‘Hello? Gertie?’ he purred, and he sent one hand exploring down along her hip. ‘You can’t fool me. I can see you’re awake.’

82

The surreal feeling was amplified by the banks of mist wafting in across the dark and deceptively placid waters of Öresund on Fabian’s left and rows of opulent luxury villas striving to outshine each other on his right. As though it wasn’t him behind the wheel, driving south along Strandvejen on the Danish Riviera.

But it was. Even though it had only been hours since he’d saved his son from jumping to his death, he was now on his way to some private party Columbus was rumoured to be attending.

Rumoured to be…

Apparently, that was all it took to make him feel like he had no choice and that everything hinged on him seizing the opportunity that had just revealed itself. It was as though nothing was up to him, just an accumulation of circumstances. As though there was, in fact, something to Matilda’s assertion that everything was predestined.

In an attempt to clear his head, he rolled down his window; he was breathing in the cool night air when Tuvesson called.

‘Hi, how are you getting on?’

‘Okay. I think I’m here now,’ he said as he passed an imposing white house with tall mullioned windows, arches and terraces and two guards at the bottom of the driveway. ‘And you? Have you reached Sleizner yet?’

‘That’s actually why I’m calling. Surprisingly, he picked up on the first try. And believe it or not, he was pleasant and helpful to boot.’

‘I suppose he doesn’t want to make the same mistake as last time you were trying to reach him.’ Fabian turned into a customer car park outside a closed supermarket and parked.

‘Maybe. Either way, he’s dispatching ten officers who should be there within half an hour.’

‘Ten?’

‘Yep, and if you need more, just call.’

‘We run the risk of spooking him off if it’s too many. That’s the last thing we want.’

‘Don’t worry. They’re going to keep their distance until you give the signal,’ Tuvesson said, then she wished him luck and ended the call.

Just over three hours had passed since the woman from Club Spades had called to inform him about the party Columbus was allegedly attending. Granted, it was only a rumour, which was why the plan was to get in and verify it before calling in Sleizner and his SWAT team.

Once Theodor had finally woken up, they’d driven back home to Matilda and Sonja, who to Fabian’s surprise hadn’t asked a single question, just hugged them and told them she had tea with honey waiting.