He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum Read Free Book Online Page A

asked as he fumbled with his belt to unfasten his mobile phone.
    "A little white car. Maybe a Renault."
    "Stay here," he said.
    "We're supposed to be at work by now," said the other youth. "And besides, it wasn't a Renault if you ask me, it looked more like a Peugeot."
    "Today you're going to be a little late for work," Sejer said curtly. "It can happen to the best of us. Was he wearing a ski mask?"
    "Yes."
    "Black jumper and corduroy trousers?"
    "Do you know who he is?"
    "No."
    "Can we come down to the station?"
    "Most probably."
    It might have been staged, the thought came to him. They might have been in on it together. Maybe she was his girlfriend. A fake hostage. Two people inside the bank 30 seconds after opening, how likely was that? Criminals were getting so damned inventive.
    The small groups of pedestrians were gradually dispersing, but a few people were lingering, perhaps hoping they would be asked to give statements. There was nothing more to see. The man was gone. It was all over in seconds. A few people couldn't help but think how easy it was. With a fast car and knowledge of the local area someone could cover a lot of territory in only half an hour.
    The boy with the badger hair put on his sunglasses. "You've got the whole thing on video, haven't you?"
    "Let's hope so," Sejer muttered. He'd had mixed experiences with video surveillance. He turned round as a squad car drove into the square. Gøren Soot jumped out, bringing a frown to Sejer's face, and right after him came Karlsen, which caused him to breathe a sigh of relief.
    "We've got a hostage situation. A young woman. And the gun is loaded. He fired a shot inside the bank."
    Karlsen stared at the boy's badger hair.
    "Take these two in so they can give a statement. They saw the robber and the car. Run in and get the videotape as fast as you can. We've got to find out who the hostage is. Set up a roadblock at E18 and E76. Use our private radio band. It's a small white car, possibly French."
    "Did he get much?" Karlsen peered in through the bank door.
    "Don't know yet. How many men can we scrape together?"
    "Not many. I sent Skarre to talk to Officer Gurvin, four officers are away taking courses, and another four are on holiday."
    "We'll have to ask for reinforcements. The only thing we can focus on right now is the hostage."
    "Let's hope he opens the car door and dumps her on the road."
    "We can always hope," Sejer said grimly. "Let's have a talk with the teller."
    The two young men had to wait in the back seat of the squad car, and they didn't mind in the least. Sejer and Karlsen went inside the bank where the teller was sitting on one of the chairs near the window. With her was the bank manager, who had been inside the vault and had no idea what was going on until he'd heard the shot, and then he didn't dare venture out until he heard the sirens.
    Sejer quietly observed the young woman teller who had just been robbed. She was as white as a sheet, with beads of sweat on her forehead, but she wasn't hurt. All she had done was raise her hand to pick up several bundles of notes from a shelf and place them on the counter. Yet it was obvious that from now on her life would never be the same. She might think about making her will. Not that she had much to bequeath in all likelihood, but it was the kind of thing she'd think should be taken care of while there was still time. He sat down next to her and spoke gently.
    "Are you all right?"
    She began to sob.
    "Yes," she said as firmly as she could manage. "I'm OK. But when I think about that girl he took with him . . . You should have heard what he said. I don't dare think about what he's going to do with her."
    "Now, now," Sejer said. "Let's not jump ahead of ourselves. He took her along to gain free passage out to the car. Have you ever seen her before?"
    "Never."
    "Can you tell me what he said when he was standing at the counter?"
    "I can tell you exactly what he said," she replied. "I'll never forget it. He went up