He Who Kills the Dragon

85.

Anna Holt had woken up around seven that morning. She had been having a vaguely erotic dream, not at all unpleasant, and when she looked up she saw Jan Lewin lying in bed next to her, looking at her. He was resting his head on his right hand while the left played with her right nipple.

‘You’re awake,’ Holt said.

‘Extremely awake,’ Jan Lewin replied, smiling, and nodding for some reason in the direction of his own groin.

‘Goodness,’ Holt said as she stretched her hand under the sheets to feel. ‘I think we have an acute problem here.’

‘What are we going to do about it, then?’ Jan Lewin asked as he put his arm round her neck.

‘Solve it,’ Holt said. She pulled the sheets off and sat on top of him.

It’s best in the mornings, Holt thought half an hour later. And she felt energetic too. Always did afterward. In contrast, Jan seemed much more relaxed and close to falling back to sleep. Typical, she thought, just as her phone rang.

‘What sort of fool calls up at this time on a Saturday?’ Lewin groaned.

‘I have my suspicions,’ Holt said, picking up the phone. The county police chief, she thought.

‘I hope I didn’t wake you, Anna?’ the county police chief said. She sounded just as awake as Holt, and considerably angrier.

‘I was already awake,’ Holt said. Without going into the reason and pulling a happy face at Lewin.

‘Have you read the papers?’ the county police chief asked.

‘No,’ Holt said. ‘Which one?’

‘All of them,’ the county police chief said. ‘Bäckström,’ she clarified. ‘He seems to have talked to all of them. Even that Christian rag where he takes the chance to declare his strong faith in God.’

‘I’ll talk to him,’ Holt said. Say what you like about Bäckström, but he’s not stupid, she thought.

‘Thank you,’ the county police chief said, and hung up.

‘Now I’ve got something I need to do,’ Holt said. ‘You, on the other hand, should try to get back to sleep.’

‘I can get breakfast,’ Jan Lewin said, sitting up in bed.

‘You’re probably wondering...’

‘No,’ Lewin said, shaking his head. ‘I’m a police officer, have I ever mentioned that? I’ve already got a fairly good idea of the reason behind that call.’ It’s always Bäckström, he thought.

Anna Holt had sat down at her computer, where she went onto the Internet to read the morning papers. It confirmed her fears. Then she called Bäckström. As usual, no answer. Then she spoke to Annika Carlsson.

If she can, then so can I, Anna Holt thought. The ‘she’ in question was the county police chief, and the person she was calling was Toivonen.

‘Toivonen,’ Toivonen groaned.

‘Holt,’ Holt said.

‘I’m listening, boss,’ Toivonen said. ‘I was out late,’ he explained.

‘Bäckström,’ Holt said, then spent the next two minutes explaining what this was about.

‘In that case, I suggest we wait until Monday,’ Toivonen said. ‘Since it’s the weekend and we’re talking about Bäckström here,’ he clarified.

‘He’s actually at work,’ Holt said. ‘I spoke to Annika Carlsson a short while ago. She says he’s been there since early this morning.’

‘If he is, then he’s only doing it to wind me up,’ Toivonen said.