MemoRandom: A Thriller by Anders de La Motte Page B

skipped the photographs of the scene of the accident and the autopsy. Everything was basically true, none of the essential facts were missing. At least nothing that had any effect on the end result.
    In the end she had been found by someone delivering papers. Her body had gone through the windshield of a Volvo that had been parked illegally below the window of her study.Her iPad was on her desk, containing her suicide note. Just a couple of lines about how she couldn’t bear it anymore, that she didn’t want to go back to the clinic. The note had been sent to her father’s work e-mail that same night, just minutes before she was found. Her penthouse apartment also contained plenty of pharmaceuticals, prescribed by doctors both in Sweden and abroad. A chair was found next to the open window, and the front door was locked. The autopsy more or less confirmed what was already clear: death caused by massive trauma, her stomach full of a mixture of pills and alcohol.
    Naturally, Stenberg had called John Thorning to convey his condolences. He had practiced for hours so that the words came out right, in a calm tone of voice, before he dialed the number with trembling hands. But the whole thing had been a huge anticlimax. The call was forwarded to John’s secretary, who told him that Sophie’s father wasn’t taking any calls, even from him. He felt extremely relieved, and almost burst out laughing. After that, his letter of condolence practically wrote itself.
    Our deepest sympathies for your tragic loss . . .
    The funeral had been a quiet affair, with only the closest family present. Suicide wasn’t something that the Thorning family wanted to make a public show of.
    Karolina had naturally organized a tasteful wreath. Lilies to symbolize innocence, white narcissi for friendship and closure. An almost perfect choice.
    And, as always after something ended, new opportunities presented themselves. His plan was already in motion. The need for it was obvious, and discussions were already under way. All they were waiting for was for someone to take the initiative. Someone who had the courage, will, and energy to dare to lead the way.
    The judicial system was hopelessly old-fashioned, a product of the 1950s that had been patched up as time went on, and which stood no chance of meeting the challenges and threats posed by the twenty-first century. You had to look at thesituation as a whole and deploy your resources where they could give the greatest reward, instead of spreading them thinly. It was a matter of getting in synch with reality and delivering concrete results that the general public could understand and accept.
    The first move was already made. He had brought in his old colleague Oscar Wallin. He had recruited him and a few hand-picked officers from National Crime to conduct a “special investigation for the Ministry of Justice.” Wallin and Stenberg had worked together in the Hague and were comfortable with each other. They shared the same goals.
    In actual fact, Wallin’s task was simple: Identify the best working practices in the country and bring in the most competent officers. Find out what works in a new, modernized organization, and which people are happy to go along with it. And which ones aren’t.
    He would make enemies, he was perfectly aware of that. The judicial system was full of desk jockeys and filing clerks. Police officers, prosecutors, and judges with smart titles, expense accounts, and large mortgages, but whose contribution to the system was questionable, to say the least. Plenty of them would see an abrupt end to their career paths and would find themselves out in the cold.
    Attitude, he thought once more. It was all about attitude. Seeing the whole picture beyond the details, and not hesitating to make unpleasant decisions.
    The phone on his desk rang. Calls usually went via his secretary, but this was his direct line. It must be Karolina.
    “Stenberg.”
    “Good afternoon, Mr. Stenberg,” the