The killer's art

78

Nothing was so desolate in winter as a campsite. Johan parked his car close to the shoreline. He got out and trudged towards the public lavatories. The whole place was quiet, deserted and closed down. The snowdrifts were higher here. It probably hadn’t been ploughed all winter. And the steep slope he was descending hadn’t been gritted either. The question was whether he’d be able to make it back up, but he wasn’t worried about that at the moment. All he wanted was to have Elin in his arms. David had said that he wanted to make an exchange, but he refused to reveal on the phone what his demands were in order to give Elin back. He said that he would tell Johan in person. Johan didn’t think he had any choice but to go along with this condition. He’d been sternly warned not to contact the police. If David got the slightest indication that Johan wasn’t alone, that would be the end of Elin.

Utter silence had settled over the beach. The open water was grey and inhospitable. The cold was raw and damp, seeping in under his clothes. As Johan approached the building with the showers and toilets, he saw a car parked some distance away, a blue Citroen. There was no one in sight. His nerves were stretched taut. He didn’t know what David looked like, only how old he was. Johan walked around the wooden building. The windows were boarded up and the doors locked. It was easy to see why David had wanted to meet him here. Close to the city, but as deserted as could be.

Suddenly he caught sight of a tall, dark-clad figure approaching from the sea. He was powerfully built, wearing a down jacket with a knitted cap on his head. Johan felt the ground swaying under his feet. The man who was walking towards him had killed two people in cold blood and taken an eight-month-old child hostage. Johan was about to stand face to face with a psychopath.

At that moment he realized what an idiot he was for not contacting the police. He was unarmed and completely at the mercy of a madman. What was he thinking? That David would simply hand over Elin?

He stood motionless, waiting, as his brain shifted up a gear.

Of course David didn’t have Elin with him. Johan felt so helpless. He wondered wildly what he should say or do in order to have the greatest chance of seeing Elin again.

David stopped a few feet away.

‘You need to stop following my father,’ he said. ‘Leave him alone from now on and you’ll get your daughter back. You have to promise, on your honour. Leave Pappa alone.’

So that’s what it’s all about, thought Johan. His visit to Erik Mattson, the fact that he’d been tailing the man. David wanted to protect his father. That was why he’d kidnapped Elin. It was that simple.

‘Yes, of course. I promise to stop at once. My daughter is much more important to me. I’ll quit right now. Just give Elin back.’

‘Elin? Is that her name? I didn’t know what I should call her.’

He smiled. Johan saw the insanity in his eyes. The man looked drugged. It was impossible to make eye contact. David kept evading his glance. Maybe he was taking anabolic steroids, considering his size.

‘Where is she?’ Johan controlled his voice, not wanting his desperation to show. He needed to stay calm.

David opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a bellow coming from the roof of the lavatory building.

‘Police! Put your hands up. Don’t move.’

David looked around in bewilderment. Johan stood as if paralysed, incapable of thinking sensibly. This couldn’t be happening.

The arrest of David Mattson proceeded without incident. Four police officers overpowered him before he even knew what was happening. He was handcuffed and led away to a police vehicle. Johan stayed where he was, watching mutely.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Knutas coming towards him. He turned to face him. ‘How did you know?’

‘Emma rang me.’

‘Where’s Elin?’

‘We’re searching the campsite now. There are a lot of buildings here, and she’s probably in one of them. Don’t worry, she’s here somewhere.’