‘Damn,’ he says and looks around while he decides what to do next. How on earth can a hotel be shut in the middle of the day? Feeling despondent and even guiltier towards Elisabeth he wanders back to the cabin. There he spreads a few slices of bread with cream cheese and reads the papers without finding anything to suggest that Tore Pulli’s death is being treated as suspicious. But much could have happened since the tabloids went to print. If I’m to know what is going on, Thorleif thinks, I’m going to have to try something else.
Chapter 60
Heidi Kjus gets up as Iver and Henning appear from around the corner looking as if they are about to join the queue of coffee-deprived early birds. Henning can see what she wants to say long before she says it and yet he still lets her make her first management mistake of the day.
‘Where have you been?’
‘We went out for a cigarette,’ Henning mutters.
‘What did you say?’
‘Sorry,’ Iver says and holds up his hands. ‘It’s my fault. Henning and I have just had a meeting to prepare for the morning meeting with you.’
‘That meeting was supposed to start ten minutes ago! And not just because of me, but because of everyone else in the department. Wasting other people’s time shows a lack of respect.’
‘Yes, we know. Sorry. It won’t happen again.’
Heidi turns her attention to Henning. ‘What are you doing here today? I thought you were taking today off as well?’
‘Yes, but I decided I would much rather be here,’ he replies, making no attempt to cover up his irony. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Iver smile.
‘Okay, fine. But are you ready now? Have you finished your little chat?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. Henning, will you be joining us?’
‘Obviously. It’s the highlight of my day. Do I have time to make a quick phone call first?’
‘To whom?’
‘It’ll only take a minute.’
She checks her watch and sighs. ‘All right then. But be quick.’
Heidi and Iver are sitting alone in the meeting room when Henning enters.
‘So, tell me,’ Heidi says. ‘What are you doing about Tore Pulli?’
Henning and Iver look at each other.
‘The preliminary autopsy report will probably be ready sometime today,’ Iver says.
‘Okay. Anything else?’
Iver and Henning exchange glances, but neither of them says anything.
‘Is that it?’ she asks, suspiciously.
Henning clears his throat. ‘One of the people present when Pulli died has gone missing.’
Iver and Heidi both look at Henning.
‘Missing how? Has he done a runner?’ she asks.
‘Nobody knows yet. I’ve just been speaking to the police. He was supposed to turn up at the station to make a statement last night, but no one has seen him since yesterday, since Pulli died.’
‘Do the police suspect him of anything?’
‘Not at the moment. But they would very much like to know what he has been up to.’
‘What’s his name?’
‘Thorleif Brenden. He’s a cameraman.’
‘Perhaps the shutter went down for him,’ Iver jokes.
‘An experienced cameraman who has covered wars and atrocities all over the world? He goes AWOL just because he sees a man collapse and die in prison?’
Iver says nothing.
‘Besides, he lives with his girlfriend and their two children,’ Henning adds.
‘There could be a perfectly reasonable explanation for why he is missing,’ Heidi suggests.
‘Sure, but it’s still a remarkable coincidence.’
Heidi makes a quick note on the pad in front of her. ‘Okay,’ she says, in her summing-up voice. ‘We need some scoops‚ boys. Real news. It’s been a long time.’
Chapter 61
Iver Gundersen places another steaming cup of coffee on his desk and sits down. An avalanche of emails has arrived since he last checked, but not one of them is from Nora. They always say hi to each other in the morning, especially if they haven’t spent the night together. He sent her a few lines just before Henning turned up, but she has yet to respond. He guesses she is still sulking and checks his mobile. No messages there either.
He finds her number and lets it ring for a long time, but there is no reply. With a dawning realisation that she may be not only sulking but also mad at him, he decides to leave a message. Before he starts to talk, he glances around, quickly checking that there is no one in the immediate vicinity. He hears the beep at the other end.
‘Hi, it’s me. I wanted to ask you about tonight. If you haven’t got plans I was wondering if you would like to go to the cinema? Or out for a meal somewhere nice? That would be… nice. As I didn’t make it last night and… eh-’
Iver looks up and sees Henning limp out from the lavatories.
‘Eh, okay, call me. Or send me an email. Okay. Take care.’
Iver hangs up just as Henning sits down. Iver looks at him. ‘How did you know Brenden was missing?’ he says.
Henning looks up.
‘You didn’t come to work yesterday,’ Iver continues.
Henning still makes no reply.
‘You also knew that he has a girlfriend and two children, that he is an experienced cameraman, etc. How did you manage to find all that out?’
Henning looks at Iver for a few moments before he says, ‘None of your business.’
‘None of my business?’
‘Do I ever ask you where you get your information from?’
‘No, but-’
‘No, precisely. Why don’t we agree how best to develop this story?’
Iver hesitates before he nods.
‘As far as Tore Pulli is concerned,’ Henning says, ‘the police are awaiting the preliminary autopsy report before they do anything. It’s also too soon for them to take action in respect of Brenden. But we ought to have a chat to TV2.’
‘I know Guri Palme a bit,’ Iver says. ‘I could try to speak to her.’
Henning looks at him for a couple of long seconds. ‘Okay. I’ll see if I can get hold of Brenden’s family. Unless they’ve already appointed a spokesperson. Everybody does, these days. Do you still have the CD?’
Iver looks around his desk. ‘What about it?’
‘I want to have another look at it.’
‘Okay. But be discreet. I don’t want anyone else seeing it.’
‘Fine. Do we have something we can feed to the monster?’
‘Pulli’s funeral, probably. It’ll be a glorious mix of celebrities and villains.’
‘Yes, but we can’t know in advance who’ll show and we need something now. Plus it would take up a lot of
