The Man In The Window [Mannen i vinduet - no]

'Judge,'Gunnarstranda mumbled, lost in thought. 'What sort of rank would that be – inGerman?'

'Hewas an SS Obersturmbannführer.'

Gunnarstrandanodded. Encouraged, he lit his roll-up and inhaled greedily. The atmosphere ofthis room was one of the most appealing he had come across for a long time.

'AnObersturmbannführer corresponds to a lieu- tenant-colonel,' Engelschønexplained.

'Ahigh rank, in other words.'

'Indeed.'

'Butthe title of judge sounds somehow civilian. How high-ranking was he inpractical terms?'

'Howmuch do you know about the SS?' Engelschøn asked from his desk.

'Elitesoldiers. And I suppose the story of Hitler's paranoia. The Night of the LongKnives.'

Engelschønnodded. 'The SS was founded as a reaction to the growth of the SA, theSturmabteilung. Röhm was the man in charge of the SA. And the more it grew, thegreater the danger that it would challenge Hitler's authority – at least thatwas what he thought. In 1933 there had been 300,000 Brown Shirts under Röhm.That was why Hitler ordered the murders of a large number of SA officers in1934 – the Night of the Long Knives, as you said. Thereafter, the SA wasfinished and the SS grew exponentially. The name Waffen-SS first came intoofficial use in March 1940. Then this police division that Fromm worked in wasestablished – along with a Totenkopfdivision which was responsible for guardduties and the administration of the concentration camps.'

'Butuntil then hadn't the SS consisted of policemen?'

'Yes,indeed,' Engelschøn confirmed. He rummaged around the table, stood up and tooka sheet of white paper from the printer on a stool beneath the window.

Hesketched out a little organizational diagram on the sheet. 'The SS wasadministered by Himmler,' he explained. 'Himmler was the Minister of InternalAffairs in 1936 and the police were incorporated into the SS. The police had twosections: the Ordnungspolizei and the Sicherheitspolizei. This last-mentionedsecurity organization was sub-divided into two further sections: the criminalpolice department, Kriminalpolizei or Kripo, and a secret state police,Gestapo. However, in addition to these there was a special police force – theSS Verfügungstruppe – which was closely linked with Hitler himself. You mayhave heard of Hitler's bodyguards – the Stabwache; they were subsumed underthis Verfügungstruppe. Afterwards Hitler's bodyguards were re-named LeibstandarteSS Adolf Hitler. The difference between the Leibstandarte and the rest of theSS was that the soldiers had sworn personal allegiance to Hitler, which ofcourse was done because direct allegiance to the Führer weakened Himmler'sinfluence and power within the SS.'

'SoHitler didn't trust Himmler?'

'Shallwe say that Hitler was aware that his authority could be swayed? As I'm certainyou know, he was the victim of several assassination attempts. At any rate hemade sure that the Verfügungstruppe constituted the cornerstone of everydivision that carried the name Waffen-SS. But the reorganization of 1940 wasimplemented first and foremost with the growth rate of the organization inmind. In total the Waffen-SS consisted of thirty-eight divisions. Can youimagine that? Hm? Of course, you know the Germans were dab hands atorganization.'

ProfessorEngelschøn sat down again. 'Did I answer the question?' he asked and providedthe answer himself: 'No, I didn't. Klaus Fromm bore the rank of Obersturmbannführer,but did not work in the field.'

'Aneminence grise,' Gunnarstranda suggested, watching the lengthening columnof cigarette ash and concentrating on not letting it fall.

'Yes.At least a man with civilian and military power.' The professor used themouthpiece of the pipe to shove an ashtray across the ocean of papersseparating them. Then he picked up the photograph the policeman had found underJespersen's desk pad. He studied it thoughtfully while tapping the pipe againsthis temple. 'But Amalie,' he broke off, 'Amalie, nee Bruun, grew up here inOslo. She lived in Armauer Hansens gate 19 until she was married. She and Frommgot married on 12th November 1944. The ceremony took place in Kristinelundveien22 – in what came to be known as 'Brydevilla' – where the SS court wasaccommodated during the occupation. Here,' the professor said, peering at thepapers before holding up an A4 sheet: 'A copy of the marriage certificate:Klaus Dietrich Fromm married to Amalie Bruun.'

'In1944. So he was thirty-four years old. How old was she?'

'Amaliewas born in the maternity clinic of the Rikshospital on 3rd July 1921 – so shewas twenty-three when she got married.'

'Elevenyears younger than Fromm.'

'Yes,that sort of thing was not so unusual before…'

'Butin the case I'm working on…' Gunnarstranda said, trying to blow a smoke ringbut failing, 'there is another man I have reason to believe…' he started,staring at the ceiling before repeating himself: 'I have reason to believe thatthis man had a relationship or was in love with Amalie Bruun at some point… andhe was also twenty-three years old in 1944…'

'Isthat right?'

'Sothis man was the same age as her. A well-known resistance fighter.'

Theprofessor glared across the table. Gunnarstranda was reminded of dogs fightingover bones and scraps of meat. 'Who?' Engelschøn barked.

'ReidarFolke Jespersen.'

Engelschønnodded. 'He was one of Linge's boys, wasn't he? No, he wasn't,' he addedhurriedly, took the pipe out of his mouth and studied the ceiling. 'ReidarFolke Jespersen, no, he didn't work with Linge. He – yes, that was it – he wasa saboteur. One of the toughest and most notorious in fact, though I'm sure youknew that, didn't you?'

Gunnarstrandashook his head.

'Trustme, Reidar Folke Jespersen was a man with a lot… a lot of blood on hishands.'

'Hewas killed just recently, a few days ago. I'm working on the case.'

'Yes,I read about it, about the murder. But I didn't connect…' Professor Engelschønwore a worried frown. 'You think Folke Jespersen was in Amalie Bruun's circle?That would be… well…'

Gunnarstrandawaited patiently while the professor searched for the right word.

'Sensational,'said the professor at length.

Gunnarstrandaopened both palms again. 'She and Jespersen may have been childhood sweetheartsfor all I know. After all Oslo was not a big city. Well, forget it. It's AmalieI'm interested in.'

'Hm.'The professor shook his shoulders and began to riffle through the pile offolders in front of him. 'I had a photo of the married couple here,' hemumbled, lifting up the papers. Eventually he held out a large photograph.'Here you can see a picture you'll find interesting – it's of an elegant Germansoirée.' The photograph was taken in a large hall or room. There were uniformedmen together with women wearing long dresses. Some perched on chairs, others onsofas, and there were two men leaning against a mantelpiece in the background.'Lots of shiny brass,' Gunnarstranda commented.

'Indeed,lots of fine folk…' The professor rose to his feet and, with stooped back,scurried round the table. He bent down and held a quivering, nicotine-stained,fat finger over the photograph. 'That one… that's General Wilhelm Rediess, thechief of police in Norway, and that one… that's SS Oberfiihrer Otto Baum on avisit from Berlin… so it must have been an important occasion. Baum ended up asthe C-in-C of the 16th Panzer division. He was one of the most decoratedofficers in the war. Look at all his medals – the photo's not that sharp, butyou can see the Knight's Cross and the Iron Cross 1st class. You can imagine,can't you! And him. There you can see…'

Gunnarstrandanodded: 'Is that Terboven?'

'Ofcourse, and he's sitting beside your friend – Amalie Bruun.'

Gunnarstrandaadjusted his glasses. Even though the woman's face in the picture was partlyturned away from the photographer, he recognized her by the mole on her cheekand the high forehead. He guessed she would have been the centre of this party- being as beautiful as she was – courted by these important men. He perceiveda kind of determined wantonness in the look she gave the photographer. But herchin was longer and firmer than he had imagined. This was no shrinking violet -she was self-confident, she was witty and she dominated social gatherings.