Wangelin nodded and smiled.
“Excuse me,” said Sohlberg to the Nokia HR manager. “We need to go back and ask a few more questions of your technical person.”
Twenty minutes later the techie confirmed that during the last three months Gunnar Haugen’s cell phone had received and transmitted several calls from a cell tower near the grandfather’s farm at Hov. Before that 3 month period Gunnar Haugen’s cell phone records showed no activity near the grandfather’s farm.
“Do you want me to check out the wife’s cell phone to see if she’s used her phone in that location?”
“That was my next question. Ja. Please.”
The techie said, “No. I don’t see anything the past three months in that area with her phone.”
Sohlberg frowned. “What about further back in time?”
After tapping at the keyboard a few times the techie said:
“Wait. There’s one hit on that tower thirteen months ago.”
“When exactly?”
“Noon on Saturday. . May the eighth.”
Sohlberg wondered why Agnes Haugen had been at the farm one month before the boy’s disappearance. Of course her husband or anyone else for that matter could have taken her cell phone out there.
But other than her husband who would’ve done that?
He needed to find out from Gunnar or Agnes Haugen or someone else if one or both of them had been at the grandfather’s farm shortly before the fateful day of Karl’s disappearance.
“One last thing,” said Sohlberg urgently. “I noticed you said Gunnar’s phone showed that several calls were recently made and received in the area around Hov. . and yet for Agnes Haugen’s phone you said a
“A hit is when the person has the cell phone turned on but does not answer it.”
Chapter 12
INTERROGATION OF GUNNAR HAUGEN,
AFTERNOON OF 1 YEAR AND 25 DAYS
AFTER THE DAY, FRIDAY, JUNE 4
“Gunnar Haugen. . I’m Constable Wangelin and this is Chief Inspector Sohlberg. We have some questions for you. Can you come to the conference room with us?”
“Am I under arrest?”
Sohlberg found the father’s question astonishing if not incriminating. Sohlberg looked him in the eye and said:
“Should you be?”
Gunnar Haugen instantly looked away. He paled and stared at the floor and said nothing more.
“Come this way Herr Haugen,” said Sohlberg grimly.
Gunnar Haugen hesitated.
Sohlberg then did what he rarely did. He only used this tactic to impress upon people the seriousness of his investigation and the possibility if not probability of an arrest. Even long-time criminals did not like what Sohlberg was about to do in such a personal and invasive manner. Sohlberg put a forceful grip on Gunnar Haugen’s forearm. The father’s arm jerked involuntarily.
“Let’s go Herr Haugen. Now.”
“Ja,” replied the engineer meekly as his co-workers stared.
Sohlberg was pleased. Everything was going according to plan. He could have questioned Gunnar Haugen quietly and in private after work or had him called down to the Human Resources department. Instead the public scene of being questioned at work guaranteed that the father’s co-workers would immediately call family and friends and that within an hour the media would issue reports about ‘breaking developments’ in the Karl Haugen case. The media frenzy would put intense pressure on Sohlberg’s next best suspects — the mother and the stepmother.
The HR manager escorted them to a windowless conference room and left. Wangelin took out a tape recorder and dictated the date and time and the identity of the persons in the room.
“Are we going to be here long?”
Sohlberg glared. “Do you have something more important Herr Haugen than answering questions about your missing son?”
“No. . I was just wondering how long this will take. I have classes after work. . down the street. . on Nydalsveien.”
“What classes?”
“I’m enrolled in the executive M.B.A. program of the Handelshoyskolen B.I. . the B.I. Norwegian School of Management.”
“Oh really?” said Sohlberg as he took off his coat and sat down. “Believe it or not I’m familiar with it Herr Haugen. . it’s one of the largest business schools in Europe. I almost went there instead of law school. I think we drove past it. . a modern monster of a building. . does it take up the entire city block?”
“Ja. . that’s it.”
“I’m impressed. . I remember when they were much smaller and went by the old B.I. name of Bedriftokonomisk Institut. . Institute of Managerial Economics.”
“That was before my time.”
“I see. Well. . to answer your question. . I have no idea how long we’re going to be here. I guess a lot depends on your cooperation and answers. Ja?”
“I. . I don’t know what you want from me. I’ve cooperated with everything that the police have asked of me.”
Gunnar Haugen look surprised and somewhat worried. Sohlberg’s strategy of surprise was working despite the likelihood that Karl’s doctor had already called one or both of the parents. A thought struck Sohlberg: if the doctor had indeed telephoned a warning then had the warning only gone to the stepmother and not to the father?
Had the stepmother kept the warning to herself?
If that was the case then why did she not pass the warning on to her husband?
“Herr Haugen. . before we discuss whether you have actually cooperated with us let me first explain why I’m here since I noticed you did not bother asking me why we’re here.”
Gunnar Haugen said nothing. Instead he assumed the stoic look that everyone in Norway knew from watching Gunnar Haugen’s image on television and newspapers and magazines.
“I have two assignments Herr Haugen. First. . I’m here to make an arrest.”
Haugen blinked nervously.
“Second. . I’m here to make sure that we have more than enough evidence to convict.”
“Wait,” said Gunnar Haugen as if waking up from an afternoon nap. “Where’s Nilsen? I thought he was in charge of the case. He knows I cooperated.”
“Nilsen is out. I’m in charge now. All I can tell you is that after carefully reviewing all of the case files. . I don’t see how you can claim that you’ve cooperated. Quite the opposite.”
“Nilsen knows that we helped as much as we could.”
“Ja. . you helped yourselves. . not your son. Anyway. . as I was saying. . I reviewed the case files and all of the interviews with you and your wife and I could only come to one conclusion. You and your wife bamboozled Nilsen with lies and half-truths.”
Haugen stared at the table.
“Unfortunately for your son Chief Inspector Nilsen took everything you and your wife said at face value. He questioned nothing. Anyone who hears the interviews or reads the transcripts immediately realizes that you live in a fantasy world or are a lousy liar. . or both.
