‘Because it will be the name of our main suspect of the moment.’
Neither of the other two said anything. The coffee machine slurped up the water.
‘I want three names on the table by the time this is ready,’ Harry said.
They were well down their second cup of coffee and into the sixth theory when Harry interrupted the session.
‘OK, that was the warm-up, just to get the grey matter working.’
Kaja had just launched the idea that the murders were sexually motivated and that the killer was an ex-con with a record for similar crimes who knew that the police had his DNA and therefore did not spill his seed on the ground, but masturbated into a bag or some such receptacle before leaving the scene. Accordingly, she said, they should start going through criminal records and talking to staff in the Sexual Offences Unit.
‘But don’t you believe we’re onto something?’ she said.
‘I don’t believe anything,’ Harry answered. ‘I’m trying to keep my brain clear and receptive.’
‘But you must believe something?’
‘Yes, I do. I believe the three murders have been carried out by the same person or persons. And I believe it’s possible to find a connection which in turn might lead us to a motive which in turn – if we’re very, very lucky – will lead us to the guilty party or parties.’
‘Very, very lucky. You make it sound as if the odds are not good.’
‘Well.’ Harry leaned back on his chair with his hands behind his head. ‘Several metres of specialist books have been written about what characterises serial killers. In films, the police call in a psychologist who, after reading a couple of reports, gives them a profile which invariably fits. People believe that Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a general description. But in reality serial killers are, sad to say, as different from each other as everyone else. There is only one thing which distinguishes them from other criminals.’
‘And that is?’
‘They don’t get caught.’
Bjørn Holm laughed, realised it was inappropriate, and shut up.
‘That’s not true, is it?’ Kaja said. ‘What about … ?’
‘You’re thinking of the cases where a pattern emerged and they caught the person. But don’t forget all the unsolved murders we still think are one-offs, where a connection was never found. Thousands.’
Kaja glanced at Bjørn who was nodding meaningfully.
‘You believe in connections?’ she said.
‘Yep,’ Harry said. ‘And we have to find one without going down the path of interviewing people, which might give us away.’
‘So?’
‘When we predicted potential threats in the Security Service we did nothing but look for possible connections, without talking to a living soul. We had a NATO-built search engine long before anyone had heard of Yahoo or Google. With it we could sneak in anywhere and scan practically everything with any connection to the Net. That’s what we have to do here as well.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘And that’s why in one and a half hours I’ll be sitting on a plane to Bergen. And in three hours I’ll be talking to an unemployed colleague who I hope can help us. So let’s finish up here, shall we? Kaja and I have talked a fair bit, Bjørn. What have you got?’
Bjørn Holm jerked in his chair as if roused from sleep.
‘Me? Er … not much, I’m afraid.’
Harry rubbed his jaw carefully. ‘You’ve got something.’
‘Nope. Neither forensics nor the detectives on the case have got so much as a lump of fly shit. Not in the Marit Olsen case, nor in either of the other two.’
‘Two months,’ Harry said. ‘Come on.’
‘I can give you a summary,’ said Bjørn Holm. ‘For two months we have analysed, X-rayed and stared ourselves stupid at photos, blood samples, strands of hair, nails, all sorts. We’ve gone through twenty-four theories of how and why he’s stabbed twenty-four holes in the mouths of the first two victims in such a way that all the wounds point inwards to the same central point. With no result. Marit Olsen also had wounds to the mouth, but they were inflicted with a knife and were sloppy, brutal. In short: nada.’
‘What about those small stones in the cellar where Borgny was found?’
‘Analysed. Lots of iron and magnesium, bit of aluminium and silica. So-called basalt rock. Porous and black. Any the wiser?’
‘Both Borgny and Charlotte had iron and coltan on the insides of their molars. What does that tell us?’
‘That they were killed with the same goddam instrument, but that doesn’t get us any closer to what it was.’