Irisveien. 11 May 2000.
Her heart was already beating like a sewing machine gone wild when she picked up the receiver.
'Hi, Signe,' the voice said. 'It's me.'
She felt the tears coming immediately.
'Stop this,' she whispered. 'Please.'
'Until death us do part. That's what you said, Signe.'
'I'm getting my husband.'
The voice gave a chuckle.
'But he's not there, is he.'
She was squeezing the telephone so tight that her hand hurt. How could he know that Even wasn't at home? And how come he only called when Even was out?
The next thought made her throat constrict; she couldn't breathe and she began to feel faint. Was he calling from a place where he could see the house, where he could see when Even went out? No, no, no. With an effort of will, she pulled herself together and concentrated on breathing. Not too quickly, deep breaths. Calm, she told herself, as she had told the injured soldiers who were brought in to them from the trenches; crying, panic-stricken and hyperventilating. She had her terror under control. And she could hear from the sounds in the background that he was calling from somewhere with a lot of people. Her house was in a residential area.
'You were so beautiful in your nurse's uniform, Signe,' the voice said. 'So shining white and pure. White, exactly like Olaf Lindvig in his white leather tunic. Do you remember him? You were so pure that I thought you could never betray us, that you didn't have it in your heart. I thought you were like Olaf Lindvig. I saw you touch him, his hair, Signe. One moonlit night. You and he, you looked like angels, as if you were sent from heaven. But I was mistaken. There are, by the way, angels which are not heaven-sent, Signe. Did you know that?'
She didn't answer. Her thoughts churned around her head in a maelstrom. Something he said had set them in motion. The voice. She could hear it now. He was distorting his voice.
'No,' she forced herself to answer.
'No? You should do. I am such an angel.'
'Daniel's dead,' she said.
The other end went quiet. Only his breath wheezing against the membrane. Then the voice again.
'I have come to pass judgment. On the living and the dead.' Then he rang off.
Signe closed her eyes. She got up and went into the bedroom. She stood behind the drawn blinds and saw herself reflected in the window. She was shaking as if she had a high temperature.
77
Harry's Old Office. 11 May 2000.
It took Harry twenty minutes to move back into his old office. Everything he needed found space in a bag from the 7-Eleven. The first thing he did was to cut out a picture of Bernt Brandhaug from Dagbladet. Then he pinned it on to the notice-board, beside the archive pictures of Ellen, Sverre Olsen and Hallgrim Dale. Four clues. He had sent Halvorsen up to the Department of Foreign Affairs to make enquiries and see if he could find out who the woman at the Continental was. Four people. Four lives. Four stories. He sat down in the wrecked chair and studied them, but they just stared past him, vacantly.
He rang Sis. She really wanted to keep Helge, at least for a while. They had become such good friends, she said. Harry said that was fine as long as she remembered to feed him.
'It's a her,' Sis said.
'Oh, yes. How do you know that?'
'Henrik and I checked.'
He was going to ask how they had checked, but decided he preferred not to know.
'Have you talked to Dad?'
She had. She asked Harry if he was going to meet the girl again. 'Which girl?'
'The one you said you'd been for a walk with, I suppose. The one with a little boy.'
'Oh, her. No, I don't think so.' 'Very stupid.'
'Stupid? You've never met her, Sis.'
'I think it's stupid because you're in love with her.'
Now and then Sis was capable of saying things Harry had no idea how to answer. They agreed to go to the cinema one day. Harry wondered if that meant Henrik would be joining them. Sis said it did. That was the way it was when you had a partner.
They rang off and Harry sat deep in thought. He and Rakel had never met in the corridors yet, but he knew where her office was. He made up his mind and got up-he had to talk to her now, he couldn't wait any longer.
Linda flashed him a smile as he came in the door to POT.
'Back already, handsome?'
'I was just going to nip in to see Rakel.'
'Just, was it, Harry? I saw you two at the office party, you know.'
To his irritation, Harry could feel her mischievous smile making his ears burn and could hear that his attempt at a dry laugh didn't quite come off.
'But you can save yourself the walk, Harry. Rakel is at home today. Off sick. One moment, Harry…' She picked up the telephone. 'POT. Can I help you?'
Harry was on his way out of the door when Linda called after him. 'It's for you. Do you want to take it here?' She passed him the telephone.
'Is that Harry Hole?' It was a woman's voice. She sounded out of breath. Or terrified. 'That's me.'
'This is Signe Juul. You have to help me, Inspector Hole. He's going to kill me.'
Harry could hear barking in the background. 'Who's going to kill you, fru Juul?'
'He's on his way here now. I know it's him. He… he…'
'Try to stay calm, fru Juul. What are you talking about?'
'He's distorted his voice, but this time I recognised it. He knew that I had stroked Olaf Lindvig's hair at the field hospital. That was when I knew. My God, what shall I do?'
'Are you alone?'
'Yes,' she said. 'I'm alone. I'm totally, totally alone. Do you understand?'
The barking in the background had become frenzied now. 'Can't you run over to your neighbour's and wait for us there, fru Juul? Who -'
'He'll find me! He finds me everywhere.'
She was hysterical. Harry placed his hand over the receiver and asked Linda to call the central switchboard to tell them to send the closest patrol car available to fru Juul in Irisveien in Berg. Then he talked to Signe Juul and hoped she wouldn't notice his own agitation.
'If you don't go out, then at least lock every door, fru Juul. Who -'
'You don't understand,' she said. 'He… he…' Beep. The engaged signal. The line was broken.
'Fuck! Sorry, Linda. Tell them the car is urgent. And they have to be careful. There may be an armed intruder.'
Harry rang directory enquiries, got Juul's number and dialled it. Still engaged. Harry threw the phone over to Linda.
'If Meirik asks after me, tell him I'm on my way to Even Juul's house.'
78
Irisveien. 11 May 2000.
When Harry swung into Irisveien he immediately saw the police car outside Juul's house. The quiet street
