Bjarne Mřller had grinned wryly and said he assumed they would conclude that no investigation was necessary, or indeed any response.
The entrance hall was quiet. Harry tore down the police tape in front of the door of his flat. A piece of chipboard had been fitted over the broken pane.
He stood surveying the sitting room. Weber explained that they had taken photographs of the flat before they started the search so that everything could be put back properly. Nevertheless, he couldn't escape the knowledge that alien hands and eyes had been there. It wasn't that there was so much to hide–some passionate but dated love letters, an open pack of condoms well past their sell-by date and an envelope containing photographs of Ellen Gjelten's dead body. Having them at home might possibly be considered as perverted. Apart from that: one pornographic magazine, one Bonnie Tyler record and a book by Linn Ullmann.
Harry regarded the flashing red light on the answer machine for a long time before pressing. The familiar voice of a boy filled the estranged room. 'Hi, this is us. They decided today. Mummy is crying, so she told me to say…'
Harry steeled himself and breathed in.
'We're leaving tomorrow.'
Harry held his breath. Had he heard correctly? We're leaving?
'We won. You should have seen their faces. Mummy said everyone thought we would lose. Mummy, do you want…no, she's just crying. Now we're going to McDonald's to celebrate. Mummy says, will you pick us up? Bye.'
He heard Oleg breathing into the phone and someone blowing their nose and laughing in the background. Then Oleg's voice again, quieter: 'Great if you would, Harry.'
Harry slumped into the chair. A lump grew in his throat and the tears flowed.
PART VI
41
S2MN
THERE WASN'T A CLOUD IN THE SKY, BUT THE WIND WAS bitingly cold and the pale sun didn't give much warmth. Harry and Aune had turned up the collars of their jackets and walked next to each other down the avenue of birch trees, which had already divested themselves of their leaves for winter.
'I told my wife how happy you sounded when you told me Rakel and Oleg were coming back home,' Aune said. 'She asked if that meant you three would soon live together.'
Harry answered with a smile.
'At least she has enough room in that house of hers,' Aune prodded.
'There's enough room in the house,' Harry said. 'Say hi to Karoline and quote Ola Bauer.'
' "I moved to Carefree Street"?'
' "But that didn't help much, either." '
They both laughed.
'Anyway, my mind is pretty much on the case at the moment,' Harry said.
'The case, yes,' Aune said. 'I've read all the reports, as you asked. Bizarre. Truly bizarre. You wake up in your flat, can't remember a thing and bang, you're caught up in this game of Alf Gunnerud's. Naturally, it is a bit tricky to establish a psychological diagnosis post-mortem, but he is truly an interesting case. Doubtless a very intelligent, creative soul. Almost artistic, even. It's a masterly plan he hatched. There are a couple of things I wondered about. I read the copies of the e-mails he sent you. He referred to the fact that you had had a blackout. That must mean he saw you leave the flat in an inebriated state and speculated that you wouldn't remember anything the following day?'
'That's how it is when a man has to be helped into a taxi. I would guess he was standing in the street outside, spying on me, just as he wrote in his e-mail Arne Albu was doing. Presumably he had been in touch with Anna and knew I would be coming that evening. My leaving the house so drunk must have been an unexpected bonus.'
'So then he unlocked the flat with a key he got from the manufacturer via Lĺsesmeden AS. And shot her. Using his own gun?'
'Probably. The serial number had been filed off. As was the number on the gun we found in Gunnerud's hand in the container terminal. Weber says the filing patterns suggest they come from the same supplier. Looks like someone is running an illegal arms-import business on a grand scale. The Glock we found at Sverre Olsen's–Ellen's killer–had exactly the same file marks.'
'So he puts the gun in her right hand. Even though she was left-handed.'
'Bait,' Harry said. 'Naturally enough, he knew I would get involved in the case at some point, if for no other reason than to make sure my position wouldn't be compromised. And he knew that, unlike the other officers, I would realise it was the wrong hand.'
'And then there was the photograph of fru Albu and the children.'
'To lead me to Arne Albu, her last lover.'
'And before he leaves, he takes Anna's laptop and the mobile telephone you dropped in the flat during the evening.'