Goran gave him an uncertain look. 'I have nothing to hide,' he said.
'That's good,' Friis said. 'However, there may be things you don't remember right at this moment, which may come back to you later. Be sure to tell me those things as soon as you remember them. You are entitled to speak to me whenever you want. Make sure you do do that. Naturally I'm working on other cases, but I will do whatever is necessary for you.'
'I told them everything already,' he said.
'Good,' Friis said.
Goran's Coke arrived. It was cold and it pricked his tongue.
'Then I need to ask you if you understand the seriousness of the situation. You're charged with murder. With particularly aggravating circumstances.'
'Yes,' Goran said. He hesitated slightly. Nothing like this had happened to him before, so he was stumbling into unknown territory.
'Aggravating circumstances means that you might receive an additional punishment of up to two years for the battery of the deceased. Such acts make the police especially angry. They will now petition that you be remanded in custody and while you are on remand they will obtain as much evidence as they can to bring a case against you. Meanwhile you'll stay here with restraints on correspondence and visits.'
'I have to stay here?' Goran stammered. He had imagined that they would interview him, perhaps for hours, but he had hoped that he would be allowed to leave later in the day. Einar's Cafe would be packed with people. He had to go there and be with them. Listen to what they said. He was stricken by some sort of panic. He drank his Coke nervously.
'They'll try to wear you down,' Friis said. 'Remember that. Always count to three before you answer any questions.'
Goran looked at him blankly.
'They want you to lose control. It's important that you don't. Even though you might be worn out, tired, even exhausted. Do you lose control easily?'
'I can take a lot,' Goran said, leaning forward demonstratively across the table. Friis could see the powerful arms. He took note of them.
'I'm not talking about physical strength,' he said. 'Rather about what goes on up here.' He pointed to his own head. 'The officer who'll be interrogating you isn't allowed to hit you. And he won't, I know him. However, he will be doing everything else not covered by the law to force a confession out of you. That's his only aim. A confession. Not whether you're guilty or not.'
Goran gave Friis a horrified look. 'I've nothing to fear,' he said, but his voice broke at the end of the sentence and he gripped his glass of Coke so tightly that it looked as if it might crack. 'After all, I've an alibi,' he added. 'She's reliable, too. Unless she pulls out. That's why I don't understand why I'm here at all.'
'You're speaking of Lillian Sunde?' Friis said gravely.
'Yes,' Goran said, surprised at how much they all knew in such a short space of time.
'She denies that you were at her house,' Friis said. Goran's eyes widened. His face drained of colour. With a jolt he got up from the chair and banged his fists on the table.
'For fuck's sake!' he screamed. 'What a bitch! Bring her here and then I'll tell you what's really going on here. I've known that woman for over a year and then she goes and-'
Friis got up and pushed Goran back on to his chair. A shocked silence followed.
'You forgot to count,' he said quietly. 'One outburst like that in court and you'll be branded a killer. Do you understand the seriousness?'
Goran breathed heavily. He clutched the edge of the table with both hands. 'I was with Lillian,' he whispered. 'If she says I wasn't, then she's lying. If you only knew what I know about her! What she likes and doesn't like. How she wants it! What she looks like. All over. I know!'
'She has much to lose,' Friis said. 'Her own reputation, for example.'
'She never had one,' Goran said angrily. A tear ran treacherously down his cheek.
'It might be hard for people to understand why you were going out with Ulla Mork while also visiting Lillian at her house over a period of a whole year.'
'But it's not a crime,' Goran said.
'Indeed it isn't. But people need to understand who you are and how you think and act. At least you need to be able to explain it if they ask, and they most certainly will ask. So you can start by explaining it to me.'
Goran looked at Friis in surprise. It was blindingly obvious. Two women were better than one. Besides, they were different. Ulla looked good next to him, but always wanted to be in control. Something was always not right for her. Lillian was always up for it. Lillian didn't need him to hold her hand or take her to restaurants. Ulla was high maintenance, she needed pleasing before she would give him what he needed. This burning desire which all men had and which was the real reason they had girlfriends at all.
'A girlfriend means more than just sex, doesn't she?'
Goran looked at him somewhat exasperated. 'You fall out of love,' he said wearily. 'Often quite quickly.'
'What about love?' Friis said.
Goran smiled incredulously.
'Goran,' Friis said sternly. 'There will be adults on the jury who'll assume that you and Ulla were a couple. And all that entails. Just because you have never experienced love does not mean it doesn't exist.'
Goran glared despondently at the table.
'The jury needs to hear that you love Ulla. And that Lillian was an affair that you wish you'd never ever started. However, it was the worst possible bad luck that you happened to be there on the evening of the 20th. That's what you've told the police and you have to stick to that.'
'Of course,' Goran said. 'Because it's true.'
'Ulla broke up with you after you'd been to the gym. Outside Adonis. And you went straight to Lillian's. Am I right?'
'Yes,' Goran said. 'I called her first.'
'Were you angry with Ulla?'
'More annoyed. She kept breaking up with me. I didn't really know what to think. Bloody women, they say one thing and-'
'Calm down, Goran, calm down!'
He crumpled once again. 'I didn't kill that woman at Hvitemoen. My head feels all messed up, I feel dizzy when they ask me about times and dates, but I'm sure of this one thing: I did not kill that woman! I didn't see a living soul,' he said. He felt dizzy. It was a rare and strange feeling for him.
'Konrad Sejer is heading the interrogation,'
Friis said. 'He'll be here soon to fetch you. You'll be spending quite a lot of time with him. The first few days he'll probably spend building trust between you.'
'The first few days?'
'Don't forget to breathe. Don't give them anything, Goran, play your cards calmly and with dignity. If you lose control, he'll attack you at once. He looks kind and mild-mannered, but he's out to get you. He believes you killed this woman. That you smashed her head out of pure fury because something else in your life, something she wasn't a part of, had gone wrong. You don't like being rejected, do you?'
'Well, I don't suppose you'd bloody like it either,' Goran flared up. Then he closed his eyes. 'I spent loads of money on Ulla. Went wherever she wanted to go, bought her presents. Paid for everything, the cinema and the cafe, though she earns her own money. And then all of a sudden she can't be bothered any more.'
'Well, we don't send bills to our ex-lovers, do we?'
'I would if I could!' he said angrily.
'Were you fond of her?'
Goran remembered to count to three. 'You get used to people. After such a long time.'
Friis looked out of the window as though hoping that someone there might be able to help him.
'Yes. Used to. You were used to her being there for you. When she left, you felt deserted. Am I right?'
'I still had Lillian.'
'Did you want to hit someone?'
'I've never hit Ulla,' he shouted. 'Not ever. Has she said so?'
