I'm Travelling Alone (52 page)

It was a matter of acting quickly, but not too quickly. They had to get an overview of the situation. Get every team member in place. Munch glanced further down the road, where three ambulances had pulled up a short while ago, all with their lights turned off so as not to draw attention to themselves. Curry sat impatiently in the back, tapping his pistol against his thigh. As usual, Kim Kolsø sat like a pillar of salt in the seat next to Holger Munch, his gazed fixed on the door they would soon break down.

‘Delta 1, this is 9. Come in.’

‘9, this is Delta 1. We’re in position, over.’

‘Delta 2, this is 9. Come in.’

‘9, this is Delta 2. We need a few minutes, over.’

‘Delta 2, this is 9. Received. We’ll wait, over.’

‘What the hell is going on?’ Curry said impatiently from the back.

‘We’re waiting,’ Munch said briefly.

‘What are we waiting for? Mia is in there, for God’s sake.’

The bald police officer could barely keep still any longer, his fingers went like drum sticks against his thigh and his eyes were narrow, filled with rage.

‘We’re waiting for Delta 2 to get into position,’ Munch said, as calmly as he could manage.

‘Calm down, Curry,’ Kim said, still sitting motionless in the front.

‘Sod this,’ they suddenly heard from the back.

It all happened so quickly that Munch had no time to react. Curry had already opened the rear door and was heading for the house.

Munch flung open his door and was followed by Kim leaping out of the car. He wanted to shout, but he didn’t want to alert Karen.

Damn.

He increased his speed as much as his heavy body would allow, running down the gravel track, through the gate, across the flagstones. He reached the steps just as Curry pushed down the door handle and stormed inside the house.

From then on, everything happened in slow motion. Munch caught a glimpse of Karen’s startled reaction to the noise. She had been caught off guard. It was clear that she had‘ot been expecting this, but the strawberry-blonde woman still had time to swing the barrel of the shotgun towards Curry, who threw himself to one side as the shot was fired.

Did she hit him?

Curry, you bloody idiot!

Still in slow motion she turned and faced him. Her hands gripped the weapon so hard that her knuckles were white. It looked as if she opened her mouth to say something as her finger curled around the trigger, but by now Holger Munch had had enough of slow-motion movies.

He raised his gun and fired twice. Once to the neck. Once right through her heart. Karen Nylund twitched, fell backwards and lay lifeless on the floor as the blood ran slowly down her chest and along her arms.

And that was when he spotted Mia. She was tied to a chair near a wall. Tape covered her mouth. A needle in her hand from some kind of stand.

Oh no.

Oh, please, no, no, no.

Holger Munch froze right in front of his lifeless colleague, unaware of all the people who came rushing in behind him. Kim. The Delta teams. The doctor. The paramedics. He stayed where he was, unable to utter a single word, watching people who seemed miles away free Mia from the chair and carry her out into the waiting ambulance. He didn’t see Curry get up from the floor, clutching his arm and being supported down the steps. Holger Munch didn’t snap out of his trance until Kim appeared with a small, trembling figure in his arms.

Marion.

She was alive.

In poor shape, but she was breathing.

‘Ambulance!’ Holger Munch shouted, and helped his colleague carry the little girl down the steps.

‘Doctor, we need a doctor here!’

And this time the ambulances did not move discreetly. A noisy motorcade of flashing blue lights and sirens left the house and sped through the evening darkness towards the E6.

Chapter 89

The waiting area outside Ullevål Hospital’s intensive care unit was packed to the rafters. One of the nurses had been out several times to ask them if they could possibly wait elsewhere, but every time Munch had just dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

The mood in the room was strained. Gabriel Mørk sat in a chair with his hands in his lap, for once not in front of a screen, staring emptily into space. Anette and Ludvig sat on the sofa and had made room for Kim and Kyrre. The whole team had gathered in the small room; they looked glum and nobody said very much.

Anette had just stepped outside to call Mikkelson. She had winked at Munch when she came back in again, and Munch had nodded and given her a small smile in return before the tension resumed.

Curry was pacing up and down, refusing to sit down, unable to make his small, compact body relax.

‘For God’s sake,’ he said, flinging out his uninjured hand. ‘Surely we’re entitled to know what’s going on?’

‘Sit down,’ Anette said. ‘We won’t be told anything before they’re sure, that’s how it works.’

‘Damn,’ Curry swore, and continued to wander up and down the blue linoleum.

‘Coffee, anyone?’ Ludvig offered, getting up.

The experienced police officer had a dark expression on his face and was just as weighed down by the situation as the rest of the team. A couple of hands shot up. Ludvig nodded and disappeared down the corridor.

Miriam arrived. Munch went to meet her and gave her a hug.

‘Is everything all right with you?’

His daughter nodded and gave his hand a small squeeze.

‘I’m fine. I’m all right now.’

She spotted Kim on the sofa, ran up to him and put her arms around his neck.

‘Thank you,’ she said.

She wiped away a tear.

‘It’s nothing,’ Kim said. ‘I was just doing my job.’

‘No, thank you, I mean it. Thank you,’ Miriam said, putting her arms around his neck again before running over to Curry and repeating the gesture.

Curry seemed almost embarrassed at the attention. He nodded to Miriam and gave her a long hug in return.

‘Is she all right?’ Munch said, going up to his daughter.

‘Marion is fine.’ Miriam nodded, wiping another tear from her cheek. ‘She’s with Johannes. She was exhausted, but in surprisingly good shape. She asked after her Grandad.’

Munch smiled.

‘Any news about Mia?’ Miriam asked anxiously.

‘No,’ Munch said, and his eyes turned dark again.

A doctor came down the corridor with some papers in her hands.

‘Jon Larsen?’ she enquired, looking across the gathering.

‘Curry,’ Anette said, pointing him out to the doctor.

‘Eh?’ Curry grunted.

‘She’s asking for you.’

Curry turned around.

‘Jon Larsen?’ the doctor said again, looking down at her papers.

‘Yes, that’s me,’ Curry said, raising his hand.

He kept the other one pressed to his chest.

‘Want me to take a look at you?’

‘No, no, I’m all right,’ Curry said, dismissing her with his undamaged hand.

Munch looked sternly at his colleague, who was still evading his gaze. Curry had almost wrecked the whole operation, risked everyone’s lives with his impulsive behaviour, but they would have to deal with that later; the time for disciplining was not now.

Munch glanced at the door to the ward, but there was still no sign of movement.

‘I think we should take a look at you, all the same,’ the doctor said, smiling at Curry.

Curry sighed and reluctantly followed the doctor down the corridor.

‘Keep me in the loop,’ he called out, jabbing a finger on his one good hand sternly at them.

‘Debrief tonight?’ Anette asked, looking at Munch.

‘No, no, we’ll wait,’ Munch said, combing his fingers through his beard as the door opened and another doctor appeared.

‘Mia Krüger’s next of kin?’

A sea of hands went up immediately.

‘How is she?’ Munch said, walking up to the doctor.

‘It was touch and go. But she’ll be fine.’

The relief was palpable in the small room. Gabriel got up and hugged Anette. Kim was grinning from ear to ear.

‘Can we see her?’ Munch asked.

‘She’s exhausted,’ the doctor said. ‘But we will allow one visit. Provided it’s short.’

‘Me,’ Munch said.

He took off his duffel coat, gave it to Miriam and followed the doctor through the door.

Mia was lying in a bed with her eyes closed when they entered the side ward.

‘A short visit,’ the doctor said firmly, and disappeared.

Munch went over to the bed and took her hand in his. Mia slowly opened her eyes and smiled when she saw him.

‘Have you been smoking?’ she whispered.

‘Not for a while,’ Munch smiled.

‘Good for you,’ Mia said, closing her eyes again.

Munch squeezed her hand gently.

‘Did we get her?’ Mia said weakly.

‘We got her,’ Munch said.

‘And Marion?’

‘Marion is fine,’ Munch said.

Mia opened her eyes again and smiled cautiously.

‘Yes?’

‘Yes,’ Munch nodded.

He watched as her body suddenly relaxed. Her hand in his grew limp and her head sank deeper into the pillow.

‘Will you come and visit me?’ she said quietly.

‘On Hitra?’

Mia nodded softly.

‘Maybe on holiday,’ Munch said. ‘But I think you should stay here. I need someone to keep me company.’

‘OK,’ Mia mumbled, and closed her eyes.

The doctor popped his head around the door and tapped his wrist. Munch nodded.

When he turned to look at Mia, she was already fast asleep.

About the Author

Samuel Bjørk is the pen name of Norwegian novelist, playwright and singer/songwriter Frode Sander Øien.

TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
www.transworldbooks.co.uk

Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at
global.penguinrandomhouse.com

First published in Great Britain by Bantam Press
an imprint of Transworld Publishers
Copyright © Samuel Bjørk 2015 [chk]
English translation copyright © Charlotte Barslund 2015

Samuel Bjørk has asserted his right under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473508637
ISBNs 9780857522511 (tpb)
9780857522504 (hb)

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2