She had seemed different today. He couldn't say exactly what it was, but he knew it was something and it worried him. The last thing he wanted was for her to start finding fault with him at this stage. Perhaps taking Robert to her had been a mistake. Perhaps he had involved her too abruptly into the harsh realities of his life.
He tried to shake off these thoughts. When he got to the station he looked for Hansson. He was in his office researching companies from a list that Martinsson had compiled. Wallander asked him how it was going and Hansson shook his head despondently.
"Nothing hangs together," he said. "The only common denominator seems to be that they are financial institutions. Most of them, but there's also a telecommunications company and a satellite company."
Wallander frowned. "What was the last one?"
"A satellite company in Atlanta, Telsat Communications. As far as I can tell, they rent broadcasting space on a number of communications satellites."
"Which fits with the telecommunications company."
"I suppose you can even get it to fit with the financial companies from the standpoint that they're also involved in the electronic transfer of large sums of money."
Wallander thought of something. "Can you see if any of the company's satellites cover Angola?"
Hansson typed something into the computer. Wallander noticed that he had to wait longer than he usually did with Martinsson.
"Their satellite coverage covers the globe," he said finally. "Even to the poles."
Wallander nodded. "It may mean something," he said. "Call Martinsson and tell him."
Hansson took the opportunity to ask something else.
"What was all that about last night?"
"Martinsson is full of shit," Wallander said. "But we won't go into that right now."
Chief Holgersson organised a press conference for 2 p.m. She had tried to reach Wallander beforehand, but he instructed H枚glund to say he was out of the office. He stood at his window for a long time and stared at the water tower. The clouds were gone. It was a cold and clear October day.
At 3 p.m. he couldn't stand it any longer and drove to Runnerstr枚ms Torg, walking in on an intense debate about how best to interpret a new combination of numbers. Modin tried to involve Wallander, but he shook his head.
At 5 p.m. he went out and bought himself a hamburger. When he came back to the station he called Elvira, but there was no answer, not even an answerphone. He was immediately jealous, but too tired and distracted to dwell on it.
At 6.30 p.m. Ebba turned up unexpectedly. She had brought some food for Modin. Wallander asked Hansson to drive her to Runnerstr枚ms Torg. Afterwards he realised that he hadn't thanked her enough.
At 7 p.m. he called the team at Runnerstr枚ms Torg and Martinsson answered. Their conversation was brief. They were not yet able to answer a single one of Wallander's questions. He put down the phone and went to find Hansson who was sitting in front of the computer with bloodshot eyes. Wallander asked if there had been any response from overseas. Hansson had only one word in reply: nothing.
At that moment Wallander was overcome by rage. He grabbed one of the chairs in Hansson's office and threw it against the wall. Then he left the room.
At 8 p.m. he was back in Hansson's office.
"Let's go to Runnerstr枚ms Torg," he said. "We can't go on like this. We have to get some idea of where we stand."
They stopped at H枚glund's office on the way. She was half asleep at her desk. They drove in silence. When they reached the flat they saw Modin sitting on the floor against the wall, Martinsson on his folding chair and Alfredsson lying flat on the floor. Wallander wondered if he had ever led a more exhausted and dispirited team. He knew that the physical tiredness was due more to their lack of progress than to the events of the night before. If only they had come a few steps closer to the truth, if only they could break down the wall, they could each summon sufficient energy to see it through. But for now the dominant mood was one of hopelessness.
Wallander sat in front of the computer. The others gathered round him, except Martinsson who positioned himself in the background.
"Let's have a r茅sum茅 of where we are," he said. "What is the situation right now?"
"There are several indications that the date in question is October 20," Alfredsson said. "But we have no indications of a precise time for the event, so