Sidetracked - By Henning Mankell & Steven T. Murray Page 0,159
man he had overlooked. Hans Logård. When the policeman described him, Hoover understood that he must have been the one who had brutally raped and abused his sister. That was before she had been drugged and taken to both Gustaf Wetterstedt and Arne Carlman – events that had forced her into the darkness. All of it was written down in the book he had taken from her. The book that contained the words that controlled him. He had assumed that Hans Logård was someone who didn’t live in Sweden. A foreign visitor, an evil man. Now he knew that he had made a mistake.
It was easy to get into the empty shop. Earlier he had seen Kajsa hide the key. Since he was moving around in broad daylight, he hadn’t painted his face. He didn’t want to frighten Louise, either. When he came back she was sitting on a chair, staring blankly into space. He had already decided to move her. And he knew where. Before he went to Mariagatan he went on the moped to see that the situation was as he’d thought. The house he’d selected was empty. But they weren’t going to move there until evening. He sat down on the floor at her side and tried to work out how to find Logård before the police did. He turned inward and asked Geronimo for advice. But his heart was strangely still this morning. The drums were so faint that he couldn’t hear their message.
At 8 a.m. they gathered in the conference room. Åkeson was here, as was a sergeant from Malmö. Birgersson was hooked up via speaker phone from Helsingborg. Wallander looked around the table and said they’d start by bringing everyone up to date. The sergeant from Malmö was looking for a hiding place they assumed Stefan Fredman had access to. They still hadn’t found it. But one of the neighbours in the building told them that he had seen Stefan Fredman on a moped several times. The building where the family lived was under surveillance. Birgersson told them that Sjösten was doing well, although his ear would be permanently damaged.
“Plastic surgeons can work wonders,” Wallander shouted encouragingly. “Say hello to him from all of us.”
Birgersson went on to say that they weren’t Logård’s fingerprints on the comic book, the paper bag, Liljegren’s stove or Fredman’s left eyelid. This confirmation was crucial. The Malmö police were getting Stefan Fredman’s prints from objects taken from his room in the Rosengård flat. Nobody doubted that they would match, now that Logård’s didn’t.
They talked about Logård. The hunt had to continue. They had to assume he was dangerous, since he had shot at Wallander and Sjösten.
“Stefan Fredman is only 14, but he is dangerous,” Wallander said. “He may be crazy, but he’s not stupid. He’s very strong and he reacts fast. We have to be careful.”
“This is all so damned disgusting!” Hansson exploded. “I still can’t believe it’s true.”
“Nor can any of us,” Åkeson said. “But what Kurt says is absolutely right. And we need to act accordingly.”
“Fredman got his sister Louise out of the hospital,” Wallander went on. “We’re looking for the nurse who will be able to identify him. Let’s assume it’ll be a positive identification. We still don’t know whether he intends to hurt Louise. It’s crucial that we find them. He has a moped and must ride with her on the back. They can’t get very far. Besides, the girl is sick.”
“A nutcase on a moped with a mentally ill girl on the back,” Svedberg said. “It’s so macabre.”
“He can also drive a car,” Ludwigsson pointed out. “He used his father’s van. So he may have stolen one by now.”
Wallander turned to the detective from Malmö.
“Stolen cars,” he said. “Within the past few days. Above all in Rosengård. And near the hospital.”
The detective went to a phone.
“Stefan Fredman carries out his actions after careful planning,” continued Wallander. “Naturally we have no way of knowing whether the abduction of his sister was also planned. Now we have to try and get into his mind to guess what he plans to do next. Where are they headed? It’s a shame Ekholm isn’t here when we need him most.”
“He’ll be here in about an hour,” Hansson said, glancing at the clock. “Someone’s picking him up at the airport.”
“How is his daughter?” asked Höglund.
Wallander was ashamed that he’d forgotten the reason for Ekholm’s absence.
“She’s OK,” said Svedberg. “A broken foot, that’s all. She was very lucky.”