Read Online Missing in Malmö: The third Inspector Anita Sundström mystery (Inspector Anita Sundström mysteries) by Torquil MacLeod - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Torquil MacLeod
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the window from the street and wondered if she would ever meet someone who could afford to take her there for a meal. They sat down in the comfortable chairs on the other side of the reception. Anita felt she was in a goldfish bowl. Hakim looked around in awe. This was definitely how the other half lived. Anita was more interested in the fact that someone like Graeme Todd had booked into a place that, according to his wife, would normally be beyond their means.
They stood up as they were approached by a small, dark-haired woman in a neat black skirt and jacket. The woman switched on a meet-and-greet smile. She was immaculately turned out, and Anita was conscious of her own, more casual, appearance, as a manicured hand was held out for her to shake.
‘Erica Tufvesson, deputy manager,’ she introduced herself. ‘The manager, herr Nørgaard, is back in Denmark for a two-day conference. Can I get you some coffee?’
‘No, thanks.’ Anita wanted to get straight down to business. ‘I believe that you had a Graeme Todd staying here last week.’
Tufvesson produced a black, leather-bound notebook and flicked through some pages.
‘Since your colleague rang, I’ve done some checking. Yes, a herr Todd did book in on Monday, October 1st.’
‘For how long?’
Tufvesson again consulted her notebook. ‘Three nights. He was due to leave on Thursday, the 4th. But he never checked out.’
‘When was he seen last?’ asked Hakim.
‘He had breakfast here on the Wednesday morning but he didn’t come back that night. Certainly his bed wasn’t slept in.’
‘Did he leave anything behind?’ Anita was quite happy for Hakim to take over the questioning. He had got them this far.
‘Yes. A small suitcase. I have it in my office.’
‘We’ll take that with us, if you don’t mind,’ Anita put in. ‘Was there a laptop with his belongings?’
‘No. After he failed to turn up, we cleared out his room and kept everything in case he returned. But we had to get the room ready for another guest arriving on the Thursday.’
‘So the room was totally cleared?’ This was Hakim again.
Tufvesson nodded. ‘Sorry.’
‘Were his bathroom things still there? Toothbrush, toothpaste, that kind of stuff?’
‘Yes. Everything’s in the suitcase.’
‘So it seems he was expecting to return from wherever he went that morning,’ Anita mused.
‘It doesn’t appear that he was just avoiding paying his bill,’ Hakim added.
‘Do you mind if we have a word with whoever was on reception or serving breakfast, so we can get a description of what Todd was wearing last Wednesday?’
‘Of course.’ Tufvesson’s smile was appropriately toned down.
After talking to the staff, they took the suitcase back to the polishus. It only confirmed that he had packed for a short break and not a long-term stay. There were no documents or files that could hint at what he was doing or whom he was going to meet. The only significant item was in one of the zipped compartments. It was a photocopy of his return Easyjet boarding pass, dated for Thursday, October 4th – destination Manchester. He had certainly planned to return home. So why hadn’t he? And where had he disappeared to? As far as Anita was now concerned, Graeme Todd was officially missing in Malmö.
CHAPTER 11
Moberg wasn’t too pleased when Anita reported back to him that Graeme Todd really was missing. ‘The commissioner will get his knickers in a twist over this.’ However, he did agree that they needed to get Todd’s description out via the press and television. They had the photo of him and they now knew what he was wearing when he left the hotel – beige slacks, buff-coloured jacket with a lime green jersey and a white shirt underneath.
‘You‘d better inform his wife,’ Moberg added. Anita had already had that planned, though it wasn’t a call she was looking forward to making. ‘And see if you can get more information out of her about what Todd was doing over
They stood up as they were approached by a small, dark-haired woman in a neat black skirt and jacket. The woman switched on a meet-and-greet smile. She was immaculately turned out, and Anita was conscious of her own, more casual, appearance, as a manicured hand was held out for her to shake.
‘Erica Tufvesson, deputy manager,’ she introduced herself. ‘The manager, herr Nørgaard, is back in Denmark for a two-day conference. Can I get you some coffee?’
‘No, thanks.’ Anita wanted to get straight down to business. ‘I believe that you had a Graeme Todd staying here last week.’
Tufvesson produced a black, leather-bound notebook and flicked through some pages.
‘Since your colleague rang, I’ve done some checking. Yes, a herr Todd did book in on Monday, October 1st.’
‘For how long?’
Tufvesson again consulted her notebook. ‘Three nights. He was due to leave on Thursday, the 4th. But he never checked out.’
‘When was he seen last?’ asked Hakim.
‘He had breakfast here on the Wednesday morning but he didn’t come back that night. Certainly his bed wasn’t slept in.’
‘Did he leave anything behind?’ Anita was quite happy for Hakim to take over the questioning. He had got them this far.
‘Yes. A small suitcase. I have it in my office.’
‘We’ll take that with us, if you don’t mind,’ Anita put in. ‘Was there a laptop with his belongings?’
‘No. After he failed to turn up, we cleared out his room and kept everything in case he returned. But we had to get the room ready for another guest arriving on the Thursday.’
‘So the room was totally cleared?’ This was Hakim again.
Tufvesson nodded. ‘Sorry.’
‘Were his bathroom things still there? Toothbrush, toothpaste, that kind of stuff?’
‘Yes. Everything’s in the suitcase.’
‘So it seems he was expecting to return from wherever he went that morning,’ Anita mused.
‘It doesn’t appear that he was just avoiding paying his bill,’ Hakim added.
‘Do you mind if we have a word with whoever was on reception or serving breakfast, so we can get a description of what Todd was wearing last Wednesday?’
‘Of course.’ Tufvesson’s smile was appropriately toned down.
After talking to the staff, they took the suitcase back to the polishus. It only confirmed that he had packed for a short break and not a long-term stay. There were no documents or files that could hint at what he was doing or whom he was going to meet. The only significant item was in one of the zipped compartments. It was a photocopy of his return Easyjet boarding pass, dated for Thursday, October 4th – destination Manchester. He had certainly planned to return home. So why hadn’t he? And where had he disappeared to? As far as Anita was now concerned, Graeme Todd was officially missing in Malmö.
CHAPTER 11
Moberg wasn’t too pleased when Anita reported back to him that Graeme Todd really was missing. ‘The commissioner will get his knickers in a twist over this.’ However, he did agree that they needed to get Todd’s description out via the press and television. They had the photo of him and they now knew what he was wearing when he left the hotel – beige slacks, buff-coloured jacket with a lime green jersey and a white shirt underneath.
‘You‘d better inform his wife,’ Moberg added. Anita had already had that planned, though it wasn’t a call she was looking forward to making. ‘And see if you can get more information out of her about what Todd was doing over
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