The Considerate Killer Read Online Free PDF Page B

survived or not.”
    â€œWas a bag put over Nina’s head?”
    â€œNo. But he placed a jacket over her face. A leather jacket, which he left behind, probably because he was interrupted.”
    â€œA jacket? That must have given you something?”
    â€œIt wasn’t originally made in Denmark, but . . . it’s hard to say how much that means these days.”
    â€œDNA?”
    She nodded with some reluctance.
    â€œYes. A few hairs, and some sweat stains. So if it is actually his jacket . . .”
    â€œAny matches?”
    â€œWe haven’t received the results yet.”
    â€œDo you have any DNA from the other cases?”
    â€œSaliva from a few cigarette stubs, but we’re not even sure that they belong to anyone from the gang. Otherwise, they’ve been pretty careful.”
    He had the urge to take notes, but knew that it would most likely cause the stream of information to dry up. It was one thing to keep him informed in order to be polite, but something else entirely to let him take part in the investigation.
    â€œWhat about the car, the one he was driving? You said you have something on that?”
    â€œYes . . . We have a description and some paint traces from the collision. We think it was stolen—at least we’ve got a report on a black VW Passat that fits the bill. So . . . find the car, and we may find other leads. Or even the perp.”
    The optimism in Westmann’s voice had a hard-won quality to it. Most likely, thought Søren, the attacker had dumped VW car as soon as he was able, and the young DS knew that perfectly well. That this jaundiced assessment of her own chances did not cause her to give up was admirable in his eyes.
    He had once been just as enthusiastic. About a hundred years ago.
    Damn it , he thought. They’ll never find him if that’s all they’ve got. And what if . . . what if it wasn’t a random robbery? What if it was personal and deliberate and directed at Nina?
    If that was the case, there was every reason to expect the man to try again.

THE PHILIPPINES, THREE YEARS EARLIER
    S trange that it could be so easy to travel.
    Five hours ago Vincent and Bea had been sitting in a taxi on the way to the airport in Manila, watching the glitteringly hot tin roofs of the slums slip by outside. No stinking jeepney and sweaty T-shirts for them. Just cool air conditioning, a very short line at the check-in and then a bite to eat while they waited to board. Now they lay in matching orange striped lawn chairs, gazing out across the Pacific, even though it had really just been the plan for Bea to stay with her cousin in Manila for a week or so. Vincent had planned trips to the movies, meals at some cheap restaurants, and strolls along the marina. Nice enough, but perhaps a little lacking in home comforts. Female visitors to his six-by-nine closet of a dorm room were bawal : strictly forbidden. But then Vadim had turned up with his big smile and the promise of surfing and flame-red sunsets, waving free tickets to Samal, the family’s resort near Davcao City. Both Vincent and Victor must join him, he insisted, and Bea was, of course, welcome as well.
    The waves beat faintly and rhythmically against the beach, and when Vincent closed his eyes it seemed almost hypnotic. They were holding hands, he and Bea. They had crooked their fingers together over the gap between the chairs. Bea’s hand was still wet after her most recent dip in the water. She was wearing the new bikini that Vadim had given her when they met him and his girlfriend at the airport.
    At the sight of Diana and the super-expensive designer skirt carelessly wrapped around her slender hips, Bea’s self-
confidence had plummeted.
    â€œI don’t have . . . those kinds of clothes,” she whispered to Vincent.
    Vadim wasn’t supposed to hear her, but he did.
    â€œAll you need on Samal is a swimsuit,” he said. He measured her expertly with his eyes and