Don't Look Back

Johnas stuck his hand under the dog's stomach and pressed gently. She was breathing hard and her tongue was hanging out of her mouth, a moist pink tongue. She lay very still and let him touch her. It wouldn't be long now. He stared out the window, hoping it would soon be over.

'Good girl, Hera,' he said, petting her.

The dog stared past him, unmoved by his praise, so he sank down on to the floor a short distance away. Sat there and watched her. The silent, patient animal had his full attention. There was never any trouble with Hera, she was always obedient and kind as an angel. Never left his side when they went out for a walk, ate the food he gave her, and padded quietly over to her corner when he went upstairs to bed at night. He would have liked to sit there like that, very close, until it was all over, just listening to her breathe. Perhaps nothing would happen until early morning. He wasn't tired. Then the doorbell rang, one brief, shrill ring. He got up and opened the door.

Sejer gave him a firm, dry handshake. The man radiated authority. The younger officer was different, a thin, boyish hand with slender fingers. Johnas invited them in.

'How's it going with your dog?' Sejer asked. A nice-looking Dobermann lay motionless on a black and crimson Oriental rug. Surely nobody would let a pregnant dog lie on a genuine Oriental rug, he thought. The dog was breathing hard, but otherwise she lay without moving, not even aware of the two strangers who had come into the room.

'It's her first time. Three pups, I think. I tried to count them. But it'll go fine. There's never any trouble with Hera.'

He looked at them and shook his head. 'I'm so upset about what happened that I can't concentrate on anything.'

Johnas glanced at the dog as he talked, running a powerful hand over the top of his head, which was bald. A fringe of brown curls ringed his skull, and he had unusually dark eyes. A man of average build, but with a powerful torso and a few extra kilos around his waist, possibly in his late thirties. As a younger man he might have looked like a darker version of Skarre. He had handsome features and good colouring, as if he had been in the south lately.

'You don't want to buy a pup, do you?'

He gave them a look of appeal.

'I've got a Leonberger,' Sejer said. 'And I don't think he'd forgive me if I came home with a puppy in tow. He's very spoiled.'

Johnas directed them to the sofa, and pulled the coffee table out so the two men could slip past. 'I met Fritzner by the garage this evening, as I was coming back from a trade fair in Oslo. He told me about it. I don't think it's really sunk in yet. I shouldn't have let her out of the car, I shouldn't have done that.'

He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the dog again.

'Annie came here often. She baby-sat for us. I know Solvi too. If it had been her,' he said in a low voice, 'I could better understand it. Solvi is more the type that would take off with someone if she got an invitation, even if she didn't know him. Doesn't think about anything but boys. But Annie…'

He looked at them. 'Annie wasn't all that interested. And she was very cautious. And besides, I believe she had a boyfriend.'

'That's right, she did. Do you know him?'

'No, no, not at all. But I've seen them in the street, from a distance. They seemed shy, weren't even holding hands.'

He smiled rather sadly at the thought.

'Where were you headed when you picked up Annie?'

'I was going to work. For a while it looked as if Hera was going to have the puppies, but then there was another delay.'

'When does your shop open?'

'At 11a.m.'

'That's rather late, isn't it?'

'Yes, well, people need milk and bread in the morning, but Persian carpets come later, after their more basic needs have been satisfied.' He gave an ironic smile. 'I have a carpet shop,' he explained. 'Downtown, on Cappelens Gaten.'

Sejer nodded. 'Annie was going over to Anette Horgen's to work on a school assignment. Did she mention that to you?'

'A school assignment?' he said. 'No, she didn't mention it.'

'But she had a book bag with her?'

'Yes, she did. But that might have been a cover for something else, how would I know? She was going to Horgen's Shop, that's all I can tell you.'

'What did you see?'

'Annie came running down the steep slope at the roundabout, so I pulled over into the bus stop and asked her if she wanted a lift. She was going to Horgen's after all, and that's quite a distance. Not that she was lazy or anything; Annie was very active. She was always out running. I'm sure she was very fit. But she got in anyway and asked me to put her down at the shop. I thought she was going there to buy something, or maybe to meet someone. I let her out and drove off. But I saw the motorcycle. It was parked next to the shop, and the last I saw of her, Annie was heading right towards it. I mean, I don't know for sure that he was waiting for her, and I didn't see who he was. I just saw that she made a beeline for the bike, and she didn't turn around.'

'What kind of bike was it?' Sejer asked.

Johnas threw out his hands. 'I realise you have to ask, but I don't know much about bikes. I'm in a whole different line of work, to put it mildly. For me it was just chrome and steel.'

'What about the colour?'

'Aren't all bikes black?'

'Definitely not,' he said.

'It wasn't bright red, at any rate, I would have remembered that.'

'Was it a big, powerful bike, or a smaller one?' Skarre said.

'I think it was big.'

'And the driver?'

'There wasn't a lot to see. He was wearing a helmet. There was something red on the helmet, that much I remember. And he didn't look like a grown man. He was probably a young guy.'

Sejer nodded and leant forward. 'You've seen her boyfriend. He has a motorcycle. Could it have been him?'

Now Johnas frowned as if on his guard. 'I've seen him walk past in the street, from a distance. But this person was a long way off, wearing a helmet. I can't say whether it was him. I don't even want to suggest that.'

'Not that it was him.' Sejer's eyes narrowed. 'Just that it might have been him. You say he was young. Was he of slight build?'

'That's not easy to tell when a person's wearing leathers,' he said.

'But why did you assume he was young?'

'Oh,' he said in confusion, 'what can I say? I suppose I made that assumption because Annie's young. Or maybe there was something about the way he was sitting.' He looked embarrassed. 'I didn't know that it was going to turn out to be so important.'

He got up and knelt down by the dog. 'You have to try and understand what it's like living in this place,' he said, upset. 'Rumours spread fast. And besides, I can't believe that her boyfriend would do anything like that. He's just a boy, and they'd been together for a long time.'

'Leave the judgements to us,' Sejer said. 'That motorcycle is important, of course, and another witness saw it too. If he's innocent he won't be convicted.'

'Is that right?' Johnas said, doubtfully. 'No, but it's bad enough being a suspect, I would think. If I say that he looked like her boyfriend, then I'm sure you're going to put him through hell. And the truth is that I have no idea who it was.'

He shook his head sharply. 'All I saw was someone wearing a leather outfit and a helmet. It could have been anybody. I have a 17-year-old son; it could have been him. I wouldn't have recognised him in that get-up. See what I mean?'