Death Angels

40

VIKINGSSON WAS ARRESTED THREE DAYS LATER. WHEN THE D.A. walked out of the judge’s chambers, he looked as though he were searching for a bowl to wash his hands in. They had requested that he be held for a month and had been given fourteen days.

Vikingsson shook his head-he, a petty criminal who didn’t qualify for the major leagues.

They lined him up next to seven other six-foot two-inch blond or ash-blond men, who could just as easily have been Winter, Bolger or Bergenhem-or Macdonald with a wig on.

Or the victims, Winter thought. They could have stood there with a thumb in their pants pocket, already hungry even though it was still a couple of hours until lunch. Feeling immortal.

None of the witnesses could point out Vikingsson. Maybe they had chosen the decoys too carefully.

Winter had talked with Macdonald, who had arranged a photo lineup in Clapham. Anderton couldn’t identify Vikingsson as the man he had seen with Per in the park. He had the wrong kind of hair.

There was another difference too, but Anderton couldn’t say exactly what it was. Something about a jacket.

The whole idea of finding someone who would recognize Vikingsson had been hopeless from the start. They were clinging to what little they had, Winter thought, and time was passing.

McCoy Tyner was playing the introduction to the John Coltrane Quartet’s “I Wish I Knew.” It was past midnight. Winter sat and waited for dawn to stretch out its hand through the darkness. Coltrane’s music was for the seekers and the restless at heart.

He got up and made a full circle around the room. The computer shone from the desk behind him, its reflection in the window a square of liquid radiance.

He had created a new scenario and closed the document just as the gruesome story came to a head. Coltrane was playing “It’s Easy to Remember (but So Hard to Forget).” I’m not so sure about the first part, Winter thought as the short piece drifted through the room. He had been six years old when it was recorded.

The CD over, he put on Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny. It was music to bring back memories, even the ones that flew around the room in circles.

He went back to his scenario. Scrolling to one of the key paragraphs, he cut and pasted it three pages later. That made it part of the climax. He worked some more on the end of the story.

His thoughts had descended to a place where he didn’t want to be. They swirled around an image of Bolger’s bar. Vikingsson sat on one of the stools. What was he doing there? Winter had tried his best to rule out a connection between the two men but had come up short.

He forced himself to think about Bolger. He knew him, but only up to a certain point. He had dragged Bolger into this case as a consultant. Wasn’t that the way it had been? He had turned to an old friend for help.

He needed to question his assumptions, use his analytical abilities. Assuming he had any left.

Why had Bolger talked about Red Records as though he had been there many years earlier when it had opened just recently? Winter had checked into it. Bolger claimed that he hadn’t been in London for a long time. He made a point of repeating it on several occasions.

Winter went over to the stereo and put on New York Eye and Ear Control. The free-form jazz filled the room.

It seemed like a hundred years since Bolger had played the album for him.

The clerk at Ray’s Jazz Shop had played it when he was there. Another Scandinavian had been through shortly before. It’s as if the clerk was following instructions, Winter thought.

The other Scandinavian had also bought the album.

When calling Winter on his cell phone in his London suite, Bolger had asked whether he had been to any music stores.

Winter raised the volume until it shook the room, then returned to the desk with the latest phone bill in his hand. Something had bothered him when it arrived the day before.

He looked at it with fresh eyes. The monthly charge was at the top, followed by a separate list. Domestic calls. Special services. That must be call forwarding, he thought.

Overseas calls-they referred to it as roaming. And calls from other countries to his phone. He paid for those.

He put his finger on the call to his suite. He had done some calculations the day before but couldn’t make the charges add up. He and Bolger had talked for quite a while. The bill wasn’t high enough.

Bolger hadn’t called from Sweden. It was a local call. He must have been in London.

Bergenhem steadied himself with his feet planted on the deck. The only light was from Marianne’s porthole.

When she opened the door, he put his arms around her and held her to him.

They found something to drink. It was warm in the galley.

“This is the last time,” he said.

“No more days off?”

“You know what I mean.”

“So your snooping is over.”

“It’s my job.”

“I thought there was something more between us.”

“There was something more, but not any longer.”

“Then I think you should leave.”

“Can’t I just sit here with you for a while?”

“Poor guy, you don’t know whether you’re coming or going.”

“That’s not true.”

“Do you want me to give you some information or don’t you?”

“What?”

He felt the boat rock, a sensation so familiar that his body immediately knew which muscles to activate.

“You have a job to do, right?”

“A bigger one than I ever knew,” Bergenhem said.

“You’re hopeless.”

“I mean it.”

“You took advantage of me.”

“No.”

“The hell you didn’t.”

“In that case, I took advantage of myself too.”

“Do you want a name?” She flung the words at him in desperation. “Isn’t that what you’re looking for?”

Bergenhem’s mouth felt dry.

“There’s somebody you don’t know anything about, even though you think you do. I have no idea what he has to do with all of this, but he scares the shit out of me. And I don’t think he’s alone.”

“What?”

“Forget it.”

The boat swayed again and the jackdaws screeched above the old tobacco building, the din growing louder and louder.

“I don’t know very much about it,” she resumed. “But I saw him with one of the victims.”

“What did you just say?”

“Maybe with two of them.”

The screeching stopped.

“When?”

She shrugged. “He’s a night owl like me.”

“A night owl?”

“That’s not so strange. He’s in the industry too.”

“The porn industry?”

“Yes, and he’s totally crazy, a psychopath or whatever you call it.”

“What’s his name?”

She told him, and Bergenhem made her repeat it to be sure he had heard correctly.

He felt delirious. A voice told him the right thing to do, but he ignored it. He was alone and he wanted to act alone. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” he asked.

“I thought my memory was playing tricks on me. All I could remember was a face. I’ve been so confused about everything-about you too. And I’m not ready to die yet.”

“There’s not going to be any more dying here.”

Bergenhem stood outside the door. It was lunacy to play the lonesome hero like this. He saw a finger on the bell but it wasn’t his. He pressed again.

Bolger raised his eyebrows when he opened the door. He was wearing a terrycloth robe. “Hi, Lars.”

“Hi.”

“It’s a bit late, isn’t it?”

“I’d like to come in for a minute.”

“Can’t we talk tomorrow?”

“Preferably now.”

Bolger moved out of the way and Bergenhem stepped inside.

“You can leave your jacket there.” Bolger nodded at a splintery chair under a mirror. “Do you want some coffee or tea?”

“No, thanks.”

“This way,” Bolger said, leading him through the short hallway. “Have a seat.” He pointed to an armchair and sat down across from it on the other side of a glass table.

Bergenhem looked around the room but couldn’t take it in. You can get up and leave, he told himself, and say that Martina is about to go into labor.

“You had something to tell me,” Bolger said.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“You’ve got something on your mind, right?”

Bergenhem searched for the right words. He had just found them when Bolger went on. “You’ve been talking to that stripper, I assume. She says I’m a shady character. I’m surprised you didn’t come by earlier and ask me about her accusations.”

“I came now.”

“Am I right?”

“I have a couple of questions.”

“You ring my bell in the middle of the night just to ask a couple of questions?” Bolger said. “You think you’re onto something, I can tell it from your face. You couldn’t wait until morning.”

“We talked to a witness.”

“We? You mean the stripper passed on some juicy gossip.”

“I need a little help from you.”

“It’s too late to switch tactics.”

“What?”

“You didn’t come here to ask for my help. You came to point the finger at me.”

“No.”

“I’ve done all I could for you, you snotty-nosed brat. I’ve been covering for you while you chase that crazy stripper. Don’t you think I know what you’re up to? You’re not a detective. You’re a baby. She says something about me and the first thing you do is come running here. Erik’s going to get an earful about your nighttime adventures.”

“I haven’t talked to her about you.”

Bolger sat still in the glare of a lamp, blocking the light every time he moved his head.

He looks like he has a halo, Bergenhem thought. “You’re the one who did it,” he said.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I wasn’t completely sure before, but I am now.”

“Then where’s the SWAT team?”

“You motherfucker.”

Bolger laughed. His robe parted and the hair of his chest gleamed in the semidarkness. “You’re too much, pal.”

“You murdered those kids. I don’t know why you did it, but I’m going to find out.”

“Did you shoot up with that junkie chick of yours or are you just drunk?”

“Will you come with me?”

“What?”

“I want you to come with me. You’re under suspi-”

Bolger was on his feet. “If you leave now, we can pretend this little incident never happened.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Then I’ll call Erik.”

“I’ll call him.”

“Go ahead. You’ve got your cell with you, don’t you?”

“No,” Bergenhem said, standing up. He spotted a phone on a crescent-shaped desk next to the window. He made his way between the armchair and the table. Bolger stepped in front of him as he was about to pass. They were the same height. Bergenhem looked Bolger in the eye.

“I’ll call,” Bolger said.

“Get out of my way,” Bergenhem said, raising a hand, but Bolger lunged at him, and Bergenhem staggered backward. Recovering his balance, he started toward Bolger again.

“Come on,” Bolger said, jabbing at Bergenhem’s shoulder.

Bergenhem lost his footing. His legs buckled and the back of his head struck the edge of the table with a blow that sounded like iron against iron. The glass didn’t break. He looked as if he were hovering in the air with his head pinned to the table, his eyeballs rolling as he slid to the floor. A twitch snaked its way from his head to his legs and back again.

Bolger heard sounds coming from Bergenhem’s mouth and throat. Leaning over, he heard them again, a groan that seemed detached from the injured man beneath him.

Bergenhem appeared to be unconscious, but then he opened his eyes. Bolger couldn’t tell whether they saw anything. Then they closed again. The horrible sounds resumed.

Bolger hadn’t asked for trouble, hadn’t invited Bergenhem to come. He raised Bergenhem’s head and placed his forearm on the throat that was making the hideous noise. Shifting his weight, he pressed down, felt Bergenhem’s body lurch sideways and pressed even harder.

After a while, the moans died out. But Bergenhem’s eyes were open and continued to move in their eerie way.

Bolger stood and pulled on Bergenhem’s legs. They were still twitching. Bolger picked him up.

He had never had the slightest interest in Bergenhem or what he was up to. Bergenhem meant nothing to him.

Bolger carried him out to the stairway as if they were the only people left in the world.