The Snowman ( PDFDrive )

resurrection. Didn’t you.’
The cold, thin rain lay like sweat on Rafto’s face. He had placed his finger on the trigger of his
revolver and concentrated on speaking slowly and with restraint.
‘You chose the wrong place. You’re standing with your back to the sea and there are police cars on
all the roads out of here. No one can escape.’
The person facing him sniffed the air. ‘Can you smell it, Gert?’
‘What?’
‘Fear. Adrenalin has quite a distinctive smell. But you know all about that. I’m sure you smelt it on
the prisoners you beat up. Laila smelt like that, too. Especially when she saw the tools I would use.
And Onny even more. Probably because you told her about Laila, so she knew what would happen
to her. It’s quite a stimulating smell, don’t you think? I’ve read that it’s the smell some carnivores
use to find their prey. Imagine the trembling victim trying to hide, but knowing that the smell of its
own fear will kill it.’
Rafto saw the other’s begloved hands hanging down, empty. It was broad daylight, close to the
centre of Norway’s second-largest city. Despite his age, after the last years without alcohol he was
in good physical shape. His reflexes were fast, and his combat techniques were more or less intact.
Drawing the revolver would take a fraction of a second. So why was he so frightened that his teeth
were chattering in his mouth?
6
DAY 2.
Cellular Phone.
POLICE O FFICER M AGNUS S KARRE LEANED BACK IN HIS swivel chair and closed his
eyes. And the image that immediately appeared to him wore a suit and stood facing the other way.
He opened his eyes again in a flash, and checked his watch. Six. He decided that he deserved a
break since he had been through the standard procedure for locating missing persons. He had rung
all the hospitals to hear if they had admitted a Birte Becker. Rung two taxi firms, Norgestaxi and
Oslotaxi, and checked the journeys they had made near the Hoff address the previous night. Spoken
to her bank and received a confirmation that she had not taken out large amounts from her account
before disappearing, nor were there withdrawals registered for the previous evening or today. The
police at Gardemoen Airport had been allowed to see passenger lists for last night, but the only
passenger called Becker they found was her husband Filip on the Bergen flight. Skarre had also
spoken to the ferry companies sailing to Denmark and England, although she could hardly have
gone to England if her husband kept her passport and had showed it to them. The ambitious officer
had sent the usual security fax to all the hotels in Oslo and Akershus, and finally instructed all
operational units, including the patrol cars, in Oslo to keep their eyes peeled.
The only thing left was the question of the mobile phone.
Magnus rang Harry and informed him of the situation. The inspector was out of breath, and in the
background he heard the shrill twittering of birds. Harry asked a couple of questions about the
mobile before ringing off. Then Skarre got up and went into the corridor. The door to Katrine