she always carried with her. It wouldn’t surprise Alex if she turned up with a dictaphone one of these days.
‘The parcel puts a different complexion on things,’ he said. ‘Now we know for sure that Lilian’s disappearance was no coincidence, and that she didn’t just wander off. Someone who knew who she was – someone who clearly wants to hurt her mother – is deliberately keeping her hidden. As things stand . . .’
Alex cleared his throat and went on.
‘We haven’t been able to interview Sara yet, but when I spoke to her yesterday there was no indication she might have any enemies apart from her ex. Until we get any information to take us in other directions, any tip-offs that come in, for example, we’ll work on the hypothesis that Gabriel Sebastiansson’s got the girl.’
Alex fixed Fredrika with a look, and she said nothing.
‘Any questions?’
No one said anything, but Peder squirmed in his seat.
‘How are you getting on with what’s come in from the public?’ Alex asked. ‘Anything we can use?’
Peder shook his head.
‘No,’ he said hesitantly, with a sideways glance at the analyst from the National Crime Squad, who had been asked to join them for the meeting. ‘No, we’ve nothing concrete to tell you. A few tip-offs have come in, but things won’t really start happening until her photo’s on TV and in the papers.’
Alex nodded.
‘But they’ve had the photo?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Peder said quickly.
‘Good,’ muttered Alex. ‘Good. Somebody out there must have seen something. It’s just absurd that nobody on the train registered seeing Lilian leave it.’
He took a breath and then added:
‘And naturally we’ll keep quiet about the parcel sent to Sara. God knows what the headlines would look like if it got out that the kidnapper scalped the girl.’
Everyone was quiet for a moment. The air conditioning coughed and hissed.
‘Okay,’ said Alex in conclusion. ‘We’ll have another meeting this afternoon, when Fredrika’s back from seeing Gabriel’s mother. I’ve decided to send her on her own; I reckon we’ll get more out of the lady in question if she doesn’t have to entertain a whole delegation. Peder will carry on following up what comes in, and we’ll hope to hear back from SKL about the parcel soon. Peder can also contact the courier company that brought it round. I’ve asked Sara’s parents to draw up a list of people Sara knows, people we can interview and ask about Gabriel’s whereabouts. It’s going to be another busy day.’
With that, the meeting was over and the team dispersed. Only Ellen remained at the table for a few minutes, making notes.
I t was only when Fredrika Bergman was actually sitting in the car with a road atlas open that it registered: Gabriel Sebastiansson’s mother – Lilian’s grandmother – lived in Djursholm. Big, expensive houses, huge gardens, and endless bisous on the cheek. Fredrika reflected for a moment that Sara Sebastiansson seemed to come from a very different background to her husband.
In her mind, Fredrika went over the day so far. She was feeling a lack of structure and direction in her work. It had not escaped her that Alex was very skilled and competent at what he did. She also readily conceded that he had a vast range and depth of experience that she lacked. But she felt contempt, to put it bluntly, for his inability to incorporate new suggestions into their work. Particularly in the current situation. Loose threads remained loose, and Fredrika could not see that any concrete measures were being taken either to discard them or to follow them up. They were assuming – perhaps entirely wrongly – that the girl was being kept hidden by her own father and therefore was not in any immediate danger. Now they knew for sure that Lilian had not disappeared by chance. So how could Alex decree that what had happened in Flemingsberg was still of no interest?
And how the hell could he let a National Crime Squad
‘The parcel puts a different complexion on things,’ he said. ‘Now we know for sure that Lilian’s disappearance was no coincidence, and that she didn’t just wander off. Someone who knew who she was – someone who clearly wants to hurt her mother – is deliberately keeping her hidden. As things stand . . .’
Alex cleared his throat and went on.
‘We haven’t been able to interview Sara yet, but when I spoke to her yesterday there was no indication she might have any enemies apart from her ex. Until we get any information to take us in other directions, any tip-offs that come in, for example, we’ll work on the hypothesis that Gabriel Sebastiansson’s got the girl.’
Alex fixed Fredrika with a look, and she said nothing.
‘Any questions?’
No one said anything, but Peder squirmed in his seat.
‘How are you getting on with what’s come in from the public?’ Alex asked. ‘Anything we can use?’
Peder shook his head.
‘No,’ he said hesitantly, with a sideways glance at the analyst from the National Crime Squad, who had been asked to join them for the meeting. ‘No, we’ve nothing concrete to tell you. A few tip-offs have come in, but things won’t really start happening until her photo’s on TV and in the papers.’
Alex nodded.
‘But they’ve had the photo?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Peder said quickly.
‘Good,’ muttered Alex. ‘Good. Somebody out there must have seen something. It’s just absurd that nobody on the train registered seeing Lilian leave it.’
He took a breath and then added:
‘And naturally we’ll keep quiet about the parcel sent to Sara. God knows what the headlines would look like if it got out that the kidnapper scalped the girl.’
Everyone was quiet for a moment. The air conditioning coughed and hissed.
‘Okay,’ said Alex in conclusion. ‘We’ll have another meeting this afternoon, when Fredrika’s back from seeing Gabriel’s mother. I’ve decided to send her on her own; I reckon we’ll get more out of the lady in question if she doesn’t have to entertain a whole delegation. Peder will carry on following up what comes in, and we’ll hope to hear back from SKL about the parcel soon. Peder can also contact the courier company that brought it round. I’ve asked Sara’s parents to draw up a list of people Sara knows, people we can interview and ask about Gabriel’s whereabouts. It’s going to be another busy day.’
With that, the meeting was over and the team dispersed. Only Ellen remained at the table for a few minutes, making notes.
I t was only when Fredrika Bergman was actually sitting in the car with a road atlas open that it registered: Gabriel Sebastiansson’s mother – Lilian’s grandmother – lived in Djursholm. Big, expensive houses, huge gardens, and endless bisous on the cheek. Fredrika reflected for a moment that Sara Sebastiansson seemed to come from a very different background to her husband.
In her mind, Fredrika went over the day so far. She was feeling a lack of structure and direction in her work. It had not escaped her that Alex was very skilled and competent at what he did. She also readily conceded that he had a vast range and depth of experience that she lacked. But she felt contempt, to put it bluntly, for his inability to incorporate new suggestions into their work. Particularly in the current situation. Loose threads remained loose, and Fredrika could not see that any concrete measures were being taken either to discard them or to follow them up. They were assuming – perhaps entirely wrongly – that the girl was being kept hidden by her own father and therefore was not in any immediate danger. Now they knew for sure that Lilian had not disappeared by chance. So how could Alex decree that what had happened in Flemingsberg was still of no interest?
And how the hell could he let a National Crime Squad
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