Free Vanished by Liza Marklund Page A

away.’
    The woman’s face was flushed, her hair matted with sweat. She had an ugly cut on her forehead, and a bigbruise on her cheek. She looked at Annika with eyes that seemed bottomless. Annika sat down again, her mouth completely dry.
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘I ran and fell, and tried to hide. There was so much rubbish all along the quayside. Then I ran, and he shot at me, and I jumped in the water. It was so cold, that’s how I got sick.’
    ‘Who shot at you?’
    She closed her eyes, hesitating.
    ‘It could be dangerous for you to know,’ she said. ‘He’s killed before.’
    ‘How do you know that?’ Annika asked.
    Aida laughed tiredly, touching her fingers to her forehead.
    ‘Let’s just say I know him well.’
    The usual story
, Annika thought.
    ‘Who were the dead men?’
    Aida from Bijeljina opened her eyes.
    ‘They aren’t important,’ she said.
    Annika’s uncertainty gave way to a sharp, clear anger.
    ‘What do you mean, not important?’ she said. ‘Two young men have been shot in the head.’
    The woman met her gaze.
    ‘Do you know how many people died in Bosnia during the war?’
    ‘That’s hardly relevant now,’ Annika said. ‘We’re talking about Frihamnen in Stockholm.’
    ‘Do you think there’s a difference?’
    They stared at each other in silence. The woman’s fevered eyes had seen too much, and Annika was first to look away.
    ‘Maybe not,’ she said. ‘Why were they murdered?’
    ‘What do you know?’ Aida from Bijeljina asked.
    ‘Not much more than it said in the paper. That themen were probably Serbs, they were wearing Serbian clothes. No ID, no fingerprints. Interpol have already contacted Belgrade. The police are looking for you.’
    ‘Officially?’
    The question was terse and concise. Annika studied her carefully.
    ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I think so. Why don’t you contact the police yourself and ask?’
    The woman looked at her through the veil of fever.
    ‘You don’t understand,’ she said. ‘You don’t know my situation. I can’t talk to the police, not at the moment. What do you know about the killer?’
    ‘Someone from the criminal underworld, according to the police.’
    ‘Motive?’
    ‘Some sort of gang dispute, like we said in the paper. What exactly do you know about all this?’
    Aida Begovic from Bijeljina closed her eyes and collected her thoughts.
    ‘You can’t tell anyone that you spoke to me.’
    ‘Of course not,’ Annika said. ‘Your anonymity as a source is protected by law. No one representing any official body is allowed to try to find out who you are. That would be illegal.’
    ‘You don’t understand. It could be dangerous for you. You can’t write about anything I’ve told you, because they’d work out that you know.’
    Annika studied the woman, hesitated, and didn’t respond. She didn’t want to make any promises. The woman struggled up against the pillows again.
    ‘Have you been there? Have you seen the lorries out by the sea?’
    Annika nodded.
    ‘One of them is missing,’ Aida from Bijeljina said. ‘A lorry full of cigarettes, not just under the floor butthe whole thing. Fifty million cigarettes, Fifty million kronor.’
    Annika gasped.
    ‘There’ll be more murders – the man who owns the shipment won’t let the thieves get away with it.’
    ‘Is he the one who’s looking for you?’
    The woman nodded.
    ‘Why?’
    She closed her eyes.
    ‘I know too much.’
    They sat in silence for a while, until there was a knock at the door. Aida’s face drained of colour. The knock was repeated. A soft voice, dark and masculine, almost a whisper.
    ‘Aida?’
    ‘It’s him,’ the woman whispered. ‘He’ll shoot us both.’
    She looked like she was on the verge of passing out.
    Annika had a sudden and intense feeling of giddiness. She got up and the room seemed to lurch, and she staggered slightly.
    Another knock.
    ‘Aida?’
    ‘We’re going to die,’ the woman said hopelessly.
    Annika saw her bow