The Treacherous Net by Helene Tursten Page A

snorted. Krister rarely sounded bitter, but right now it was very clear that was exactly how he felt.
    “Has something happened?”
    “Not really. It’s just something that’s been growing, the feeling that I’m stuck in one place, treading water. I need to do something different, something new!”
    Irene couldn’t help clearing her throat. “Something new . . . Have you got anything specific in mind?”
    “Not yet. But I want a fresh start,” he said with a sigh.
    It wasn’t a complete shock. She had known that Krister hadn’t been entirely happy in the kitchen at Glady’s over the past few years. A new owner had taken over the restaurant, and of course he wanted to keep their star in the Guide Rouge . At the same time he had tried to keep down costs by not employing “too many” staff members. As a consequence everyone ended up doing the work of two people. Krister had suffered from burnout a few years earlier, and although he had returned to Glady’s, he had never really regained the pleasure he had found in his profession. The TV chef Krister had mentioned hadn’t exactly helped matters; he had been given more and more authority over what went on in the kitchen, and Krister felt sidelined.
    “Life is not a rehearsal. I want to do something I enjoy for the last ten years of my career. Or rather eleven,” he added.
    “If that’s how you feel, then think about what you want to do instead. We’ll manage, even if you’re earning less.”
    Irene was nine years younger than her husband, and certainly didn’t want a change of career. As she told Krister, she already had her dream job.
    “Although things aren’t great at the moment; I don’t like the new superintendent. I’ll admit she has her good points; she’s competent . . . smart . . . maybe too smart. She’s kind of . . . intriguing.”
    Irene surprised herself when she came up with that word, but it was exactly right.
    “In what way?” Krister wondered.
    She told him how Efva Thylqvist had managed to lure Sven Andersson into her trap and dump the mummy inquiry on the Cold Cases Unit. To her annoyance, Krister started to laugh.
    “She definitely sounds like a smart cookie!” he said.
    “That’s exactly what I said!” Irene snapped.
    Krister glanced at her in surprise. She had to take a few deep breaths before she was able to go on:
    “She’s so manipulative. She’s attractive, and she exploits her appearance, smiling and flirting with all the guys in the department while she doesn’t even seem to notice me—she does her best to ignore me completely!”
    To her horror she could hear the same bitterness in her own voice as she had heard in Krister’s. Suddenly his tone was deadly serious.
    “Sweetheart. I think it’s time for a change for both of us.”
    “But I don’t want to leave my job! I’m not the one with the problem!”
    Irene was almost on the verge of tears. She swallowed several times and tried to calm down.
    “You can always look for a new restaurant, but my job is only available in one place in Göteborg, and I don’t want to move away. What I do want is a new boss.”
    “Couldn’t you apply for a transfer to a different department?”
    Irene shook her head.
    “That’s the thing . . . there’s no other department I’d want to work in. And why should I move? I’m not the one who’s creating a bad atmosphere.”
    “A bad atmosphere? You mean everyone wants this woman gone?”
    Irene remained silent for a few moments before she answered. “No. The guys like her, I think. Tommy seems to get on very well with his new chief. He’s her deputy now.”
    “Do you mean they get on too well?” Krister asked meaningfully.
    “I don’t know. I haven’t seen anything concrete, it’s just a feeling.”
    Krister laughed. “Sweetheart, I trust your feelings one hundred percent. That’s why you’re such a good cop—you go with your gut instinct. And it’s never wrong!”
    He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.