Read Online Missing in Malmö: The third Inspector Anita Sundström mystery (Inspector Anita Sundström mysteries) by Torquil MacLeod - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Torquil MacLeod
Ads: Link
here.’ Anita doubted that she would extract anything more revealing than she had already. Basically, Todd had kept his wife in the dark. Why he had done so was a mystery in itself.
Hakim had a coffee waiting for her when she returned to the office.
‘Do you think something bad has happened?’ he asked as he settled down to his drink.
Anita stared out of the window.
‘I don’t know. If we knew what he was doing in Malmö, we’d be in a position to speculate.’
‘He could have had an accident. Should I widen my search of the hospitals? He might have being going somewhere else in Skåne.’
‘Yes. Good idea. But I don’t think he could have gone too far afield as he was obviously coming back to the hotel.’
She sipped her coffee thoughtfully. She knew that what she was really doing was postponing the phone call she had to make. All she was going to do was confirm Jennifer Todd’s worst fears.
It was with a glass of red wine in her hand that Anita sat down in front of the television to watch the local news. There was a brief mention of Graeme Todd at the end of the broadcast. The photo that Jennifer Todd had emailed to Anita was used, and it filled the screen for twenty seconds while the newsreader said that the police were appealing for any information concerning the whereabouts of this British national, last seen on Wednesday, October 3rd. Then the weather forecast came on. The warm weather they had just been enjoying was about to change – colder, cloudier and the chance of showers. Anita flicked off the TV with the remote.
‘Is that yours? The missing English guy?’
Anita hadn’t noticed Lasse standing in the doorway.
‘Didn’t know you were in.’
Lasse strolled over to the armchair and slumped down. His long legs stretched out across the floor.
‘Yes. That’s mine.’
‘Didn’t think you did missing persons.’
‘Neither did I, but my lovely boss thought that as this particular missing person was British, I was perfect for the job.’
Anita’s mind flashed back a couple of hours to the call she had made to Jennifer Todd to tell her that they now regarded her husband’s disappearance as official. At first, Jennifer had been quite hysterical and it had taken Anita a few minutes to settle her down. In between floods of tears, Jennifer kept repeating, ‘I knew something was wrong.’ Then she was ready to rush down to Manchester to catch a flight to Sweden. Again, Anita managed to persuade her that there was little that she could do while they made their enquiries. Were there any relatives around that she could turn to? It transpired that she had a sister in Lancaster who had come up to be with her for a few days. Jennifer explained that she was nervous staying by herself as she had had a break-in over the weekend; though the burglar must have been disturbed as nothing seemed to be missing. Anita promised that the moment she heard anything she would be straight on the phone.
As for getting any further with Graeme Todd’s reason for visiting Sweden, Anita drew a blank. Other than that it was something to do with the old lady who had died in Carlisle a few years previously, there was no clue as to who Todd had been hoping to meet. Jennifer was just as baffled as they were.
‘What about Dad?’ said Lasse. ‘Did you find anything out about his girlfriend?’
‘Damn. I’d forgotten about that. I’d better phone him. It’s something or nothing.’
Anita took a swift gulp of wine before taking the home phone out of its cradle. Despite everything that had gone on between them, she still had Björn’s number on her phone. It was purely practical as they had had to communicate from time to time about Lasse and his holiday visits to Uppsala when he was still at school.
Björn answered almost immediately. Anita decided to get straight to the point so she didn’t have to talk for long.
‘Greta Jansson has definitely left the school she was teaching at and, according to the
Hakim had a coffee waiting for her when she returned to the office.
‘Do you think something bad has happened?’ he asked as he settled down to his drink.
Anita stared out of the window.
‘I don’t know. If we knew what he was doing in Malmö, we’d be in a position to speculate.’
‘He could have had an accident. Should I widen my search of the hospitals? He might have being going somewhere else in Skåne.’
‘Yes. Good idea. But I don’t think he could have gone too far afield as he was obviously coming back to the hotel.’
She sipped her coffee thoughtfully. She knew that what she was really doing was postponing the phone call she had to make. All she was going to do was confirm Jennifer Todd’s worst fears.
It was with a glass of red wine in her hand that Anita sat down in front of the television to watch the local news. There was a brief mention of Graeme Todd at the end of the broadcast. The photo that Jennifer Todd had emailed to Anita was used, and it filled the screen for twenty seconds while the newsreader said that the police were appealing for any information concerning the whereabouts of this British national, last seen on Wednesday, October 3rd. Then the weather forecast came on. The warm weather they had just been enjoying was about to change – colder, cloudier and the chance of showers. Anita flicked off the TV with the remote.
‘Is that yours? The missing English guy?’
Anita hadn’t noticed Lasse standing in the doorway.
‘Didn’t know you were in.’
Lasse strolled over to the armchair and slumped down. His long legs stretched out across the floor.
‘Yes. That’s mine.’
‘Didn’t think you did missing persons.’
‘Neither did I, but my lovely boss thought that as this particular missing person was British, I was perfect for the job.’
Anita’s mind flashed back a couple of hours to the call she had made to Jennifer Todd to tell her that they now regarded her husband’s disappearance as official. At first, Jennifer had been quite hysterical and it had taken Anita a few minutes to settle her down. In between floods of tears, Jennifer kept repeating, ‘I knew something was wrong.’ Then she was ready to rush down to Manchester to catch a flight to Sweden. Again, Anita managed to persuade her that there was little that she could do while they made their enquiries. Were there any relatives around that she could turn to? It transpired that she had a sister in Lancaster who had come up to be with her for a few days. Jennifer explained that she was nervous staying by herself as she had had a break-in over the weekend; though the burglar must have been disturbed as nothing seemed to be missing. Anita promised that the moment she heard anything she would be straight on the phone.
As for getting any further with Graeme Todd’s reason for visiting Sweden, Anita drew a blank. Other than that it was something to do with the old lady who had died in Carlisle a few years previously, there was no clue as to who Todd had been hoping to meet. Jennifer was just as baffled as they were.
‘What about Dad?’ said Lasse. ‘Did you find anything out about his girlfriend?’
‘Damn. I’d forgotten about that. I’d better phone him. It’s something or nothing.’
Anita took a swift gulp of wine before taking the home phone out of its cradle. Despite everything that had gone on between them, she still had Björn’s number on her phone. It was purely practical as they had had to communicate from time to time about Lasse and his holiday visits to Uppsala when he was still at school.
Björn answered almost immediately. Anita decided to get straight to the point so she didn’t have to talk for long.
‘Greta Jansson has definitely left the school she was teaching at and, according to the
Similar Books
