by Thomas Enger
No, it would not be possible.
Not at all.
And then there was the leisure complex they wanted to build, if only they could find the right place.
‘But now that I’m awake,’ Isabel said, and moved her hand, ‘don’t you think you should do something about it?’
She pressed her fingers a little harder against his stomach, just above the belly button, then moved down, but he barely reacted. Isabel pulled her hand back, turned onto her front and cupped her chin in her palms.
‘Tired?’ she asked affectionately.
‘Just a bit,’ Charlie said, grateful that she didn’t make a drama out of it. Instead she snuck a hand over to his chest this time, stroked the hairs down, then up towards his neck, chin, gently tugged at the stubble there and ran a more curious finger over his scar.
‘Don’t,’ he said, pulling his head back.
‘Sorry.’
He pushed the duvet to one side and swung his feet down onto the cool, hard tiles on the floor, stood up and walked naked over to the window. Put his ear to his left shoulder, then the other to the right. There was a crack.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said again.
‘It’s fine. You just go back to sleep.’
He lit up a cigarette and went out onto the terrace, where he was greeted by a clear, blue sky. The floor tiles here were already warm and burned the soles of his feet. He leaned against the railings. The rare shower they’d had last night had dried up long ago. The smell of dusty asphalt and rubbish rose up from the street below.
Charlie took a drag on the cigarette and looked out over the shining, silver ocean. From a distance, it didn’t look like the water was moving; it just lay there glittering, apparently smooth. Soon the beautiful wide beaches would start to fill up. Soon the local boys would meet to play football, filled with the dream of becoming the new Neymar or Pelé. People would buy chilled snowballs, chocolate and cigarettes, and lie dozing until the sun dipped down below the horizon again.
This was Natal.
Sun city.
The average temperature here was 28°C, with 300 days of sun a year. The town had previously been home to both Indians and French pirates, this town that he had helped to develop – certainly in terms of sun-seeking Norwegians.
It had all been a bit of an adventure, really, a dangerous one. They had played for high stakes, particularly in recent years. People had ended up in jail. Lives had been lost. But now things were back to where they’d been when they started in the late nineties. The way Tore wanted things to be.
Charlie looked over at the neighbouring terrace. The flat was still empty. A few dried leaves had been blown all the way up here to the fifteenth floor – he must remember to send someone round to sweep them away before the next viewing. He always felt a stab of guilt whenever he thought that they could have been neighbours, Tore and him, and that they could have stood each on their own side of the shoulder-high wall that divided the two terraces, with an ice-cold beer in their hands, looking out over the ocean while they reminisced about the good old days. When their bank accounts were filling up nicely and they partied practically every night.
But too much had happened between them. Things had been said and done that couldn’t be undone. Tore should perhaps still have got the flat. At the end of the day, he’d earned it.
Charlie put a hand to his chin and felt the scar that Tore had given him, looked down at the street and sucked in some more nicotine. A man was out running, his bare chest already gleaming in the morning sun. Old cars, discoloured by sand and rust, sped by.
Charlie’s eyes fixed on a dark Audi that was parked in the shade of a palm tree. The same car that had been in the same place every morning for the past few days. From up here it was impossible to tell if anyone was sitting inside. And it was always gone by the time Charlie came down to start his day, but he decided he’d get Freddy to check it out.
Charlie stubbed his cigarette against the wall and flicked it out over the railing. He watched it fall, slowly, down towards the street until it was caught by a gust of wind and blown onto another terrace. He went into his enormous flat, where the walls were as naked as the woman in his bed, who raised herself up onto her elbows. The duvet still covered her stomach, slim hips and legs.
‘Hi,’ she said, and brushed a long curl of black hair from her eyes.
‘Hi,’ he said.
Charlie pulled on a pair of shorts and some sandals.
‘What’s up?’ she asked.
‘Nothing.’
‘Are you sure? You’re so … distant these days.’
‘I’m going to make coffee,’ he said. ‘Do you want some?’
She pushed the duvet aside, revealing a suntanned body. Charlie didn’t look at her, nor did he get an answer. A few moments later, he was in the kitchen.
‘I wouldn’t mind a cup of tea,’ she called after him.
Charlie had met Isabel in the bar at Praia dos Artistas. She’d sent him stolen glances all evening, and when she later came over and said, in her broken Brazilian English, that she was a dancer and she’d like to show him what she could do – ‘but preferably somewhere else’ – he’d just assumed she was a prostitute.
But she was in fact looking for a job, and when she told him her name was Cláudia Isabel Ypiranga – ‘but everyone calls me Isabel’ – he’d turned and studied her dark skin, the Indian features, her long slender body. He’d seen the need in her eyes and wondered what poverty she’d suffered in the course of her barely 25 years, but most of all, he had seen who she looked like, and he’d felt a strange and rare need to be kind.
That was five months ago.
Now she danced at Senzuela six nights a week, and then came home to him.
To begin with, everything had been fine; for a while he’d even thought he might fall in love with her, but then one day he’d admitted to himself that she would never be Mariana. He’d been thinking of ending the relationship for a while, but hadn’t managed to do it. He liked her, after all. Appreciated her company and gorgeous body, as long she didn’t do anything stupid like get pregnant. He presumed he’d miss her if she wasn’t there, and he liked the thought that he’d saved her from … well, something. He’d never really asked about her life up to that point, what she’d done. Perhaps he should.
Charlie took a cup of chai latte back into the bedroom. He’d made it just the way he knew she liked it.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘You’re so good to me.’
If only you knew, Charlie thought, as he pulled on a white t-shirt that stretched tight over his belly.
He noticed her watching him over the edge of the cup.
‘So, what’s happening today?’ she asked in a bright, expectant voice.
Charlie took a deep breath which he released as a long sigh.
‘Exactly the same as yesterday,’ he replied.
The dark Audi was gone when Charlie emerged onto the pavement. Instead, Freddy was standing there waiting in his usual jeans, t-shirt and light-brown linen blazer. Freddy was actually called Fred Are, and was from Oslo, but had taken his muscles and gun with him to Natal. Everyone in town knew he was on Charlie’s payroll, so not someone you wanted to cross. And no one tried, largely because of the gun that was always in its holster underneath his jacket.
‘I want you to post a man under that palm tree over there,’ Charlie said and pointed. ‘There’s been a black Audi in that parking space for the past three nights.’
‘Very good, boss.’
‘I want the driver’s name and who he’s working for, if anyone.’
‘Very good, boss.’
Charlie looked around. Then he got into Freddy’s car, a Mercedes CLS Grand Edition, and they sped off through the streets. It was impossible for Freddy to stick to the speed limit – it was against his nature – but it didn’t matter, because the police wouldn’t dream of stopping them anyway.
‘So, where are we going?’ he asked.
‘The club firs
t,’ Charlie said. ‘And take an extra turn around the block before we get there.’
Freddy glanced over at him, but said nothing.
They drove through the town as it was starting to wake up. When they passed Juan’s shop, someone came out carrying fruit, bread and drinks. A boy of around nine or ten had just got an inflatable killer whale and was tearing off the plastic packaging when his mother stopped him with a firm hand. They passed Pepe the fishmonger, on his small ancient moped that spewed out black clouds of exhaust, on his way to the harbour for the night’s catch.
Charlie liked this time of day, when it hadn’t quite started yet and the temperature was bearable. It was still possible to get things done when you were up early in Natal.
For the past few months, Charlie had been focused on drumming up funds for a new leisure centre where people could skate, bowl, play minigolf – everything under one roof. There would be restaurants and shops there too – it would be unlike anything else in Natal. A recreational oasis. Several investors had already said that they wanted to be part of the project, but Charlie hadn’t found the right place yet. He had seen a few good possibilities in the past couple of weeks, but so far none of the owners had been willing to sell.
Charlie would continue to build residential complexes – it was clearly the best business in the area – but it was also smart to have more than one iron in the fire.
Ten minutes later, they stopped outside a fitness club. Freddy went in first and scouted the place, then gave Charlie a nod.
Charlie got out into the sunshine. Two women in their mid-thirties walked slowly by. One of them turned to look at Charlie, then said something to her friend. Charlie automatically followed them with his eyes, assessed their shoes, ankles, legs, behinds – trying to ascertain if they’d bought their fuckability or if it was natural.
A curtain twitched on the other side of the street. Freddy stepped out into the road and squared his shoulders. A car that was coming towards them braked. Charlie didn’t even look at the driver, just carried on across the road and into the club. There he was met with bass rhythms, sparkling mirrors and the thud of weights. Charlie walked through the gym without looking at any of the people who were there, and straight into the office – a small cupboard of around eight square metres that was in desperate need of a revamp, but Charlie didn’t see the point. He liked the fact that there was paper everywhere, that there were cracks in the walls – it reminded him of the early days in Norway when he couldn’t pay the bills, before Høisæther Property found its feet and then sprouted wings.
The only thing that was a must was a top-end computer, and he was more than happy with his latest procurement – the fastest iMac model Apple had on the market. Charlie liked the contrast between the stylish 27-inch screen and the shabby room.
‘There’s a flight landing from Amsterdam at 19:35 this evening,’ he told Freddy when he’d shut the door. ‘I want you to collect one of the passengers.’
Freddy smiled; he knew full well it wasn’t the passenger that they needed to get out of the airport, but rather the money that was glued to his body.
‘Shall I take Hansemann with me?’
‘No.’
‘But he’s the one who usually takes care of customs. I…’
Charlie turned abruptly towards Freddy.
‘I’ve got another job for Hansemann. You’ll go alone.’
Freddy hesitated for a moment, then he nodded.
‘Anything else you want me to do today, boss?’
Charlie sighed.
‘There’s the Audi.’
‘Very good, boss. I’ll get on to it right away.’
And a few minutes later, Charlie was alone in the office. He looked at the clock. Four o’clock in the morning in Norway. He wondered how everything was going at home, but it was too early to call Daddy Longlegs.
Charlie leaned back in the chair. Stared at the screen in front of him, which was currently black, saw his own reflection, the white hair, the blue eyes, the beard.
He’d been sitting here, exactly like this, when Mariana had come in for the first time.
‘Hi,’ she’d said. ‘My name is Mariana de la Rosa. You need an assistant.’
‘Do I?’
Charlie hadn’t advertised for anyone at the time, but then he never did.
‘Yes, you do,’ she’d replied. ‘Just looking round this office, I can see four things that need to be done immediately.’
‘Right.’
He’d straightened up.
‘First of all, you’ve got all your appointments written down there.’
She’d pointed to the diary that was lying open in front of him.
‘No one uses them anymore.’
‘Really?’
‘I can put all that information on your computer, and then you’ll get a message on your mobile phone 10 minutes before you have to leave.’
‘Hm,’ was his response, as he thought about it.
‘You also need a system for your receipts. Invoices. They’re all over the place. I can sort them out for you.’
Charlie had become increasingly curious about this tall, slim woman with jet-black hair and a slightly pointy chin – and not just because she had brown eyes that tempted him like an advert for caramel chocolate, but also because there was a resoluteness about her, she had opinions – and he realised she wasn’t afraid to air them.
‘You’re a man who can’t tidy up after himself,’ she’d continued.
‘Am I?’
She’d pointed at the two coffee cups on the table, both stained black. There was a plate by his mouse, with a scrunched-up baguette bag. An empty cigarette packet. An ashtray full to the rim with ash and stubs.
‘I’m good at tidying.’
Then she’d stopped talking, and just stood there looking at him.
‘But you’re not very good at counting,’ he’d pointed out.
‘Sorry?’
‘You said there were four things you could help me with.’
‘Oh.’
Then she’d smiled for the first time and her whole face had changed, opened. This person whom he’d initially thought was quite hard and angular, now revealed a playful side.
‘I forgot. Your t-shirt,’ she said, pointed at what he was wearing. Charlie had looked down at his belly.
‘You should keep a couple here in a drawer,’ she said. ‘In case…’
Then she stopped herself and lowered her eyes.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘It’s none of my business to…’
‘Not at all,’ Charlie assured her. ‘You’re right. Spaghetti sauce stains don’t look good when you’re meeting clients.’
She’d looked up at him again and flashed another smile.
She had started the following day, Mariana de la Rosa, and stayed with him for just over three years. Until she found love. Until she was killed. And even though Charlie hadn’t attached the explosives to her car, he should have known what might happen.
And that was what haunted him at night.
3
Henning Juul stared at the screen in front of him, convinced that it couldn’t be right. But when he checked the date and time again, there was no doubt: Trine, his own sister, had been outside the building where he lived only 10 minutes before Jonas died.
She had given something to Durim Redzepi – a man Henning was sure had tried to kill him at least twice, and who he now also believed was responsible for setting fire to his home. Then she’d driven off.
Henning understood why Veronica Nansen had insisted that he sit down before looking through the 213 photographs that her late husband, Tore Pulli, had taken in the three days before Jonas’s death. It was hard to breathe and Henning felt hot all over.
He sat back and tried to think.
How the hell would Trine know a guy like Redzepi, who was wanted for a double murder in his own county? And what had she given to him?
‘Are you OK?’
Veronica Nansen’s voice
was cautious, but warm.
‘Stupid question, really,’ she corrected herself. ‘Is there anything I can do?’
Henning leaned forward and took a sip of water from the glass she’d put down in front of him.
‘No,’ he replied. ‘Not sure that there is.’
He looked at the photograph of Trine again.
‘What are you going to do?’ Veronica asked, and put a hand on his shoulder. Henning used the arm of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face.
‘I don’t know,’ he said. At the same time, he thought about Trine, who was in the Bahamas right now, recuperating from the scandal that had forced her to step down as Minister of Justice.
‘I’ve got a suggestion,’ Veronica said, sitting up straight. ‘Let’s go through everything that you know and think you know. Anything you’re not sure about.’
She closed the laptop.
‘I’m sure you’ve done it a hundred times before, but let’s go through it all again anyway. Maybe you’ll get more out of it if you say it out loud to someone else.’
Henning had only ever discussed his case with two people before: Bjarne Brogeland and Iver Gundersen – one was a policeman and the other, Nora’s boyfriend and a fellow journalist at 123News. Iver, in particular, had tried to help him; Henning had even spent some nights on his sofa recently.
Henning didn’t really want to involve anyone else, but Veronica had, after all, found bits and pieces in Tore’s belongings that had proved to be leads that progressed Henning’s investigation. And now she’d found photographs that went a long way to proving Trine’s involvement in the whole thing. Veronica had also shown herself to be a good sounding board.
So Henning half turned towards her and said, ‘I think it started with Rasmus Bjelland.’
For many years, Bjelland had worked as a carpenter for Charlie Høisæther, one of Tore’s old friends and business contacts, first in Norway and then in Natal, Brazil, after Charlie moved there in 1996. Together they’d earned good money building apartment complexes for sun-worshipping Norwegians, but many of those who had bought themselves a pied-à-terre in Natal were known criminals.
