homosexual was assaulted in the street or a synagogue was sprayed with graffiti. That’s why Johanne had been asked to undertake a closer study of the phenomenon.
The task was formulated so vaguely that she had spent the entire autumn defining her parameters and limiting the work that lay ahead. She had also started collecting the relatively comprehensive quantities of data available from other countries. Mainly the United States, but also several European countries had been cataloguing and to some extent working on this particular form of law breaking for quite some time. The material was growing, and she still didn’t really have a proper grasp of what she was going to do and where she wanted to go.
Then came the financial crisis.
And all those billions in public money.
Certain branches of Norwegian research were drowned in funds. Since the police were included in the many initiatives aimed at keeping the wheels moving and preventing economic collapse, Johanne found herself with four times as much money at her disposal as a few weeks before. This opened up new opportunities, including the possibility of hiring younger researchers and scientific assistants. At the same time, this extra money created fresh problems. She had been on the point of finalizing a framework for her project, and now she had to start all over again.
It was hard work, and it was always difficult to get going. But she was looking forward to it.
It was evening. Kristiane had been unusually co-operative while they were visiting Isak’s parents, and Ragnhild had cheered up as soon as the children each received a big bag of Christmas sweets. As Kristiane was staying with her paternal grandparents so that she could spend the next three days with her father, Ragnhild had also insisted on staying. As usual, Isak had smiled broadly and said that was fine. Presumably he had realized the same thing as Adam and Johanne quite some time ago: Kristiane was calmer, slept better and was more cheerful when Ragnhild was around.
The building was quiet. The neighbours downstairs must have gone away. When Johanne got home at about eight o’clock, the ground floor was in darkness. In her own apartment she went from room to room, switching on all the lights. She left all the doors open; the dog liked to wander around if he wasn’t shut in Kristiane’s room at night. The soft pattering of his paws and the cheerful thud every time Jack settled down on the floor always made her feel slightly less lonely on the rare occasions when she actually was alone. Eventually she took her laptop into the living room, sat down on the sofa and sipped a glass of wine as she surfed the net, without concentrating on anything in particular. She was looking for some kind of Scrabble game when the phone rang.
‘Hi, it’s me.’
It was a long time since she had been so pleased to hear his voice.
‘Hi darling. How’s it going up there?’
Adam laughed.
‘Well, basically I’ve trodden on the toes of the Bergen police; I called to see the widower just a few hours after he’d been told that his wife was dead. I’ve already fallen out with his son, I think, and on top of all that I’ve eaten so much for dinner that I feel ill.’
Johanne laughed too.
‘That doesn’t sound good. Where are you staying?’
‘At the SAS Hotel on Bryggen. Nice room. They moved me to a suite when they found out where I was from. It’s not exactly packed out here at Christmas.’
‘So did they know why you were there?’
‘No. It’s a miracle. It’s almost exactly twenty-four hours since Bishop Lysgaard was murdered, and so far not a single bloody journalist has got wind of it. All that Christmas food must have finished them off.’
‘Or the schnapps. Or maybe it’s just that the Bergen police are better at keeping quiet than their colleagues in Oslo. By the way, I’ve just been watching the evening news. They had a little piece about the case, but they more or less just said she was dead.’
On the other end of the line she could hear noises that indicated Adam was taking off his tie. She suddenly felt quite emotional. She knew him so well she could hear something like that on the phone.
‘Hang on,’ he said. ‘I’m just going to take off my shoes and this damned noose around my neck. That’s better. What kind of a day have you had? Was it horrible having to do all that clearing up with the kids around? You must be worn out. I’m sorry I-’
‘It was fine. As you know I can get by perfectly well without one night’s sleep. The kids played in the garden for a couple of hours and I just…’
She had managed to push away the thought of the strange man for the entire afternoon and evening. Now a feeling of unease stabbed through her, and she fell silent.
‘Hello? Johanne?’
‘Yes, I’m here.’
‘Is something wrong? Johanne?’
Adam would simply dismiss it. He would sigh his weary sigh and tell her not to be so worried about the children all the time. Adam would have very little understanding of the fact that Johanne had discovered that a complete stranger knew the name of her elder daughter. Besides which, the man had been so well wrapped up in his overcoat, hat and scarf that Adam would maintain it could have been a neighbour if she told him about the incident; and that horrible little coldness would come between them and make it more difficult for her to get to sleep later, alone, with no other sounds around her apart from Jack’s snuffling and constant farting.
‘No, no,’ she said, trying to make her voice smile. ‘Except that you’re not here, of course. Ragnhild wanted to stay over with Isak’s parents.’
‘That’s good. Isak really is generous. He puts-’
‘As if you weren’t every bit as kind to his daughter! As if-’
‘Calm down, Johanne! That wasn’t what I meant. I’m glad you all had a nice evening, and that you’ve got some time for yourself. That certainly doesn’t happen very often.’
She moved the laptop on to the coffee table and drew the blanket more tightly around her.
‘You’re right,’ she said, this time with a genuine smile. ‘It’s actually really nice to be all on my own. Apart from Jack, of course. By the way, there must be something wrong with his food. He’s farting like mad.’
Adam laughed. ‘What are you up to?’
‘Doing a little bit of work. Surfing the net a little bit. Drinking a little drop of wine. Missing you.’
‘That all sounds good. Apart from the work – it’s Christmas Day! I’m just about to go to bed. I’m worn out. Tomorrow I’m hoping to interview the Bishop’s son. God knows how that will go – he’s already taken a dislike to me.’
‘I’m sure he hasn’t. Everybody likes you. And because you are the very best detective in the whole wide world, I’m sure it’ll be fine.’
Adam laughed again.
‘You mustn’t keep saying that to the kids! Just before Christmas when we were queuing at the checkout in Maxi, Ragnhild suddenly stood up in the shopping trolley and announced at the top of her voice that her daddy was the very, very, very best – I think she must have said “very” ten times – detective in the world. Embarrassing. People laughed.’
‘But she’s right,’ said Johanne with a smile. ‘You’re the best in the world at most things.’
‘Idiot. Night-night.’
‘Night-night, my love.’
Adam’s voice disappeared. Johanne stared at the telephone for a while, as if she was hoping he might still be there and would reassure her that the man by the fence posed no threat. Then she got up slowly, put down the phone and went over to the window. The new moon was suspended at an angle above the apartment block next door. There was still frost on the ground. The cold had sunk its teeth into Oslo, but the sky was clear, day after day, and all week there had been the most breathtaking sunsets. The few sparse snowflakes that had fallen during the afternoon covered the garden like a thin film. The sky was clear once again, it was dark, and after a while Johanne felt ready for bed.
