‘Is it her? Is it Irene?’
Oleg looked at the concrete, as if he could see himself down there. Could hear the high singing tone as he pushed off on one skate. He nodded slowly. ‘I’m the only person who’s trying to find her. She has no one else but me.’
Harry didn’t say anything.
‘The jewellery box I stole from Mum…’
‘Yes?’
‘I sold it for dope. Apart from the ring you bought her.’
‘Why didn’t you sell that as well?’
Oleg smiled. ‘First of all, it isn’t worth much.’
‘What?’ Harry sat up with a horrified expression. ‘Was I conned?’
Oleg laughed. ‘A gold ring with a black nick in? That’s called verdigris copper. With a bit of lead added for weight.’
‘So why didn’t you leave it?’
‘Mum didn’t wear it any more. So I wanted to give it to Irene.’
‘Copper, lead and gold paint.’
Oleg shrugged. ‘It felt right. I remember how happy Mum was when you put it on her finger.’
‘What else do you remember?’
‘Sunday. Vestkanttorget. The sun angling down and us wading through rustling autumn leaves. You and Mum smiling and laughing at something. I wanted to hold your hand. But of course I wasn’t a little boy any more. You bought the ring at a stall where they sold house-clearance goods.’
‘You can remember all this?’
‘Yes. And I thought if Irene is only half as happy as Mum…’
‘Was she?’
Oleg looked at Harry. Blinked. ‘I don’t remember. We must have been high when I gave it to her.’
Harry gulped.
‘He’s got her,’ Oleg said.
‘Who?’
‘Dubai. He’s got Irene. He’s holding her hostage so I won’t talk.’
Harry stared at Oleg, who bowed his head.
‘That’s why I haven’t said anything.’
‘You know this? And they’ve threatened you with what will happen to Irene if you talk?’
‘They don’t need to. They know I’m not stupid. Besides, they’ve got to shut her up as well. They’ve got her, Harry.’
Harry shifted position. He remembered they used to sit exactly like this before important races. Heads bowed, in silence, in a kind of communal concentration. Oleg hadn’t wanted any advice. And Harry didn’t have any. But Oleg had liked just sitting there.
Harry coughed. This was not Oleg’s race.
‘If we’re to have a chance of saving Irene you have to help me find Dubai,’ Harry said.
Oleg looked at Harry. Tucked his hands under his thighs and fidgeted with his feet. The way he used to do. Then he nodded.
‘Start with the murder,’ Harry said. ‘Take all the time you need.’
Oleg closed his eyes for a few seconds. Then he opened them again.
‘I was high, I’d shot up violin by the river behind our place in Hausmanns gate. It was safer. If I had a fix in the flat and some of the others were desperate, they would jump on me to steal it. You understand?’
Harry nodded.
‘The first thing I saw, coming up the stairs, was the door to the office opposite. It had been broken into. Again. I didn’t think any more about it. I went into our sitting room and there was Gusto. And a man in a balaclava. He was pointing a gun at Gusto. And I don’t know if it was the dope or what talking, but I knew it wasn’t a robbery. Gusto was going to be killed. So I reacted instinctively. I threw myself at his gun hand. But I was too late and he managed to fire one shot. I fell to the ground and when I looked up again I was lying beside Gusto with a gun barrel at my head. The man didn’t say a word, and I was sure I was going to die.’ Oleg stopped, took a deep breath. ‘But it was as if he couldn’t make up his mind. Then he drew a finger across his throat to indicate what would happen if I blabbed.’
Harry nodded.
‘He repeated the message and I indicated that I understood. Then he left. Gusto was bleeding like a stuck pig, and I knew he needed help fast. But I didn’t dare move, I was sure the man with the gun was still standing outside because I hadn’t heard his steps on the stairs. And that if he saw me he might change his mind and shoot me after all.’
Oleg’s feet were pumping up and down.
‘I tried taking Gusto’s pulse, tried talking to him, said I would fetch help. But he didn’t answer. And then I couldn’t feel his pulse any more. And I couldn’t stand being there any longer. I fled.’ Oleg straightened up as though he had a pain in his back, folded his hands and put them behind his head. As he went on his voice became thicker. ‘I was high, I couldn’t think straight. I went down to the river. I thought about swimming. Perhaps I would be lucky and drown. Then I heard the sirens. And then they were there… And all I could think of was the finger across the throat. And that I had to keep my mouth shut. Because I know what they’re like, those people, I’ve heard them speaking about what they do.’
‘And what do they do?’
‘They go for where you’re most vulnerable. At first I was frightened for Mum.’
‘But it was simpler to take Irene,’ Harry said. ‘No one would react to a girl off the street disappearing for a while.’
Oleg looked at Harry. Swallowed. ‘So you believe me?’
Harry shrugged. ‘It’s easy to pull the wool over my eyes as far as you’re concerned, Oleg. I suppose that’s how it is when you’re… when you… you know.’
Tears came into Oleg’s eyes. ‘But… but it’s so utterly implausible. All the evidence…’
‘Things are falling into place,’ Harry said. ‘The residue on your arm you got when you threw yourself forward. His blood when you took his pulse. And that was when you left your fingerprints on him. The reason no one saw anyone else leave after the shooting is that the killer went into the office, out of the window and down the fire escape facing the river. That was why you didn’t hear any footsteps on the stairs.’
Oleg had fixed pensive eyes somewhere on Harry’s chest. ‘But why was Gusto killed? And who killed him?’
‘I don’t know. But I think he was killed by someone you know.’
‘Someone I know?’
‘Yes. That’s why he used gestures instead of speaking. So that you wouldn’t recognise his voice. And the balaclava suggests he was frightened others in the drugs world might recognise him as well. He could be someone most of you living there have seen before.’
‘But why did he spare me?’
‘No idea.’
‘I don’t understand it. They tried to kill me in prison later. Even though I hadn’t uttered a word.’
‘Perhaps the killer hadn’t been given detailed instructions about what to do with possible witnesses. He hesitated. On the one hand, you might recognise him by his shape, body language, gait if you’d seen him lots of times before. On the other, you were so high you probably weren’t taking in a great deal.’
‘Dope saves lives?’ Oleg said with a tentative smile.
‘Yes. Though his boss may not have agreed with his decision when he delivered the report afterwards. But by then it was too late. So to make sure you didn’t blab they kidnapped Irene.’
‘They knew I would keep my mouth shut for as long as they had Irene, so why kill me?’
‘I turned up,’ Harry said.
‘You?’
‘Yes. They knew I was here in Oslo from the second I landed. They knew I was the one who could make you
