'Butyou must have known.'
'You'reevil,' she said, and then repeated, 'You are evil.'
'Youwent to see Bueng even though you knew she was dead.'
Sigridsaid nothing.
'Hemay have killed Katrine to protect you. I'm sure he thinks he acted out ofchivalry. Nevertheless, that's no bloody good. You know as well as I do he didit.'
'SupposeI did know,' she said with bitterness. 'So what? Can it be undone? Will regretmake any difference? As for these ridiculous claims that he wanted to protectme… ha!' Her laugh was harsh and she bore down on the policeman with narrowedeyes. 'Hasn't it occurred to you that he wanted to protect himself?'
Hestood looking at her for a few seconds. At last he took a deep breath and tooktwo steps forward. She turned her head and looked at him as though she wasactually surprised he had the effrontery to be in her house still. 'Imagine,'she said, twisting her mouth into a sneer of contempt. 'Imagine. The truth hadnot even dawned on you.'
'SigridHaugom,' said Police Inspector Gunnarstranda. 'I am arresting you for themurder of Helene Lockert. Would you please come with me of your own free will?'
Chapter Forty-Four
Thetram was jam-packed with people. There was not a seat to be had anywhere.People stood cheek by jowl in front of the doors and in the central aisle. Hewas squeezed up against a woman clinging to a strap hanging from the ceiling.She was wearing only a red singlet over her upper body. The hair under her armwas curly and moist with sweat. He looked at her. She had painted anunattractive yellow stripe under her eyes. Her hair was dyed blonde withdarkened roots revealing the original colour. Every time the tram went around abend he looked down between her neck and her blouse, into a gap revealing twosmall breasts with long engorged nipples. The sight made him think of the othergirl and how the jerking of her body had become weaker and weaker, like a fishat the bottom of a boat. And then he was there again with one knee pressed intothe damp grass and his other foot slightly stretched as her young body heavedits last.
Anoise. He was startled by the look he received from the woman with dyed hair.The noise must have come from him. He cleared his throat and looked away toprevent anyone remembering him.
Itwas as hot outside as inside. In fact it was hotter, but not so clammy; the airwasn't as bad. Standing on the pavement as the tram passed he felt the woman'sgaze through the window. It met his own. It was for these reasons you had toplan, by getting off the tram two stops too early, for example.
Theproblem with the sun was that people would be outside in the wonderful weather.But the heat made this less likely. Most old people go into the shade when thesun is too strong. The first time he passed by he tried to gain someperspective of what was going on in the lobby. It seemed quite still. He passedone crossroads, then another, felt his breathing accelerate. There was a kindof restless, tingling sensation in his arms. He stopped and raised his handwith his fingers outstretched. Not a tremble. Being tense is one thing. It's agood sign to be tense. Composure was in the offing, half an hour away. This wasperhaps the simplest operation so far. But at the same time it was the mostdifficult. It was the first time that he had known inside himself for certain -the first time he had felt it in his body like a feeling of hunger – that theoutcome would be death.
Hetook a left at the next crossroads and walked to the next street. Here he wentleft again, on his way back to the nursing home.
SigridHaugom walked with quick steps through the door to the left. Gunnarstrandafollowed her. They crossed a kind of dining room, in traditional Norwegianstyle, with a buffet along the wall and in the middle of the floor a diningtable with a scoured surface surrounded by eight chairs. She stopped by thenext door and turned as if to ensure that she had heard correctly. 'Are youfollowing me?' Gunnarstranda nodded. 'I see,' she said, and continued down ashorter corridor and headed towards a staircase leading up to the first floor.Halfway up the stairs she stopped again. On the white wall above her head hunga modern painting with striking blue and yellow colours, a sky. 'He definitelydid not do it for my sake,' she said, looking down at the policeman through thestaircase railing. 'He is only interested in himself and his own needs.'
'Doyou think he raped her?'
'Him?'She snorted. 'He would never do anything so banal. No. His actions are imbuedwith one single purpose: to avoid the scandal a potential court case against mecould produce.'
Gunnarstranda:'Scandal? What scandal? Your husband wouldn't be involved in any case againstyou, would he?'
Sheassumed a patronizing smile. 'You misunderstand, Mr Smart Guy. He's notfrightened of what I did to Helene. The only thing he's frightened of is theconsequences of his own actions. He's afraid of what I would say about him andhis abuse of me for half of my life.'
Shetossed her head in despair at the policeman's expression. 'Has it finally gotthrough to you? Erik is not the man people think he is. Erik is an animal.'
Gunnarstrandapulled a sceptical face at her choice of words. As she took a step down he tooka step up. She grabbed the handrail. 'Scoff at me,' she whispered. 'Laugh atme. Don't try to think what it's like to lie naked on a bed, bound hand andfoot, while your child is in the adjacent room, night after night. Don't try toimagine what it's like to serve a person night and day who finds hissatisfaction in your pain – and to dress up afterwards to be your tormentor'scompanion at a dinner in some snobbish club, forced to choose clothes thatconceal swellings and bruises, to smile and whisper sweet nothings in this sameman's ear not to attract attention, but to maintain his noble facade. Youcan't, can you? Your imagination doesn't stretch that far. Imagine what it'slike to have to grovel to a man like this just because once you were stupidenough to tell him about the greatest error in your life – that one act.'
'Whydidn't you move out?'
'Howcan you ask!'
Gunnarstrandaflung out his arms. 'Did he threaten to expose you? Did he threaten to go tothe police with what he knew about the murder of Helene Lockert?'
'You'regetting there, you clever little policeman.'
'Doyou mean to say he killed that poor girl to…' Gunnarstranda searched forwords.'… To keep the lid on the secret?'
'Hekilled Katrine so that no one would know who killed her mother. If everyoneknew who killed Helene, he wouldn't have had a hold over me any longer. Hecould not have stopped me talking about what he has done to me.'
'Helpme to catch him,' urged the police inspector.
Sheshook her head. 'You won't coax me into doing anything,' she said quietly.'Let's be honest with each other now, Gunnarstranda. As far as evidence goes,you haven't got a leg to stand on.'
'That'strue,' the policeman agreed. 'I have no evidence. Unless you help me.'
Shelaughed. 'Heavens above! Why would I help you?'
Gunnarstrandapaused. Sigrid Haugom regarded him with a contemptuous glare.
'Becausethis cannot go on,' the detective replied at length.
Shelaughed again. A cold, harsh laugh. 'Can it not go on?' She mimicked him with apursed mouth: 'Cannot go on!' She took another step down the stairs. 'Haveyou considered,' she spat, 'that I've been living with blood on my hands formore than twenty years? Have you considered that what I have dreamt about fortwenty years has been realized? Finally I know something and I have a hold overhim! Finally, finally, finally, I am the one with the power!'
'Butis that really what you want?'
'There'snothing in this world I want more!' Sigrid shouted.
Thepoliceman observed her standing on the stairs, bent forwards, panting, her hairdishevelled, her face, in which hatred and fury had formed deep furrows, bare.A frothing drop of saliva bubbled on her lower lip. 'Then do it for someoneelse instead,' he pleaded. 'Do it for her sake* Look upon it as a chance tomake amends. That was what you dreamt about, wasn't it? Making amends toKatrine?'