I did not feel inclined to talk to Cecilia Olesen again following her emotional outpouring no more than a couple of hours earlier, so instead I called her brother to ask if he knew whether Harald Olesen had any close friends in the area around Gjøvik. And rather unexpectedly hit bullseye. He answered straightaway that his uncle had had lots of contacts in the area, but the first to spring to mind was a wealthy farmer whom he had visited several times in the years running up to the war. The nephew had even gone with him once. He could not remember his Christian name, but his surname was easy to remember, as he had owned a considerable amount of forested land: Storskog. He immediately replied: ‘Yes, of course!’ when I asked if this friend of Harald Olesen was perhaps called Hans. I quickly thanked him for the information, threw down the phone and ran out to the car.
VII
It was almost nine o’clock by the time I arrived at 25 Krebs’ Street, but the lights were still on in all the windows, except the two flats left empty by Harald Olesen and Konrad Jensen.
Darrell Williams opened the door slowly when I rang the bell and nodded pensively when he saw it was me. I caught a hint of acknowledgement in his eyes as we briefly shook hands.
I was starting to feel tired after a long day and was secure enough in my case to get straight to the point.
‘You perhaps understand why I am here. I worked it out by myself. She did not say anything and still only has fond feelings for you.’
He gave a curt nod and pointed me into the living room. We sat down in the armchairs. I got the impression that it had been a tough day for Darrell Williams as well, and this was reinforced when I saw the bottles and glasses standing on the coffee table.
‘I now know that you had a relationship with Cecilia Olesen from 1945 until 1948 and that her uncle vehemently opposed it. However, I do not know if you received the letter she sent you a few months after you had to leave Norway in spring 1948.’
Darrell Williams sat deep in thought for a few moments, then poured a drink from one of the bottles on the table. He held the bottle up to me, but put it down as soon as I shook my head.
‘Sadly, I did, but I have not yet managed to write the reply,’ he said brusquely.
He emptied his glass, then started to talk quickly in a controlled voice.
‘My feelings for Harald Olesen were anything but sympathetic for many years after that. But over the years the intensity has diminished. At the time, in 1948, I felt like I could kill him, but I most certainly did not now, in 1968. It was easier to meet him again than I had expected and feared. But today was worse – seeing her again, that is.’
I had no difficulty believing him.
‘Which is why you arrived so late and sat by the door. And why you laughed so loudly and criticized her and her brother so strongly – to disguise the fact.’
Darrell Williams said nothing, but shrugged his confirmation. I immediately followed up on this success.
‘One more thing. It seems unlikely that you were sent to Oslo and accommodated in the same building as Harald Olesen because of this old personal conflict.’
He shook his head firmly.
‘Of course not. That was never an issue for my employers.’
I nodded and carried on swiftly.
‘But it is still no coincidence that you ended up here. You came here because Harald Olesen had some papers and information that your employer was keen to ensure would not fall into the wrong hands either before or after his death.’
Darrell Williams sighed deeply.
‘You are putting me in a very difficult situation now. These are things that I cannot confirm or deny without permission from the highest level.’
‘Let me then simply state that this is the case and that you can neither confirm nor deny it.’
He nodded silently.
‘I will also state, then, that these papers included information about certain Norwegians and Americans who today hold very senior positions, and whom Harald Olesen knew had been actively involved in highly sensitive campaigns against the communists and individuals who were assumed to be communists for no given reason. And it would be extremely detrimental to these individuals, and perhaps also to relations between the USA and Norway, if this became known. And it would appear that you are still unable or unwilling to deny any of this.’
Darrell Williams’s sigh was even heavier, and his nod even more silent.
‘And I would find it very hard to persuade you to give me the names of these people?’
He smiled, but it was a sombre and almost twisted smile.
‘If such persons exist, it would be impossible for me to give you their names.’
‘But they are of no particular relevance to my investigation – so long as you are not the murderer.’
Darrell Williams spontaneously held out his hand.
‘You are quite clearly a very good and intelligent policeman. And it is my sincere hope that you will also manage to put together the remaining pieces in this case, so that I can finish up and leave Norway. The situation was awkward enough to begin with, but my emotional ballast now makes it unbearable.’
I wanted to offer him an olive branch.
‘I have reason to believe that everything will fall into place within a couple of days now. And in the meantime, I hope you understand that I must ask you to stay put.’
Another curt nod. Then he got up. I took the hint and followed him out into the hallway. In the spirit of cooperation, I added that an anonymous OSS agent, whom I believed was him, was mentioned in Harald Olesen’s diary. He thanked me for this information and concluded that I probably would not have needed to ask him about the names if they had been in the diary.
It certainly felt as if we understood each other and were working for the common good – two officials on important missions from different countries. I left Darrell Williams with the feeling that he had now told the truth and was not the murderer. But I still could not strike him from the list.
As he opened the door for me, Darrell Williams sheepishly asked me a final question.
‘One sometimes wonders… Do you know how Cecilia’s life has been? Does she have a family and the like? I noticed that she still had the same name and that she came with her brother.’
I nodded reassuringly.
‘She has a daughter from a short and unhappy marriage, but is now divorced.’
He thanked me quickly for this information and asked me to give Cecilia Olesen his regards if I saw her again. He then seemed to dab his eyes. Darrell Williams was a strong man. He did not cry. Certainly not before he had shut me out of his flat without further ado. But I thought I heard a muffled sob as the door closed behind me. Perhaps it was just my imagination. It had been a long and dramatic day for us both.
VIII
My final stop for the day had to be Andreas Gullestad on the ground floor. He greeted me with his usual friendliness and offered me coffee and a wide selection of teas. However, his face darkened quickly once again when I said I had to ask a question about his father.