Murder?
Stockholm Sleuth Series Book 3
by Christer Tholin
Genre: Mystery Crime Thriller
Christina’s idyllic existence with her husband Patrik comes to an abrupt end when Patrik suddenly vanishes from their suburban home in Stockholm. Christina is precipitated into a hellishly desperate and anguished search for Patrik – which after six weeks turns up nary a trace of him.
At her wits end, she contacts local sleuths Lars and Elin, who, after a brief investigation, reach the conclusion that Patrik simply decided to abandon his cushy existence to embark on a new life –without Christina.
Lars and Elin ultimately trace Patrik’s movements to the wooded wilds of northern Sweden, but too late – he’s found dead. The police rule his death an accident, but Christina thinks otherwise – and so she asks Lars and Elin to do a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding Patrik’s demise. Was his death really accidental, or was foul play involved? And was the mysterious Natalia somehow implicated?
Unfortunately, none of the countless leads that Lars and Elin follow up gets them any closer to solving the mystery of Patrik’s death. But then they get a startling break that results in Christina having to make a tricky and extremely consequential decision that plunges our three protagonists into a life or death struggle.
MURDER? is the third, standalone book from Christer Tholin’s Stockholm Sleuth Series.
If you like fast-paced action and surprising twists and turns, then you will love Christer Tholin's sleuth series.
**Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited!
Part I
August 2016
Liv
opened the large front door.
“Hi, Christina, great to see you. Come on
in,” she said.
“Hej! Nice to see you too.
Your place is really awesome,” Christina said, looking around in wonderment.
Liv gave her former coworker a furtive look.
“Something’s not right,” she thought to herself. “Those rings under her eyes,
she looks so tired, and kind of down.” Liv couldn’t remember Christina ever
looking this way before.
But Liv kept all this to herself. “Yeah,
well, I inherited all this from my folks,” she said, laughing. Frankly, she
felt embarrassed to be living in such resplendent surroundings. The house,
which was located in a housing tract in the Stockholm archipelago, had its own
beach and a large docking pier where a huge motorboat was docked.
“It’s really a shame that we spend so little
time here; most of the time it just stands empty. But I must say it’s great to
have a vacation home near Stockholm.” This was the first occasion Liv had been
here since January, when she’d moved to Berlin with her kids.
“Hej,
Christina. I’m Martin. Nice to meet you,” Martin said as he emerged from the
bedroom.
“Hi Martin. You speak really good Swedish.”
“Yeah well, I’m getting there. Though I often
have to ask if I’m using the right word.” Martin was German, but he’d been
attending Swedish classes ever since he and Liv had gotten together. Plus, they
spoke Swedish at home more and more.
Suddenly three kids came barreling into the
house from the back yard.
“Here come the offspring,” Liv said. “How
about giving Christina a nice hello? This is my oldest, Saga, and her brother
Hampus. Saga’s 11 and Hampus is almost nine.” The two children shook
Christina’s hand. Behind them was a little girl who was looking on anxiously.
“And that’s Martin’s daughter Lara. She’s
five and isn’t fluent in Swedish yet, but she understands just about
everything.” Laughing shyly, Lara shook hands with Christina.
“Kids, do you want to have coffee with us, or
would you rather have ice cream?” said Liv.
“Ice cream, ice cream!” the kids shouted in
unison.
“Okay great, so go get yourselves an ice
cream from the freezer, which we pretty much filled to the brim yesterday.” The
ice cream truck from Hemglass made its weekly rounds on the neighboring island,
and yesterday they’d waited for it to come by. The kids ran into the kitchen,
jostling each other.
“The veranda’s the best place for a quiet
conversation, so let’s go out there, shall we?” Liv led Christina through the
large living room to the terrace door, which opened out onto a magnificent
view. The property sloped down gently to the water, with expanses dotted with
large rocks, and bordered by pine and oak trees – and as a backdrop to all
this, an unimpeded and stunning view of the sea. The water glistened in the
sun; the islands, with their trees and meadows, were bathed in a green,
luminescent glow; and scattered around this idyllic scene were houses, most of
them painted red, and a few boats sailing past.
“What an awesome view. It doesn’t get much
better than this.” For all Christina’s apparent excitement at taking all this
in, Liv couldn’t help but notice, once again, the fatigue her friend exuded,
and her drooping shoulders.
“Yeah, we never get tired of it,” Martin
said. “It’s really great for me, as this is the first time I’ve been here. When
I took a cruise through our archipelago last year, I couldn’t have imagined
that one day I’d be spending my vacation in a house like this one.”
Liv recalled that back then, Martin had come
to Stockholm in the hope of finding her. They’d originally met in southern
Sweden, where Martin had rented a vacation home. They’d arranged to meet up
again, but then Liv had been kidnapped – an event that had plunged Martin into
a state of extreme distress. He’d found out that Liv was living in Stockholm
with her family and had decided to go there to find her. Which he’d eventually
managed to do, with the aid of two private detectives. But this was by no means
the end of the story.
The three of them sat down on the veranda,
where there was a large wooden table under a pergola, and around which
comfortable, thickly upholstered lawn chairs were arrayed. Martin served the
coffee, while Liv cut the cake that she’d baked in the morning with Saga and
Lara. As they drank coffee and ate the delicious cake, they chatted about the
weather and their vacation plans.
“Did you go on vacation?” Liv asked.
"No.” Christina said, shaking her head
sadly. “I’m not much in the mood for a vacation, to tell you the truth.
Actually, my husband has gone missing. Which is why I wanted to see you.”
She was fighting back tears, and Liv stroked
her arm soothingly. “I was right,” she thought to herself. “Something really is
wrong.”
She looked over at Martin, and their eyes
met: yes, they were familiar with such problems.
“So, tell me,” Liv said gently.
Christina cleared her throat. “Five weeks
ago, he just vanished without warning. It was a Friday and he’d gone to work as
usual, but he never came home. I called him a zillion times, but it just kept
going to voicemail. The next day I filed a missing person’s report with the
police – who haven’t done a damn thing about it. I’m at my wit’s end, that’s
the long and the short of it.”
“Did he show up at work that day?” Martin
asked.
“Yes, he was, though he left work pretty
early, but there was nothing unusual about that, as it was a Friday.”
“And why aren’t the police trying to find
him?” said Liv.
“They say there’s no evidence of foul play or
an accident. They think that Patrik just decided to disappear. They told me I
need to just wait, and that in most cases people who’ve ‘gone missing’
eventually turn up safe and sound.”
“What makes them think that?” Martin asked.
“Well, it’s because Patrik took his passport
and all his credit cards with him. Plus, his car hasn’t been spotted anywhere.”
“I see.”
“So why did you want to see us?” Liv asked.
“Yes, well, maybe I’m wrong but rumors have
been circulating at the company about what happened last year – I mean before
you sold the construction business. ‘Cause let’s face it, your ex died under
kind of mysterious circumstances and people have been saying that there was
some kind of kidnapping. There wasn’t much about it in the papers, but didn’t
some private eye or other help you?”
“Yes, that’s true. It’s a long story. We’ve
been trying to keep a lid on all this as much as possible, and that’s been
going quite well.”
“I
see. Of course you’re under no obligation to disclose any of this to me either.
But please know that if you do take me into your confidence, your secrets will
be safe with me.”
“I have total faith in you on that score.
After all, you handle confidential information at the company all the time.”
Christina was the human resources manager at Liv’s property management company.
And though Liv was no longer involved in the company’s day to day
operation–having having hired a COO and resigned from the board, she’d been
working alongside Liv until the end of last year and knew that she could always
count on Christina to maintain confidentiality.
“The
whole thing has since blown over, but as I’m sure you can understand we don’t
want the media, or anyone else for that matter, to get wind of this. So, what
you surmise is in fact true, but of course you need to keep it to yourself.
Last year I was kidnapped, and then Saga was taken as well. Thank God for
Martin, though, because if it hadn’t been for him, I probably wouldn’t have
come through this ordeal safe and sound. He also hired the private detectives
who ultimately got to the bottom of all this.”
Christina gave Liv a look of consternation.
“Wow, two kidnappings. That must have been horrible. Were you harmed or hurt in
any way?”
“No, as I said, we both came through it in
one piece. But Saga is still haunted by it. She has nightmares all the time and
doesn’t like being left alone. But I must say the move to Berlin has done her a
world of good. Being in a new place, a new school, and so on is helping her to
put the whole thing behind her. We were kind of concerned about how she’d react
to coming back to Sweden for vacation, but she’s been absolutely fine – at
least thus far.”
“I’m glad to hear that everything’s worked
out so well,” Christina said.
“Yeah, we really love Berlin, the two little
ones speak perfect German and Martin and I get along really well – like two
peas in a pod, actually,” Liv said, taking Martin’s hand and gazing at him
lovingly.
“Yes, all the upheaval was worth it in the
end,” he said with a sly smile.
Liv
turned back towards Christina: “I cannot recommend those two detectives we used
highly enough. They’re really good. Trustworthy, easy to work with – and they
really get things done.”
“Wow, it would be awesome if they could help
me out too,” Christina said, once again fighting back tears.
“Really, you needn’t worry. You’ll see,
everything will work out fine in the end.”
“Could
you give me their number?”
“I think it would be better if I called them
and gave them your number instead,” Martin said. “They work for an agency that
employs a number of detectives, and you want to be sure that the two we worked
with are assigned to your case. Besides, they’ll already know what the case is
all about, and that’ll make it easier for me to introduce you to them. In any
case I’d intended to contact Lars while we’re here.”
“Thanks, that’s really nice of you. I wanted
to avoid hiring just any old detective. It’s much better when someone is
recommended to you that others have had a positive experience with.”
“Yes of course. And really, Lars and Elin are
terrific. You can’t go wrong with them,” said Liv. “So tell me, Christina, do
you have any idea what might have happened to your husband?”
“No,” she said with a despairing look. “I
just keep racking my brains, trying to fathom what might have happened. The
whole thing makes no sense. Everything was peachy keen between us, I swear. We
were planning to go to our summer home in Norrland in July. When he
disappeared, and I was unable to reach him, I even went to Norrland to see if
he might have gone there. But that was stupid of me, because of course he
wasn’t there. Though I had the impression that he might have been there for a
little while.”
“What makes you say that?” Martin asked.
“Well as you know, you have to pack
everything away in the fall in order to close up a summer cabin for the winter.
And some of the furnishings looked to me as though they’d been used recently.
Or at least I had the impression that the cabin wasn’t exactly as we’d left
it.”
“That’s an important detail. The sort of
thing you absolutely must tell the detectives.”
“Yes, I will, of course. I’m sincerely
grateful to both of you. Please tell them to contact me as soon as possible.
But now I need to go, otherwise I’ll miss the last ferry.”
Having raised from the chairs Liv and Martin
accompanied Christina to the door and said goodbye. They observed how she got
into her car and drove down to the street.
“Poor Christina,” sighed Liv, after Christina
had left. “I really feel for her. It’s a good thing I got Saga back after only
a few days. I never would have been able to survive her being gone for five
whole weeks.”
“But look, Christina’s husband is an adult –
though the not knowing is a killer, that’s for sure.”
“Do you think he might simply have left her?”
“Hard to say. Though let’s face it, she’s no
Miss Sweden.
“Really?”
Liz shrieked, rolling her eyes, “You think he left her just ‘cause she’s a bit
plump? But she always dresses really well, plus she’s a super nice person.”
“Yeah, but you only know her in her capacity
as an HR manager, which perhaps isn’t the most objective basis for judging
someone.”
“Yeah, maybe not. But by the same token, you
can’t just judge a book by its cover, you have to try to see what’s inside.”
“Yeah, and maybe she’s a veritable tornado in
bed,” said Martin, laughing.
“Men,”
she snorted. “All you care about is physical appearance and sex.”
“You know exactly what we’re like. But
fortunately, you fulfill all my wishes on both of these things.”
“Thank
God for that,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
But then she put her arms around him and gave
him a tender kiss.
“When are you going to call Lars?”
“In a minute. I hope he’s not away on
vacation. It’s August and it’s not back to school time yet.”
“I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”
Liv went out on the terrace to clear the
table. She was more upset by the conversation than she cared to admit. These
things belonged, after all, to the recent past, and it didn’t take much to
revive the memories of events that had occurred only last year. She and Martin
had often talked about whether it was advisable for them to return to Sweden
this year, as they both feared that doing so would reopen old wounds,
especially for Saga. But Hampus really wanted to go so that he could water-ski
and swim every day. So, they’d decided to take the risk, and everything had
been hunky dory, thus far. Liv had in fact gone to Stockholm a couple of times
in recent months, as her presence at board meetings was required. But she was
always happy to come back home to Berlin, and to Martin. And actually, here in
the archipelago with her family, she’d hardly given last year’s kidnappings a
thought. That is, until the conversation of this evening. Now all of a sudden,
the memories and emotions came flooding back, particularly her anxiety about
Saga. She thought about how incredibly relieved she’d been to be able to hug
Saga again. She was beginning to cry; she needed to pull herself together. She
decided the best thing to do was to see how the kids were doing; she needed to
feel their physical presence.
Secrets?
Stockholm Sleuth Series Book 2
"Dammit! She’d made a huge mistake. She’d never make it out of here - they were going to kill her."
In the crime novella SECRETS?, fledgling private investigator Elin Bohlander takes on what looks like an easy assignment — at first: to determine if her client’s boyfriend is having an affair with another woman. To do this, Elin follows him to a secluded cabin in the woods, where she soon discovers that what’s actually transpiring is stranger than anyone thought. Having ventured too far, she’s stumbled upon a hornet’s nest and put her life at risk. But it’s too late. Can Elin win the unequal fight against a gang of brutal child molesters?
SECRETS? is the second, standalone book from Christer Tholin’s Stockholm Sleuth Series. In the previous novel VANISHED?, Elin and her colleague Lars solve their first case together.
If you like fast-paced action and surprising twists and turns, then you will love Christer Tholin's sleuth series.
**Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited!
Another
day at the office went by with nothing special going on. But Elin was now on
fire, and she constantly checked her mail in the hope of finding a new request,
but there was nothing. It was enough to drive her insane! She so wanted another
assignment, one that would truly challenge her—one that was even more
interesting than Helena’s. Elin had driven to the cabin a third time and seen
the men there, but since nothing new had come of it, she decided she was done
with it.
Now
back at her apartment, she had changed into something comfortable and eaten a
snack. She was standing in the bathroom washing her hands when Maja came home.
“Elin!”
Maja was screaming. The door to the apartment slammed shut. Maja’s bag made a
loud noise as it landed in a corner, and her rapid footsteps could be heard
crossing the living room floor. Elin hurriedly dried her hands. This was not at
all like Maja, who was usually the image of calm itself. Something must have
happened. Elin opened the door to see Maja standing before her, her hands on
her hips. Her face was red; her breathing, quick and shallow. She stared at
Elin, furious: “What have you done? Where did you go with my car?”
“Maja,
calm down! What happened?”
“I
will not calm down! I want to know where you went with my car. Damn it!” Her
dark eyes flashed at Elin.
“Fine,
no problem. I’ll tell you. Come on, let’s sit down.” Elin stepped toward Maja
and tried to take her in her arms, but Maja pushed her away.
“What?
I haven’t done anything to you. Whatever it is, I didn’t do it intentionally.
What’s going on with the car? Is something broken?” Elin looked at her,
distraught. She had never seen Maja like this before. Usually, it was Maja who
had to calm Elin, not the other way around. “Come on, let me hold you in my arms.
I love you.”
That
seemed to work. Maja lowered her eyes, and her shoulders dropped. Elin put her
arm around her and drew her close. What was going on? Maja was sobbing. She
embraced Elin and held her tight. Her shoulders jerked, and she was howling like
a hyena. God Almighty, this must really be bad. Maja seldom cried, and never
this hard. Elin was getting seriously worried. What had happened here? After
all, she had parked the car in the courtyard, and everything had been fine.
Unless someone had tried to break in, but that would have happened later. And
why did Maja think Elin was to blame? That wasn’t like her at all.
Gradually,
the sobbing subsided. Elin led Maja into the living room and sat her down on
the couch. Squatting down before her, she looked into her tear-filled eyes.
“Now
tell me everything, and if I’m to blame, I’ll admit it right away. Promise! And
I’ll formally apologize. But I honestly have no idea what could be wrong with
your car. I borrowed it again the day before yesterday, but then I parked it in
the courtyard, as usual. Everything was still fine at that point. I swear!”
Elin raised her right hand.
The
corner of Maja’s mouth twitched briefly into an unsuccessful smile. She dug
around in her pants pocket, produced a tissue, and blew her nose. Then she
wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Luckily, she wasn’t wearing any
makeup, or she would have looked even worse.
“I
was attacked,” she finally gasped.
“What?
Are you hurt?” Elin couldn’t believe it. Maja was extremely well trained—she
could perform any self-defense move in her sleep. And what did this have to do
with the car?
“No.
They only threatened me.”
“That’s
lucky.” Elin breathed a sigh of relief. At least, Maja was unharmed. “But who
threatened you? Now please! Tell me the whole story from the beginning.” Elin
gave her a penetrating look. “All right, Maja?”
Maja
blew her nose once more and leaned back. “Yeah, OK. So I was walking out of the
studio on my way to the underground. Since it was still so light out, I took
the shortcut through the park. There was no one in sight other than that guy
who’s been following me for the past few days. He was sitting on a bench in the
middle of the park. I was trying to decide whether to turn around. But then I
thought, ‘This is my chance to find out what this is all about,’ and I walked
right up to him. He immediately stood up, and it was only then that I noticed
he was wearing a mask. I wanted to go back right away, but when I turned
around, there were three other guys standing before me, all with masks as well.
I tried to escape to the right, but these guys already had a knife at my
throat, and they were restraining me on all sides. Then they pulled me off the
path and down into the bushes, and one of them whispered that I should keep my
trap shut. I was sure they were going to rape me, and I was desperately trying
to figure out how to break free. But then one of them—a tall guy, definitely
over six feet—said that they just wanted to talk to me. I didn’t really believe
that, but I waited to see what they would say.”
Elin
stared at her, spellbound.
“I
need something to drink,” Maja said.
Elin
rose and went to the kitchen. She had an uneasy feeling for some reason. Four
guys, of all things, and one of them very tall. That was surely no coincidence.
But why?
Elin
handed Maja a glass of water. Maja drank eagerly. “And what did they want?”
asked Elin.
“They
claimed I’d followed them in my car. And that they didn’t like having someone
sneaking around behind them. This would be their first and final warning. If
they saw either me or the car nearby again, our next meeting would proceed
without a lot of talking. They said they’d make short shrift of me.” Maja had
tears in her eyes again, and she let out several sobs. “I had to confirm that I
understood. I obviously said yes. After that, one of them hit me in the stomach
full force, and I blacked out. When I came to again, the four of them were
gone.”
“God,
how awful! I’m so sorry—I’m sure they were the same guys I was observing. I
just don’t understand why they reacted so viciously. I’ve already put the whole
thing to rest. Honestly, Maja, I didn’t want to pull you in. I’m sure it was me
they were after.”
“Yeah,
that much was clear to me by then. But did you go back to the cabin another
time? You only told me about two surveillances. And the men didn’t see you at
all, did they?”
“Well,
yes, they did. The second time, they stopped briefly next to my—I mean, your
car. I ducked right away, but they might have written down or photographed the
license plate number. I’m sorry—that was my mistake. The first time, I did
better and parked around the corner. I’m sure they didn’t see the car that
time. Then the day before yesterday, I was there again for the third and last
time because I just couldn’t get the whole business out of my head. I wanted to
get through the surveillance quickly, so I drove the car down the dirt road to
the fork where it turns off to the cabin. On their way back, they obviously
drove by your car, but I was hoping they didn’t see it.”
Maja
sighed. “But they did. Did you find anything out?”
“No,
that’s why I put the whole thing to rest. The assignment is done. I just wanted
to make sure one more time that nothing new had come up. But it was the same
game as the other times: working together on their computers, four guys in two
cars—nothing more.”
Maja
was calmer now. Her breathing was steady again. “I’m sorry I lit into you
earlier. It’s clear that it wasn’t your fault. I just needed to vent my
frustrations on someone.”
“No
problem. I probably deserved it, anyway. When I think of how they could have
attacked me instead, then I know that I got off lightly with your tirade. But
that should be a lesson to me: I’ll no longer use your car for detective work.
I see now what comes of that. But tell me, can you describe these guys at all?”
Maja
shook her head. “No. They all had on black masks, hoodies, jeans, and sneakers.
The one who was following me earlier was wearing a brown parka, as
usual—otherwise, I’m sure I never would have recognized him. And as I said, one
of the other three guys was very tall. Aside from that, I didn’t notice
anything special.”
Elin
thought it over. “It fits in any case. I mean, who else could it be? I just
don’t understand why they would make such a big deal out of it. If all they’re
doing is playing harmless computer games, they wouldn’t have had such a violent
reaction. Something about the whole thing stinks—I’ve had that feeling from the
very beginning. Four guys who meet in secret in a secluded place several times
a week ... that can’t possibly be harmless.”
Maja
sat up. “You’re not really thinking of pursuing this further, are you? To be
honest, I’ve had enough. I can usually put up a good fight, but four men armed
with knives—I’d rather not risk that again. And I can tell you: they meant what
they said.”
Elin
raised both hands in defense. “Stop worrying! Under no circumstances do I want
anything to happen to you. But it bothers the hell out of me that they could
get away with this intimidation act so easily. In my view, our best move would
be to bring in the police. They’d definitely find something interesting here—if
only I knew what it was.”
“Thanks,
but I really have no interest in dealing with the police. You know how
overworked they are. And since nothing serious happened to me, I can imagine
what priority they would give this incident. Also, if these guys ever caught wind
that the police were involved, they’d get in their heads to make good on their
threat. I really don’t need that, thank you very much.”
“Yeah,
I know. But this situation doesn’t exactly feel safe, either. I mean, how do we
know that they’ll leave us in peace, even if we just lay low? Think about it.
You run across one of these guys by chance. You don’t even recognize him, but
he alerts the others, and there you are again with a knife at your throat.”
Maja
looked at Elin in horror. “Do you have to be so graphic? I’ve got chills
running down my spine.”
“Sorry.”
“You’re
right, though. It’s still a risk. Let me see how I cope with it. Ask me again
in a few days—maybe I’ll change my mind. But please do not do anything without
my consent! This thing concerns me now, too. You can’t make the decisions on
your own.”
“All
right, Scout’s Honor. I’ll discuss everything with you beforehand.”
Elin
could easily understand Maja’s point. And she would keep her promise. On the
other hand, her detective instincts had been aroused, and she wondered what lay
behind this thing. Just what sort of plot were they hatching in that cabin?
Elin
rose and walked to the window. She looked down at the entryway to the house on
the other side of the street. There was no one there.
“At
least, they seem to have called off their surveillance. I don’t see anyone
there.”
“Sounds
good. That’s something, anyway.” Maja made no effort to check Elin’s
observation but instead went straight to the kitchen. “I need to eat something
now. And a glass of wine would also be good. Now that I think about it, more
like several glasses.”
That
was something Elin could fully endorse. Right now, a little normalcy and
relaxation were just what they both needed.
Vanished?
Stockholm Sleuth Series Book 1
“He could only hope he’d get out of here in one piece.”
To come to terms with his recent divorce, Martin, an attorney in Berlin, plans a peaceful vacation – two weeks in a Swedish summer house seem to be the solution. It won’t be peaceful, however, and those two weeks will change his life forever. He takes a liking to Liv, a Swedish woman whom he meets in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, they don’t get to have their first date – Liv disappears under mysterious circumstances. Martin begins his search but soon realizes he can’t find Liv in a foreign country by himself. He hires two private investigators, and their discoveries make everything seem even stranger.
The complexities in this suspenseful criminal case lead to a hunt across Sweden. Martin comes close to finding answers, but his search lands him in very real danger, eventually leading to the first deaths. Soon he‘s wondering if he can get Liv and himself out of this situation alive.
**Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited!
Goodreads * Amazon
They
left the house and ran to the driveway. There they heard the sound of an engine
rapidly approaching.
“Damn,
somebody’s coming. Quick, into the woods!”
They
rushed behind the house and into the trees, where before them was a narrow
path. Martin tried to keep his voice muted: “We’ll cut through the woods to my
car. Follow me!”
He
followed the wooded pathway for a short stretch, then veered to the right through
the trees. It was muddy and difficult to negotiate; that meant they weren’t
going to make headway very quickly. “We have to try not to make any noise.”
Liv
nodded.
They
moved slowly around the house. The vehicle had now arrived; it was the black pickup.
“Shit.”
Martin cursed. Liv held on firmly to his shirtsleeve. “Shouldn’t we try to
escape through the woods instead?”
“Do
you know your way around here?”
“No.”
Liv looked around. “How far is it to my summerhouse?”
“Liv,
we’re in Dalarna, really close to your husband’s summerhouse.”
“What?”
Liv opened her eyes wider and pressed her hands to her mouth.
Martin
looked at her: “To my car?”
She
nodded.
They
kept moving cautiously through the woods, able to hear the driver getting out
and going up to the house. It couldn’t be much longer until he noticed that
Liv’s things were missing; then he would go into the cellar and…
Gradually
they put more distance behind them and approached the driveway. Martin looked
back and believed they could now leave their cover without risk. It went faster
on the driveway; Martin’s shoulder ached with every step, but now was the time
to keep his teeth clenched. Just as he unlocked the car, he heard a sound from
the house. The man had come out the door and roared something that Martin
didn’t understand. Liv looked at him with horror. As fast as they could, they
climbed into the car. Martin started it; unfortunately, he still had to turn it
around, and there was very little space to do so. Twice he backed up until he could
finally drive off. At that very moment, the engine of the pickup revved behind
them. He looked in the rear-view mirror; the truck was already approaching
them. He hit the gas. The car reacted and lurched forward with a jerk. Martin
drove as fast as he could; Liv was frightened; she held on to the armrest and
looked around from back to front.
“Faster!
Please!”
“I’m
trying to.”
Martin
pushed the pedal harder. The main road lay in front of them – he knew he
wouldn’t make the curve at that speed. Even so he kept driving at the same
velocity; a brief glance revealed the pickup directly behind them. The engine
was loud, and the black steel fenders in front of the hood were coming
dangerously close. At the intersection to the main road, Martin braked slightly,
hoping to make it onto the dirt road without
landing
in the ditch. Gripping the steering wheel with all his strength, the Audi swung
around, and it looked like they would make it. But the pickup had other plans.
It didn’t intend to make the curve. The driver swerved slightly to the right
and rammed the Audi from the side just as they reached the bend. The Audi’s
rear end slung around towards the woods. Liv screamed, both airbags deployed
and Martin braked with everything in his power. The car came to a stop
diagonally across the road.
Before
Martin recovered his seven senses, the door was swung open, and he was staring
down the barrel of a rifle. The man roared something in Swedish. Martin didn’t
understand a word, but it was clear, nonetheless, what the man wanted. Martin
got out and raised his arms. Behind him, Liv crawled out of the car. She said
something to the man, who tersely roared back, and Liv fell silent. The man
wore a green parka with a high turned-up collar. Other than that he wore a baseball
cap. Because of this, little of his face was visible. Dishevelled dark hair and
a large, somewhat red nose. With the rifle, the man motioned them to the
pickup. He opened the hatch over the bed and said something. Liv scrambled in;
Martin behind her. They had to lie down, then the hatch was closed tightly. Liv
felt for his hand and held onto it firmly. The bed smelled like cement and
leaves. It was cold.
Completely
dark.
The
pickup started up, turned around and drove off.
A
few minutes later, the hatch was opened again, the man directed them into the
house, down the stairs and into the cellar. He motioned them to sit on the bed
and looked around the room. The rifle was still pointing at them. The man
cursed, kicked the table so that it flew over the threshold of the doorway,
then he left the room. A key turned in the lock.
Martin
and Liv looked at each other. Liv bent her head and laid it on Martin’s
shoulder. She was crying. Martin put his arm around her.
He
could think of nothing to comfort her. The situation was quite hopeless.
Christer Tholin grew up in the North of Germany, Schleswig-Holstein. Today, he lives together with his family in Stockholm, Sweden, where he works as a management consultant.
Already for ages he has been a great fan of crime stories and therefore, had the desire to write his own crime story with the characters acting in Sweden. This crime-fiction is now available under the title "Vanished?".
The crime novel starts at a slower pace - like Martin's holidays, but the tension goes up more and more. It comes to a number of surprising turns giving new impulses to the story. Apart from that, the lovely country Sweden is described with the view of a foreigner.
$20 Amazon
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