“Explain something to me.”
“Ja Chief Inspector.”
“What’s the school’s procedure for visitors?. . What did the school do that day to accommodate all the visitors for the science fair?”
“The standard procedure is for all adult visitors to check in at the main office and receive a badge. But not everyone got a badge the day of the science fair.”
“Why?”
“Because of the huge crowds. . the science fair had to start before the official school hour of eight in the morning since a lot of parents came to help their children set up the exhibits before the parents rushed off to work. The school’s principal called the science fair a ‘semi-public’ event. She said the building was packed with more than two hundred adult visitors who went from classroom to classroom with their children and to and from the auditorium.'
“Fascinating,” said Sohlberg as he massaged his increasingly tense neck muscles. Joint pain and muscular spasms plagued his neck whenever he was confronted with a complex case.
“What’s fascinating Chief Inspector?”
“The father and stepmother. They have six hours that are. . for the most part. . unaccounted for. . And the father seems to have a lot more unaccounted for time than the stepmother. He literally has a lot of explaining to do. At least the stepmother has some proof to establish some of her whereabouts when she went out on that medicine-buying trip. He on the other hand has little or nothing to show as to exactly
“Keep in mind Chief Inspector that her medicine-buying trip itself is a mystery. Why would she go to a second store when the first store had the medicine?”
“Ja. By the way. . what type of baby medicine are we talking about here?”
“I. . well. . here’s another strange thing that this couple made sound so natural when we first interviewed them.”
“Together or separate?”
“Both. . together and separate.”
“Not good. Interviews must always be separate.”
“Ja. . but in the rush to get basic information Nilsen and the first responding constables took statements from them in each other’s presence.”
“A huge mistake in this investigation.”
“Sorry. But as I was saying. . the Haugens took their sweet time to finally reveal. . four months
“What did they say when confronted with this information?”
“That they do not buy cheap things. . least of all generic drugs. That they buy only the very best for their children. She even made the very arrogant statement that they don’t eat left-overs.”
“Interesting. Unfortunately I know people like that.”
“Wait till you hear this. . we calculated her total mileage that Friday for her shopping expedition for the baby’s medicine. . almost forty-five miles for a medicine that she could’ve bought for less than five dollars had she gone for the less expensive over-the-counter substitute.”
“Whose idea was it for her to go on that crazy shopping trip?”
“They both take responsibility for it.”
“Not his idea?”
“No Chief Inspector. She’s adamant about going though all the motions to establish to the world that they have money to spend. Of course the weird thing is that the father and stepmother dress like high school kids. . they mostly wear t-shirts and blue jeans and tennis shoes. . every time I saw him he was in long baggy shorts and sandals.”
“By the way. . what role did they take in the search for Karl that Friday and the weeks following?”
“Again Chief Inspector. . they are strange people. . an odd family. Everyone on the force made comments about how the Haugens are the first family that did
“That is unusual. . the father or the mother or both or other relatives always get involved in the search. . they go on television and ask for the public’s help. They walk the streets and they post and hand out flyers with pictures. Matter of fact. . I’ve always looked carefully to see who in the circle of family and friends was not pArcticipating in the search for a missing person.”
“Ja. People don’t look if they think. . or know. . that the missing person is dead.”
“What about the biological mother?”
“Maya Engen. . she lives in Namsos. . north of Trondheim. . married to Police Inspector Arvid Engen of the Sor-Trondelag district.”
“Really?”
“Do you know him Chief Inspector?”
“No. But that’s another interesting twist in this case. Did Karl’s biological mother. . this Maya Engen. . look for her missing son?”
“No. Physically and mentally she could not. She was devastated. . She fainted at the news of his disappearance. She collapsed several times after she and her husband came down here the night of June fourth. Maya Engen suffered a great deal. . unlike the father and the stepmother who seemed rather cool if not lackadaisical about the whole thing.”
“You’ve personally seen the father and the stepmother after Karl disappeared. . right?”
“Ja.”
“Which one of them would you say was angry or in mourning. . or grieving over Karl?”
“Hard to tell.”
“What?” said a surprised Sohlberg. “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“I. . I can’t describe it. . when you’re with them you feel everything is normal but when you leave them you realize something’s not quite right in that family.”
“That’s why I’m very interested in focusing on Karl Haugen’s family and friends. Are we done with the first page of your summary?”
“Ja. I’m ready to start going over the second page.”
“Good. But we’ll have to do that in the car.”
“Where are we going?”
“Halden Fengsel. I understand Norway's newest prison is something to behold.”
“Ja. I’ve seen it on television. . quite luxurious. . but I’ve never been there.”
“Let’s go.”
“Your car or mine?”
“Neither. We’re taking a marked car that Thorsen’s lending us for today. He already made arrangements for our visit.”
“Who?. . Who are we seeing?’
“The Smiley Face Killer.”
Chapter 8
AFTERNOON OF 1 YEAR AND 24 DAYS
AFTER THE DAY, FRIDAY, JUNE 4
Traffic was relatively light before the lunch hour. Normally Sohlberg would have taken the super-fast NSB train down to Halden. The trip would have been a quick one hour forty-five minute ride in pure comfort and a local
