“He agrees with me.” Winter heard Macdonald mumble something to someone again and then returned. “Sorry. We’re just going over to a neighbor’s soon to celebrate because his loutish son is moving out.” Macdonald coughed out a short laugh. “Okay. Just for your information. We did have time to put out a bulletin about this Osvald before we found him, and a number of tips and… observations have come in.”
“What did those tips say?”
“They say that people have apparently seen him about up here during the last few weeks. In fact, it seems he’s been seen all over Moray and even down by Aberdeenshire.”
“What does that imply? The area, I mean?”
“I don’t know if this will mean anything to you, but it’s all the way down along the coast over to Fraserburgh and then down to Peterhead. We’ve even gotten a report from Aberdeen. It’s rather a long way to Aberdeen. And someone says they saw the man inland as well.”
“Does that matter, Steve?”
“I don’t know, my friend.”
“Something happened to him,” said Winter.
“Yes,” said Macdonald.
“Is it connected to his travels?”
“Why else would he have made them? Roaming around in our godforsaken district?” said Macdonald. “He sure wasn’t there on holiday.”
Speaking of holidays, thought Winter.
“One more thing,” said Macdonald. “He wasn’t alone.”
“I’m listening.”
“If it’s our man the witnesses saw, one of them saw him with company.”
“Has the witness described this company?”
“It was an older man.”
“An older man,” Winter echoed. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck, as though it suddenly moved. He saw that Angela noticed.
“I know what you’re thinking,” said Macdonald.
“Is there more?” said Winter.
“Well, I don’t know. It’s up to Craig in Inverness. It seems that more will probably come in.”
“Craig is an efficient man.”
“Yes, you can say that about him. An efficient asshole.”
“I thought he was a friend. I thought you recommended him for the job up there.”
“Why do you think I did that?”
Winter laughed. Elsa laughed when he laughed. She liked English. Angela looked at him with a wrinkle between her eyes.
“The farthest commissioner’s office in all of Great Britain. Why do you think I recommended Craig for that?”
“Okay, okay.”
“He doesn’t like it,” said Macdonald.
“No, I can understand that.”
“I don’t mean the job or the place. I’m talking about this case,” said Macdonald. “Craig is an angry bastard, but that’s also to his advantage. In his career. He says that things aren’t what they look like.”
“What did you say he said?”
“Things are not what they look like,” repeated Macdonald. “That’s what he said.”
Winter felt the hair on the back of his neck again. Angela saw how serious he was.
“They’re doing another autopsy,” said Macdonald.
“Has Johanna accepted that? The daughter, that is.”
“Yes. According to Craig. But he didn’t think they would find anything there.”
“Where will they find something then?”
“Don’t ask me, Erik.”
“And what will they find?” said Winter.
“You sound quite involved in this,” said Macdonald.
“I have actually thought about it quite a bit,” said Winter. “Worked on it a little.”
“It sounds like it.”
And suddenly Winter saw what he would be doing in the near future. What he
Angela was playing backgammon with Elsa now. She had made a meaningful gesture toward the wine bottle. He had nodded, and she had poured half a glass for herself and brought one to him. In three days they were supposed to go to Marbella for a week.
There would be other opportunities.
“It’s… interesting,” said Winter.
“Now you’ve started to get me interested,” said Macdonald. “You and Craig.”
“If it hadn’t been for the information I just received,” said Winter.
“You’ve thought about it before,” said Macdonald.
“What?”
“Don’t even try,” said Macdonald.
Winter didn’t answer; he took a drink of the wine, which was cold and dry. He thought, thought. He felt the old feeling, the old, wonderful, damn feeling. He thought of Marbella, of Angela, Mother… it could work out. Elsa might think it was nice. He could ask Siv…
“What do you say?” said Winter. They hadn’t needed to say out loud what they were discussing. It was the so- called iceberg effect. “Is it possible for you?”
“As a matter of fact,” said Macdonald, “I’ve been planning to take a trip home soon. I’ve actually been putting it off for too long.”
“Can you get away on short notice?”
“How short?” asked Macdonald.
“Three days.”
“Yes. It might work.”
“I might not come alone,” Winter said, looking at Angela, who had stiffened during the last minute of conversation.
“Me neither,” said Macdonald. “Sarah is ready for a trip. We have even arranged for a babysitter. If you can say that about taking care of girls who are almost fifteen.”
“I’ll call you later tonight,” Winter said, and hung up.
“What was that?” Angela said.
“Oh…,” Winter said, blinking quickly and making a motion with his head toward Elsa, who was concentrating on her pieces, “Steve wanted to talk a little.”
Elsa was sleeping like a little rock. Winter snuck out into the hall and into the kitchen. Angela was playing a round of solitaire that appeared to be coming to an end.
“Well?” she said.
“What do you say we go to Scotland for a few days?” he said.
31
It was late when Moa Ringmar came home. Her father was on the phone. It was afternoon in New York. Bertil paused and put his hand over the mouthpiece:
“Martin got that loft on Third Avenue,” he said.
“How nice for him.”
