Both men looked at the Countess. She asked the head of DSIS, “Tell me first how you come into the picture. Were you informed of this in advance?”
“Of course not. I’m in the picture because I was invited to the meeting. I’m simply reacting as was expected of me. Tell us then what your attitude is. Are you also prepared to bring out the rack if there are no other options?”
She held his gaze.
“If it can save Pauline’s and Jeanette Hvidt’s lives, then without the slightest hesitation. But under no circumstances as revenge or punishment.”
The head of DSIS clapped his hands.
“Then let’s consider the matter settled. Now we only lack how and when. Let’s take the latter first. I can have my people ready within the next two hours, and they will put an iron ring around him so he will soon be tracked down. I just don’t understand why this didn’t happen long ago. You know his appearance, you know his car, he is being searched for everywhere, and still he’s been roaming free for over twenty-four hours and apparently moving around the Copenhagen area at will. What in the world is happening here?”
The question was directed at Simonsen, who winced. Nevertheless he answered frankly.
“I don’t know, but we wonder too. Unfortunately his appearance is very ordinary, as they say, but he ought to be located today. We are beginning to think that perhaps he has acquired another vehicle or possibly uses public transport. Despite the fact that the psychologist is convinced of the opposite.”
“If you don’t find him soon, it won’t matter. If that’s not already the case.”
The Countess asked angrily, “Don’t you think we’re aware of that?”
“Yes, sorry, of course you are. So let’s presume you find him tomorrow, and I get him in the net . . . ”
He looked at Simonsen.
“ . . . because I assume that this is still the agenda. You’re not going to bring him in, are you?”
“No, absolutely not. He would almost certainly refuse to talk, and then we’re checkmate. Especially after this evening, when my bosses had the legal principles of the realm emphasised to that degree.”
“Okay, I was counting on that too. But here comes the hard part: how? Do you have any ideas?”
The Countess shook her head despondently. Simonsen said, “Yes.”
They looked at him with equal parts surprise and interest.
“You both know Marcus Kolding, commonly known as Doctor Cold . . . ”
He told them about his visit to the bagman last Wednesday, and how one of Falkenborg’s victims was the Finnish woman Elizabeth Juutilainen, who as Liz Suenson had served as Kolding’s courier.
When he was done, the head of DSIS considered the unstated proposal and concluded hesitantly, “It’s not enough, Simon. Kolding is not a man who does political favours, and he can easily curb his thirst for vengeance if it pays him. He’ll want something else, but I’m sure you know that.”
Simonsen turned towards the Countess.
“Go out into the courtyard. There is no reason for you to have joint responsibility in this.”
“No!”
He accepted this without putting up a fight and asked the head of DSIS, “Do you have easy access to the archives of Special Economic Crimes?”
“I have ready access to all archives, but you do too.”
“Not without attracting attention.”
“Hmm, what do you want?”
“We have a relatively high-standing informant in Marcus Kolding’s organisation.”
The Countess was not able to hold back a gasp. The head of DSIS nodded.
“You want to tip off Kolding about his mole as payment for his help with Falkenborg?”
“Yes.”
“And you know what that means?”
“Yes.”
“You will make contact with the Doctor yourself, when Falkenborg is found?”
“Yes.”
“Fine, but we are still missing two things. I will be forced to pull my people away once the Doctor has his hands on Falkenborg, and that order we must not formally take responsibility for. The blame game, you know. I’ll try and think of a way around that for both of us. But my last point is the most important—Simon, it will take at least a full day after Falkenborg is found before this can be put into effect, which means that you will be under enormous pressure from all sides to arrest him. I know full well that you have just had your absolute operative status served to you on a silver platter, but can you hold out against external interference that long?”
“I have no other choice.”
The Countess was less vague.
“You take care of your part, we’ll take care of ours. Are we almost done here?”
They were. Outside the gate on H?jbro Plads they went their separate ways. The head of DSIS shook hands with them, which felt strange, but they both reciprocated. Before he left, he said in a mixture of seriousness and irony, “Life for one, death for the other. I didn’t think you had it in you, Simon.”
“Then you were wrong, although I could have done without your cynical comment.”
“You mean my cynical, true comment, don’t you?”
Simonson did not answer and he and the Countess quickly left.
CHAPTER 52