The next day was Christmas Eve, the big day in Sweden. It was still foggy and grey outside. But Wallander felt that today he could rise above all the greyness.
He drove to Sturup airport at 2 p.m., despite the fact that the plane was not due until 3.30. He felt most uncomfortable as he parked his car and approached the yellow airport building. He had the feeling everybody was looking at him.
Nevertheless, he couldn"t resist walking over to the gates to the right of the terminal.
The Gulfstream was no longer there. There was no sign of it.
It"s all over, he thought. I"m putting a full stop behind it, here and now.
His relief was immediate.
The image of the smiling man faded away.
He went into the departure lounge, then out again, feeling more nervous than he could remember at any time since he was a teenager. He counted the paving stones in the entrance, rehea.r.s.ed his inadequate English, and tried in vain to think about anything but what was about to happen.
When the plane landed he was still standing outside the terminal. Then he hurried inside and positioned himself next to the newspaper stand, waiting.
She was one of the last to emerge.
But there she was. Baiba Liepa.
She was exactly as he remembered her.
ALSO BY HENNING MANKELL.
Fiction
Faceless Killers
The White Lioness
The Man Who Smiled
Sidetracked
The Fifth Woman
One Step Behind
The Return of the Dancing Master
Before the Frost
Chronicler of the Winds
Depths
Kennedy"s Brain
The Eye of the Leopard
Non-fiction
Die, But the Memory Live On
Young Adult Fiction A Bridge to the Stars A Bridge to the Stars Shadows in the Twilight Shadows in the Twilight When the Snow Fell When the Snow FellHENNING MANKELL
The Dogs of Riga