Chapter Three #2
All of a sudden, the vehicle slowed. “I know it’s up here somewhere,” Dalstrom muttered to himself.
Sure enough, a faint light appeared out of the dark, illuminating a sign that said Lule? Adventures - experience the heart of Sweden.
The detective inspector swung the car left onto a long driveway, and now they all got a good look at the surrounding forest as the car cut along the snowy road.
Someone on the farm must grade this road every day to make sure it was possible for tourist buses to traverse.
Lofty snowdrifts piled up on each side, and she could see how deep the snow was underneath the forest trees.
Back in town, the streets were icy and slippery, but the townsfolk remained insulated from the full brunt of the deep winter deluge.
Now they were outside the city limits, however, the extent of the snow coverage was evident.
Aurora soon made out well-lit huts and scattered buildings set in a clearing nestled in a thickly forested area and at least a dozen cars parked up in a flat space between the trees—a couple of them police cruisers—with many people milling around in the shadows.
It was a hive of activity. This must be base camp.
Her heart rate accelerated. It was time to get to work. Time to find this missing man.
“Right, we’re here,” Dalstrom growled as he pulled up next to another cruiser and switched off the engine.
“Currently, the owner of the property, Dávvet Lindgren, has been coordinating the search. But I’m going to take command once we get inside.
” Aurora had expected nothing less. It only made sense to have someone from the law directing everything.
M?rten would’ve done exactly the same thing.
Dalstrom swiveled in his seat to stare back at Aurora, and she almost recoiled at the intensity of his gaze. “I want you to stick to this guy like glue. He’s your responsibility, got it?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied hastily.
“And you,” the detective inspector pointed an imperious finger in Jiro’s direction, “I don’t want you getting in anyone’s way.
And I don’t want you getting lost either.
Stay here; don’t wander away from the main farm buildings.
Do as you’re told, and this will all go smoothly.
Hopefully, we can have your father returned to you in the next few hours. ”
Aurora was a little shocked at the tone Dalstrom had taken with Jiro.
He was a victim here, but the detective inspector was treating him as if he were a suspect.
Or at the very least, a problem that needed to be solved.
And his insinuation that they were going to find the missing man easily made Aurora’s skin crawl with worry.
The owner of the farm, Dávvet, had been searching his property for nearly three hours now with no sign of the old man.
M?rten had been sure that if he was to be easily found, then Dávvet would have already done so.
Which meant the search needed to be extended past the outer limits of the property.
But it was dark and freezing, and the logistics of balancing the need to keep the people who were searching through the snow safe against the need for quick action was immense.
This was not going to be an easy task, and she wondered why Dalstrom thought it would be.
Although Aurora had only had a few interactions with him over the past six months, she’d thought she’d liked Dalstrom.
He had never been anything less than convivial around the office and had been helpful more than once when Aurora had needed an experienced eye to look over her reports when M?rten wasn’t available.
Now, she was seeing a whole new side of him.
“As long as you do your job properly and find my father, then I’ll do as I’m told,” Jiro replied coldly.
The detective inspector narrowed his eyes at Jiro, and for a few seconds, Aurora thought Dalstrom might react to his veiled insult, but he pursed his lips and turned back around, pulling on his gloves.
“Let’s go,” he commanded, stepping out of the car, everyone following suit.
Aurora made sure she stuck close to Jiro’s side as they approached a large hut.
This was where most people seemed to be either entering or leaving, and she guessed it was where Dávvet had set up his temporary command post. At least Jiro had grabbed a pair of gloves from his cabin earlier, which Aurora noticed thankfully that he was now wearing.
Inside the barbecue hut, it was hot, and Aurora had to resist the urge to rip off her jacket.
Many people milled around, sitting at tables and chairs or lined up on stools along a long wooden bar, drinking glasses of what looked to be hot mulled wine.
Dalstrom headed straight toward a hulking man over by the bar speaking into a two-way radio.
Jiro followed close on his heels, and Aurora had to hustle to keep up with both men.
She arrived beside Jiro just in time to hear the big man say in Swedish, “Right. Come on in then. See you in twenty minutes.” Dávvet wasn’t just tall; he was more like a man mountain, sporting a thick, dark beard and somber, gray eyes.
Dalstrom introduced himself, and they shook hands. Then there was an exchange, all in Swedish, which became more heated as they talked, and Aurora’s heart sank. Jiro looked to her to translate, and she bit her bottom lip; it wasn’t good news.
“There is no sign of him so far,” she started. “It seems Dávvet has made the decision to call off the search, at least until first light. It’s getting too dangerous out there. The snow has started to fall in earnest, and there’s more on the way, he says.”
“What? No, he can’t.” Aurora had expected his passionate reply and felt deeply sorry for him, but under the circumstances she understood. She held up a hand to stop any further remonstrations.
“Dalstrom doesn’t agree, however. He thinks the men should be sent out again.
Let’s just wait and see,” she suggested.
She wasn’t sure who she wanted to be right.
It was a hard thing to do, to weigh up the life of one man against the risk for dozens of others.
The detective inspector was digging his heels in, almost shouting now, and a couple of people turned from their mulled wine to stare at the arguing men.
This didn’t bode well if the two people in command couldn’t even agree on a plan of action.
Aurora knew who would win in the end. Apart from the six Lule? police officers, the bulk of the people out searching were all locals; they would listen to Dávvet.
He was Sámi and knew the terrain and the countryside better than some town cop.
Knew when to keep going and when to call it quits.
Again, Aurora wished M?rten could be here with his calm demeanor and considerable negotiating skills.
It suddenly went quiet, and the two men glared at each other across the table.
Then Dávvet laid the hand piece of the two-way radio carefully down on the countertop, took two steps away and headed for the door, stopping only to pull on a jacket before he exited.
The fight had been won and lost. Dávvet refused to let the locals continue their search, and when Dalstrom demanded that he was in charge now and people would do as he said, Dávvet let his feet do the talking.
One by one, the other others left their tables and chairs and followed him out the door.
“I take it that didn’t go well,” Jiro said into the ensuing silence.
“No,” Aurora replied, watching the detective inspector’s face turn an interesting shade of red.
“Right, assemble all the other officers in here. We’ll continue the search alone if we have to,” Dalstrom ground out from between clenched teeth, taking up the position Dávvet had so recently vacated.
“But, sir, we don’t even know what areas have already been searched,” Moreau asserted.
“We need that man’s help.” He pointed to the closed door Dávvet had disappeared through.
“We can’t just go out blind; we could be covering the same areas and wasting precious time and resources.
” Moreau’s relaxed stance changed as he stood up straighter, his arms going stiff at his sides.
He was taller than his boss by at least three inches.
It seemed like Dalstrom wasn’t used to his junior partner arguing with him, because he turned on him with a look of surprise that soon morphed into undisguised displeasure.
But Moreau didn’t quail at his superior’s withering glare, instead, standing his ground, and saying, “I’ll bring all the officers back in,” Moreau agreed, “But we need to have a better plan of action before we send them back out again.” Aurora suddenly liked the constable a whole lot better.
Jiro tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. “What now?” he asked. His face had drained of all color as he stared at her, sick with worry and desperation.
“Let’s go and sit over here,” she suggested, taking him by the arm and towing him away to the far corner.
He didn’t need to hear the lead detective arguing with his partner, and she didn’t want him to get involved in another dispute with Dalstrom either, who clearly didn’t like his authority being challenged.
She’d been told to stick to Jiro like glue, and that was what she intended to do.
There was going to be no active searching done until Dalstrom could sort out the mutiny within his ranks, and so Aurora decided to do what M?rten had always taught her to do; if in doubt, take time to regroup.
Sit down and look at things from all angles to make sure you hadn’t missed anything. Find any weak spots.