He wanted to ring Alex, find out how far he had got with the investigation, ask if he could help in any way. Most of all he wanted to ask whether Alex wanted him back. Whether he missed him.
I’d do anything for a second chance.
The sounds from the boys’ bedroom as Ylva tried to settle them reminded him that he had already been given a second chance. Things could have been much worse. He could have lost his whole family as well.
His work mobile rang. He answered quickly, not wanting to disturb Ylva and the children.
It was the general secretary.
‘Sorry to disturb you on a Sunday, but… I have something to tell you. Something I forgot when we last spoke.’
‘What’s this about?’
‘Efraim Kiel,’ the general secretary said slowly.
Peder took a deep breath.
‘Yes?’
He heard a sigh.
‘I don’t think this is important, I really don’t. But after you asked me where Efraim Kiel was when Simon and Abraham went missing, I thought back to that afternoon. I told you Efraim was with me, but that’s not the case.’
‘No?’
‘Everything happened so fast. First of all Josephine was shot, just after three o’clock. We were both there when the police arrived, but then Efraim went off, said he had personal contacts who might be able to help push the police a little harder. With his background he obviously knows people the rest of us wouldn’t have access to, so I didn’t react to what he said. And he did come back; he was there when you came in, and he was the one who made the calls taking up your references.’
Bloody hell.
‘So what you’re saying is that when the boys disappeared on their way to tennis coaching, Efraim wasn’t in the community centre,’ Peder said.
‘Correct. Which doesn’t necessarily mean he was lying; it’s entirely possible that he had meetings that were none of my business.’
But you’re not sure, because otherwise you wouldn’t have called me, would you?
Peder swallowed.
Efraim Kiel no longer had an alibi for the period when the boys were abducted.
The sound of children in the house was a joy. Chatter turning into screams of delight, giggles exploding into laughter, bouncing off the walls. High voices calling out new words that made his face light up.
‘Grandma!’
‘Grandpa!’
Alex’s son and daughter had both come for Sunday dinner with their families, a surprise that met him in the doorway when he got home from work.
His head was bursting with random thoughts and speculation about why two children had been shot dead and a third had disappeared. His grandchildren drove those thoughts away for a while. They hurled themselves at him, much less easy to elude than the adults in his company. He even managed to get through the meal before his mind was once again invaded by what had happened. What it would mean if one of the parents had lied about his alibi.
The last thing he had done before leaving Police HQ was to put Saul Goldmann under surveillance, just to be on the safe side. If he was the one who had taken Polly Eisenberg, he might lead them to her.
Diana watched him across the table. She had one of the grandchildren on her knee, holding the child close. They were not her grandchildren, but she had taken Alex’s family to her heart and made them her own.
His mobile rang and he excused himself. Diana’s expression was forgiving as he left the table.
It was Peder. Alex almost dropped the phone when he realised what he was saying.
Efraim Kiel didn’t have an alibi.
‘As you know, this is extremely important information,’ he said. ‘Thank you very much.’
A thank you was not enough. Follow up questions came thick and fast. Peder wanted to know what the next step would be, and whether he could be of any help.
But that was where Alex had to draw the line. Peder was not a police officer, and that was that. He could tell that his former colleague was disappointed; Peder’s silence told Alex all he needed to know.
‘Peder, you’re not part of my team. I’m sorry, but that means I can’t let you in on everything we find out.’
Peder cleared his throat.
‘I know that.’
Another protracted silence.
‘Was there anything else?’ Alex said.
He tried to keep his tone friendly, but he was keen to call Fredrika in Jerusalem.
‘I just wanted to tell you that I…’ Peder said, then hesitated.
Alex held his breath, waiting for him to go on.
‘Yes?’
‘I’m thinking of trying to gain some kind of redress, Alex. I want to come back to the police. I shouldn’t have had to leave.’
Alex wasn’t so preoccupied that he didn’t have time to say the right thing.
‘That’s good news. I’m really pleased.’
He meant every word, and hoped Peder could hear it in his voice.
The three grandchildren had got down from the table and came charging into the hallway, whirling around his legs like hyperactive butterflies, each trying to shout louder than the others.
‘Peder, I’ll speak to you very soon. Thanks again for your help.’
Alex withdrew from the children and shut himself in his study so that he could talk to Fredrika in peace. He had only just sat down at his desk when he realised what he was doing.
Making the same mistake all over again.
The same mistake, but with a new generation.
How many times, irrespective of whether it was a weekday, a weekend or a holiday, had he left his family because of work? With empty promises, assuring them that he was going to make just one more phone call, talk to one more person, stay in the office for one more hour? How much had he missed by behaving that way?
But what was the alternative? Ignore the fact that a little girl had been abducted?
That was equally impossible, and no less painful.
Fredrika sounded far away when she answered.
‘Sorry I haven’t called,’ she said. ‘I’ve just got back to the hotel. I’ve been in a meeting about the Lion with Isak and his colleagues.’
Fredrika Bergman was sitting in with the Israeli equivalent of the National Crime Unit. Alex tried to remind himself why Fredrika had been sent to Jerusalem, rather than anyone else: because her husband was going there. But that wasn’t the way things had turned out.
‘Tell me,’ he said.
‘We have a name,’ Fredrika said. ‘But I’m afraid it doesn’t get us anywhere.’
‘Because?’
He couldn’t suppress the impatience in his voice.
‘There was only one occasion when the Lion had to give a name in order to be allowed to use a computer in one particular store. He said his name was Avital Greenburg.’
Avital Greenburg.
Yet another new name.
Alex felt his heart sink. This was too much to cope with.
‘And did our Israeli colleagues recognise the name?’
‘Yes, they did. But not in the way you’re thinking.’
More surprises. It seemed there was no end to them.
‘Alex, Avital Greenburg was a man who died many years ago. He became notorious in Israel when he abducted and killed two children at the end of the 70s.’
Alex didn’t know what to say at first.
‘Well, at least we know that the person who sent the emails was linked to the murders.’
‘It definitely looks that way,’ Fredrika said. ‘The police here are extremely frustrated. They can’t get any further with the Lion. There are no CCTV pictures, and he always paid cash for internet access.’
Alex wasn’t surprised; they were dealing with a pro. A person who was fully aware of security issues. A person like Efraim Kiel.
‘I’ve got news for you too,’ he said.
Fredrika listened in silence. When he had finished speaking, she said:
‘If Efraim is behind all this, then Saul and Gideon must understand why it’s happening.’