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

Hepaused. She was looking away.

Neitherof them said anything. On the other side of the street Frølich and Strømsted wereinvolved in a discussion of the heated variety. Strømsted was gesticulating.

'Don'tyou think he was looking for the medal?'

'Yes,I do. But I believe he was after something else, something more important thanfinding the medal. I think he had a very special reason for stealing the keysoff your husband. The medal was a secondary matter.'

Shecoughed. 'He was unhinged,' she said. 'He wanted to kill me.'

'Correct,'Gunnarstranda said brightly.

'Correct?What do you mean?'

Thedetective smiled. 'Haven't you guessed? The only logical explanation forKirkenær stealing the keys from Reidar's clothes was to take his revenge. Hewanted to hurt or kill the person who was close to Reidar. He wanted to hurt orkill you. And for that reason he wanted access to your flat. That was why hestole the keys.'

'Atleast we both agree on that,' she said nervously, peeking at the Opel. 'Theman's unhinged.'

'No,he isn't,' Gunnarstranda said with a smile.

'No?'

'Hewanted to kill you, not because he's crazy but because he had been deprived ofthe opportunity to kill your husband. He had been planning the murder of yourhusband for months…' Gunnarstranda was interrupted by the ringing of his mobilephone. 'Yes?' he said.

'Strømstedrefuses to make a statement until he has consulted his solicitor,' Frølich saidinto his ear. 'What do I do?'

'Arresthim,' Gunnarstranda said. 'I'll have a car sent.'

Afterringing off he bent forward and took the radio from between the two seats.'Your paramour on the other side of the street has just confessed that hevisited you on the night your husband died,' Gunnarstranda said to Ingrid. 'Soit looks as if you may have to give your third version of what happened thatnight.'

Ingridgrabbed his arm. 'Please don't take everything from me,' she whispered throughrigid lips.

Gunnarstrandasat up to his full height and looked her in the eyes. 'Why are you frightenedof telling the truth?' he asked in a gentle tone. 'We know Kirkenær came herethat Friday night. We know he found the front door open, unlocked. We know hewent into the stairwell and found the shop door unlocked. We know Kirkenær hadone motive for coming here. He wanted to kill your husband. But he couldn'thave done it. It wasn't him.'

'Whyare you so sure?'

'Becauseyour husband was already dead! Hermann Kirkenær found your husband dead on thefloor. Since he was already dead all he could do was expose the body to publichumiliation. Kirkenær stripped the dead man and dragged him to the shop window.We also know that he was seen doing that. There was an eye-witness.'

'Aneye-witness?'

'Yes.'

IngridJespersen opened and closed her mouth.

Gunnarstrandasmiled like a fox smelling meat through an open pantry door: 'If the uniformjacket and trousers in the shop were not used to cover the trail of blood thatnight – how did the killer conceal the blood on his clothes and body?'

Helooked straight into her eyes. 'I know the answer,' he said. 'And you know theanswer.'

Thesilence persisted until Gunnarstranda cleared his throat: 'I've just askedFrank Frølich to arrest Eyolf Strømsted on a charge of murder. Do you reallywant to be charged with being an accessory?'

'Itwas almost three in the morning,' she said in the same monotone as before. 'Ihad rung Susanne and Karsten in total panic. Afterwards I heard steps on thestairs. A ring on the bell. It was Eyolf.' She went quiet.

Gunnarstrandacoughed and stared at the front of the building, towards which he was beginningto feel a strong aversion.

'Helooked terrible,' she started, wringing her hands.

'Blood?'

'Yes.'

'Goon.'

'Reidar'sblood.'

'Goon!'›

'Heundressed and had a shower. I put his clothes in the washing machine.' She tooka deep breath. 'Not everything came out clean, so he borrowed some of Reidar'sthings before leaving.' 'What did you do with the clothes that weren't clean?'

'Iput them on the fire.'

Gunnarstrandaturned his gaze onto the car where Eyolf Strømsted was keeping Frølich company.Strømsted's eyes had a hunted, fearful look. 'I think he knows you've spilt thebeans,' he said, addressing her.

'Idon't want to see,' she said.

'Whydid he kill your husband?'

'Hesaid he hadn't meant to.'

'Whatdid you do while his clothes were in the washing machine?'

'Nothing.'

'Whendid he leave?'

'Atabout five.'

'Twohours without doing anything at all?'

'Wetalked.'

'Whatwas your story for the police?'

'Iwould go down and see what had happened when it was light. Otherwise I wouldstick to the truth. But I didn't even manage to do that. The police arrivedbefore dawn.'

'Thebody was seen by a newspaper girl because Kirkenær had put it in the shop window,'Gunnarstranda said. 'What did you think then? When your husband had been put inthe shop window and was not lying on the floor as Strømsted had said?'

'Ithought Eyolf had lied to me. I thought he had put the body in the window.Eyolf thought I had done it. He thought I had my own plans and was manipulatinghim. That was why he told your assistant that Reidar had rung us on the Friday.He wanted to punish me, in the same way as I wanted to punish him. We werewrong, both of us. Of course it was this crazy man who made a spectacle of poorReidar. But we couldn't know that.'

Chapter 52

Credits

'Wouldyou believe me if I said it was his own fault?' said Eyolf Strømsted.

'Probablynot.'

'If Isaid I hadn't meant to kill him? Would you believe that?'

'Ofcourse.'

'Withno objections?'

'Murderis rarely intentional.'

'Whatabout if I said it was an accident?'

'That'smore difficult, but it's no secret that accidents have an easier passage,'Gunnarstranda answered. 'Death by misadventure is cheap for the state and ithelps us to sustain a belief in the essential goodness of mankind. But don'tmake too much of it. I would advise you to stick to the truth. Leave the legalside of things to those who understand it.'

'Herang me and said he wanted to meet,' Strømsted said.

'When?'

'Herang some time before midnight. Half past eleven, I think. He insisted I went thereas soon as possible.'

'Whydid you agree?'

'Outof concern for Ingrid. She had been very distressed earlier in the day, afterher husband's call – at my place. So I put on a jacket and went. The door tothe stairwell was open and he met me on the ground floor. We entered the shop.He started talking about my responsibilities towards Ingrid. He asked me if Iwas prepared to marry her. I asked if he would get divorced, but then he beganto laugh. I'm going to die, he said and went on talking about Ingrid asif she were a little child. It's important that you take care of her whenI'm gone, he said. I asked where she was. He said she was asleep in bed inthe flat above us. He had just been in to see her. The simplest thing wouldbe if you killed me, he said with this weird laugh. Why do you thinkyou're going to die? I asked. He didn't answer. Why? I persisted. Becausedeath has finally caught up with me, he said. Then he passed me thebayonet.