'But why do I have to talk about it?'
'I understand that you think it's none of my business. But, actually, it is.'
'Neither of us is mixed up with this case. I don't want to.'
She clammed up again.
Skarre encouraged her. 'You don't need to give details. Just give me a brief description of how it happened.'
He focused his blue eyes on Ulla's green ones. That usually worked, and this time was no exception.
'We'd been together for nearly a year. We used to work out together at Adonis two or three times a week. I don't always work out three times, but Goran does. So he picks me up and we go together. Work out for a couple of hours and then we leave. We were at Adonis on the evening of the 20th and I was determined to end it. I waited till we'd finished our work-out. Then we went to our separate changing rooms. I dreaded it,' she admitted. 'Decided to postpone it. Find a better occasion. But then it just came flying out of my mouth. We met at the exit like we always did. He bought a Coke, I bought a Sprite, which we drank outside. Then I told him. That I'd had enough. That I was going to catch the bus instead.'
Skarre's thoughts took off in all directions.
'Ulla,' he said, 'what was he wearing? After the work-out. Do you remember?'
She gave him an uncertain look. 'Now, what was it? Tennis shirt with a collar. White. And Levi jeans. Black. That's what he wears.'
'How did he take it?'
'His face turned white. But there was nothing he could do. If it's over, it's over. So he said nothing. Just stormed off and threw himself into his car.'
'Did he tell you where he was going?'
'No. But I stood there for a while watching him. He made a call, I remember. On his mobile. Then he drove off. The tyres squealed.'
'Ulla,' Skarre said calmly, 'we'll be back to talk to you. But you've got nothing to worry about. Do you understand?'
'Yes,' she said gravely.
'You can go back to work now,' he said. Then he left the shopping centre and got into his car. Drummed his fingers continuously on the steering wheel. Goran Seter had not been babysitting with Ulla. It was over. He'd been rejected. On his way home he passed Hvitemoen. He was alone in the red Golf and he was wearing a white shirt.
Chapter 15
Linda had called Karen repeatedly, but her mum kept saying that she was out. It was several days since they had last spoken. People stared at her when she went to the cafe or cycled down the road. They seemed hostile. She stood by the window staring into the dark garden. Rumours flew around, mercilessly, about whom the police had been to see and especially where they had been more than once. Her mum didn't seem particularly excited one way or the other that Linda had called the police. As far as she knew, there was no prospect of meeting Jacob again. She didn't know what she could do to make him come to the house. She had searched her memory over and over through confused snapshots, as they seemed, for further details. The two people in the meadow, the strange game. When she thought of it, it still seemed like a game. But Jacob had said that you saw what you wanted to see. No- one wanted to see a murder. A man running after a woman, like they do all the time. That's why she'd drawn that conclusion. Goran had given her such an evil stare that day in the cafe when she had been looking at his car. Now he had probably made the connection. Not that she was scared of Goran, but she didn't want to get him into trouble. She had just wanted to tell them about the car. Lots of people owned Golfs. They could be from anywhere. But it was too late. They had talked to both Goran and Ulla. Then she thought about Goran's face, about the scratches on his face. Other people must have noticed them. They would have mentioned them in any case. She wasn't going to say anything else, not a single word. But she had to see Jacob again! She lingered by the window, thinking hard. Her mum had gone to Holland to bring back a load of tulips. The house was quiet, it was past 11 p.m. Suddenly she rushed out into the hall and locked the door. The sharp click of the lock frightened her. She sat at the kitchen table. When the telephone rang she leapt up and gasped. Perhaps it was Karen ringing back at last. She lifted the handset and called out her name. But no-one answered. She could hear someone breathe. Confused, she remained where she was, holding the handset.
'Hello?'
No reply. Just the dialling tone. She put down the handset, her hands trembling. Now they had started to scare her, too. She sat on the sofa, biting her nails. Outside the wind rustled in the trees. No-one would hear her if she screamed. Fear threatened to overpower her. She switched the TV on, then switched it off again. If someone came to the door she wouldn't be able to hear them with all that noise. She decided to go to bed. Quickly she brushed her teeth and ran up the stairs. Closed the curtain. Pulled off her clothes, crept under the duvet. Lay there listening. She had a strong feeling that someone was outside. It was silly. There had never been anyone outside the house apart from the deer that came to eat the fallen apples no-one could be bothered to pick up. She turned off the lamp and hid under the duvet. The man who had done that terrible thing would never come to her house. He was probably in hiding. Three hundred people had called the hotline. Imagine, she was just one of three hundred.
Suddenly she heard a sound. It was quite distinct and not something she had imagined. A thump against the outside wall. She jerked upright in her bed. Sat listening breathlessly. Then a kind of dragging sound. Linda felt sick. She bent over in the bed, hugging herself. Someone was outside! Someone was in the garden. She put her feet on the floor, ready to jump. Any minute now someone would start fiddling with the lock downstairs. There was a rushing noise in her ears, she couldn't think. Then everything went silent. The room was in total darkness. She went to the window and stuck two fingers behind the curtain. Stared out through the narrow gap. At first all she could see was the darkness. But then her night vision took over and she glimpsed the trees outside and the faint light from the kitchen which fell softly on the lawn. Then she saw a man. He was staring right up at her window. She backed into a corner and stayed there gasping. This is the punishment, she thought. He would take his revenge now because she had phoned. In a blind panic she dashed out and ran down the stairs. Grabbed the telephone and dialled Jacob's number, the private number in Nedre Storgate, which she knew by heart. She panted down the receiver when he answered.
'Someone's here,' she whispered desperately. 'He's standing outside in the garden staring up at my window.'
'Sorry,' she heard, 'who's this, please?'
'Linda,' she shouted. 'I'm home alone. There's a man in the garden!'
'Linda?' Skarre said. 'What are you talking about?'
His voice was a great relief. She started to cry.
'A man. He tried to hide behind some trees, but I saw him.'
Skarre finally understood what this was about and adopted a professional and reassuring tone of voice. 'You're home alone and you thought you saw someone?'
'I did see someone! Quite clearly. I heard him too. He was pressing up against the wall.'
Jacob Skarre had never in all his life experienced anything like this. He sat for a while, thinking. Decided to talk to her and calm her down, she was probably overwrought.
'How did you get my home number?' he asked.
'From the directory.'
'Yes, of course. Of course you did. But I'm not on duty now, you know.'
'No. But what if he tries to get in?'
'Have you locked the door?'
'Yes.'
'Linda,' he said. 'Go to the window. See if he's still out there.'
'No!'
'Do as I say.'
