She was just about to look for a place to turn around when two figures suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, hand in hand, blinded by the headlights.
Tobias.
Emilie Isaksen’s heart almost jumped out of her throat when she saw the two terrified teenagers abandon the road after spotting the unfamiliar car and run into the forest.
She hit the brakes and stepped out into the rain with the engine running and the handbrake on.
‘Tobias!’ she called out.
Not a sound from anywhere. Just heavy rain hitting the gravel and drumming ominously against the bonnet.
‘Tobias!’ she called out again, with the water pouring over her face.
‘It’s me, Emilie. Don’t be afraid. You can come out now. Everything is all right. I’m here to pick you up. Tobias? Are you in there?’
The seconds passed and seemed to Emilie like eternity, but then some branches stirred not far from her, and soon two quizzical faces appeared in between them.
‘Emilie?’ Tobias said tentativel,y as he walked slowly towards her.
‘Yes.’ Emilie smiled. ‘Are you OK? Is everything all right with you?’
The handsome boy looked worn out and confused, but at least he was alive. She heaved a sigh of relief.
‘This is Rakel,’ Tobias said cautiously, gesturing to the girl who was hiding behind him.
The girl, who was wearing a heavy grey woollen dress and a white bonnet, as if she was from a different century, was standing trembling behind Tobias, not quite daring to show herself.
‘She needs help,’ Tobias said, and it wasn’t until now that Emilie realized how exhausted the boy was. His eyes threatened to roll into the back of his head, and he could barely manage to stay on his feet.
‘Get in,’ Emilie said, opening the rear door.
‘Tobias!’ Torben cried out when he saw his shattered bother climb into the car.
The little boy undid his seatbelt in a second and made his way to the back, where he gave his brother a big, long hug.
How could this be allowed to happen? What on earth had people done to these children?
Emilie got back behind the wheel and found a place to turn around.
‘Are you all right in the back?’ she said when they had driven some way down the road.
She caught Tobias’s eye in the rear-view mirror. The boy still looked dazed, but it seemed as if, regardless of the kind of cruelty they had been subjected to, he was slowly starting to believe that they were in safe hands.
‘We’re fine,’ he nodded, his voice trembling. ‘Will you help us?’
He looked at Emilie in the rear-view mirror.
‘Definitely.’ Emilie nodded back. ‘Everything will be all right now, Tobias, I promise you.’
Emilie Isaksen drove as quickly as she dared down the narrow gravel track.
And then she headed into town.
Chapter 88
For the second time in less than an hour Holger Munch was sitting in his car with the binoculars raised to his eyes, with a Delta team ready for entry, but this time outside the right location. Definitely the right one. A girl had seen Marion run out of this very house. Only to be brought back inside. By Karen Nylund. The girl was local and she knew what she was talking about; there was no longer any doubt. And where everything about the old, ramshackle cottage they had just left had felt wrong, everything here felt absolutely right. It was an old, red house, a little shabby but clearly habitable. There was a faint light coming from behind the windows as if someone had covered them with film to prevent anyone looking in. A thin column of smoke rose from a brick chimney on the roof. An idyllic little cottage in the country. From the outside. But it was clear to them that inside was another story. Karen Nylund was inside. She had murdered four six-year-old girls. She had ruined the lives of innocent parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, neighbours; inflicted extreme pain on them which would never go away. She had tricked him into thinking he might experience love again. He felt his hatred well up in his chest, his forehead grew hot and his palms sweaty, but he tried to stay calm. Professional. Not acting rashly. She had Marion. Marion was alive. Or at least she had been less than an hour ago. Holger Munch didn’t dare to contemplate if Mia was inside and what might have happened to her.
It was a matter of acting quickly, but not too quickly. They had to get an overview of the situation. Get every team member in place. Munch glanced further down the road, where three ambulances had pulled up a short while ago, all with their lights turned off so as not to draw attention to themselves. Curry sat impatiently in the back, tapping his pistol against his thigh. As usual, Kim Kolsø sat like a pillar of salt in the seat next to Holger Munch, his gazed fixed on the door they would soon break down.
‘Delta 1, this is 9. Come in.’
‘9, this is Delta 1. We’re in position, over.’
‘Delta 2, this is 9. Come in.’
‘9, this is Delta 2. We need a few minutes, over.’
‘Delta 2, this is 9. Received. We’ll wait, over.’
‘What the hell is going on?’ Curry said impatiently from the back.
‘We’re waiting,’ Munch said briefly.
‘What are we waiting for? Mia is in there, for God’s sake.’
The bald police officer could barely keep still any longer, his fingers went like drum sticks against his thigh and his eyes were narrow, filled with rage.
‘We’re waiting for Delta 2 to get into position,’ Munch said, as calmly as he could manage.
‘Calm down, Curry,’ Kim said, still sitting motionless in the front.
‘Sod this,’ they suddenly heard from the back.
It all happened so quickly that Munch had no time to react. Curry had already opened the rear door and was heading for the house.
Munch flung open his door and was followed by Kim leaping out of the car. He wanted to shout, but he didn’t want to alert Karen.
Damn.
He increased his speed as much as his heavy body would allow, running down the gravel track, through the gate, across the flagstones. He reached the steps just as Curry pushed down the door handle and stormed inside the house.
From then on, everything happened in slow motion. Munch caught a glimpse of Karen’s startled reaction to the noise. She had been caught off guard. It was clear that she had‘ot been expecting this, but the strawberry-blonde woman still had time to swing the barrel of the shotgun towards Curry, who threw himself to one side as the shot was fired.
Did she hit him?
Curry, you bloody idiot!
Still in slow motion she turned and faced him. Her hands gripped the weapon so hard that her knuckles were white. It looked as if she opened her mouth to say something as her finger curled around the trigger, but by now Holger Munch had had enough of slow-motion movies.
He raised his gun and fired twice. Once to the neck. Once right through her heart. Karen Nylund twitched, fell backwards and lay lifeless on the floor as the blood ran slowly down her chest and along her arms.
And that was when he spotted Mia. She was tied to a chair near a wall. Tape covered her mouth. A needle in her hand from some kind of stand.
Oh no.
Oh, please, no, no, no.
Holger Munch froze right in front of his lifeless colleague, unaware of all the people who came rushing in behind him. Kim. The Delta teams. The doctor. The paramedics. He stayed where he was, unable to utter a single word, watching people who seemed miles away free Mia from the chair and carry her out into the waiting ambulance. He didn’t see Curry get up from the floor, clutching his arm and being supported down the steps. Holger Munch didn’t snap out of his trance until Kim appeared with a small, trembling figure in his arms.
Marion.
She was alive.