Inspector Sejer Series by Karin Fossum

Author:Karin Fossum
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-21T16:00:00+00:00

“I’m trying to put together a picture of Annie,” Sejer said. “Who she was and how she lived. I want you to tell me everything about what kind of girl she was. What she did and said when the two of you were together, all the thoughts and fantasies you must have had about why she’d withdrawn from everyone she knew, and about what happened up there at Serpent Tarn. Everything, Halvor.”

“I have no idea.”

“You must have had some thoughts about it.”

“I’ve thought about a lot of things, but nothing makes any sense.”

Silence. Halvor studied Sejer’s blotting pad, which was a map of the world, and found the approximate location of where he lived.

“You were an important part of Annie’s landscape,” Sejer said. “That’s actually what I’m getting at. I’m trying to map out the area that was hers.”

“So that’s what you’re doing?” said Halvor dryly. “You’re drawing a map?”

“Perhaps you have a better idea?”

“No,” he said.

“Your father is dead,” Sejer said abruptly. He searched the young face in front of him, and Halvor felt Sejer’s looming presence like a tension in the room. It sapped his strength, especially when they had eye contact. So he sat with his head bowed.

“He took his own life. But you said that your parents were separated. Is it hard for you to talk about that?”

“I suppose so.”

“Is that why you concealed the truth from me?”

“It’s not exactly something to boast about.”

“I understand. Can you tell me what you wanted from Annie?” he said. “Since you were waiting for her at Horgen’s Shop on the day she was murdered.”

His surprise seemed genuine.

“I’m sorry, but you’re really on the wrong track!”

“A motorcyclist was observed in the vicinity at a crucial moment. You were out riding around. It could have been you.”

“You better check that man’s eyesight as soon as possible.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will. Do you want something to drink?”

“No.”

More silence. Halvor listened. Someone was laughing nearby; it all seemed so unreal. Annie was dead, and people were making noise and behaving as if nothing had happened.

“Did you get the impression that Annie wasn’t well?”

“What?”

“Did you ever hear her complain of pain, for example?”

“Nobody was as healthy as Annie. Are you saying she was sick?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to divulge certain information to you, even though the two of you were close. She never mentioned anything of the kind?”

“No.”

Sejer’s voice was not unkind, but he spoke with deliberate slowness, enunciating carefully, and it lent the gray-haired figure a good deal of authority.

“Tell me about your job. What you do at the factory.”

“We move around. One week we do the packing, one week we take care of the machines, and one week we do deliveries.”

“Do you like it?”

“You don’t have to think,” he said.

“You don’t have to think?”

“About the job. You can do it on automatic, and think about other things.”

“Like what, for instance?”

“Anything at all,” he said. His tone was defensive. Maybe he didn’t realize it, maybe it was a habit from his childhood, years of reprimands and beatings having forced him to weigh every word.

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