'How do you get up when there are no steps?' she said and looked at the ten-foot-high concrete wall that supported the track.
Beata came up and stood beside her. 'We're not going up there. Just follow the wall.'
She pointed ahead and Annika plodded on. She could feel the stress creeping into her veins: She had to write a story on the police closing in on the Bomber, and she still hadn't wrapped the children's Christmas gifts. Oh, well, she'd have to do that after they go to bed tonight. Beata's discovery might be just the thing to get the police talking.
'Do you see how the wall disappears over there?' Beata said behind her. 'You can get underneath the arena there, that's where we're heading.'
Annika shivered; it was cold here where the wall blocked out the sun. She could hear her own breathing and the traffic on the South Bypass behind her; apart from that it was completely silent. At least she knew where they were going now.
The police patrol was made up of two policemen in uniform and two plain-clothes detectives. Anders Schyman received them in his office.
'Two bomb patrols with dogs are on their way,' one of the detectives said. 'There's a real risk that there are more bombs, possibly here at the paper. The premises have to be evacuated and searched straight away.'
'Is that necessary? We haven't received any threats,' Anders Schyman said.
The detective gave him a serious look. 'Of course. She hasn't issued any warnings the other times.'
'She?' Schyman said.
The other detective stepped forward. 'Yes, we believe the Bomber may be a woman.'
Anders Schyman looked from one man to the other. 'What makes you think that?'
'We can't tell you that yet.'
'She's disappeared,' the first detective said, changing subjects. 'And we haven't been able to locate Annika Bengtzon. Do you have any idea where she might be?'
Anders Schyman shook his head, his mouth parched. 'No, all she said was that she was meeting someone for an interview.'
'Who?'
'She didn't say. A man, she said.'
'Does she drive her own car?'
'I don't think so.'
The two detectives exchanged glances- this man didn't know a whole lot.
'Right, we've got to find out what car she's in, get a description of it, and circulate that to all units. Let's get moving with the evacuation of the building.'
'Up there the competitors will be warming up before the events,' Beata said when they were standing under the arena. It was gloomy, almost dark, in here under the concrete roof. Annika looked out through the long, low opening. On the other side stood the Olympic Village, the white houses sparkling in the sunlight. The windows glittered and gleamed; they were all absolutely new. Replacing the blasted windows had been given priority. There was a risk of the water pipes in the uninhabited block freezing and bursting.
'The competitors have to be able to reach the stadium quickly,' Beata said. 'This area is open to the public to avoid them having to queue for the main entrance. We've built this underground passage, leading from the training facility and up to the stadium.'
Annika turned around and looked into the gloom. 'Where?' she said, bewildered.
Beata smiled. 'We didn't exactly put up a large sign,' she said. 'If we had, the public could have found it. Over there in the corner. Come on, I'll show you.'
They walked further in under the roof, Annika blinking to get accustomed to the darkness.
'Here it is,' Beata said.
Annika stood in front of a gray iron door, hardly noticeable in the gloom. A large iron bar lay across the door. It looked like it would be a door to a refuse room or something similar. Next to the iron door was a small box, which Beata opened. Annika saw her take out a card from her coat pocket and pull it through a swipe machine.
'Do you have an entry card to this place?' Annika said with surprise.
'Everyone does,' Beata said and removed the bar.
'What are you doing?' Annika asked.
'Opening the door,' Beata said and pulled the iron door open. The hinges didn't make a sound. Inside the darkness was complete.
'But can you do that, aren't the alarms primed?' Annika said, feeling an uneasiness creep up on her.
'No, the alarms won't go off during the day. They're hard at it upstairs, repairing the arena. Come inside, and I'll show you something strange. Hang on, I'll just switch on the light.'
Beata turned a big switch next to the exit and a row of fluorescents flickered on. The passage had concrete walls, and the floor was covered with yellow linoleum. The ceiling height was around seven feet. The passage stretched straight ahead for about twenty yards and then veered to the left and disappeared up toward the Olympic stadium. Annika took a deep breath and started walking. She turned around and saw Beata pull the door to.
'Regulations say it mustn't be left open,' Beata said and smiled again.
Annika returned the smile, turned around, and continued walking down the passage. Should she be doing this?
'Is it up here?' she asked.
'Yes, just around the bend.'
Annika felt her blood pumping. In spite of herself, she thought this was exciting. She walked quickly and heard the echo of her heels in the tunnel. Further along, around the bend a pile of trash appeared.
'There's something there!' she said and turned around to Beata.
'That's what I wanted to show you. It's really curious.'
Annika secured her bag on her shoulder and jogged up to the pile. It was a mattress, two simple garden stools, a folding table, and a cooler. Annika walked up to the things and studied them.
'Someone's been sleeping here,' she said, and just then she spotted the box with the dynamite. It was small and white and the name 'Minex' was printed on the side. She gasped, and at the same instant felt something being thrown around her neck. Her hands flew up to her neck, but she couldn't grab hold of the rope. She tried screaming, but the noose was already too tight. She started pulling and tugging, tried to run. She fell to the floor, desperately trying to crawl out of the noose, but that only caused it to be pulled even tighter.
The last thing she saw before everything went black was Beata fading in and out of focus, the rope in her hands, hovering over her, the concrete ceiling above her head.
The evacuation of the newspaper offices was comparatively fast and smooth. The fire alarm was turned on and in nine minutes the whole building was vacated. The last man to leave was the news editor, Ingvar Johansson, who said he had more important things to do than practice the fire drill. Only when the editor-in-chief had bawled at him down the phone did he leave his post, under protest.
The staff was relatively calm. They knew nothing of the bomb being targeted at one of their colleagues and were treated to coffee and sandwiches in the canteen of an adjoining office block. Meanwhile, the police bomb squad searched all the areas belonging to the paper. Anders Schyman suddenly realized that his migraine had disappeared, the blood vessels had contracted, and the pain was gone. He was sitting with his secretary and the chief telephone operator in an office behind the kitchen in the adjacent building. Getting hold of Annika's husband
