Lukas nodded softly.
‘What does this tell you about people?’ the pastor asked him.
Lukas did not reply. He didn’t want to get it wrong and end up under the water again. He could still feel the panic coursing through him.
‘That people don’t know what’s good for them,’ the pastor continued. ‘People should not be allowed to decide for themselves. You understand that, don’t you, Lukas?’
Lukas nodded. They had talked about this before. Most people were stupid. They didn’t know what was good for them. For that reason, God had chosen only a few who would go to Heaven. Only the special ones. The initiated. Those who had realized this. Forty people from the church. And a few others. People from across the world whom they would meet in the course of time.
Pastor Simon looked straight at him and took his hand.
‘I am God,’ the pastor said.
At this, Lukas felt all the warmth return to his body. He started tingling all over, more strongly than ever. From his toes, up to his ankles, his thighs, his stomach, up to his throat, his face was flushed and now, also, his ears.
‘I am God,’ the pastor said. ‘And you are my Son.’
Lukas sat with his mouth hanging open. The pastor was God. It was obvious now. This was how it was. It made perfect sense. When he talked to God in his office, he was talking to himself. The pastor was God. And he, Lukas, was the Son of God.
‘Father,’ Lukas said in awe, and bowed his head.
‘My Son,’ the pastor said, placing his hand on Lukas’s head.
Lukas felt the warmth from the hand of God spread across his scalp.
‘You passed the test,’ the pastor said. ‘You put your life in my hands. And I hope that you trust me now. I could have killed you, but I didn’t. Because you have greater tasks to accomplish before we go home.’
‘Home?’ Lukas said cautiously.
‘To Heaven.’ The pastor smiled.
‘Am I really the new Jesus?’ Lukas stammered.
The pastor nodded.
‘Twenty-seven years ago, I sent you to earth.’
Lukas could barely believe his ears. Of course. It all fitted! And it explained why he had no parents.
‘And I found you again.’ Lukas nodded reverently.
‘You found me again.’ The pastor smiled.
‘But the first Jesus accomplished great things. What have I done?’ Lukas said.
‘It will happen.’ The pastor smiled. ‘Today.’
‘Today?’ Lukas said, with anticipation in his voice.
The pastor smiled and walked back to the car. He returned holding a small bundle, which he placed carefully on the bench.
‘For me?’
‘Open it.’ The pastor smiled again.
Lukas unwrapped the bundle with trembling fingers. His eyes widened when he saw the contents.
‘A gun?’
The pastor nodded.
‘What do you want me to do?’
The pastor leaned towards him and took his hand.
‘Last week, an intruder came into the House of Light.’
‘Who?’
‘A boy, sent by the devil.’
Lukas could feel the rage explode inside him. The devil had sent a boy to stop them from travelling. He knew it. The pastor and Nils had been so quiet recently.
‘But, fortunately, I am stronger than the devil.’ The pastor smiled once more. ‘I know him, but he does not know me.’
Of course, Lukas thought.
Deo sic per diabolum.
‘The path to God goes through the devil.’
Understand the devil. Get to know him. This was what the pastor had meant.
‘And where is the boy now?’
‘He’s being held in the safe room.’
‘And what are we going to do with him?’
‘You are going to kill him,’ the pastor said.
Lukas looked at the gun in front of him and nodded softly.
‘There’s just one small problem.’
‘What’s that?’
‘He has taken Rakel prisoner. My Rakel.’
‘Vile demon,’ Lukas sneered.
‘So you must be careful. Kill the boy, but don’t harm Rakel. I need my Rakel in Heaven.’
‘I promise to do my best.’
Lukas bowed and kissed the pastor’s hand. The pastor rose. Lukas wrapped the pistol in the cloth again and carried it back to the car.
‘When we get to Heaven, you’ll get your very own Rakel.’
‘Oh?’ Lukas said.
‘I promise.’ The pastor nodded. ‘You know the little angels who have been hanging from the trees?’
‘The girls everyone’s talking about?’
‘Yes.’ The pastor nodded. ‘They’ll meet us up there. You can choose one of them.’
His very own girl? But he didn’t want a girl. God was enough for him. What on earth would he do with a little girl? Lukas decided not to say anything; he didn’t want to argue with the pastor. He put on his seatbelt, started the car and drove calmly down the forest track to the farm.
Chapter 73
Kim Kolsø sat at the back of the incident room listening to everything falling apart. Not for him, but for Munch and Mia. Not that either of them were there – had they been, they might have been able to answer some of Mikkelson’s questions. Mia had been unavailable all day, but he believed that Anette had spoken to her and learned that Mia had been to Åsgårdstrand and was now on her way back. No one had heard from Munch.
Kim Kolsø sighed and drummed his fingers on the table. He looked up at Mikkelson, who was pacing up and down in front of the board like a teacher, his forehead furrowed above his glasses and his hands behind his back. They had been cast as his pupils, about to receive a telling’off. He glanced at Curry, who mouthed the word ‘bullshit’ and rolled his eyes. Kim had to look away so as not to laugh, but he totally agreed. Their workload was insane. Not one member of the team was able to sit still. Not even Ludvig, who was coming up for retirement; he was squirming like a fidgety little kid on the edge of his chair. Gabriel Mørk seemed to have borne the brunt of it. He had been dragged out of his office, where he had been Skyping a mate, who was cleaning up the sound on the Kiese movie. The young man was rocking back and forth against the back of his chair and looked as if he was on the verge of a meltdown.
‘Right?’ Mikkelson said, looking across the room. ‘Is everyone here?’
No one said anything. If Mikkelson was the teacher, they were the naughty kids who had been put in detention due to their lack of respect for authority. The room was a powder keg. The air was laden with tension.
‘Can anyone update us?’
Mikkelson pushed his glasses up his nose and looked across the room again. No one said anything. The class rebellion against the teacher continued; it was childish, but the anger was real. Munch’s and Mia’s loyallest friends and colleagues sat in this room. No one had any interest in seeing them discredited.
‘Where is Holger Munch?’ Mikkelson said. ‘Where is Mia Krüger?’
At length, Anette rose to her feet.
‘We haven’t heard from Holger,’ she said calmly. ‘I have spoken to Mia.’
‘Status?’
‘She was on her way here the last time I talked to her.’
‘And Munch?’
‘We haven’t heard from him for a while, but Mia had a theory,’ Anette continued.
‘I bet she had,’ Mikkelson said sarcastically, without getting much of a reaction from the team. ‘And what was that?’
‘That Munch must have received a call from the killer,’ Anette said. ‘That the killer ordered him to meet him alone, and that’s what he’s gone to do.’
‘But all our phones are being monitored. Is there anything to suggest that this might be the case?’ Mikkelson said.
‘No,’ Gabriel Mørk said. ‘Nothing from his phone before he turned it off.’
‘The killer could have contacted him some other way, couldn’t he?’ Ludvig Grønlie ventured cautiously.