‘Did he say why he wanted to know?’ Fredrika asked.
‘No.’
‘Where can we reach him?’ Alex said.
‘I think he’s staying at the Diplomat. Hang on, I’ll find his phone number.’
As Peder searched among the papers on his desk, Alex asked:
‘What’s his background, this Efraim Kiel?’
‘I’ve no idea. I assume he’s some kind of security expert.’
‘Has he mentioned anyone called the Paper Boy?’
Peder found the phone number.
‘The Paper Boy? No – who’s that?’
‘Just a story that’s come up. If you see Efraim again, you might like to ask him about it.’
Peder jotted down the number and gave it to Alex. ‘Are you going to contact him?’
‘We’ll see,’ Alex replied. ‘But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell him about this conversation.’
Peder knew he would do as Alex said. His job as head of security was to provide the community and its members with the highest level of protection, and Peder was no longer convinced that Efraim Kiel had the same goal.
‘There’s something going on here, Buster. And we’re missing the whole damned thing.’
Eden Lundell had gone to see Säpo’s general director, Buster Hansson, armed with the surveillance reports. A Mossad agent whom Säpo had specifically warned off had entered the country for reasons unknown. He was a hunted man. Someone who was cocky enough to leave messages out in the open was after him.
Eden had warned their own surveillance team about what was in the message they had found, explained that they must keep an eye open for someone who, like them, was following Efraim Kiel’s every move.
But so far they hadn’t picked up a thing.
GD, who was used to Eden’s temperament and outbursts, listened to what she had to say with an expression of concern.
‘So you think there’s some kind of transaction between agents going on here?’
The scepticism in his voice was palpable.
‘No, that’s not what I think.’
Transaction between agents? What the hell was that? Not something that was part of real life.
‘An acquaintance in the National Crime Unit told me the Solomon Community has just appointed a new head of security,’ she said. ‘That could well be why Efraim came over in the first place; he’s dealt with that kind of thing before. But the head of security is now in post, and Efraim is still here.’
‘Is that so strange? Given his background, I mean,’ GD said. ‘The Solomon Community has had a terrible couple of days.’
‘Absolutely, but I don’t believe he told the community about his background, or what he does and who his real employer is.’
‘So who’s creeping around outside his hotel room leaving him cryptic messages?’ GD said.
‘That’s what we don’t know. But since the message is written in Hebrew, and Efraim belongs to Mossad, I can’t help worrying. Either someone has followed him all the way from Israel, or someone here in Stockholm is monitoring his activities. Which means that person must be part of the Solomon Community, because he hasn’t met anyone else. According to the surveillance reports, that is.’
She took a deep breath, knowing that what she was about to say could be perceived as controversial.
‘Which brings me to my next point. I’m not convinced that surveillance is one hundred per cent effective in this case.’
Buster raised his eyebrows.
‘You’re not?’
‘No.’
She placed the latest reports in front of GD.
‘Don’t you think he seems to be spending rather too much time in his hotel room?’
She spoke softly, taking care not to sound supercilious. Efraim Kiel had had a completely different training from the agents who worked for the Swedish security service; it was only to be expected that he would be able to get away.
‘You mean he’s leaving the hotel without our guys knowing?’
‘Yes.’
‘What else?’ GD said, folding his arms.
Eden drummed her long fingers on the desk.
‘I don’t think it’s pure chance that these anomalies coincide with the murders of the past few days.’
GD was taken aback.
‘And how exactly do you believe all this hangs together?’
Eden sat back and pushed her hands into her trouser pockets.
‘I don’t know. But I intend to find out, because I’m convinced that there’s a link between the murders and Efraim’s stay in Stockholm.’
GD looked away, focusing on a point behind Eden.
‘And how exactly are you going to do that?’
Eden gave him the only possible answer:
‘I’ll do you the courtesy of not telling you what I’ve done until afterwards.’
There was no one by the name of Efraim Kiel staying at the Diplomat. Alex Recht wasn’t exactly surprised, but it did bother him. The case was already complicated and wide-ranging enough; now they had an Israeli citizen who had officially entered Sweden in order to recruit a head of security for the Solomon Community, but who seemed far too knowledgeable when asking questions about an ongoing police investigation.
‘I don’t like this,’ he said to Fredrika.
They were back at HQ, sitting opposite one another in the Snakes’ Nest. Alex had just finished a brief conversation with the hotel manager.
‘Could there be a simple explanation? Perhaps the Solomon Community has much closer links with the police that Peder realises? And that’s why Efraim Kiel knew that he should be looking for something the perpetrator had left behind?’
‘You mean someone tipped him off about the paper bags on Lovön? In that case, shouldn’t someone else have approached Peder? Efraim Kiel isn’t even a member of the Solomon Community. Why would he get involved in the murder of a teacher and two boys?’
Diana called, wondering when he’d be home.
It was almost six o’clock. Alex had told everyone else that he wouldn’t be calling another briefing before the weekend, but there was one more thing he wanted to discuss with Fredrika before he left for the day.
‘I should be there in an hour,’ he said.
Fredrika looked away as he dealt with the personal call. She stared as if hypnotised at the snowflakes landing on the windows, leaving tiny white dots behind for a split second.
Alex apologised for the interruption and put down his phone.
‘So you think it all boils down to the fact that Efraim just happens to be well-informed because he’s been given confidential details through the community’s own contacts within the police? I’m afraid I don’t agree,’ he said.
‘So what do we do? Do we try the phone number Peder gave us?’
Alex laughed dryly. ‘And say what?’
Fredrika ran a hand over her dark hair, making sure that no strands had escaped the thick plait hanging down her back.
‘We say we’re contacting him with regard to an ongoing police investigation, and that we believe he could be of assistance. We don’t have to confront him with a whole load of accusations; we don’t have anything concrete anyway.’
‘You mean we make it sound as if we’re impressed by how astute he is? That it was very perceptive of him to realise that the killer would leave or send some kind of calling card?’
‘Something along those lines.’
It wasn’t a bad idea. They couldn’t rule out the possibility that Efraim Kiel just happened to have an instinct for what might be important in an investigation. Peder knew nothing about his background; perhaps Kiel was a former police officer, or had something to do with intelligence? In either case he would be well placed to be able to put two and two together and to draw conclusions which appeared to be unexpected.
‘There isn’t necessarily anything odd about the fact that he realised the killer might have left something behind,’ Fredrika said to underline her point. ‘I say realised, but he might just have guessed.’
Alex agreed with her in principle, but in that case why had Kiel checked into the hotel using a false ID? Or had he given Peder the wrong hotel so that no one would be able to find him? Either scenario didn’t sound like normal behaviour to Alex.