Page 110 of The Sleepwalker
With Noah refusing his request for backup, he calls the regional command centre to ask about any patrol cars in the area. The duty officer contacts four vehicles, of which two immediately respond to his call.
Ann-Charlotte Olsson, the suspected killer, is registered as living with a man called Åke Berg and their two children, one of junior school age and the other younger. Both parents have criminal records, with convictions for fraud, tax evasion, threatening behaviour, assault and handling stolen goods. They are long-term unemployed and, following a number of reports of concern for their children, have been under investigation by social services over the past five years.
The traffic on the six-lane motorway flows forward through the wide bends with a fluid elasticity.
To one side of the road, three enormous silos covered in blood-red graffiti loom like the remnants of an old border fortification, and then the countryside becomes increasingly rural: forests, fields and dark lakes filling the ancient fissures in the land.
Joona leaves the motorway at the exit for the 280 and makes his way to the meeting point on increasingly narrow roads.
On the far side of a three-way junction, he spots a police car blocking the road, preventing any traffic from driving past Rickeby.
Joona pulls up to it and comes to a halt.
Two plainclothes officers are waiting for him, shoulders hunched against the cold. Their breath forms hazy clouds in theair in front of them.
Joona gets out of the car and walks over to greet them.
‘Gregory,’ says the elder of the two.
‘Peck,’ says the other. ‘It’s Peter, really, but you get it?’
Gregory is a stocky man in his forties. His eyes look watery behind his steel-rimmed glasses, and he is wearing black jeans and a brown leather jacket. Peck can’t be much older than thirty, with acne scars on his cheeks and prominent front teeth. He is wearing a green hoodie beneath a blue windbreaker, plus a pair of navy outdoor trousers with pockets on the legs.
Joona explains the situation to them, neglecting to mention that he would have preferred backup from the National Tactical Unit and a drone team.
‘We’re here to bring Ann-Charlotte Olsson in for questioning, in other words,’ he continues. ‘She’s been linked to four murders so far, and there’s a real risk she won’t come willingly .?.?.’
‘We’ll have to ask nicely then,’ says Gregory.
‘Her husband, Åke Berg, could also be there, and they have two young children who—’
‘We know the family,’ Gregory cuts him off. ‘Her lot have always lived round here. They bicker with the neighbours, get up to all sorts. Petty fraud, troll accounts, benefit fraud, renovating stolen cars .?.?. they’ve got a contact over at the industrial paint place. They’re troublemakers, no question, but they’re not dangerous.’
‘Any weapons?’ asks Joona.
‘Not registered, no. But I’m pretty sure there’ll be a shotgun or two knocking about.’
‘Will they recognise either of you?’
‘Doubt it,’ Gregory replies.
‘We’ll go over there and ask Ann-Charlotte to come with us to Norrtälje for questioning, that’s all,’ says Joona. ‘Keep things low-key and try to avoid making an arrest, but if we have to takemore of a hard line then so be it.’
‘OK,’ Peck mumbles.
‘And if it comes down to it, your safety takes priority,’ Joona continues. ‘Retreat and wait for backup .?.?. No guns unless absolutely necessary.’
‘We’re pretty far from the Stockholm slums here,’ Gregory says with a grin, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.
‘What sort of service weapons do you have? Sig Sauer?’ asks Joona.
‘Yeah.’
‘P239s,’ says Peck.
The two men show Joona their pistols.
‘When did you last fire them?’
