Mårten shot him an unreadable glance.“Yes,” he replied simply, then led them out of the room.Aurora ushered Jiro through and followed behind, staring at the back of his head as he replaced his beanie, Mårten's words still rolling around in her mind.
* * *
The police cruiser snaked down the darkened road, the headlights creating a false bubble of light around them.Outside of that bubble, it was pitch black on either side, even though it was only just past six p.m.A large storm had blown in last week, bringing with it the first real winter blast.And it’d been big, dumping six feet of snow, at least.The road had been plowed recently, and the drifts on each side were piled high.A light snow had started to fall, and Dalström had turned on the windshield wipers, their soft swishing sound the only noise to break the silence inside the car.Endless forest stretched out on each side of the road, but it was so completely black out here that if Aurora hadn’t been familiar with this road, she would never have guessed what lay outside the headlights.Jiro sat next to her in the rear of the vehicle, staring out into the blackness.He’d hurriedly stuffed clothes into a bag in his cabin, then followed her and Mårten off the ship without a backward glance.
No one had spoken in the twenty minutes it’d taken to drive out to the reindeer farm.She could tell Dalström wasn’t all that happy with her joining the team; Mårten had been wrong on that count.The detective inspector’s silence told her everything she needed to know.She got the feeling Dalström might regard this mission as a waste of time; beneath his capabilities.Which surprised her, she’d always thought he was a fairly honest cop.A family man for sure; he liked to be home on time so that he could sit down and have dinner with his wife and children.Perhaps that was it.Maybe it was as simple as his not wanting to have to do any overtime on this dark, wintry night, only a few weeks out from Christmas.
She wasn’t regretting her decision to stay on the case, but she found herself wishing that Mårten had been able to take the lead on this one.He would’ve been much more proactive, and made it feel more of a teaching experience for her.She missed his solid presence, but she guessed she needed to learn to stand on her own two feet if she ever wanted to become a proper cop.
Earlier, as they’d driven out of the underground car park at police HQ, she’d furtively sent a flurry of texts to her next-door neighbor.Millie was an older lady, recently retired, who’d taken Aurora under her wing when she’d heard she was to become a carer for her father.Millie had always said she would help with him whenever work took Aurora away from her duties at home.Aurora wasn’t sure what she would do without Millie.All she knew for sure was that she couldn’t keep relying on the older lady.But she wasn’t sure what other options she had.Her younger sister, Astrid, was of no help, as she still lived in Malmö, an eight-hour drive away.Aurora couldn’t really blame Astrid for staying away.Aurora was the one who’d moved from their hometown up north to Luleå.Astrid had stayed and built a career for herself in journalism, working her way up the ladder and was now employed at Sweden’s second largest newspaper.She was proud of her little sister, even though she could be exasperating and selfish at times.At least she’d carved out a life for herself.And at least she seemed unaffected by their traumatic childhood.Probably because Aurora had taken the brunt of their father’s angry outbursts, but she didn’t begrudge her sister for that.
Aurora turned to look at Constable Moreau, who sat directly in front of her in the passenger seat, staring straight out the windshield at the falling snow.He’d seemed affable enough when they’s first all got into the car, but when it became clear his senior partner wasn’t up for a conversation, he’d closed up as well.Up until now, Aurora hadn’t had much to do with Moreau—a level five constable, and her senior, who’d been on the job for six years now.He had a young family and was a solid cop by all accounts.The other women at HQ all swooned over Moreau, and Aurora supposed his wavy, brown hair, dark-blue eyes, and pronounced cheekbones could be considered handsome if you liked that sort of thing.Supposedly he’d inherited his good looks from his French father, as well as his French accent.Even though he’d been born in Sweden, he’d spent quite a few years in his youth traveling between the two countries.
Jiro sat quietly in the backseat beside her, his head turned away, and she wondered what he was thinking.His mind was probably focused on only one thing.Finding his father.His shoulders were square and taut, his chin lifted, and he was surrounded by a tense aura of holding himself back, of remaining rigidly still.She thought back to his pacing on the cruise ship and in the reception area and knew it must be hard for him to stay immobile even for this long.
All of a sudden, the vehicle slowed.“I know it’s up here somewhere,” Dalström muttered to himself.Sure enough, a faint light appeared out of the dark, illuminating a sign that saidLuleå 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,” Dalström 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.Mårten would’ve done exactly the same thing.
Dalström 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 Dalström 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.Mårten 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 Dalström 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 Dalström.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 Mårten 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 Dalström 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.Dalström 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.
Dalström 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.
“Dalström 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 Luleå 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 Mårten 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 Dalström 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,” Dalström 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 Dalström 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.
