The Long Shadow Read Online Free PDF Page A

while, runs a tennis club. As far as I’ve been able to find out, his whole family was wiped out, including his mother-in-law.’
    ‘Sebastian Söderström is dead?’ Annika said, waving at Berit to stop her heading off to the canteen.
    ‘He had a wife and two fairly young kids.’
    ‘What did you say about Sebastian Söderström?’ Patrik asked, suddenly materializing beside her.
    Annika turned her back on him and stuck a finger in her free ear. ‘How reliable is this information?’ she asked.
    ‘Hundred per cent.’
    ‘Who can confirm it?’
    ‘No idea, darling. But now you know.’ He hung up without waiting for a reply.
    ‘What was all that about?’ Patrik asked.
    Berit came back to the desk and put her bag down again.
    ‘Check out Sebastian Söderström on paginasblancas. es,’ Annika said, and Berit logged back in, typed in the details and read: ‘Las Estrellas de Marbella, Nueva Andalucía.’ The number had nine digits, and began with 952.
    ‘What’s going on?’ Patrik asked.
    ‘Just need to check something,’ Annika said, dialling the number of the villa in Las Estrellas de Marbella. After five rings an electronic female voice said ‘
Ha llamado a nuevo cinco dos
…’ She hung up and dialled the press office at the Foreign Ministry.
    ‘Don’t get your hopes up,’ Berit said, who could see what number she was dialling. ‘They’re usually the last to know anything.’
    After the Asian tsunami the Foreign Ministry had got its act together and had been almost helpful for a while, but now they were back to normal.
    ‘My name’s Annika Bengtzon and I’m calling from the
Evening Post
,’ she said, when the call was finally answered. ‘I’d like confirmation that the family gassed to death in a break-in at Las Estrellas de Marbella in the south of Spain last night were Swedish citizens.’
    ‘We haven’t received any information to that effect,’ the woman at the Foreign Ministry said abruptly.
    ‘Perhaps you’d like to check,’ Annika said, and hung up.
    ‘My Spanish isn’t good enough for the Spanish police,’ Berit said.
    ‘Neither’s mine,’ Annika said.
    ‘Interpol,’ Berit said.
    ‘Europol,’ Annika said. ‘They’re more active.’
    ‘WHAT?’ Patrik shouted.
    Annika jumped. ‘I have a source who says that the family gassed on the Costa del Sol was Sebastian Söderström’s. He was with his wife, children and mother-in-law.’
    Patrik turned on his heel and yelled, ‘
Sport!
’
    Annika took three long strides and put her hand on his shoulder. ‘Calm down,’ she said, as he spun round to her. ‘I need to get confirmation. You can’t get Sport to start writing his obituary until we know it’s true.’
    ‘They need to start making calls,’ Patrik said.
    ‘And say what? That we
think
he’s dead? And even if it’s true, we don’t know that his family has been informed.’
    ‘You said they all died.’
    Annika groaned. ‘Maybe he’s got parents, brothers and sisters.’ She took another step forward, stopping right in front of him. ‘A bit of advice, Head of News. Try to curb your enthusiasm. You’ll end up in the ditch if you carry on like this.’
    Patrik paled. ‘Just because you didn’t get promoted,’ he said, and stalked off towards the sports desk.
    ‘We’ll have to try to get confirmation,’ Berit said, picking up the phone.
    After several phone calls the Spanish police had confirmed that five people had been killed the previous night just outside Marbella in what looked like a gas attack in connection with a burglary. There would be no comment on the identity and nationality of the victims until tomorrow lunchtime at the earliest.
    They took a break and hurried down to the canteen.
    ‘Sport isn’t exactly my strong subject,’ Berit said, once they were sitting at a window table with plates of beef stew in front of them.
    Annika broke off a piece of crispbread and looked out at the greyness beyond the window. ‘He played professionally