too.

At long last.

She had to concentrate on stopping the murders and rebuilding her relationship with Billy. She missed him. Could Billy's new girlfriend have something to do with the fact that he was no longer satisfied with just handling the technical aspects of the investigation, which was what she and the rest of the team used him for? Perhaps it wasn't an unreasonable point of view. Vanja had taken him rather too much for granted, and she hadn't always asked for his opinion. At the same time, they always used to be honest with one another. That was the part she didn't really understand. Why was this happening now? Why was he discontented, and why hadn't he said anything? Vanja had believed and hoped they had that kind of relationship. Obviously not. She decided to have a proper chat with him as soon as she got the chance.

She heard a door open and went out to have a look. The guard was back.

‘He's ready now.'

She followed him, feeling tense. She straightened her shoulders and tried to look as relaxed as possible. She had only met Hinde once, but there was one thing she had clearly understood. He saw through people. Read them. She couldn't go in there looking nervous or tense.

She would just have to bluff her way through.