have done.
He could leave the key outside. Did they put the key under the mat in India? He found pen and paper, but then he realised that he didn't know how to write in English. Could only speak it a bit. It will be fine, he thought, as he left the house with the door unlocked and got into his car.
Hvitemoen was a kilometre out of Elvestad towards Randskog. It was not on his way to the hospital and he was relieved about that. It seemed to him that there were more people about than normal. He passed two white outside-broadcast vans and two police cars. Parked in front of Einar's cafe was a whole row of cars. And bikes and people. He looked at all of it as he accelerated past, frightened.
Once he was safely at the hospital he took the lift. He went straight to Marie's room. A nurse was leaning over her. She drew up when he entered the room.
'Who are you?' she said.
'Gunder Jomann,' he said. 'I'm her brother.'
She bent over Marie once more. 'All visitors must report to the duty office before they come on to the ward,' she said. Gunder said nothing. He stood at the foot of the bed, bewildered and feeling guilty. Why was she like that? Were they not glad that he had finally arrived?
'I did sit here all of yesterday,' he said, still ashamed. 'So I thought it would be all right.'
'Well, I wasn't to know that,' she said, smiling half-heartedly. 'I was off duty yesterday.'
He did not answer her. The words were all tangled up in a hairball which stuck in his throat. He wanted to ask her if there was any change. But he could feel his lips trembling and he did not want her to see him cry. Carefully he sat down at the edge of the chair and folded his hands in his lap. My wife has disappeared, he thought frantically. He wanted to shout out to the woman standing by the bed regulating a drip feed just how difficult it all was. Marie, his only sister, in a coma, her husband in Hamburg. And Poona who had vanished into thin air. He did not have anyone else. He wanted the nurse to leave. And not return. He would prefer the blonde one who'd been there yesterday. The one with the friendly smile who had brought him a drink.
'Has anyone told you that as a relative you may stay at the hospital overnight?' she said.
Gunder was surprised. Yes, they had told him that, but he had had to find Poona. He did not want to tell her that. Eventually she left the room. He bent over Marie. There was a low gurgling noise coming from the tube. That meant that it was busy collecting saliva from her mouth – which was what the blonde nurse had explained to him. But if he pulled the cord to call a nurse then the sour one would probably be the one who came back. He could not face that. For a while he sat listening to the sound of the respirator, pushing air into Marie in long hissing drags. He thought that if the gurgling got any worse he would have to call them. And he would have to put up with whichever nurse it was who came.
They had urged him to talk to her, but now he was lost for words. The night before he had been so looking forward to seeing Poona again despite everything that had happened. 'Marie?' he whispered. Then he gave up and let his head drop. He had to focus on the future. Karsten would suddenly appear in the doorway and take over the whole dreadful business. It occurred to him that there was a radio above the bed. Could he switch it on? Would it disturb Marie? He leaned forward and unhooked the radio. It was covered in white canvas. First he found the volume button and turned it right down. He held it close to his ear and heard a low hissing, tuned it until he found P4, which broadcast news every hour and it was coming up for 10 a.m. He waited tensely until a voice interrupted the music and read the news. Inspector Sejer has told P4 that the body of a woman found at Hvitemoen has not yet been identified. Police have also stated that the woman had been the victim of an attack with a blunt instrument, but will give no further details. Sources contacted by P4 claim that the body had been subjected to an assault of a violence very rare in Norwegian crime history. Police have now set up a hotline for the public and are asking everyone who was in the area of Hvitemoen near Elvestad yesterday afternoon, evening and night to contact them. All activity in the area is considered to be of interest. The body was discovered by a woman from Elvestad who was out picking mushrooms. They gave a telephone number. It was an easy number to remember and it burned itself into Gunder's brain against his will. The gurgling from Marie's tube interrupted his train of thought. It was getting worse. If he pulled the cord and the sour one came running she might think that he thought she was not doing her job properly. But there had to be more of them on duty. Perhaps it would not be the dark one who came. Then the door opened all by itself and to his delight he saw the blonde nurse enter. She came over to his chair and put her hand on his shoulder. 'Your brother-in-law has been contacted. He's on his way home.'
Gunder nearly wept from relief. Then she went to Marie's bed to remove the saliva from the tube. Gunder allowed himself to close his eyes. Finally his shoulders relaxed.
'Was everything all right yesterday?' she said, looking at Gunder from across the bed. He opened his eyes. He thought his voice would break.
'You mentioned some problems,' she said.
She leaned forward again, but she was still listening. He had a feeling that she understood a great deal.
'Everything will be easier once your brother-in-law gets here,' she said. 'Then you won't have to manage on your own.'
'Yes,' he said. 'It'll get better then.' He summoned up his courage and looked at her. 'Is she going to wake up?' he said feebly.
He looked down at Marie in the bed. That was when he noticed the nurse's name-badge for the first time.
'Yes, I think so,' the girl called Ragnhild said. 'She'll wake up.'
Chapter 6
In the woman's gaping mouth Sejer counted three or four teeth which were still in the right place. What must the pathologist have thought when he saw this broken woman?
Bardy Snorrason had worked at his steel slab for many years. It was fitted with guttered edges and there was an outlet at the end where blood and fluids from the corpses could be hosed away and disappear down the drain. He could smell her, rank and raw. The chest and abdominal cavities were open.
'I want you to think out loud,' Sejer said, studying the pathologist.
'I'm sure you do.' He pushed his glasses down his nose and peered at Sejer over the frame. 'This face speaks for itself.' He turned his back and began leafing through a pile of papers. He muttered to himself, 'This is so awful that it makes you want to shut up for once.'
Sejer knew better than to push him. The woman's presence was deafening. That which must have escaped from her throat in her last moments echoed between the walls. He had to weigh his words. Respect her in some pathetic way, as she lay there naked on the slab with her chest opened up and the crushed head starkly lit by a work lamp. Because she had been hosed clean of blood, her injuries were there for him to see in a different way from when she was lying in the grass.
'She was wearing an outfit of silk,' Snorrason said. 'As far as I can see, the silk is very high quality. The clothing is produced in India. Her sandals are plastic. A wristwatch from Timex is also of modest quality. Her underwear was plain, cotton. In her bag were several coins, German, Norwegian, Indian. Oh yes, and on the bottom of her sandals it says
'Is it possible to estimate how many?'
'No. I'm saying 'repeated blows' because it's impossible to number them. But we're talking very hard blows. Between ten and fifteen.' Snorrason went over to the slab and stood behind the woman's wrecked head. 'The skull has been smashed like a jar. You can no longer make out its original shape. A skull is fragile,' he said, 'though the top of your head is quite robust. The injuries are greater when you hit the back of the head or the temple. Here we're talking about a very destructive force. Whoever killed this woman attacked her in a violent rage.'
'How old is she?'
'Around forty.'
Sejer was surprised. Her body was so neat and slender.
'The weapon?' he said.
'The weapon was big and heavy, possibly blunt or smooth, and it was wielded with considerable force. I try to comfort myself and perhaps you too, since you look as though you need it' – he glanced across at Sejer – 'that the
