‘No idea. The trail ends at the bus stop. That’s where they were last seen.’
‘Wrong,’ Fredrika said. ‘That’s where Simon was last seen. It would be very useful if we could say the same about Abraham. Where are we up to with the analysis of their telephone traffic? Have we been able to pinpoint their mobiles?’
They had arrived, and Alex was looking for a parking space. The car glided slowly along, the snow crunching beneath its tyres.
‘I checked while you were talking to the woman from the bus stop; both mobiles are switched off. No signal whatsoever. I’ve asked for lists of their calls over the last few months, and we should have those in an hour or so.’
‘Do we know who each of them called last?’ Fredrika said as she pointed. ‘There’s a space.’
‘Simon’s mother spoke to him after he left school; she said he sounded just the same as usual. He said he wanted meatballs for tea.’
He reversed into the space.
‘If he was talking about tea, then it definitely sounds as if he was intending to go straight home after tennis. What about Abraham?’
‘He spoke to his father before he went to meet Simon. He’d been doing some homework at a friend’s house. But I don’t know if that was the last call he made or received.’
They left the car and set off towards the Solomon Community. The police cordon outside the school had been removed, and the snow had done a good job of covering the blood. The street looked perfectly normal.
‘They’re ten years old, Alex. We have to gain access to the family’s computers, see what they’ve been doing on the internet. That’s where children communicate these days, however sad that might sound.’
‘We’ll sort it out with their parents now. To be honest I’d be more worried about that if we were dealing with young girls.’
‘Because of the risk that they might have arranged to meet someone they’ve got to know online?’ Fredrika said.
‘Yes. Unfortunately we live in an age where it’s more common for girls to be picked up by perverts.’
‘But that doesn’t mean boys are safe. These two are young enough to attract all kinds of perpetrators.’
Paedophiles. That was the word she had meant to say, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to do so. The involvement of a paedophile was always the last thing they wanted, and the worst case scenario.
She pushed aside the unwanted images in her mind and decided to think of something else. They knew where Simon had last been seen. Now she wanted to know where Abraham’s trail ended.
The heat inside the centre was overwhelming. Alex automatically unbuttoned his coat and noticed that Fredrika had done the same. The situation seemed almost unchanged from the previous evening, with several people working hard to find out where the boys had gone. However, the energy level had dropped. He could hear it in their voices, see it in their body language. They had already phoned everyone they could think of; everyone who might be able to help was already here.
Peder Rydh met them at the door. He and Alex shook hands, but Fredrika reacted as Alex had done the previous day and gave him a hug. The memory of a time Alex could never recapture flared up once more. He, Fredrika and Peder had been a super-troika, and those years had corresponded with the most difficult time in his private life. The loss of Lena to cancer had damaged him in so many ways. Diana only had to mention a word like mammogram or biopsy for him to panic.
‘Darling, you can’t go around being scared of life itself,’ she would say.
As if it were life and not death he feared. He had no problem with the idea that we have a limited time on this earth; however, he did struggle to accept that death was forever. That people don’t come back. Ever.
When had Fredrika and Peder last met? He had no idea, but they both looked quite emotional as they broke apart.
‘I heard you got married,’ Peder said. ‘Congratulations!’
So it must be quite a while ago. Fredrika had been married for over a year.
‘Thanks. We tied the knot while we were living in New York,’ she said with a smile. A big smile. It was obvious that she and Spencer were very much in love. Alex still hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting Spencer, but he had heard a lot about him. Bloody stupid name, but he sounded like one of the good guys.
‘So you’re working here now,’ Fredrika said, changing the subject.
‘It’s my first day.’
‘Not a good start, what with the murder and the boys going missing.’
Peder nodded.
Alex looked around. ‘I see you’ve done part of our job for us,’ he said, referring to the barrage of telephone calls that had been made by volunteers.
‘It’s an impressive turnout,’ Peder said. ‘I had no idea the Solomon Community was so tight.’
Alex was in the same boat, and he wondered what the implications might be if the police found any leads that pointed towards the community itself.
‘Anything you can tell us?’ he asked.
Peder grew serious.
‘How far have you got? Are you leading the case now?’
Alex was surprised. Was Peder trying to trade information?
‘Yes, I’m leading the case, and I’ll be happy to tell the families what we know so far. Are they here?’
Peder relaxed.
‘The boys’ mothers are here; the fathers are still out looking.’
Still. Where were they looking, and what were they looking for? The families lived in Östermalm, the tennis centre where the boys played was no more than a kilometre away on Lidingövägen. If someone had taken them, they could be anywhere.
People are never more irrational than when they are afraid, Alex knew that. He also knew that hope was the last thing to go. You only had to ask Peder. He could tell you what happened when hope disappeared and hell became a reality.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Peder said quietly so that no one else could hear. ‘About the parents. But they’re just incapable of sitting at home and waiting. Do you want me to call the fathers?’
‘Leave them for the time being,’ Alex said. ‘We’ll start with the boys’ mothers. It would be helpful if we could speak to them separately.’
Peder indicated that they should follow him.
‘There’s someone I’d like you to meet before you do anything else. He’s a friend of Abraham’s, and I think he has something important to tell you.’
The boy was sitting in the general secretary’s room, where Peder had asked him to wait for Alex and Fredrika to arrive. Peder introduced him to his former colleagues.
‘Tell them what you told me,’ he said.
The boy shuffled uncomfortably, obviously overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation. Alex sat down opposite him.
‘There’s no need to be scared,’ he said. ‘No one thinks you’ve done anything wrong.’
‘But you think something terrible has happened to Abraham and Simon!’
His eyes were huge with anxiety. Peder knew that his parents had been heavily involved in the search.
‘We don’t know that yet,’ Alex said. ‘But we are worried that they might come to some harm if we don’t find them soon. It’s bitterly cold out there.’
The boy automatically glanced over at the window, as if to confirm what Alex had said. He nodded, gazing at the snow.
‘I spoke to Abraham yesterday.’
‘And when was that?’
Fredrika stayed in the background, next to Peder. They had both silently reached the same conclusion; it was best if Alex handled this on his own.
Peder looked at her profile. Motherhood had made her even more attractive. Her face was more relaxed, not as stressed as it used to be. However that worked – having small children wasn’t exactly a piece of cake. At least, not at Peder’s house.
‘I called just before he left for tennis; I’d forgotten he had a lesson.’
‘Do you play too?’
‘No, my dad wants me to play football instead.’
Alex smiled, but said nothing. Peder and Fredrika made no comment either; what kind of father forces his kid to play football?