'Well?' Harry said.
'Is this of any importance?'
'I think so, Eckhoff.'
'In that case it will have to remain between the two of us.'
'I can't promise that.'
'Then I can't tell you.'
'Then I'll have to take you to the station and ask you to make a statement there.'
The commander looked up with one eye closed and scrutinised Harry to gauge the strength of his potential adversary. 'And you think Gunnar Hagen will approve of that? Dragging me down there?'
'Let's find out.'
Eckhoff was about to say something, but paused as though scenting Harry's determination. Harry was reflecting that a man does not become the leader of a flock through brute strength but through his ability to read situations correctly.
'Fine,' said the commander. 'But it's a long story.'
'I have time,' Harry lied, feeling the cold from the ice through his soles.
'Josef Karlsen, father of Jon and Robert, was my best friend.' Eckhoff fixed his gaze on a point on Snarøya. 'We studied together, we worked together and were both ambitious and promising, as they say. But most important of all we shared a vision of a strong Salvation Army that would do God's work on earth. That would prevail. Do you understand?'
Harry nodded.
'We also came up through the ranks together,' Eckhoff continued. 'And, yes, after a while Josef and I were seen as rivals for the job I have now. I didn't think the position was that important, it was the vision that was driving us. But when I was chosen something happened to Josef. He seemed to crumble. And who knows, we don't know ourselves inside out, I might have reacted in the same way. Anyway, Josef was given the trusted post of chief administrator and even though our families kept in touch as before there was not the same . . .' Eckhoff groped for words: '. . . confidentiality. Something was oppressing Josef, something unpleasant. It was the autumn of 1991 when I and our chief accountant, Frank Nilsen, Rikard and Thea's father, discovered what. Josef had been misappropriating funds.'
'What happened?'
'We have, so to speak, little experience of that sort of thing at the Salvation Army, so until we knew what to do Nilsen and I kept it to ourselves. Of course I was disappointed by Josef 's behaviour, but at the same time I could see a cause-and-effect scenario of which I was a part. I could have handled the situation when I was chosen and he was rejected with greater . . . sensitivity. However, the Army was going through a period of poor recruitment at that time and did not enjoy anywhere near the widespread goodwill it enjoys today. We simply could not afford to have a scandal. I had been left a summer house by my parents in Sørlandet which we seldom used, and we intended to take our holidays in Østgård. So I sold it in a hurry and received enough to cover the shortfall before it was discovered.'
'You?' Harry said. 'You patched over Josef Karlsen's embezzlement with your own capital?'
Eckhoff shrugged. 'There was no other solution.'
'It's not exactly commonplace in business for the boss to—'
'No, but this is no commonplace business, Hole. We do God's work. Then it's personal whatever happens.'
Harry nodded slowly. He thought about the carved little finger on Hagen's desk. 'So Josef packed it in and travelled abroad with his wife. And no one was any the wiser?'
'I offered him a job, less high-powered,' Eckhoff said. 'But of course he couldn't accept it. That would have raised all sorts of questions. They live in Thailand, I gather. Not far from Bangkok.'
'So the story about the Chinese peasant and the snake bite was made up?'
Eckhoff smiled and shook his head. 'No. Josef was a real doubter. And that story made a deep impression on him. Josef doubted as indeed we all do at times.'
'You too, Commander?'
'Me too. Doubt is faith's shadow. If you are unable to doubt you can't be a believer. It's the same as with courage, Inspector. If you are unable to feel fear, you cannot be courageous.'
'And the money?'
'Josef insists on paying me back. Not because he wants redress. What happened happened, and he will never earn enough money to pay me back living where he is. But I think he feels the penance does him good. And why should I deny him that?'
Harry nodded slowly. 'Did Robert and Jon know about this?'
'I don't know,' Eckhoff said. 'I've never mentioned it. The one thing I've been at pains to ensure is that whatever their father did does not stand in the way of his sons' careers in the Army. Above all Jon's. He has become one of our most important professional resources. Take this property sale, for instance. First of all, in Jacob Aalls gate, but others, too, in time. Gilstrup may even buy back Østgård. If this sale had taken place ten years ago, we would have had to employ all sorts of advisers to accomplish it. But with people like Jon we have the skills in our own ranks.'
'Do you mean Jon has steered the sale through?'