Sara was in Slagsta for the second day in a row. This time she pulled into the car park of the Max hamburger chain immediately after the exit from the E4. It was cordoned off. There were police cars with flashing lights, blue and white tape and uniformed officers on full alert. A few were standing guard, others were redirecting traffic and yet others were speaking to patrons and staff in the burger joint. There was also a heavily armed unit from the task force in their dark garb. Today’s gang had been heavily armed and hadn’t been shy about opening fire. The risk of a cop getting in the way of a stray bullet wasn’t something that made them back down. Quite the contrary.
The forces of nature were engaged in their own war as the late summer sun offered warmth and the autumn breeze cooling, meaning that anyone to windward was freezing while anyone out of the gusts was sweating. On the asphalt beside the climbing frame outside the restaurant were two bodies lying under bright yellow blankets. Their heads were covered – a clear indication that they were dead.
Bielke was talking to someone that Sara assumed was the task force leader. When her boss spotted Sara, he left the other officer and approached her with rapid footsteps.
‘Where the hell have you been? Hall got a call from Säpo to say you’d been there asking questions about that priest in Småland.’
Superintendent Tom Hall, that spineless climber of the career ladder who was open to being used by anyone so long as he thought it would serve his own ends. Now Brundin had called him to cause trouble for Sara.
‘And Anna says you rejected her call while you were on duty!’
‘Technically, I hadn’t yet come on duty. Where is Anna?’
‘At Ekerö. They’ve found more bodies in Mälaren. But don’t change the subject. She called you fifteen minutes before you were due to start. There’s not much chance you’d make it to work in that amount of time. You must always be contactable – you know that!’ Bielke stared at her, his expression more intense than usual. For several seconds he said nothing at all but didn’t drop his gaze. They were standing close together and it almost felt as if he were going to touch her. It was almost embarrassing. Sara decided it was best to get out of this and move on.
‘Sorry.’
Sara wondered how her boss could have such a firm grasp of her shifts. Did the same apply to all his subordinates?
‘Now you have a choice to make,’ Bielke said. ‘Drop that priest business, or put in for a transfer. Although I don’t know who is willing to take you – lost property up in the Arctic circle, perhaps.’
‘Who are the victims?’ Sara chose to ignore the last bit.
‘Hakan Ulc and Moses Sserangi. Two guys from Bekas’s gang. I assume it’s revenge for the shooting of Jojje Taylor.’
‘Both dead,’ said Sara. ‘Any other victims? Any witnesses?’
‘The whole restaurant. But no one saw anything.’
‘Cameras?’
‘Oh yes. But the shooters were masked up and the car was stolen. It’s probably on fire somewhere as we speak. Automatic weapons, children present and right next to a petrol station. Utter madness.’
Sara couldn’t disagree.
‘Nowak,’ said Bielke, turning to her.
‘Yes?’
‘You get that I just want you to do your job, right?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘I’m sorry if I was harsh just now.’
‘I don’t think you were. I would have been much angrier in your shoes.’
Bielke looked at her for a second with an expression verging on amusement. Sara met his gaze. She realised she liked Bielke. He had a reputation as something of a square, but he was a good boss. And handsome. He was of an age where you could say that about him without anyone thinking it meant anything. The silence between them extended without either of them averting their gaze.
‘What do we do now?’ Sara said at last.
Bielke seemed almost thrown by this straightforward question. It took a while for him to find his footing.
‘Let’s talk to George Taylor Jr and Bekas’s gang. As far as we’re concerned, we want to understand the reasons behind all three shootings, and for the sake of our colleagues out here it’s about making sure that others don’t seek revenge for the revenge. They’re going to have their hands full keeping an eye on all the factions.’
Sara pulled out her mobile and rang the number Taylor had given her. No answer. Hardly surprising.
She hung up and shook her head at Bielke.
‘Keep trying to get hold of him. Söderort are looking for members of Bekas’s gang to stop them from doing anything else. But they’re obviously lying low.’
‘This might really go tits up,’ said Sara.
‘You can say that again.’
Bielke looked at the two bodies on the ground.
Sara knew she was up to her ears in work, that she really should drop Stiller, at least for now. She didn’t want to draw any more of Bielke’s ire – she had realised she actually wanted to stay in Västerort.
The only question was whether she would be able to stay away from the priest’s murder.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t escape the feeling that it was her fault that he had died. And what was worse, that his wife had been murdered. She felt a responsibility to at least try and find out who had killed them and why. But if she waited too long, the murderer would have time to clean up their tracks.
And she believed the key to the murders lay in the present-day identities of the four terrorists.