The Man Who Smiled Part 38

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