‘The Ace of Spades is death. What does the Queen of Spades represent then?’ Pedersen asked. He was driving Sand back to Oslo. They were following the ambulance that was carrying Gabi. She had suffered a bullet wound to her shoulder but it was a clean wound, straight through. There would be some physio to rebuild muscle but no lasting damage.

Sand was using his smartphone. ‘According to this the Queen of Spades is considered to be a sign of high intelligence. It is representative of a practical, logical and intellectual judgement. It constitutes someone who makes plans ahead of time.’

‘So Moen sees himself as the Queen of Spades?’ The playing cards that Dag Moen had left with Sand sat on the dashboard of the car.

‘He told me everything was part of his plan. He certainly thinks he is smarter than we are.’

‘So far he has been. What do we do next?’

‘It’s time we stopped waiting and reacting to him. We need to upset his plan. We need to get out in front of his next move.’

‘How do we do that?’

‘By prodding him with the only thing he has ever cared about.’

***

At seven o’clock that evening the main public broadcasting channel interrupted it’s normal news programme for a special news conference from the Central Oslo police headquarters.

Gabi Henriksen sat in her hospital bed watching her partner appear behind a desk, followed by Captain Pedersen. In between them sat Brit Moen, formerly Brigette Eckberg, Dag Moen’s mother.

At the lectern in front of them, the Chief of Police stood and began speaking.

‘Ladies and Gentlemen of the press,’ he acknowledged the people in the room before addressing the camera. ‘Citizens of Oslo. Thank you for allowing us to interrupt your evening. I have an important announcement to make. Three days ago a young woman, Dahlia Solberg, was brutally murdered in Alta. Earlier today the man we believe responsible for this murder escaped capture in Kristiansand and shot and injured a young police officer.’

The image in the screen became a full frame picture. Gabi recognised the face she had last seen behind a gun levelled at her face.

‘This is the man we are looking for. His name is Dag Moen. He is to be considered extremely dangerous and must not be approached. If you have any information that can help us find and arrest this man, I urge you to get in touch with the police without delay.’ He paused as the image flicked back to him. ‘I am now speaking directly to Dag Moen. If you are watching Dag, I urge you to give up this game. You will not succeed. The entire country now knows who you are and what you have done. Humanity will defeat you. People will not suffer your actions against fellow citizens. Your father is dead. He cannot be avenged. Nothing you do will bring him back. Give yourself up.’

The Chief of Police moved away from the lectern. Brit Moen stood and took his place. As she did so, Gabi was sure she caught a look of hatred directed at Anders Sand.

Brit Moen faced down and read from a piece of paper that was in front of her. ‘Dag, my darling son. Please give this up. Your father would not have wanted this. He deeply regretted his actions. He repented in prison. He became a man of peace. He came to respect the officers that apprehended him and turned him away from his evil path. He would not want to be associated with a son who acted as you have done. I urge you, for his memory, to stop and turn yourself in.’

The bulletin ended and the regular news began again. Gabi smiled. It was pure Anders Sand. Now everyone in the country would be looking out for Dag Moen. He wouldn’t be able to move in public. And he would be enraged. Sand had probably written the words that Brit Moen read out. He knew that it would have an impact. And angry men make mistakes.

This is part seventeen of my A to Z Challenge 2017. More information on the challenge, and other stories and blogs taking part in it, can be found HERE.

Throughout April I  hope to publish a section a day, relating to a letter of the alphabet, which in the end will make up a continuous story, all based round the objects found in this children’s jigsaw:

Other entries in the challenge, and a version of the final complete, joined up story can be found here: A TO Z CHALLENGE 2017.