Page 148 of Hidden in Memories
Jonas Höglid comes stomping around the corner of the hotel.
“What the fuck is your colleague doing?” he yells from ten yards away. “This is completely unprofessional!”
“You can’t go in now,” Daniel says firmly, even though the SWAT team is waiting by the side door, ready for action. “It’s too dangerous. You’d be risking Hanna’s life.”
Höglid looks as if he is trying to swallow a whole series of swear words; his jaws are so stiff that Daniel can see the muscles working beneath the skin.
“There will be consequences when this is over,” Höglid snaps. “I hope you realize that.”
Daniel doesn’t give a damn about him and his fury. All he can think about is the fact that Hanna is in the same building as Erik Mogren, a man who has committed two brutal murders and is holding a young man hostage.
A man who has threatened to burn down the entire hotel with his victim inside.
He is just about to tell Höglid to shut the fuck up when the other man signals to his team to move away from the side door. To Daniel’s relief they immediately comply.
Höglid has obeyed Daniel’s order. For the moment the operation is on hold.
Hanna has been given some form of respite.
But will it be enough?
120
Zelda is barking loudly. Hanna is on the landing, and notices that Erik’s attention is focused on the direction from which the sound is coming.
He is reacting to her barking.
He still cares.
Could she shoot him now, while he’s distracted?
At that moment Erik turns his head and looks straight at her.
The risk is too great. Her hand drops to her side, and she decides to make one last attempt to persuade him.
“Put down the lighter, Erik. Let’s go and say hi to Zelda. She’s desperate to see her daddy.”
Erik doesn’t move. He is sitting there in the semidarkness with the lighter in one hand, the other resting on his knee. Hanna can just see that he is sweating profusely, perspiration is trickling down both temples.
Is he crying too?
It’s hard to tell if it is tears or sweat dripping from his chin.
She wonders whether she dare go over to him. Is that what it will take for him to make up his mind? Can she trust her gut feeling—that he doesn’t intend to harm her?
“Are they going to take Zelda away from me?” he says quietly.
Hanna understands that he is talking about the aftermath, what will happen if he decides to give up.
Bearing in mind what he has done, the legal process will take many months. Erik will probably be given a long jail sentence, unless the psychiatric assessment determines that he is suffering from a severe mental illness.
“All I can say is that your dog is really looking forward to seeing you. Can’t you put down the lighter and come downstairs with me?”
Erik’s fingers open and close around the small plastic object. He weighs it in his hand, gazes at it sadly.
Hanna doesn’t take her eyes off him.
Then he gets to his feet and walks toward her.
