Brogeland can see it.
‘Yashid took a shower after they had had sex and that’s obviously when Mona did it. Sorted out his laptop.’
Brogeland nods and swallows the last of his mineral water. He puts the glass down with a bang and suppresses a burp discreetly.
‘Henriette might have done the same,’ he says eagerly. ‘She was with Marhoni the day she was killed. And there were clear signs that she had been given a good seeing to.’
‘I don’t know,’ Henning hesitates.
‘What is it?’
‘This would suggest that Henriette is doing this with her eyes open. That she deliberately goes to see Mahmoud, has it off with him, makes sure she fiddles with his computer while he’s not looking and goes out later that night to be stoned to death. That doesn’t make sense.’
Brogeland hesitates, then he nods.
‘No one willingly lets themselves be stoned to death, no matter how messed up they might be,’ Henning continues. ‘I can’t imagine that Henriette would do something like this to get a message across. The film was supposed to be her message. It might be a coincidence that she checked her mail that very day. At Marhoni’s. Or, somebody wanted her to do it, to make it look bad for Marhoni. What do her phone records show around the time in question?’
‘We haven’t managed to cross-reference the records yet, but she probably made some calls.’
Henning explains there is no mention of a flogging, a stun gun and a severed hand in the script. Brogeland digests it all.
‘How do you know all that? That information hasn’t been released to the press yet.’
Henning smiles.
‘Oh, come on, Bjarne.’
‘Gjerstad is furious because someone’s leaking to NRK.’
‘And it wasn’t you?’
‘Dear Lord, no.’
‘And it wasn’t that blonde you can’t keep your eyes off?’
‘Out of the question.’
Then Brogeland realises what Henning has said.
‘What do you — ’
‘We never reveal our sources,’ Henning says. ‘You know that. I’ll never disclose your identity, either. Likewise, I expect you to keep my name out of this.’
‘I can’t promise that.’
‘Is that right? I’ve no intention of wasting the next few days in an interview room at the police station. If you want my continued co-operation, I’m prepared to talk to you and no one else. Okay?’
Brogeland debates this. Up until now, Henning has viewed him with the same suspicious eyes as when he was a child. This might be about to change.
‘Okay.’
‘Good. Tariq, incidentally, also features in the script,’ Henning continues. ‘But he plays only a minor role.’
‘He doesn’t get killed?’
‘No.’
‘So someone is taking liberties with the script.’
‘Yes, or they’re adapting it. Or making sure that anyone who knows what happened is removed.’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I think there must be more than one killer.’
‘Why?’
‘You think Yasser Shah killed Henriette Hagerup and Tariq Marhoni? That doesn’t sound likely.’
‘He might have killed them both to hurt Mahmoud?’
‘Possibly, but I’m not buying it. Why go to so much trouble to kill Henriette, when two shots to the chest and one to the head does exactly the same job for Tariq?’
‘Perhaps Tariq knew who the killer was? What if he was killed as part of a clean-up operation?’
‘In which case, Tariq knew a lot more than we first assumed. It also means that both he and his brother were mixed up in something nasty.’
‘Tariq didn’t strike me as the type. He took photographs. Besides, he seemed like a decent guy.’
‘Well, you would know better than I. After all, you interviewed him just before he was killed.’
‘Yes, and I don’t remember him saying anything which might suggest that someone would want to silence him. But he was reluctant to tell me what his brother did for a living and that struck me as a little odd.’
‘Precisely.’
‘And you haven’t found Yasser Shah yet?’
‘No. He’s not at home, not at work or in any of the places he usually hangs out, nor has there been any activity on his credit card in the last few days. He hasn’t crossed any borders, either.’
‘Do you think he’s still alive?’
‘Are you saying someone might have killed him?’
‘Yes. It’s not improbable, given that I identified him and you’re looking for him. Yasser Shah was, as far as I could tell from his criminal record, a small fish. He only had petty crime convictions. His disappearance suggests he was paid for the hit or that someone ordered him to do it. And if that someone is trying to cover their tracks, then Shah is potentially a huge problem. He knows too much. He might even know why Hagerup and Tariq were killed.’
‘Yes, but gangs look after their members. They’re prepared to keep their people hidden, if they get into trouble.’
‘Perhaps. But do you think they’re ready to run that big a risk? We’re talking about a murder here.’
‘Possibly. I don’t know a lot about BBB. They came to our attention after I finished working as a plain-clothes officer, after Operation Gangbuster was set up.’
Henning ponders this for a while. The more he bats the arguments back and forth, the more he agrees with Brogeland. The murder of Tariq is unrelated to the murder of Henriette Hagerup. Tariq was collateral damage. He was no player. All he did was take photographs.
Then a thought occurs to him. And after that first one, the ideas start to flood in: Tariq Marhoni was killed to send a message to Mahmoud. That’s why Mahmoud isn’t talking, that’s why he set fire to his laptop. There is something on his computer which implicates other people. People who are prepared to kill to keep that information hidden. And Henning doesn’t think for one moment that information is a picture of Henriette hugging an unidentified man.
He shares his thoughts with Brogeland, who is silent for a long time. When he does start talking again, he does so quietly. And he is very serious:
‘If what you’re saying is true, we need to put the pressure on BBB. And this will have consequences for you, Henning,’ he says, boring his eyes into him. ‘You’ll need to tread carefully from now on.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘If these guys are anything like the other gangs operating in Oslo, then we’re talking about hardcore bastards. They’ve no conscience. If you’re the only person who can put Yasser Shah on the crime scene, you are — in their eyes — a dead man. Like I said, they look out for each other. But worse, you have helped aim a spotlight on them and their activities, which could ruin their source of income. Or reduce it significantly. These guys are very concerned about profit. Mix it all together and you have a lethal cocktail.’
‘You’re saying they want me dead?’
Brogeland looks at him gravely.
‘There’s a good chance, certainly.’
‘Perhaps,’ Henning says and looks out of the window. A man is smoking across the street. Henning looks at him. The man looks at Henning. For a long time.
