'Relax,'she said, stifling a yawn. 'It was me who insisted on getting up.' She forced atired smile when the taxi driver involuntarily looked up into the mirror. 'Imean, I insisted on coming here with you,' she corrected herself and observedthe scene on the other side of the roundabout where two police cars weresending blue lightning into the night sky. 'That looks exciting.'
'Itwas exciting at any rate,' Gunnarstranda said without emotion, leaning forwardbetween the two front seats and passing the driver a 500 kroner note. 'I getoff here, but she's going home,' he said, turning to Tove who shook her headindulgently. 'You old-fashioned man, you.'
'Thankyou for a nice evening,' he said, meeting her eyes.
Shetook his hand. 'Thank you.' 'Well, I'll have to be off,' he said, turninground in the seat and looking out. Another car with a blue flashing light hadarrived. 'Yes, it's getting busy here,' he said.
Shesqueezed his hand again.
'Yes,take care then,' he said.
'Youhave to open the door first,' she said.
'Mm, that'sright,' he said and looked for the handle. At that moment the driver got outand opened the door from outside.
Gunnarstrandagot out, buttoned up his coat and stood watching the taxi drive away. As heturned, he noticed at least five men look away that instant, some with a smileon their lips.
Frølichtowered over the other four. 'Had I known you had company, I could have waiteduntil morning,' Frølich said with concern.
Gunnarstrandaresponded with a grunt.
'Butsince it was Richard Ekholt who was killed, I thought you would want to see thecrime scene.'
Twoother police officers moved aside as they approached the parked car withsmashed windows. A covered body lay on a stretcher on the ground. 'Sure it'sEkholt?'
'Ninety-nine-point-nineper cent.'
'Andhe was strangled?'
'Lookslike it. Someone sitting on the back seat put a nylon rope around his neck andpulled. Ekholt went wild and kicked out the front windscreen and a side windowbefore he died.'
'The taxilicence plate?'
Gunnarstrandapeered through the smashed glass.
'Itwas on the back seat.'
'Couldhe have taken it off himself?'
Frølichshrugged.
'Purseand money gone,' Frølich said. 'But not the telephone. A mobile under the pedals.The killer may not have seen it.'
'Whendid he ring you?'
'Betweentwelve and one at night.'
Gunnarstrandayawned.
'Hetalked about his licence number,' Frølich said. 'He said a hundred and ninetyfive and was killing himself laughing.'
'Ahundred and ninety five?'
'Yes.'
'Notnineteen and five?'
Frølichshook his head.
'Andwhen did you find his body?'
'Fiveminutes before I rang you. At ten to two.'
Gunnarstrandawandered around the car.
'Almosthad a shock,' Frølich said by way of conversation. 'When a lady answered yourphone.'
Gunnarstrandasaid nothing.
'Butthat's just great. Seemed a nice lady…'
'Didhe appear to be on his own when he rang?' Gunnarstranda interrupted.
'Ekholt?There was some noise. I thought he must have been in a pub.'
'Hewasn't talking to anyone?'
'Possible.I had the impression he was holding his hand over the phone, on one occasionanyway.'
Gunnarstrandanodded and yawned.
'Wasthat your lady friend?' Frølich asked with caution. 'The one in the taxi?'
Gunnarstrandastared up at him with vacant eyes. 'Could he have rung from here?'
'Fromthe car?' Frølich ruminated. 'I thought I heard several sounds, backgroundnoises, music maybe.'
'Butit wasn't a CD player you heard or the car radio?'
'Ihave no idea,' Frølich said.
'Howlong did it take you to get here?'
'Fortyminutes.' Frølich added as an apology: 'Eva- Britt was at my place. And she wasnot best pleased when she had to go back home.'
'Isee,' Gunnarstranda said, lost in thought.
'Iwaited for about a quarter of an hour in the car without seeing anyone.' Aftersome reflection, he said, 'And I found the body ten minutes later.'
'Ifit was Ekholt you spoke to, he was killed between twelve-thirty andone-fifty-five?'
'Thatsounds about right, yes.'
'Tomorrowwe have a briefing with Fristad, the public prosecutor,' Gunnarstrandainterposed, taking a swift glance at his watch. 'At nine. In six hours' time.'He looked up at the sky. Then watched all the officers busy at the crime scene.'I'm sure we're in the way here. You should go home and get yourself someshut-eye.'
Chapter 39
Gunnarstrandaarrived home at five o'clock in the morning. He slept until half past eight,got up, dressed and began to scrape ice off the car windows at five to nine.The meeting with the public prosecutor, Fristad, was supposed to be in fiveminutes. He ran through the case in his mind. Fristad was an academic with achildish attitude regarding his own status and therefore always took advantageof the academics' privilege of arriving a quarter of an-hour late.
Gunnarstrandalit a cigarette while the engine warmed up and the defroster cleared the frontwindscreen. He tried to go through all the points that had some connection withEkholt, but realized he couldn't think clearly. Instead he switched on the carradio and heard there was chaos on all roads leading into Oslo because of ademonstration by taxi drivers. He took his mobile from his pocket, rangFristad's office and warned them he would be late. Soon afterwards he switchedoff the engine, locked the car door and strolled down to Advokat Dehlis plassto catch the first convenient bus.
Fristadwas seated, as always, and stretched out a welcoming arm to a blue chair by theconference table. Police Inspector Gunnarstranda organized the pile of reportson the table in front of him, put on his rectangular mail-order glasses andbegan to hold forth in a low voice: 'The murdered man, Reidar Folke Jespersen,was placed in a chair in the shop window of his own antiques business. He waskilled in an office behind the shop. His body was stripped naked and draggedacross the shop floor and put in the window. The killer had tied red threadaround the man's neck. The corpse was discovered by a passing newspaper girl,Helga Krisvik, on Saturday 14th January at six-thirty a.m. She is a housewife,works part-time and has been eliminated from further enquiries.'
'Sufferingfrom shock?' Fristad was chewing his glasses.
'Weassume so, yes,' Gunnarstranda continued dryly. 'As to the deceased's lastmovements, we have managed to ascertain the following: Jespersen got up at hisusual time on Friday 13th January. He left home at the usual time – but withoutsaying goodbye to his wife who was in the shower. A little later, that is, atapproximately nine o'clock, he turned up at a café in Jakob Aalls gate where hedrank coffee and mineral water, and read a number of magazines. The owner -Glenn Moseng – had seen him once before, but was unsure when. Folke Jesperseninsisted on sitting at the only window table in the café, from which he had aview of the block of apartments where a certain Eyolf Strømsted, who is, or atleast was, his wife's lover, lived. The owner is not sure when FolkeJespersen left the place, but we know he had been sitting there for a very longtime – several hours. At a few minutes after twelve he appears at Arvid FolkeJespersen's flat where Emmanuel Folke Jespersen is also waiting – both of hisbrothers. A married couple, the Kirkenaers, are also there and they make aformal presentation of their offer to buy the shop owned by the threebrothers.'
Fristadrocked back on the chair behind the desk and drummed the tips of his fingersagainst each other. 'And what is happening in the shop while all this is goingon?'
'Well,Karsten Jespersen – the murdered man's son – opened the shop at ten. He wasn'ton his own. It was a planning day at the kindergarten, so he had his son,Benjamin, with him in the shop. Later Ingrid Jespersen arrived with a pot ofcoffee and two cups. There were no customers. The two of them sat talking whilethe little boy played and did drawings until a quarter past eleven.'