‘Alex.’
‘It’s been a while.’
He got up and shook Eden’s hand. He had never seen a woman wearing so many bracelets, fine and chunky, on both wrists.
She sat down, crossed her legs and looked around.
‘You should do what we’ve done – knock down the walls and go open plan.’
Alex suppressed a snort of laughter. Several of his colleagues would rather sell their own children than work in an open plan office.
‘I don’t think that would be a very good idea.’
‘People get used to it. Can I smoke if I open a window?’
Alex was so taken aback that he didn’t know what to say. Smoke? Indoors? She took his silence for assent.
‘Thanks!’
In a single fluid movement she rose and pushed open a window, letting in cold air and snow.
‘Bloody awful weather,’ Eden said, lighting her cigarette before she sat down again.
‘It’s supposed to get better next week.’
‘Really?’
She raised an eyebrow.
‘I think that’s what they said. The experts. But what the hell do I know – it might carry on snowing until midsummer.’
Why was he rambling on about the weather? There weren’t many people who had that effect on him, but Eden certainly did.
The smoke from her cigarette was making his eyes sting. Alex blinked and wondered what she did in her own workplace; surely she couldn’t smoke in an open plan office? He suspected the answer was that she probably could. Eden did as she pleased.
‘You asked for my help,’ she said.
She was in a hurry to get home, of course. Her family were waiting, and the weekend was approaching. Alex felt slightly stressed, unsure where to begin.
‘You’ve heard about the murders in the Solomon Community?’ he said eventually.
‘Indeed.’
He saw a flash of surprise on her face.
‘I’ve already told the community that I don’t want to get involved,’ she said.
It was Alex’s turn to be surprised.
‘The community?’
Eden nodded and reached for an empty coffee cup on his desk.
‘Okay if I use this as an ashtray?’
Not really, no.
‘No problem.’
Grey ash landed in the bottom of the cup.
‘Are you saying the community rang you?’
‘They think they can count on my support, my resources. But they can’t. I work for Säpo and no one else.’
‘And exactly what did they want your support and your resources for?’
‘You might well ask.’ She sighed and rolled her neck from side to side. ‘It’s not that I don’t sympathise with their situation, because I do. It would be stupid to deny that there’s a increased threat level against Jews and Jewish interests, but dealing with security issues of that kind is not part of my job.’
She stubbed out her cigarette in the china cup and pushed it away.
‘But I don’t imagine I’m here to talk about the Solomon Community’s security issues.’
‘No. You’re here because a certain individual has come up in our inquiry, and to be honest I have no idea how to approach him. I contacted you because I suspect you have a similar background, and I thought it would be interesting to hear if you have any advice.’
‘I’m listening.’
Alex took a document out of his secure filing cabinet.
‘There are certain things that link the three murders – the teacher and the two boys.’
‘Really?’ Eden said. ‘My guess was that they were unconnected.’
‘Mine too, but it seems we were wrong. For example, all three victims were shot with the same gun.’
Eden let out a whistle.
‘That makes it rather difficult to claim there’s no link,’ she said.
‘Quite.’ Alex took out a photograph of the paper bag in which the plant had been delivered to the Solomon Community. ‘And then there’s this.’
He passed her the picture, and she looked at it closely.
‘It’s identical to the bags the boys had over their heads,’ she said.
Alex knew she had been out to Drottningholm before he and Fredrika arrived; he had heard her name mentioned among his colleagues.
‘Not identical, but almost,’ he corrected her.
He told her about the delivery, and how the bag had ended up in the hands of the police. When he had finished, Eden sat there motionless, staring at him.
‘Can I just check if I’ve got this right?’ she said slowly. ‘An Israeli is currently helping the community, and he seems worryingly well-informed about what the police are doing?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you want to get hold of him?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you think I can help you?’
He felt utterly stupid. What had he been thinking? He spread his hands wide.
‘I realise I’m skating on thin ice here,’ he said apologetically. ‘It’s just that I don’t like the way this guy is behaving. He’s not at the hotel where he said he was staying, at least not under what he claims is his real name. And the phone number he gave is no longer in use.’
Eden held up a hand.
‘You misunderstand me, Alex. I’m not saying he’s not suspect, or that he might have a background in intelligence. The problem is that I don’t know how I can help.’
Nor do I, Alex thought.
‘By giving me some good advice?’
Eden burst out laughing.
‘Good advice costs nothing. If he has an intelligence background, he might well have several passports, and good reasons to use different names in different circumstances. There’s nothing strange about that. But let me ask you a question: is this man a suspect in some way? Why are you surprised that he thought the killer might have left some kind of calling card?’
‘Well, that’s just it,’ Alex said. ‘I’m not necessarily saying there’s anything suspicious about his behaviour, but as he guessed correctly, it would be interesting to talk to him. There’s no more to it than that, really.’
Eden looked pensive as she fiddled with her bracelets.
‘If you can’t get hold of him, you might just have to wait until he gets in touch with your former colleague at the Solomon Community,’ she said.
‘You could be right. I’d just like to find out if he’s conducting his own investigation running parallel to ours. And if so, is it on the instructions of his employer in Israel?’
Eden looked dubious.
‘I find it very difficult to imagine that the Israeli authorities would have any interest in a case like this.’
She tilted her head on one side.
‘But I can ask around, if you like. What’s the name of this man?’
‘Efraim Kiel. Would you like me to spell it for you?’
‘That won’t be necessary, thank you. But you didn’t answer my question: is he a suspect? Do you think he’s involved in the murders?’
Her face changed from open to closed so fast that Alex didn’t have time to react.
He needed to think.
Did he believe Kiel was involved?
No.
Besides which, he had an alibi for both murders; he had been at the community centre finishing off the appointment of Peder Rydh. Hadn’t he?
‘No,’ Alex said. ‘But as I said, we’d still like to speak to him.’
‘I’ll do what I can.’
Alex felt a wave of relief.
Eden looked as if she was about to leave.
‘One more thing before you go,’ he said.
She waited patiently.
‘There are several loose ends in the case that all lead to Israel. Do you think it would be possible to set up some kind of collaboration with the local police if I sent over someone from our team?’
‘That depends,’ Eden said. ‘Who were you thinking of sending?’
‘Fredrika Bergman. The thing is, her husband is going out there anyway on Sunday.’
At first she had thought he was joking, but apparently he wasn’t. Fredrika Bergman couldn’t believe her ears when Alex outlined his so-called plan. A plan that involved her travelling to Israel to follow up on various leads over there.