The Fourth Man by K.O. Dahl

Author:K.O. Dahl
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Police Procedural, Police, Oslo (Norway), Mystery & Detective, Detectives, Fiction, Suspense, Crime, General
ISBN: 9780312540579
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2009-03-15T00:41:19+00:00

24

It was a freezing cold morning. A narrow margin of cloud resembling red lava presaged daybreak over the mountain peaks. Frank Frølich was heading north on the E6 towards the rush-hour traffic and the sun rising in the east. He pulled out his sunglasses from the glove compartment. As his car sped over the ridge, Karihaugen and Nedre Romerike revealed themselves as a large patchwork quilt of farmland in hibernation. Three lanes, 120 kilometres an hour and only oncoming traffic. The scene seemed almost American. He pushed a Dylan CD into the player – ‘Slow Train Coming’ – and clicked forward to the title song. It was a long track and the driving guitar complemented the scenery. On top of that, there was something fateful and invigorating about the repeated refrain of a train coming. He felt he could be that train. It was moving slowly but it was making progress. When Dylan finished singing, he played the track again, until he arrived outside the high walls of Ullersmo prison.

After passing the gate in the internal prison wall, he was met by a young man with big, blond, curly hair, who said: ‘Are you the person who wants to meet Ilijaz?’

Frølich nodded.

‘I’m Freddy Ramnes, the prison doctor.’

The man’s handshake was firm and he looked Frølich steadfastly in the eye. He said: ‘Do you know Ilijaz Zupac from before?’

Frølich raised both eyebrows and considered the question briefly before deciding to answer honestly: ‘I arrested Zupac in autumn 1998. I questioned him at various times the same day and then gave evidence at the trial. Those are the only times I’ve seen the man.’

Ramnes hesitated. ‘Are you here on police business?’

‘I’m on leave at present.’

‘May I ask why you’re here?’

‘For personal reasons.’

They weighed each other up.

Frølich waited for the unpleasant question: Which particular personal reasons? But it never came.

Eventually Frank Frølich said: ‘Is there a problem? Doesn’t he want to talk to me?’

The doctor took his time to answer. ‘This has nothing to do with me,’ he said in the end, sticking his hands in his pockets as if the words he was searching for were down there. ‘It’s more the situation. Ilijaz is sick. He needs, really needs psychiatric treatment, a facility we are unable to offer.’ He went silent, apparently still searching for words.

‘Yes?’ Frølich said, expecting more.

‘We’re dealing with a very needy person here. I thought I should prepare you for that.’ Pause. Ramnes finally added: ‘Hmm. Shall we go?’

The echo of their footsteps resounded against the concrete walls. This is unusual. The doctor is accompanying me on the visit. But then he’s young, probably an idealist.

They came to one of the more comfortable visiting rooms where inmates can meet their partners and there are condoms in the cupboard. The room was not very inviting, however. It contained one cheap sofa, one table and one armchair. Bare walls. In front of the radiator, between the wall and the armchair, a man was squatting on the floor. Frank Frølich didn’t recognize him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.