Borderline by Liza Marklund

‘but if it’s about business rather than politics, then things usually follow a particular pattern. If the ransom is the key demand, you might be looking at a fairly protracted period of negotiations. Do you speak English?’
    She cleared her throat. ‘Yes.’
    ‘What sort? Where have you done most of your talking? Were you an exchange student somewhere, have you worked abroad, have you picked up a particular accent?’
    ‘Washington correspondent,’ she said.
    ‘Of course,’ Halenius said.
    After all, he had arranged for Thomas to have a research post at the Swedish Embassy while she was there.
    ‘Speaking the language is incredibly important for anyone negotiating in a kidnapping case,’ he continued. ‘Even minor misunderstandings can have serious consequences. Do you have any recording equipment here?’
    She put her feet on the floor. ‘What for? The telephone?’
    ‘I was in too much of a hurry to find anything in the department.’
    ‘So I’m supposed to sit here, at home in my living room, and talk over the phone with the kidnappers? Is that the plan?’
    ‘Have you got a better suggestion?’
    She wasn’t the one who’d sent Thomas to Nairobi, or made him get on the flight to Liboi, but she was having to deal with the consequences.
    She stood up. ‘I’ve got a recorder for interviews but I don’t use it much. It takes too long to listen to the files afterwards so I prefer to take notes.’ She went into the bedroom, poked about on the top shelf of the linen cupboard, and eventually found the antiquated digital recording device, which could be plugged into the phone and directly into a computer through one of the USB ports.
    Halenius whistled and stood up. ‘I haven’t seen one of those for a while. Where did you get it? The Historical Museum?’
    ‘Funny,’ Annika said, pulling her laptop closer and plugging it in. ‘Now you just have to attach the phone or mobile and it’s ready to go.’
    ‘Do you want to take the call when it comes?’
    She held on to the back of the sofa. ‘You’re sure there’s going to be one?’
    ‘If there isn’t we’re stuffed. Our only option is to negotiate, and someone has to do it.’
    She brushed her hair away from her face. ‘What do I need to do?’
    ‘Record the conversation, take notes, write down any specific demands, all instructions and comments. Show you’re taking the situation seriously. Try to establish a code that you can use the next time, so you know you’re talking to the same person. That’s very important. And try to get a specific time for the next call. But you mustn’t promise anything. You mustn’t talk about money. You mustn’t be threatening or confrontational, suspicious or nervous, and you mustn’t start crying.’
    She sat down. ‘What are they going to say?’
    ‘The person who calls will be nervous and intense. He – it’s usually a man – will demand a ridiculous amount of money, which has to be delivered within a very tight timescale. The intention is to throw you off balance and make you agree to demands that you can’t back out of later.’
    ‘Like the Frenchman’s wife,’ Annika said. ‘What’s the alternative? That you take the call? Have you done this sort of thing before? You said you did that course with the FBI.’
    ‘I could take it, or Hans or Hans-Erik …’
    At that moment the front door flew open and Kalle and Ellen tumbled into the hall.
    Halenius nodded to her. ‘Do it.’
    She caught them both in her arms, kissing and hugging them. Their cheeks were cold and red, like frozen apples. She pulled off their coats and scarves, asked Ellen where her gloves were, and was told, ‘Gone.’ She rubbed and blew on the little girl’s hands.
    ‘We’ll be eating after children’s television tonight,’ she said. ‘But first there’s something I want to talk to you both about.’
    Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Jimmy Halenius had connected the landline to the recording device.