Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell Page A

outmoded fur jacket and beret. When he sat down he grimaced.
    "Bothering you again?" asked Wallander, pointing at his leg.
    "Rain is OK," said Rydberg. "Or snow. Or cold. But this damned leg can't stand the wind. What do you want?"
    Wallander told him about the call he had received during the night.
    "What do you think?" he asked when he'd finished. "Serious or not?"
"Serious. At least we have to proceed as if it is."
    "I'm thinking about a press conference this afternoon. We'll present the status of the investigation and concentrate on Lars Herdin's story. Without mentioning his name, of course. Then I'll speak about the threat. And say that all rumours about foreigners being involved are groundless."
"But that's actually not true," Rydberg mused. "What do you mean?"
    "The woman said what she said. And the knot may be Argentine."
    "How do you intend to make that fit in with a robbery that was presumably committed by someone who knew Lövgren very well?"
    "I don't know yet. I think it's too soon to draw conclusions. Don't you?"
    "Provisional conclusions," said Wallander. "All police work deals with drawing conclusions, which you later discard or keep building on."
Rydberg shifted his sore leg.
    "What are you thinking of doing about the leak?" he asked. "I'm thinking of giving them hell at the meeting," said Wallander. "Then Björk can deal with it when he gets back." "What do you think he'll do?" "Nothing." "Exactly."
Wallander threw his arms wide.
    "We might as well admit it right now. Whoever leaked it to the TV people isn't going to get his nose twisted off. By the way, how much do you think Swedish Television pays policemen for leaks?"
    "Probably far too much," said Rydberg. "That's why they don't have money for any good programmes."
He got up from his chair.
    "Don't forget one thing," he said as he stood with his hand on the doorframe. "A policeman who snitches can snitch again."
"What does that mean?"
    "He can insist that one of our leads does point to foreigners. It's true, after all."
    "It's not even a lead," said Wallander. "It's the last confused words of a dying woman." Rydberg shrugged.
"Do as you like," he said. "See you in a while."
    The case meeting went as badly as it could have. Wallander had decided to start with the leak and its possible consequences. He would describe the anonymous call he had received and then invite suggestions on a plan of action before the deadline. But when he announced angrily that there was someone at the meeting disloyal enough to betray confidential information, possibly for money, he was met by equally furious protests. Several officers said that the leak could have come from the hospital. Hadn't doctors and nurses been present when the old woman uttered those last words?
    Wallander tried to refute their objections, but they kept protesting. By the time he finally managed to steer the discussion to the investigation itself, a sullen mood had settled over the meeting. Yesterday's optimism had been replaced by a slack, uninspired atmosphere. Wallander had got off on the wrong foot.
    The effort to identify the car with which the lorry driver had almost collided had yielded no results. An additional man was assigned to concentrate on this.
    The investigation of Lars Herdin's past was continuing. On the first check nothing remarkable had come to light. He had no police record and no conspicuous debts.
    "We're going to run a vacuum cleaner over this man," said Wallander. "We have to know everything there is to know. I'm going to meet the prosecutor in a few minutes. I'll ask for authorisation to go into the bank."
Peters delivered the biggest news of the day.
"Lövgren had two safe-deposit boxes," he said. "One at the Union Bank and one at the Merchants' Bank. I went through the keys on his key ring."
    "Good," said Wallander. "We'll check them out later today."
    The charting of Lövgren's family, friends and relatives would go on.
    It was decided that Rydberg should take care of the