The Man Who Watched Women (66 page)

He went on towards the house. It was a long time since anyone had been there. It felt good. The broken windows and the rotting wooden facade perfectly suited the scenario he had carried within him for so long.

Fantasised about.

Dreamed of.

Now, at last, it would become a reality. After this, it would be difficult to come up with a better fantasy to realise. Because she really was his daughter. There was no longer any doubt about that. Sebastian's reaction on the telephone had removed the last shred of doubt.

Roland had carried her into the house from the car. She was strong and had kept on fighting in spite of the sack over her head and the cable ties around her arms and legs. In the doorway she had tensed like a steel spring, and Edward could see that Roland was thinking of banging her head against the heavy doorframe to calm her down. He managed to stop him. He used the Taser again, pressing it against the back of her neck so that her entire body first went rigid, then slack in Roland's arms. He didn't want her damaged in transit. She must be as pure and lovely as possible. No grazes or bruising.

The two of them moved the old metal-framed bed into the large bedroom. He had been so pleased when Roland told him it was still there. The wallpaper was coming away from the walls, but he recognised the blue fleur-de-lis pattern that was still visible here and there. The room smelled musty and mouldy, but it would have to do. Nothing that a few scented candles couldn't fix. They arranged the thin mattress that Roland had brought over earlier. Tied her legs tightly to the bedstead and checked that she was secure. She was sweaty from the struggle, and Hinde caressed her warm skin reassuringly. Then they went out to fetch the rest of the things from the car.

Roland had parked the Toyota right by the gate. It was a warm evening, and they walked in silence through the grass which had begun to turn yellow with the lack of rain in recent weeks. He always felt so safe when he was walking along beside Roland's bulk. He had missed him, but now everything was fine again. When they reached the car Roland took out the large brown box which had been in the back seat all the way there. It seemed to be quite heavy. Edward looked at his friend.

‘Did you bring everything?' he asked.

‘Yes, but you'd better check to be on the safe side.'

Hinde shook his head. ‘I trust you.'

He took the box and put it down. Turned to Roland, who was removing his jacket from the car and getting ready to go back to the house. Edward stopped him.

‘This is where we part company. It's up to me now. Dump the car, will you? Leave the body in the boot.'

Roland nodded. Held out his hand, and they shook on it.

‘You take care, Roland.'

‘I will.'

He gave Roland a hug too. Between friends. Roland jumped into the silver car, put it in first gear and drove away. Hinde stood watching the car as it headed for the trees a short distance away. The early evening made the forest look dark, and soon the car had disappeared. The sound of the engine died away, and silence reigned.

There was no one here now except him and Vanja.

With a little bit of luck, Sebastian would soon be here too.

He picked up the heavy box and walked back to the dilapidated house. He had a lot to do.

The room was small. It smelled stuffy. Dust and sweat. The ventilation system was old, and the temperature was close to thirty degrees. Sebastian silently thanked the architect for the fact that it had no windows. If the sun had been shining in, it would have been unbearable. Torkel and Sebastian were sitting side by side, with Ralph Svensson opposite. Dressed in anonymous, regulation remand-centre clothing. Shoulders slumped. His gaze moved from one to the other, finally settling on Torkel.

‘I'll talk to him. Nobody else.' Ralph nodded towards Sebastian.

‘That's not your decision.'

‘Fine.'

Ralph fell silent. Folded his hands over his stomach. Let his chin fall to his chest. Torkel sighed. He had no intention of letting protocol stand in the way of a possible result. Ralph was a link to Hinde, who had taken his colleague and friend. There was no time for anything but the approach that would lead to success in the shortest time. Torkel pushed back his chair and got to his feet. Placed a hand on Sebastian's shoulder before he left the room without a word.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Ralph raised his head and met Sebastian's gaze. He sat up straight, placed his forearms on the table, leaned forward. Sebastian sat in silence, waiting. Ralph looked at him searchingly. Something he had inherited from Hinde, but Sebastian doubted whether Ralph had all that much to back it up with. But he could play along for a while. It suited him very well, this silent game that was going on. It gave him time to gather his thoughts. Put his feelings to one side. Suppress his anxiety. Getting emotional wouldn't help Vanja. He needed to bring out the Sebastian who had once existed.

Ice-cold. Flexible. Analytical.

The man who could make a difference.

‘Sebastian Bergman. I get to meet you at last.' Ralph broke the silence with a comment that revealed a certain fascination with his opponent. He was grateful for the meeting. This gave Sebastian a certain advantage. Svensson definitely wasn't in the same league as Hinde.

‘How are you?' Sebastian asked, keeping his tone neutral, not responding to Ralph's opening remark with so much as a smile of acknowledgement.

‘What do you mean?'

Sebastian shrugged. ‘It's a simple question. How are you?'

‘Why do you want to know that?'

Sebastian didn't want to know at all, but the years had taught him that it was an excellent question to start with. In all its simplicity it revealed more about the opponent than you might think. In this case the reluctance to answer might indicate that Ralph wasn't used to anyone asking about his feelings. He was uncomfortable. Or perhaps those who had asked didn't care about the answer, and therefore it was unnecessary to work out what to say on the subject. It might also indicate that Ralph had had bad experiences when it came to exposing himself emotionally, that too much openness had led to some kind of punishment. Sebastian didn't bother going into it. He quickly moved on and tried a different approach. Slightly provocative.

‘How does it feel to be nothing more than a pawn in Edward's game?'

‘It feels good. Better than just being Ralph.'

Sebastian digested this information.

Better than just being Ralph.

Weak personality. Inadequate. The idea that he had gone to Hinde and simply confessed was just nonsense, of course. Never in a million years would the man opposite him have come up with such an impressive idea. He would never do something like that. It would surprise Sebastian if he had succeeded at anything in his life. However, it was certainly true that he idolised Hinde. The newspaper cuttings they had found in Ralph's apartment told their own story.

Approval and acknowledgement.

Hinde had given him both, which would make it more difficult for Sebastian to get what he wanted. More difficult, but not impossible. All he had to do was drive a wedge between them.

‘Do you know how we found you?'

‘Yes.'

‘You know who gave us your name?'

‘Yes, they told me.'

‘It must feel strange to be betrayed by someone you trust.'

‘If the Master has a plan and this is a part of it, then …' Ralph spread his arms wide, palms up. If you didn't know that he had killed four women, you might almost think he was a pious soul. ‘I am only a simple man, trying to follow in the footsteps of a great man,' he went on.

Sebastian got up and began to pace around the stuffy little room. Time was passing quickly. He had to make a real effort not to let the stress show. There were no short cuts. He knew that.

‘I think you're more than that. That's why Edward made sure you ended up in here.'

‘Are you flattering me?'

‘Don't you deserve it?'

‘I have the Master to thank for everything I am. So do you, in fact.'

‘Oh? In what way?'

‘Your books. Those are his words. His actions gave you your success. And mine. He is a great man.'

Sebastian listened closely. There was a slight hint of recitation. As if the words had been learned by heart. A mantra. True once upon a time, but maybe now there was a reason to question those words. Or was he just hearing what he wanted to hear?

‘So you mean that both of us are just small fry? That's bloody annoying, if you ask me.'

‘The difference between you and me is that you think you can measure up to him. I know I can't.' Ralph nodded to himself as if he had just gained an important insight. ‘That is what he wants to show us. Our place in the hell we call our lives.'

Sebastian ignored the rhetoric and went to the heart of the matter. What do you want to do if you're right at the bottom of the pecking order? You want to climb.

‘But you left your place.' Sebastian placed his hands on the table and leaned closer to Ralph. ‘You evolved. You more than measure up to him.'

Approval and acknowledgement.

It seemed to work. Ralph tilted his head to one side. He wasn't just listening. He was listening and thinking. With a bit of luck he was also re-evaluating.

‘Don't you think it's interesting that Edward gave us your name just when you were about to overtake him?' Sebastian went on.

‘I don't see it like that …'

Perhaps he hadn't seen it like that until now, but the idea was definitely taking root. Sebastian carried on along the same path, feeling that it would lead somewhere.

Approval and acknowledgement.

‘That's the way Edward sees it,' he said firmly. ‘He gave you away for one reason and one reason only. He was afraid that you would become greater than him.'

Sebastian watched as Ralph sat up even straighter. Growing with every word. Every realisation.

‘I don't think so.'

Oh, but you do, Sebastian thought. You might be a full-blooded psychopath, but you haven't got much control over your body language.

The wedge was in place, and now he must hammer it in. Not allow him time to think. Open up the chink in his armour.

‘Ask me. Who was I afraid of, Edward or you? Who was on my mind all the time? Think about it.'

The words came pouring out of him. He didn't need to work out what to say, didn't need to consider the best way to put things. It was the truth, and it felt good to say it at long last. How afraid he had been. How bad he had felt. The only thing he had to remember was to keep the rage in check. Feed Ralph's ego.

He leaned even closer, almost whispering now. ‘You were the one who hurt me. Gave me sleepless nights. Made me doubt myself. You were the star. You were the one who was living the life. Who were they writing about? Who was everyone in the entire city afraid of? Who was getting all the attention?'

‘I still am.'

‘Only for a little while longer. You're stuck in here, while Edward is out there, with the baton in his hand.'

Ralph looked up at him with an expression of total surprise. Sebastian had wondered if Ralph was aware of Edward's plans. Now he had the answer without even asking the question.

‘What do you mean, out there? Has he escaped?'

‘Yes.'

Sebastian watched as Ralph attempted to process the information. Make sense of it. He failed.

‘Didn't you know about this? Didn't he tell you?'

Ralph didn't reply. He didn't have to. Disappointment was written all over his face.

‘He obviously didn't want you to know,' Sebastian went on, ramming the point home to make sure Ralph didn't miss a single nuance of Hinde's betrayal, and to prevent him from coming up with an explanation for what had happened. ‘He wanted to take away your power. I mean, who's afraid of you now?'

Ralph looked up at him in confusion. Sebastian felt he was ready to be won over.

‘But you can hold on to your power,' he said, as calmly and reassuringly as he could manage. ‘Take control over the person who has been controlling you. The disciple becomes the Master. Isn't that what you've always wanted? To be like Edward Hinde?'

‘I am already better than Edward.'

‘Edward', Sebastian noted with satisfaction. Not ‘the Master' this time.

Ralph's mouth was set in a determined line. ‘I took five.' Defiance in his voice.

Sebastian went cold. Five? Another woman? One they hadn't found? How could they have missed her? Who was it?

‘There was that fat man,' Ralph explained when he saw that Sebastian didn't understand.

Trolle. Trolle was dead. He knew that already, deep down, but still the confirmation came as a blow. He closed his eyes. He had to maintain his focus. He was on his way in. He had already torn down several defences. Started to work his way through the armour. Mustn't get emotional now. Trolle was dead. That wasn't exactly news. Live with it. Win Ralph over.

‘He doesn't count.'

‘Why not?'

‘That one wasn't planned.' Sebastian realised he was on thin ice here, but he hoped he knew enough about Ralph by this stage for the strategy to work. ‘It's not difficult to kill somebody in the street,' he said. ‘Any idiot can do that.'

‘In the car,' Ralph said pensively.

‘What?'

‘I stabbed him in the car. But I understand what you mean. He wasn't part of the ritual.'

‘And you're better than that.'

Ralph stared at Sebastian with warmth in his eyes. Edward had said they were alike, Ralph and Sebastian. He had been right. Both of them saw him. For what he was. For the person he was. He meant something. But Edward had deceived him. Gone behind his back.

Sebastian met Ralph's almost admiring gaze with a smile. A glow was spreading through his body. He was in. He had reached the insecure core that was crying out for approval. Now all he had to do was ladle it on.