The Final Nail by Stefan Ahnhem

Author:Stefan Ahnhem [Ahnhem, Stefan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781801109925
Publisher: Head of Zeus

PART II

6–8 August 2012

The end or not the end. The eternal question.

Nothing lasts forever. Not even the universe. For my part, the question has always been what comes after. What lurks beyond infinity. Maybe it’s only the end of the beginning.

The only thing I know for sure is that I’ve run out of words. The will to explain. To tell anyone.

When that happens, the only thing left to do is to put down one’s pen and stand up. Leave one’s desk and go from word to action.

35

‘I CAN’T TAKE your call right now, so please leave a message, or, even better, send me a text, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.’

Morten Heinesen ended the call, put his phone down on the table, and met Hemmer’s and Bernstorff’s enquiring eyes.

‘Maybe he just overslept.’ Hemmer shrugged. ‘He did seem tired yesterday, to say the least.’

‘I don’t care how tired he is.’ Heinesen shook his head. ‘Jan’s not the type to oversleep.’

‘Maybe he’s just feeling a bit low and needs some time to himself,’ Bernstorff suggested.

‘Low?’

‘Yeah, after the meeting yesterday when his suspicions against Sleizner fell apart. He’d clearly put all his eggs in that basket, so when we got a match for Jakob Sand instead, it was like he just deflated. You didn’t notice?’

Hemmer nodded. ‘Wasn’t that whole thing just a bit odd? I mean, sure, Kim Sleizner is clearly not the coolest cat in the building. But that he of all people would be behind these murders, would appoint a colleague to lead the investigation, and then when things don’t go to plan would launch this whole clean-up operation, with all the risk that entails.’ He shook his head. ‘No, it’s like most conspiracy theories. The motive just doesn’t hold up.’

Bernstorff nodded. ‘The question is if he’s even going to be able to carry on working in this unit. I know I wouldn’t feel comfortable if I were him.’

‘Maybe that’s why he’s not here. I mean, after all, Sleizner’s the one who called us here to give him an update on how the case is progressing.’

‘No, sure,’ Heinesen said. ‘It’s hardly something he would be looking forward to, but he would never just not show like this. Not in a million years.’

‘Fine, but for whatever reason, he’s not here,’ Bernstorff said, glancing at her watch. ‘So what say you we start this meeting without him? Because I have quite a few things I’d like to run by you before Sleizner gets here.’

‘You’re referring to Jakob Sand,’ Hemmer said.

‘Yes, the thing is that we don’t have all day if we want to bring him in for questioning. From what little I know about him, there’s a considerable risk he might suddenly decide to get on one of his private jets and leave the country. Wouldn’t you agree, Morten?’ She turned to Heinesen. ‘Shouldn’t we act quickly?’

He wasn’t prepared for that question. Much less that it was up to him to decide. He, who had spent his career being the little grey mouse no one noticed.

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