Kinsarvik, but I understand there is nothing else to be done here.’
‘Never say never,’ I said.
‘And that is supposed to mean?’
I turned to Boe again. ‘I don’t know how much I’m allowed to disclose. To be on the safe side, I’ll leave an assessment of that to our friends here.’
Boe took stock of Langeland. Then he said succinctly: ‘It turns out fru Skarnes has disappeared.’
‘What! Disappeared?’
‘Yes.’
‘From the hospital.’
No one said a word. Boe just nodded in silence.
For a moment, Langeland stood mesmerised. ‘Well, I never!’ He turned to me again. ‘Do you know anything about this?’
‘No more than has already been said.’
An apparently dumbfounded solicitor was such a rare sight that I was distracted for a moment. Then he had himself under control again.
‘Well, I’ll have to go up there myself and find out what could have happened.’ He looked from me back to the policemen. ‘And you?’
Boe gazed at him from under weary eyelids. ‘We’ve been assigned to surveillance duties outside the house. In case she turns up. Veum’s going home to bed.’
I winked at Ellingsen. ‘Yes, if Elling’s here then…’
His face instantly went scarlet. ‘Veum! I’ve warned you!’
‘You have indeed. But has that scared me off? Not yet.’
‘One day I’m going to hit you so hard you’ll…’
‘We’ll be in the papers?’ I looked at the other two. ‘Now I have witnesses anyway. Will you take the case, Langeland?’
‘Alright, alright,’ Boe said, with impatience. ‘Since neither of you has any official reason to be here, I suggest you leave — now!’
‘Fine,’ I said, looking at the dark garden around the house.
‘I’m going to the hospital,’ Langeland said.
I followed him to his car, which stood next to mine, an appropriate demonstration of the difference between our respective monthly salaries. The Mini blushed to its rust stains and pointedly looked away when I came to a stop beside it.
Before getting into his polished chariot, Langeland turned to me once more. ‘Why won’t you say where Jan is?’
‘I certainly will, Langeland. It’s no big deal. He’s staying at the Haukedalen Children’s Centre.’
‘With Hans Haavik?’
‘Yes. Do you know him?’
‘We’re old friends. From university.’
‘Well, in that case you’ll know where he is. But before you go, Langeland…’
‘Yes?’
‘Is there a possibility that Vibecke and Svein Skarnes are not Jan’s biological parents?’
He sent me a hostile glare. ‘Where have you got that from?’
‘Did you catch my line of work? I think I’ve met Jan before, when he was two or three years old. And in a very different home.’
He averted his eyes, looked across the car roof at the two policemen. ‘Well… I can’t see any reason to deny that. But Vibecke and Svein had adopted him. They have full parental rights.’ After some reflection he added: ‘Well, Vibecke, anyway.’
‘Does Jan know, do you think?’
‘That he’s adopted? I doubt it. You’ll have to ask Vibecke about that. Why do you ask?’
‘Well, I… it was just a thought.’
‘OK… I’m off then.’
After a final nod he got into his car, closed the door, started up and reversed out of the side street, so quietly that you could hardly hear the sound of the tyres on the tarmac. I stood watching him before I got into my own car, ill at ease.
Mummy did it, he had said. Which mummy? I wondered.
7
I had an uncomfortable night. Waking up next morning, I could remember fragments of a dream in which the boy sitting on the other side of my kitchen table eating chunks of bread with Norwegian goat cheese was Thomas, and he was suddenly six years old and had Jan’s eyes: expressionless and thus accusing.
I rang Haukedalen and got Haavik on the line. ‘How was it?’
‘He’s up anyway. He and Cecilie are having breakfast.’
‘And the mother… You haven’t heard from her?’
‘Not a peep. Would you like to talk to Cecilie?’
‘I could have a quick word.’
I waited while he went to get her. ‘Hi,’ she said, taking the receiver.
‘Slept well?’
‘No. I had one eye open the whole time. I was worried that if I fell asleep he would try and run away.’
‘But he didn’t?’
‘No. He slept like a log. Really. He had the odd nightmare, was sobbing and thrashing around, but he didn’t wake up. Not even when I sat on the edge of the bed stroking his hair.’
‘And now? Have you got him to say anything?’
‘No. He’s just as distant. If he doesn’t improve, I’m afraid a Child Psychiatry Centre will be the next stop.’
‘Let’s try Marianne one more time. I’ll see if I can get her to come out here. And then I’ll try to find out what’s happened to his mother. Or mothers.’
‘You haven’t checked that out yet? Whether it’s the same boy or not?’
‘No, but it’s top of my list of things to do. Of course, it would have been useful to know whether he himself knows that he’s adopted. But I doubt it. And if he won’t speak anyway, then…’
‘Then it must have been the foster mother he meant?’
‘On the face of it, yes.’
‘Have you told the police what he said, Varg?’
‘No. Not yet.’
‘But… why not?’
‘I don’t know. Client confidentiality maybe.’
‘But… well, I understand. A potential murder case, though.’
‘The most likely scenario is still an accident, isn’t it.’
‘Yes, but nevertheless.’
‘I’d like to carry out a few investigations of my own first.’
‘You’re just so incredibly nosey, Varg! This is way out of line… the best is to go to the police — and tell them everything. That’s what we’ve got them for.’
‘I’ll think about it.’
‘If you don’t, I will.’
‘Give me a few hours first.’
‘OK! You’re just absolutely hopeless.’
I thanked her for her confidence in me and we concluded the conversation. I promised to call back later. In
