Titus has got big problems. Eddie is the worst competitor imaginable.
And on top of it all, Lenny is trying to break into the flat. It must be Lenny, after all. Who else could it be? But what is he after? What could it benefit him to steal a manuscript? He could never publish Titus’ book under his own name, there would be an outcry on the arts pages and a much publicised trial about copyright infringement. No, this is more a question of intellectual espionage: Lenny is trying to steal his ideas. There is no copyright protection for ideas. Anybody can steal an idea, at any time, even Lenny. That means there are two possibilities. It’s possible that somebody is trying to pinch ideas for their own use, but how likely is that? Lenny doesn’t feel like an entrepreneur who develops ideas. Lenny is a rocker. If it was about pinching a sketch for a tattoo, well perhaps. But ideas for The Best Book in the World? Hardly. Which leaves us with the other possibility: Lenny is stealing on somebody else’s behalf.
Eddie.
It is Eddie X who lies behind this. That’s how it is. It can’t be anything else. The sweet poetry evidently has other sides. Hidden, dark, dangerous sides. Titus can hardly believe his own thoughts – is it possible? Who would have thought that Sweden’s new darling is a liar and a burglar?
Titus looks at his watch. Half-past four. He decides to try to phone Christer Hermansson at the City Library and ask if Eddie has perhaps come back to his reading room after the radio programme. On the other hand, Eddie would never miss an opportunity to receive the adoration of the public. Titus knows that. He is probably sitting at the Association Bar and drinking wine, mingling with beautiful and happy people. Laughing and smiling, making hormones race. The personification of friendliness.
But it’s worth a try. In any case, he has no better strategy. He feels empty. He must find out what Eddie is doing. Titus hopes that Christer Hermansson isn’t on holiday, but he doesn’t seem to be the type who likes summer holidays.
‘Welcome to the Stockholm City Library. You are speaking to Christer Hermansson, acting Library Director.’
‘Hi Christer, Titus here.’
‘Well, well, Titus Jensen,’ Christer Hermansson answers with his most reserved voice. ‘Nice of you to call. May I recommend an excellent book: Emperors and Generals: The Men behind Rome’s Successes?’
‘Always amusing. No, Christer, I want to ask you a favour.’
‘Of course. Ich bin ein bibliothekar. Your book request is my command.’
‘I don’t want to borrow anything. I wonder if you would be really kind and go down to Eddie’s reading room and see if he is in it, or if somebody else is there. Please, Christer, can you do that?’
Christer doesn’t answer immediately. He must delve into his conscience and see whether Titus’ request conflicts with some library regulation. No, it doesn’t: a librarian evidently has every right to supply the names of people who have visited the library. Christer Hermansson has never been asked before, but is sure that he is right. He always is.
‘Yes, that’s okay. I can arrange that.’
‘That’s nice of you. Super.’
‘Hold on. I’ll switch this call to the portable phone.’
Some clicking sounds follow. There is silence for a moment, then the buzzing returns. Titus hears Christer’s footsteps in the library. Half a minute passes. The footsteps fade. Christer opens a door. Footsteps again, a bit slower now. At last he is inside Eddie’s reading room.
‘Hello, Christer! Are you there? Hello?’ Titus shouts loudly.
The locksmith looks into the room and stares at him, all eyes.
‘No, I’m called Tommy. Not Christer.’
‘Oops, I didn’t mean you. I’m talking on the phone,’ says Titus and makes a hushing gesture with his hand.
‘Christer, are you there?’
‘I’m here. The room is empty. There is no Eddie X here. No books either. Nothing.’
‘Are you sure it’s the right room?’
‘Yes, of course. But hang on. There is a note attached to the desk lamp.’
‘What? A note? Read what it says! What does it say?’
‘It says: “Eddie X wishes everybody the best summer in the world”, in capital letters.’
CHAPTER 23 Now We’ll Get the Bastard!
Profiler: Detective Chief Inspector Håkan Rink. The most likely character features/functions/dysfunctions of the ‘art murderer’.
General description: pleasant appearance. Perhaps handsome, possibly even very handsome. Very likely to be young or youthful. Popular among both women and men. Primary driving force: does everything in his power to gain people’s confidence/admiration/appreciation/love.
Inside: chaotic. Hard to live up to his own tenderness. Troubled with evil thoughts. Regards these as hard to control and immoral. Secondary driving force: fighting his evil side. Primary and secondary driving forces contradictory. Explosive effect on personality.
Interests: art/culture/literature/eccentric impulses/bizarre ideas/crazy inventions.
Physical evidence from scene of crime investigation: long black hairs, possibly dyed/discoloured, cloth traces from clothing items in soft materiaclass="underline" silk/raw silk/velour.
Database searches and comparisons with other serial killers: the offender has a very creative personality/eccentric appearance/obsessed with his appearance/sucks his thumb/sleeps in foetal position/continually looking for mirrors.
Analysis: the evil side of the offender is growing all the larger.
Look out for cracks in behaviour among the group of suspects we are interested in: exaggerated friendliness/unforeseen laughter/unexpected outbreaks of anger/missed meetings/sudden contact difficulties/apathy without any obvious explanation.
Now it’s war. Titus is not going to give in without a fight. If Eddie X has stolen Titus’ book idea, he has no choice. He shall render him harmless for all time. For an eternity of eternities. That is an author’s only real privilege: to be able to crucify the objects of his hatred as long as the paper and the printer’s ink in the book lasts.
Serial Salvador is going to borrow some features from Eddie. Or rather: Serial Salvador is Eddie X. When Håkan Rink really gets to know his adversary, towards the end of the book, he will pull his trousers down once and for all. He shall hunt him down, lock him up, humiliate him. Peel off his personality and put his rotting insides on display for general despair and amazement. The readers shall come to hate this beloved person. The handsome boy in the house next door shall be transformed into a bestial serial killer. Then the mob shall whip him to death. Shut him up in a torture chamber. A cold dug-out, a damp godforsaken abandoned earth cellar. Bury him alive. Stamp on his grave. Knock over his gravestone. Piss on him. Strip him of every last vestige of human dignity for all time.
These inspiring images drive Titus forward.
He sees himself as a victim of crime. Somebody has broken into his home. Somebody has tried to rob him of his brain, ideas and vital energy. The wrongs are unforgivable.