Nordlander froze, beer glass in hand.
‘Is Hakan involved in this as well? Did they operate as a pair?’
‘That’s hardly credible.’
Nordlander slammed his glass down on the table.
‘Do you know or don’t you? Why don’t you tell me straight?’
‘There’s nothing to suggest that Hakan cooperated with Louise.’
‘Then why is he hiding himself away?’
‘Because he suspected her. He was on her trail for many years. In the end he began to fear for his own life. He thought Louise realised that he suspected her, and that meant there was a significant risk that he might be murdered.’
‘But Louise is the one who’s dead.’
‘Don’t forget that when her body was found, Hakan had already been missing for a long time.’
*
Wallander watched a new Sten Nordlander emerging. He was normally energetic and straightforward, but now he seemed to be shrinking. The confusion he felt was changing him.
There was a minor commotion at a neighbouring table: a drunken man fell over and knocked down several bottles and glasses. A security officer came hurrying up, and calm was soon restored. Wallander drank his tea. Sten Nordlander had stood up and walked over to the fence. He gazed down at the city stretching out before him. When he returned, Wallander said, ‘I need your help to persuade Hakan to return.’
‘What can I do?’
‘You’re his best friend. I want you to come with me on a trip. I’ll tell you where tomorrow. Can we use your car? Can you leave your boat for twenty-four hours or so?’
‘No problem.’
‘Pick me up at three o’clock tomorrow outside the hotel. Dress for rain. I have to go now.’
He didn’t let Nordlander ask any questions. He didn’t look round as he walked back to the hotel. He still wasn’t absolutely certain that he could rely on Sten Nordlander, but he had made his choice and there was no going back now.
That night he lay awake for hours, tossing and turning between the damp sheets. In his dream he saw Baiba hovering over the ground, her face completely transparent.
He left the hotel early the next morning and took a taxi out to Djurgarden, where he lay down under a tree and slept for a while. He used his bag containing the shotgun as a pillow. When he woke up, he strolled back through town to the hotel. He was waiting there when Sten Nordlander drove up to the entrance. Wallander put his bag on the back seat.
‘Where are we going?’
‘South.’
‘Far?’
‘A hundred and twenty miles or so, maybe a bit more. But there’s no hurry.’
They drove out of Stockholm and set out on the motorway.
‘What’s in store for us?’ Nordlander asked.
‘You’ll just have to listen to a conversation, that’s all.’
Nordlander asked no questions. Does he know where we’re going? Wallander wondered. Is he only pretending to be surprised? Wallander wasn’t sure. Deep down, of course, there was a reason why he had taken his guns with him. I brought them because I can’t be sure that I won’t have to defend myself, he thought. I just hope it won’t be necessary.
They reached the harbour at about ten o’clock. Wallander had insisted on a long stop in Soderkoping, where they ate dinner. They sat in silence, contemplating the river that flowed through the town and admiring all the plants and bushes coming into bloom on its banks. The boat Wallander had reserved was waiting for them in the inner dock.
By about eleven they were approaching their destination. Wallander switched off the engine and allowed the boat to drift in to land. He listened. Not a sound to be heard. Sten Nordlander’s face was almost invisible in the darkness.
Then they stepped ashore.
40
They moved cautiously through the late-summer darkness. Wallander had whispered to Nordlander that he should stay close to him, without giving any explanation. The moment they arrived at the island, Wallander felt quite certain that Sten Nordlander didn’t know anything about Hakan von Enke’s hideaway. It would have been impossible for anybody to conceal so skilfully any knowledge about where they might find the man they were looking for.
Wallander paused when he saw the light from one of the windows in the hunting lodge. He could also hear the sound of music above the sighing of the waves. It took several seconds before he realised that a window was open. He turned to Sten Nordlander and whispered, ‘You find it hard to believe that Louise von Enke was a spy?’
‘Do you find that odd?’
‘Not at all.’
‘I hear what you’re saying, but I refuse to believe that it’s true.’
‘You’re absolutely right,’ said Wallander slowly. ‘What I’m telling you is what they
Nordlander shook his head.
‘Now you’ve lost me.’
‘There were items in Louise’s handbag indicating that she was a spy. But those things could have been planted there after she was dead. Whoever killed her also tried to make it look like a suicide. When I met Hakan here on the island he told me in minute detail how he had suspected for many years that Louise was a spy. It sounded very convincing. But then I began to understand what I had overlooked earlier. You might say that I held up a mirror and observed all the events in reverse.’
‘And what did you see?’
‘Something that turned everything upside down. What is it they say? You have to stand things on their head in order to see them the right way up? That’s how it was for me, in any case.’
‘Are you saying that Louise wasn’t a spy after all, then? If not, what
Wallander didn’t answer his question.
‘I want you to sneak up to the house wall,’ he said. ‘Stand there, and listen in.’
‘To what?’
‘To the conversation I’m going to have with Hakan von Enke.’
‘But why all this pussyfooting around in the darkness?’
‘If he knows you’re here, he may not tell the truth.’
Nordlander shook his head. But he made no further comment and edged his way towards the house. Wallander stayed still. Thanks to his alarm system, von Enke would know that somebody was moving around on the island. The hope was that he wouldn’t realise there was more than one person outside his hunting lodge.
Nordlander reached the house wall. Wallander would never have noticed him if he hadn’t known he was there. But he continued to wait, not moving a muscle. He felt a strange mixture of calm and uneasiness. The end of the story is nigh, he thought. Am I right, or have I made a huge mistake?
He regretted not having explained to Nordlander that the mission might take some time.
A nightbird fluttered past, then vanished. Wallander listened into the darkness for any noise that would tell him Hakan von Enke was on his way. Nordlander was standing motionless by the house wall. The music was still oozing out through the open window.
He gave a start when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and found himself looking into Hakan von Enke’s face.
