The discovery should have pleased him. He had found a significant clue; both Efraim Kiel and the police had confirmed that. If Alex hadn’t thought the paper bag was interesting, he wouldn’t have had it picked up so quickly.
The only problem was that no one had told Peder Rydh why the bag was so bloody important. In fact, he felt really stupid. He had reacted when he saw the bag in reception, thought it looked different from all the rest and wondered why. But would he have noticed it if Efraim Kiel hadn’t talked about calling cards? He wasn’t so sure.
The question now was how much he should tell Alex and Fredrika. Without anyone actually putting it into words, he had realised that Efraim Kiel was no ordinary security expert. Apparently he had travelled all the way from Israel to assist the Solomon Community to recruit a new head of security; that said something about his background, and even more about the importance the community attached to appointing the right man.
Therefore, Peder was anxious not to disappoint them; he didn’t want to go behind their backs.
Alex and Fredrika took him by surprise; they turned up in his office without warning, wanting to talk about the paper bag with the face on it.
For some reason this made Peder nervous, which annoyed him. He offered them coffee, and when they said yes, he felt like some kind of lackey who was obliged to serve them. He didn’t have an assistant.
‘I spoke to the secretary who called about the bag,’ Alex said, taking a sip of his coffee. ‘She said you were the one who found it.’
Peder stiffened.
‘I didn’t “find” it. It was lying on the floor under her desk, along with a load of other bags and wrapping paper.’
‘But it was you who said she ought to show it to the police, wasn’t it?’
There was nothing aggressive in Alex’s tone; he was just asking. And yet Peder couldn’t help feeling slightly uncomfortable. Where was Alex going with this?
‘It stood out, made me wonder if it might be significant. And there was no card to say who had sent the chrysanthemum.’
‘Was that the only anonymous delivery?’ Fredrika asked.
‘No, there were several, but the vast majority came with a card.’
Alex put down his cup.
‘But this one came after Josephine was shot? Before it became known that the boys had also been murdered?’
‘If I’ve understood correctly; that’s what the secretary said.’
Alex leaned back in his chair; Peder unconsciously did the same. An air of tension was building in the room, and he didn’t like it.
He didn’t like it at all.
‘Peder, how did you know that this bag would be of interest to us?’
The question came from Fredrika. Simple and direct, as her questions usually were. Impossible to misunderstand, but sometimes difficult to answer.
‘I didn’t know.’
Which was true.
‘But I thought it might be, because it was different from all the other bags. Because there was something about that face…’
He broke off.
Alex looked curious.
‘Yes?’
‘I don’t bloody know. I mean, it wasn’t exactly an attractive face. If it had looked as if a child had drawn it, I might have thought the plant had come from one of Josephine’s pupils, but that face seemed so… adult, somehow. As if an adult had drawn it, I mean. Combined with the fact that there was no card… well, that’s why I reacted as I did.’
Alex drank a little more coffee, then he looked Peder straight in the eye.
‘I sincerely hope that you’re absolutely clear about why we’re here,’ he said, stressing every word. ‘You guessed correctly. That bag is extremely important to us. That’s why we’re wondering if you really did come across it by pure chance.’
Peder’s pulse rate increased. He couldn’t stop himself, he had to ask more questions.
‘Have there been more anonymous deliveries in bags with faces drawn on them?’ he said.
Alex looked surprised for a second.
‘No. No, not as far as we know.’
‘So why is it interesting?’
Neither Alex nor Fredrika answered, and there was an uncomfortable silence.
‘It’s too early to talk about it right now,’ Alex said eventually. ‘But I promise I’ll tell you as soon as I can.’
Peder couldn’t help feeling put out. He knew that Alex was right; he couldn’t tell Peder why the bag was significant at this stage. But it still hurt to know that he was an outsider, that he couldn’t be a part of police work any more. Of Alex’s work.
His thoughts turned to Efraim Kiel. The man who hadn’t gone back to Israel, in spite of the fact that his job was done. The man who had come to see Peder, talking of calling cards.
Peder’s brain was working overtime. Alex said there had been no other deliveries in similar bags, and yet the bag was important. Very important, in fact. In which case Efraim must have been right. There had been other calling cards.
But how had Efraim known that?
Did he have his own contacts within the police?
‘I can see you’re mulling something over,’ Alex said in a pleasant tone of voice.
Fredrika crossed her legs.
‘You’re not suspected of any crime, Peder. We’re just very curious about what made you go to see the school secretary and ask her those particular questions.’
When Peder didn’t reply, Alex took over.
‘Another reason for our curiosity is that you also called a former colleague in the National Crime Unit and asked if they had found some object the killer might have left behind after Josephine was shot. I think you referred to it as a calling card.’
Peder felt himself blushing.
Fuck.
So his colleague had contacted Alex and told him that Peder had been in touch. Marvellous.
Alex realised what he was thinking.
‘He mentioned it to me when I called to tell him about the paper bag you found. Since the NCU are still technically leading the investigation into Josephine’s death, we have to pass on any information that could be relevant.’
Peder felt a spurt of anger.
‘That’s bloody ridiculous,’ he said. ‘Splitting the investigations. Surely it’s obvious it’s the same killer! All the victims are Jewish, they all belong to the same community, they all have links to the same school.’
He fell silent.
‘And they were shot with the same gun,’ Alex said.
Peder blinked.
‘Really?’
‘Yes, but keep it to yourself. It seems to have been leaked to the press already, because they’re asking questions, but we haven’t confirmed it yet.’
‘But it’s definitely true? They were shot with the same gun?’
‘Yes.’
So he’d been right.
‘Now tell us what you know,’ Alex said, and this time his tone had changed. ‘Why did you think the person who shot Josephine might have deliberately left something behind?’
Peder swallowed; he couldn’t help feeling that he shouldn’t mention Efraim Kiel to the police, but at the same time he kept wondering what Efraim was hiding. He was the one who had started talking about calling cards; had he just been fishing, or did he know something?
Hesitantly he began to speak.
‘There’s a man in the Solomon Community – well, not really in the community; he’s come over from Israel to help with the appointment of the head of security. His name is Efraim Kiel.’
‘I’ve spoken to him,’ Alex said. ‘He rang me to ask for a reference.’
Good – in that case Alex already knew who he was.
‘Exactly,’ Peder went on. ‘He came to see me yesterday, and asked if I had any information about the police investigation into the murders. He was very keen to know what was going on, and he was particularly interested in whether the killer had left some kind of calling card at either of the crime scenes.’
Alex and Fredrika looked at one another.