B0031RSBSM EBOK

stolen?
    Suddenly his computer beeped. He had received an e-mail. It was from the United States.
    He sat down at his computer again to reply.

 
    Back at police headquarters, Knutas phoned Agneta Larsvik in Stockholm. He was lucky enough to catch her between meetings.
    “The part about the modus operandi,” he began, “could it have something to do with a religion?”
    “In what way?”
    “Both Martina Flochten and Staffan Mellgren were interested in the Viking Age. They were excavating a Viking Age port area when they were murdered. The religion at that time had to do with a belief in the Æsir gods—you know, Thor and Odin and all the others. The Vikings made offerings and sacrifices and the like. That’s fairly common knowledge. You said that the modus operandi was ritualistic. Could it have something to do with a belief in the Æsir gods? I mean, the way in which sacrifices were made to them?”
    “I don’t really know,” she said hesitantly. “Unfortunately, I don’t know much about the subject, but it’s not out of the question. Could you hold on for a moment?”
    “Of course.”
    Knutas heard her put down the phone and leaf through some papers in the background. A few minutes later she was back.
    “Are you still there? I know someone at Stockholm University who teaches the history of religion. He specializes in ancient Nordic religion and mythology. His name is Malte Moberg, and I’m sure he could help you.”
    Knutas jotted down the number, and less than a minute later he had the historian on the line. He explained what he wanted to know and briefly described how the victims had been killed.
    Malte Moberg spoke slowly, in a gruff, dry voice. “There’s something known as the ‘threefold death,’ meaning that a victim’s life is taken in three different ways. This way of killing has its origin in the religion of Celtic and Germanic tribes, and it was utilized for a period from 300 B.C. to A.D. 300. When the victim suffered a threefold death by hanging, stabbing, and drowning, it was thought that each was dedicated to one of three different gods.”
    The most important piece in the puzzle had now fallen into place. It was that simple. Knutas felt so elated that he could hardly sit still.
    “What does this have to do with the ancient Nordic religion?” he asked eagerly.
    “In the pre-Christian North, the offering of sacrifices was central to the religion. The creation myth of the Æsir gods begins when Ymer the giant is sacrificed to give the world a body. Odin sacrificed one of his eyes in exchange for wisdom, and himself to achieve insight into the secrets of the runes. People most often offered food and drink to the gods, but animals were also sacrificed and, in rare cases, human beings. The type of death that you’re describing in these murder cases also occurred in the ancient Scandinavian religion. The threefold death was dedicated to the gods Odin, Thor, and Frey—meaning the three most powerful gods in the ancient Nordic pantheon, which was prevalent during the Viking Age. In Nordic mythology, there are three families of gods: the Æsir, the Vanir, and the Elves. The Æsir, who included Odin and Thor, were most closely associated with power and warfare; the Vanir, who included Frey, were linked to fertility. How familiar are you with ancient Nordic mythology?”
    “We studied it in school, of course, but that’s a hundred years ago. Refresh my memory.”
    “Odin is the original deity, the Almighty according to many—the most powerful of the gods, who ruled over all the other Æsir. He was also the supreme deity of the human world. He is the oldest and the wisest and lives in the fortress Valhalla. He’s the god of war, but also the god of poetry, and he’s the one who created the runes. Thor is Odin’s son, and he’s also the god of war, although he’s best known as the god of thunder. Thor has a hammer called Mjölnir, and when he uses it, he produces thunder and lightning. I’m sure you know all about that. Finally, Frey is the foremost god of fertility. People worshipped him in order to obtain a good harvest, peace, sensual pleasure, and bountiful livestock.”
    “What about the idea that the perpetrator may have drained his victims of their blood? Does that fit in with ancient Nordic mythology?”
    “Absolutely. The blood itself was an important part of the sacrificial rite. They would kill the animals, such as pigs, horses, and bulls, and then collect the blood