Suddenly Ingeborg’s wizened face lit up.
– But I’ll tell you this, Signy, that Arve Norbakk is what they call a real superkid. It’s amazing how well he’s managed. Before we found foster parents for him, he was living with us, and I’ve been following his progress ever since.
She exposed a line of pearly white teeth that looked completely genuine.
– Always bright and positive, that Arve. The only thing that upset him was if someone said something bad about his father. Then he’d scream and carry on. If the police hadn’t locked his father up, according to Arve, he would never have drunk himself to death. He hated the police more than anything else. Not counting his mother, who’d left them. I was so worried about him. But then he calmed down, and he never spoke about either one of them again.
– My God, Signy exclaimed. – What could make a child say something like that?
Ingeborg sighed and looked at her watch.
– Well well, Signy, I suppose we’d better go in and wake Oswald, or he’ll be up all night again.
Signy jumped to her feet.
– Just you sit there.
She opened the door to Oswald’s room. A blast of wind struck her from the wide-open window. The bed was empty.
64
NOT UNTIL SHE’D started the car and Viken had jumped in beside her did Nina get round to asking where they were going.
Viken said: – Arve checked the list of calls to Glenne’s mobile phone. Somebody called him from a landline in Tåsenveien at three minutes past nine yesterday evening. The owner of the house is a Rita Jentoft.
– Jentoft? I’ve heard that name somewhere before … We interviewed her. I think it was Sigge.
– Correct. Fifty-two-year-old woman, born in Gravdal in Vestvågøy county, lived in Oslo for twenty-five years. Widowed for the last eight. Trained medical secretary. Now works at a certain clinic in Bogstadveien. No previous convictions. Want her income tax details?
– I get it, said Nina. – His secretary.
She stopped at the entrance to the driveway. A patrol had already arrived. Viken jumped out even before she turned the engine off. Two constables in uniform stood on the steps.
– No one answered when we rang the bell, one of them said. – The door isn’t locked but we were given orders to wait for you.
– The back, barked Viken.
– We’ve got a man there.
– Good. Then let’s go in.
He opened the door.
– Police! he shouted from the hallway.
Ten minutes later, they had established that the house was empty, from basement to loft.
The waiting room at the Bogstadveien medical centre was packed. A woman wheeled a pram back and forth in front of the reception desk. The child inside screeched and howled. The telephone ringing behind the counter sounded almost as angry, but there was no one there to take the call. Viken opened the glass side door and let Nina in front of him into a corridor. On the right was a door to a storage room with shelves full of hypodermic syringes and other items and equipment. Another door had Axel Glenne’s name on it. It was unlocked, the office within dark and empty. On the next door the sign read Inger Beate Garberg. Viken knocked and stepped inside in the same moment. A woman in a white coat turned towards him. Her long greyish hair hung in a braid down her back. On a bench behind her was a man with his legs drawn up. He was naked from the waist down.
– What’s going on here? the doctor shouted, pointing at Viken with her plastic-gloved finger. – You’ve no right to come barging in like this.
Viken mumbled a sort of apology. – Police, he explained. – Can we have a word with you? Now.
Dr Garberg came out into the corridor with them. She was half a head taller than Viken, and he looked a little ill at ease.
– Where is Rita Jentoft? asked Nina.
Dr Garberg rolled her eyes.
– In reception, I presume, or gone to the toilet, I have no idea.
– Have you seen Axel Glenne since yesterday evening? Viken wanted to know.
– No, the doctor seethed, – I have not seen him, and it’s about time you left that man alone. You’ve done enough as it is. How is he supposed to deal with all that stuff you’ve released to the newspapers about him? It’s the most disgraceful thing I’ve ever come across.
She was incandescent with rage, and Viken took a couple of paces back. He almost collided with a small, stout woman who emerged from the door behind him.
– What’s all the shouting about? she wondered.
Ignoring her, Dr Garberg continued her tirade. She peeled off the plastic glove, crumpled it and tossed it to the floor. Now it was about the patients’ archives, which the police had been interfering with without her permission.
– I’ll deal with this, Inger Beate, said the stout woman, and led them into Glenne’s office.
Viken nudged Nina.
– Our female medical friend is suffering from hysteria, he diagnosed. – Recommended treatment, half a bottle of red wine and a roll in the hay.
Rita Jentoft had what Nina would call shock-bleached hair. Not really suitable for a woman past forty. But she was smart, and friendly, and she gave precise answers to all their questions.
– Are you sure about that? Nina repeated. – Did Glenne say that he had told the police about what he had found in Miriam Gaizauskaite’s flat?
– I’ve told you twice, and I’ll tell you twice more if you like, Rita Jentoft answered. – Axel was in a state of shock over what he’d found. He was terrified something might have happened to that student. She almost spat the last word out. – That was why it was life and death for him to get down here to find that envelope.
– What envelope?
The secretary didn’t mind telling them.
On their way back out to the car, Nina said: – What she says seems credible enough. It would explain how Glenne’s fingerprints ended up on the photos.
Viken grunted. – I’ll admit it’s probable the woman believes it herself, he conceded. – She seems the naïve type. It won’t surprise anyone to learn that Glenne is a world champion manipulator of other people.
His mobile phone rang. He took the call and listened for a few seconds before saying:
– Aker Brygge? You’ve warned Central? Good, we’ll be there in a couple of minutes. By the way, Nina tells me that this Miriam was engaged; obviously we need to find out more about that too … Got that?
He nodded briskly as the caller finished what he had to say.
– Great work, Arve.
He ran down the remainder of the steps and jumped into the car. As Nina got in, he opened the window and placed the blue light on the roof, turned on the siren. As they sped down Bogstadveien, he gave her the news in a sharp burst: – Call registered on Glenne’s phone four or five minutes ago. He’s at Aker Brygge or very close to. At least someone is doing their job.
Nina tightened her seat belt. On an emergency call-out she would much rather drive herself than be Viken’s passenger.
– What about this man Miriam was engaged to?
– Arve checked that out a long time ago, it says so in the report. A guy she met at a school somewhere or other in the west country. At the moment he’s living in Brazil.
– Is that definite?
– Of course, he said with a heavy sigh. – Arve’s double-checked it.
He threaded his way through the traffic. His phone rang again. He pulled a hands-free set out of the glove compartment and fitted the earpiece into his ear.
– Yes, he answered irritably, but his tone changed at once. – Thanks for ringing, but can it wait? … Okay, let’s do it now then.
He spun through the red light at the crossroads and then up along Slotts Park, now and then grunting into the phone.
– Thank you very much, he said finally. – I’ll call you back.
He pulled the earpiece out as they sped down Henrik Ibsen’s gate.
– That was Plåterud. About the f
ibres found under Elvestrand’s fingernails. They confirm what they suspected about the DNA profile. They come from a man who may have a close family relative with some kind of chromosomal abnormality. Such as Down’s syndrome. Not much help. The woman might have scratched any man in town. But there’s something else Plåterud says we ought to take a closer look at.
Nina didn’t dare distract his attention from the driving by asking questions, but Viken went on:
– They found traces of saliva in Elvestrand’s hair and analysed it.
– And it wasn’t the same profile? Nina hazarded.
Viken accelerated down Løkkeveien.
– That’s a pretty safe bet. Not from a human being at all.
Nina held on tight to her seat. She felt as though they were playing a game of join-the-dots and getting it all wrong.
– A fucking bear, Viken added to himself.
65
AXEL WOKE TO the stink of rotting meat. He lay there without moving. The smell was a warning. Carefully he opened his eyes to darkness. Am I blind now? The thought shot through him. He tried to lift a hand, felt a burning pain in his upper arm as though from a bad wasp sting. His hands wouldn’t move. They were twisted over each other and tied to something behind him. He turned his head slowly to one side, then the other. Finally he located a pale strip of light, diagonally up from him. I can see, he muttered as he tried to sit upright. There was a flash in his head, and then he collapsed and was gone again.
– What happened, Axel?
His father’s voice is cold and without a trace of anger. It makes Axel more afraid than his anger does.
– I don’t know.
He looks down, but notices his father slowly shaking his head.
– Do you think I’m an idiot, Axel?
– No, Father.
– You were there. The two of you were the only ones there. I’m asking you to tell me what happened.
Axel stares at his father’s shoes. They glow a reddish brown in the light falling from the living-room window. He and Brede have made a pact. If he breaks it, there will be no one left to defend his brother.
– Ask Brede, he manages to say.
– I have asked Brede. He maintains that it wasn’t him, but he refuses to say any more. Brede always denies everything, you know that. He’s the type who just doesn’t know how to do the right thing. He’s been given several chances to confess, but he simply goes berserk.
His father takes a few heavy breaths.
– I know that you and Brede will never tell on each other. That’s good.
His tone of voice is friendly now, which makes it even worse. When that friendliness is there, you have everything. When it’s gone, you lose everything.
– But you’re going to have to make an exception here. Killing a dog is as bad as killing a human. That’s why I’m asking you, Axel. And I’m only going to ask you this once: was it Brede?
– Yes, Father.
He was sitting with his back wedged up against something hard and round; a pipe, perhaps. His body was stiff; he must have been sitting in the same position for hours. His hands were cuffed, he could feel that, and he tried to understand what had happened. I was attacked. He was here. Waiting for me inside the cabin. The police didn’t come. The cellar … I’m a prisoner in that cellar.
– Miriam, he whispered.
He heard the echo of breathing somewhere in the dark. To his left. Not an echo. Someone else’s breathing, slower and more powerful than his own. The stink of something rotten was so acrid that it had woken him up. He had been present once when the police broke into an apartment belonging to an old woman who hadn’t been seen for over a fortnight. The stench invading his senses now was even worse than that. He breathed through his mouth as slowly as he could to try to control it. Fought against the urge to howl up at the ceiling. Forced himself to sit still. My only hope, he thought, without knowing why. Stay calm. Miriam’s only chance.
66
HE WAS WOKEN by a sound. The strip of light was gone. It had to be evening, or night. Footsteps directly above his head. A door closing. Footsteps back across the floor, stopping. Something being moved, a piece of furniture. Directly afterwards, a trapdoor opening. Bright light, burning his eyes. He had to shut them tight again. Heard steps coming down a ladder, a kick on his foot. He raised an eyelid. The torchlight was playing directly into his face. Behind it a form bending to him.
– Right, so you’re awake.
He still couldn’t see who the figure was. But he knew at once.
– Got something for you to drink.
A plastic bottle was pressed against his lips. There was no smell from it and he took a couple of swigs.
– What do you want from me, Norbakk? he murmured.
The cone of light moved away from his eyes.
– What do you want from me? You’re the one who broke in here.
Axel breathed as deeply as he could.
– Miriam …
It sounded as if the other man laughed.
– You mustn’t harm her, Axel groaned. – I’m the one who got her involved in all this.
– Shut up, Norbakk hissed. – I know everything that’s been going on, understand? Every last thing the two of you have been up to. When you screwed up in the pine shelter, and at home in her bed. She wanted you. Don’t try to defend her, it might make me angry with you too.
Again he directed the torch beam into Axel’s face.
– I’ve got nothing against you, Glenne, he said, calmer now. – No objection to you screwing Miriam. That’s okay by me. I let you do it. You’re not a bad guy. If you hadn’t come out here, you would have escaped.
– Escaped what? Axel managed to ask.
Norbakk didn’t reply. A few moments later he said: – That day you were riding in the forest. I was standing there watching when you swam in the tarn. Would have been a piece of cake to take you then. Standing there bollock naked and looking round. But that would have been too easy. So I just messed with your bicycle.
He made a noise like the sound of air escaping from a tyre.
– It was when I saw you stop to have a chat with that old biddy that I knew what was going to happen. It was a great moment. Other people might have had the same idea, but how many of them would have managed to carry it through?
He whistled a snatch of melody.
– This wasn’t about you. You just happened to get in the way. He leaned down towards him. – Not your fault, Christ, no. I like you, Glenne. You’re a good doctor, a great father to your kids. She’s the one who stirred up all this shit. She promised me everything. And then off she went. Did she say that you were her twin, did she tell you that too?
Axel couldn’t answer.
– What do you think we should do with these women who promise us everything and then run off?
This time he didn’t wait for a reply.
– I gave her some idea of what was going to happen. Made her feel it was getting closer without letting her quite realise what it was. One … two … three. And the fourth will be … Those other old biddies, that was just chance, same as you.
He laughed.
– She felt sorry for me, Glenne, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything that might get me into worse trouble. She had to be a hundred per cent sure first. Poor girl. Who should we feel sorry for now? What d’you think?
– I like you, Norbakk repeated when Axel still did not respond. – It’s too fucking bad you had to come out here.
– They’ll find us, Axel coughed. – I used my mobile phone up here.
Norbakk clucked his tongue.
– Sorry to have to tell you this, but those calls are my department. And the last call registered from Axel Glenne’s telephone was made from Aker Brygge. Full call-out. I’ll leave you to guess who made it. Now your phone is lying at the bottom of the fjord just off the end of the quay.
Axel tried again: – There’s a lot of people know you and Miriam were a couple. Sooner or later
…
– Maybe they will find out, Norbakk interrupted. – And maybe they won’t. In any case, it’ll be too late.
– What d’you mean?
– I’ve just had an idea. Now I can see how this all works out in the end. It’s actually quite beautiful. Norbakk sounded as if he was talking to a close friend. – You’ll be found tomorrow. Together. Someone will discover your bodies in the boss’s garage under the police station. You’ll be lying with your arms around each other, as though you’re embracing … There’s a logic to it. It’ll be big. Like planting a huge bomb under the place.
Axel tried to make sense of what he was hearing but couldn’t manage it.
– If they shape up a bit, they’ll find out who put you there, Norbakk mused. – That’s the way I want it to end. They could have guessed a long time ago. If Viken had been a little bit smarter and a little bit less self-centred, he would have known about Miriam and me weeks ago.
Suddenly he sounded frustrated and annoyed.
– I’ve given them something to work with all along, helped put them on the right track. If they’d done their job properly, none of this would have happened. But now it’s happened anyway.
Axel tried to turn.
– Where is she?
Norbakk coughed.
– You want to know?
– Yes.
– She’s lying in bed in a room up there. Had to lock her in. She’s fine now. I’d just finished putting the covers over her when you came barging in.
Axel shook the handcuffs.
– If you release me, I’ll help you.
Norbakk laughed loudly.
– You’re lying there and you’re going to help me? Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Glenne. I like you, remember. Don’t disappoint me. We mustn’t lie to each other, you and I.
He squatted down and added confidentially: – I’ll let you out of those handcuffs soon.
He picked up a syringe and held it in the light from the torch.
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