It doesn’t get any more exciting than this, does it, Erik?
Erik was taller than Alex, but shorter than Karim. And thinner, not nearly as muscular. To be perfectly honest, Alex didn’t think his son would stand a chance against his captain in a fight – unless he could find some kind of weapon to render him harmless.
‘I don’t think he’d be able to knock Karim out with his bare hands; he’d need to take him by surprise. Perhaps there’s a fire extinguisher in the cockpit that he could use?’
Alex’s suggestion aroused a hum of conversation around the table. A fire extinguisher? Impossible. Ridiculous. Eden rapped on the table to quieten everyone down.
‘We haven’t got time for chatter,’ she said. ‘Alex has a point; we have to decide how we intend to proceed. The fact is that we have very little chance of bringing the plane down safely with Karim at the controls. The governments are not going to meet the hijackers’ demands, and the fuel will run out very soon. And then only a miracle can save us from total disaster.’
‘How can we get hold of the co-pilot without Karim Sassi realising what’s going on? I mean, they’re sitting next to each other,’ said a Säpo investigator Alex didn’t recognise.
Another burst of murmuring, which irritated Eden.
‘We’ll get in touch with the airline again and see what they say. We don’t know enough to make a decision.’
She looked at a member of her team.
‘Call SAS and find out everything we need to know. Can we reach Erik without Karim realising? And, if so, how? I’m still not sure that asking Erik to overpower Karim is the best course of action, but we need to consider it as a last resort, in which case I want to know if it’s actually possible.’
Fredrika spoke up: ‘The note said there was a bomb on board the plane; what do we think about that now we know Karim is involved?’
‘What do you mean?’ Eden said.
‘According to the note, the plane will be blown up if we attempt to land it or to evacuate those on board. Do we believe that threat if Karim is behind the hijacking?’
‘You mean that if Karim is put out of action and Erik lands the plane without the demands being met, will the plane be blown up anyway?’
‘Exactly.’
Alex’s heart sank. He hadn’t thought about that.
‘In that case we’re back to what we talked about this morning,’ Eden said. ‘What are the chances that someone managed to smuggle a bomb onto the plane?’
‘If the captain himself is part of the plot, then perhaps it’s more likely?’ someone suggested.
‘Hardly. The crew have to go through the same security checks as the passengers.’
Eden shook her head. ‘I refuse to make a final decision under these circumstances. I want to speak to the Germans first, see if they’ve found out any more. And then I want to talk to our American colleagues; I want to know exactly how they’re intending to deal with the plane if or when time runs out. Only then will I consider getting in touch with Karim and asking about his plans.’
She had hardly finished speaking when the door flew open and a young woman Alex had never seen before came rushing in.
‘Sorry to interrupt, Eden, but GD asked me to tell you that you’ve been called to a meeting at Rosenbad immediately.’
‘Rosenbad? Tell GD he’ll have to go himself; I’m needed here.’
‘I don’t think he’ll accept that. It’s to do with the Americans; apparently, they’ve contacted the Foreign Office through their ambassador and informed the Swedish government what they intend to do with the hijacked plane.’
‘Why do we have to go to Rosenbad to discuss that?’ Eden said. ‘Wouldn’t it be just as easy for the Americans to come here and talk us through their plans?’
‘GD was very clear,’ the woman said. ‘He wants you to go with him, right now.’
Eden got to her feet.
‘In that case this meeting is closed. I should be back within the hour.’
Alex stayed in his seat, like everyone else. His stomach was knotted with fear. The Americans had gone directly to the government rather than Säpo. That couldn’t possibly be a good sign.
40 18:50
Here we go again, Eden thought. Another meeting with the cabinet office, this time at Rosenbad. It was dark outside, and a weary drizzle was falling as they drove the short distance from Police HQ to Tegeluddsbacken. There were only the two of them in the car, which felt strange to Eden.
‘Do you mind if I smoke?’
GD stared at her. ‘In the car?’
‘Yes.’
‘Too bloody right I mind. If you’re going to smoke, you can do it outdoors.’
Eden slid the packet of cigarettes back into her pocket.
‘Pardon me for asking, but do you usually smoke when you’re driving?’ GD asked.
‘It has been known.’
She was too old to be reprimanded about how she took care of her health and her body, and made it clear that she wasn’t interested in the conversation by staring out of the window. Why was GD behind the wheel, anyway? She was a better driver than him. All those visits to Israel and the years she had spent in London had made her the driver she was today. If you didn’t put your foot down a fraction of a second after the traffic lights turned green in Tel Aviv, you were in trouble, because someone was guaranteed to drive straight into the back of your car.
Suddenly, Eden couldn’t see very well. Three years had passed since her last visit to Israel. Three years of slow recovery and trying to find a sense of balance in her everyday life again. Almost everything had fallen apart back then. Things that couldn’t be fixed, things she would have to carry with her for many years in the future. Had it been worth it? Could she have done it all differently?
Of course she could. There was often more than one way of dealing with a catastrophe. Her mother had once said that a person had three ways of handling things: you could go with your heart, your head or your stomach. When Eden was in her twenties, she had added sexuality to the list, but she hadn’t told her mother. And it wasn’t her heart, her head or her stomach that had sent her to the hot streets of Tel Aviv that first time. Nor all the times that followed.
The memories frightened her, and she squeezed the cigarette packet in her pocket. The interior of the car shrank; it was too small. Eden stretched her legs, tensed her muscles. They were only minutes away from Rosenbad; she told herself to keep calm. When GD stopped the car, she flung the door open and got out. It wasn’t until she had lit her cigarette and taken the first drag that she realised how grim GD had looked from the minute they had set off. He hadn’t said a word after his comment on her smoking. She could see and feel him watching her, looking her up and down. What was his problem?
GD strode past her, glancing at the cigarette with disapproval.
‘You do know that any kind of dependency is a potential weakness in our line of work?’ he said.
Eden couldn’t work out whether or not he was joking.
‘I don’t think nicotine addiction is usually a problem,’ she said. ‘Besides. I’m not addicted. I’m in full control.’
‘Really?’ GD looked sceptical.
‘Of course. I can stop whenever I want to.’
She dropped the cigarette and watched it go out on the rain-soaked gravel.
There wasn’t much room behind Fredrika Bergman’s desk as Alex sat down beside her.
‘We need to take a closer look at Zakaria Khelifi’s case,’ she said.
Alex hesitated, then said, ‘You think he’s innocent?’
Now it was Fredrika’s turn to hesitate. She looked around. There were still a lot of people working at their desks in the open-plan office, and several of them were sitting quite close to her.
‘Come with me,’ she said, heading resolutely for the kitchen. Fortunately, it was empty. ‘I want to examine those phone records more closely. I absolutely believe that Sebastian’s team know what they’re doing, but there could be information there that would help us find out if the phone really did belong to Zakaria during the relevant period.’