culprit, or if there’s any sign of the bomb before it goes off.
Forensics are working on it, Sven says.
Gathering evidence, finding out more about the bomb, identifying the victims.
You need to find out if there had been any threats made against the bank.
There were no other bombs in the square, but might there be more against other banks? Here? Or elsewhere? You’re all wondering the same thing, but it’s Sven who voices the idea. Impossible to know, Karim says, but until someone claims responsibility for the bombing or makes threats about new attacks, we can hardly cordon off the whole of Linköping.
Don’t you ever stop talking, Malin? This isn’t fun at all.
Karim talks about his press conference, and outside the police station at least a hundred journalists have gathered, calmly waiting for someone to give them something new to report.
They’re bored, the journalists, but they can turn in a moment and become a horde of bloodthirsty reptiles.
So many possibilities, you think, Malin, so many paths, where to begin?
Then Sven’s phone rings.
The woman with the tubes in her stomach and neck and thighs, the woman who’s our mummy, she regained consciousness briefly, and said her name. Her name’s Hanna, Hanna Vigerö, and us, our names are Tuva and Mira, and only you can help us now, Malin, only you, and we’re relying on you.
Sven Sjöman closes his mobile.
‘We know who the woman in hospital is now. A Hanna Vigerö, forty years old. She had twin daughters, so in all likelihood the two fatalities are Tuva and Mira Vigerö, six years old, from Ekholmen.’
‘Is she awake?’ Waldemar Ekenberg asks. ‘If she makes it, then the bastard or bastards who did this will have one less life on their consciences.’
‘If they have a conscience,’ Börje Svärd adds.
‘They can’t have,’ Waldemar says.
‘She only regained consciousness briefly,’ Sven says. ‘We need to check what family she has, and let them know.’
‘I can do that,’ Johan Jakobsson says in a calm voice. ‘While I’m checking the animal rights activists and right-wing extremists.’
‘Can we talk to her?’ Malin asks.
‘Not according to her doctors. She’s got serious injuries, and is basically out of reach,’ Sven says. ‘She’s going to be having a major operation later this afternoon. We’ll have to wait and see about questioning her. Aronsson and a number of our colleagues are at the hospital interviewing the other people injured as we speak, evidently none of them was so badly hurt that they can’t be questioned. Then they’ll deal with anyone who managed to leave the square whose names we’ve still got. Malin, you and Zeke go and talk to the imam, even if you don’t think there’s any point focusing our attention in that direction at the moment.
‘Waldemar, you and Börje talk to any bank employees who weren’t there earlier today. OK? Ask about cameras. And try to find out about other cameras around the city. The council should have a register of permits, shouldn’t they?’
Börje nods, and says: ‘We’ll get onto it at once.’
‘I can smell blood,’ Waldemar says with a grin.
‘I’ll take care of the hyenas,’ Karim says. ‘The media are going to have a field day. And we’ll have to wait and see what happens when the Security Police show up.’
The whiteboard behind Sven has heavy underlining beneath the words ‘Islamic extremists’ and ‘Activists’.
Malin looks at the board.
‘Could this have been aimed at that family? Rather than at the bank, or society in general?’ she says.
Her colleagues look at her, clearly none of them has considered that.
‘It’s not very likely, Malin,’ Sven says. ‘This is something bigger, something else. They just got in the way. Anyway, if someone was after them, there are far simpler ways of going about it than placing a bomb outside a bank, aren’t there?’
Malin nods.
‘I just wanted to raise the idea.’
‘You’ll all be
Forensics are working on it, Sven says.
Gathering evidence, finding out more about the bomb, identifying the victims.
You need to find out if there had been any threats made against the bank.
There were no other bombs in the square, but might there be more against other banks? Here? Or elsewhere? You’re all wondering the same thing, but it’s Sven who voices the idea. Impossible to know, Karim says, but until someone claims responsibility for the bombing or makes threats about new attacks, we can hardly cordon off the whole of Linköping.
Don’t you ever stop talking, Malin? This isn’t fun at all.
Karim talks about his press conference, and outside the police station at least a hundred journalists have gathered, calmly waiting for someone to give them something new to report.
They’re bored, the journalists, but they can turn in a moment and become a horde of bloodthirsty reptiles.
So many possibilities, you think, Malin, so many paths, where to begin?
Then Sven’s phone rings.
The woman with the tubes in her stomach and neck and thighs, the woman who’s our mummy, she regained consciousness briefly, and said her name. Her name’s Hanna, Hanna Vigerö, and us, our names are Tuva and Mira, and only you can help us now, Malin, only you, and we’re relying on you.
Sven Sjöman closes his mobile.
‘We know who the woman in hospital is now. A Hanna Vigerö, forty years old. She had twin daughters, so in all likelihood the two fatalities are Tuva and Mira Vigerö, six years old, from Ekholmen.’
‘Is she awake?’ Waldemar Ekenberg asks. ‘If she makes it, then the bastard or bastards who did this will have one less life on their consciences.’
‘If they have a conscience,’ Börje Svärd adds.
‘They can’t have,’ Waldemar says.
‘She only regained consciousness briefly,’ Sven says. ‘We need to check what family she has, and let them know.’
‘I can do that,’ Johan Jakobsson says in a calm voice. ‘While I’m checking the animal rights activists and right-wing extremists.’
‘Can we talk to her?’ Malin asks.
‘Not according to her doctors. She’s got serious injuries, and is basically out of reach,’ Sven says. ‘She’s going to be having a major operation later this afternoon. We’ll have to wait and see about questioning her. Aronsson and a number of our colleagues are at the hospital interviewing the other people injured as we speak, evidently none of them was so badly hurt that they can’t be questioned. Then they’ll deal with anyone who managed to leave the square whose names we’ve still got. Malin, you and Zeke go and talk to the imam, even if you don’t think there’s any point focusing our attention in that direction at the moment.
‘Waldemar, you and Börje talk to any bank employees who weren’t there earlier today. OK? Ask about cameras. And try to find out about other cameras around the city. The council should have a register of permits, shouldn’t they?’
Börje nods, and says: ‘We’ll get onto it at once.’
‘I can smell blood,’ Waldemar says with a grin.
‘I’ll take care of the hyenas,’ Karim says. ‘The media are going to have a field day. And we’ll have to wait and see what happens when the Security Police show up.’
The whiteboard behind Sven has heavy underlining beneath the words ‘Islamic extremists’ and ‘Activists’.
Malin looks at the board.
‘Could this have been aimed at that family? Rather than at the bank, or society in general?’ she says.
Her colleagues look at her, clearly none of them has considered that.
‘It’s not very likely, Malin,’ Sven says. ‘This is something bigger, something else. They just got in the way. Anyway, if someone was after them, there are far simpler ways of going about it than placing a bomb outside a bank, aren’t there?’
Malin nods.
‘I just wanted to raise the idea.’
‘You’ll all be
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