Free Grendel's Game by Erik Mauritzson

location?”
    â€œYes and no,” said Holm. “Three men, one woman, midthirties to midforties, but different occupations and family circumstances. They lived in an area ranging over one hundred kilometers in every direction from here.”
    â€œSo, we’re going to have to cover a good swath of southern Sweden?”
    â€œYes, Chief. It looks that way.”
    â€œRemember when you go into other jurisdictions, don’t forget to check in first with the local station. But be vague. Just say it’s in connection with another case we’re working. If there are any problems, have them call me,” Ekman said, glancing around the table. “We’re looking for any pattern in possible victims, circumstances, location—anything that would give us some handle on our dear friend and help us anticipate his next move.”
    â€œAlrik and Mats,” said Ekman, turning to them, “I’d like you to help Gerdi and Enar on the four cases they’ve turned up.
    â€œNow, let me bring you up to date.”
    Ekman told them about his conversation with Edvardsson and the deadline that had been agreed to. “So we all need to move as fast as possible, without becoming sloppy, if we’re going to justify pursuing this guy. We’ve only got five days left to come up with something.”
    Then Ekman described the robbery. The others sat there in stunned silence. “The silver lining, if you can call it that, is it may qualify to lift the deadline.”
    He told them about the unexpected return of the briefcase, and as he did so, passed out copies of the note.
    â€œJesus, Chief,” Bergfalk said after reading the note, “this is really weird. Maybe he likes it that way. He’s good at throwing us off balance, isn’t he?”
    â€œYes, and we’re dealing with an increasingly dangerous character. I’ll be speaking with Karlsson again. He may want to adjust the profile.”
    Ekman repeated his conversation with Lindberg. Then, getting up, he lowered the projection screen on the wall behind his chair, and going over to the opposite end of the conference table, turned on the computer-driven projector there.
    â€œIf you’ll look at the screen, I’ll show you what happened. Enar would you please work this thing,” he said, pointing to the projector. “I can turn it on, but the rest is beyond me.”
    Holm got up, and soon they were all watching the woman entering, delivering the package, leaving, and walking away.
    â€œWell,” said Ekman. “What do you make of that?”
    Rapp said, “He’s got a helper. That’s going to make things harder for us.”
    â€œWhy is that?” asked Bergfalk.
    â€œBecause it gives him more flexibility in whatever he does,” responded Rapp. He wasn’t just a tough cop, he was surprisingly sharp.
    Ekman nodded in agreement. “Anything else?”
    â€œWe shouldn’t assume she’s an actual accomplice,” said Holm. “She could be helping him without knowing what’s going on. Maybe he told her it was a joke he was playing on a friend.”
    â€œAlso, we shouldn’t even assume it’s a woman,” added Vinter. “I can’t be sure, but it could be a man in disguise. The hat, glasses, gloves, and long coat look like a disguise to me. The hair could be a wig.”
    â€œLet’s play those videos again,” said Ekman. “Can you slow it down for us, Enar?”
    The images came up on the screen in slow motion. “Well, Gerdi, what do you think? Woman or man?”
    â€œI just can’t be sure, Chief. Even if it’s a disguise, and I really think it is, it could be either a man or a woman. The face looks feminine enough, but that could be clever makeup. The movements aren’t exaggeratedly female, the way a man pretending to be a woman might act. Maybe it really is a woman. I’m just suggesting we shouldn’t