Unhinged by Thomas Enger

Author:Thomas Enger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orenda Books
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

42

‘Do you need some air?’

Brogeland’s voice was suddenly softer. Blix realised that his hands were clamped onto the armrests, gripping hard. He closed his eyes. He couldn’t hold back the tears, just let them roll down his face. He sobbed helplessly. Sat there for a while, unable to control his body’s convulsions, the anguished thoughts fuelling his desperation, his fear.

He finally got his breathing under control. Dried his eyes.

‘Sorry,’ he mumbled.

‘Don’t apologise,’ Brogeland said.

‘But no,’ Blix answered. ‘I don’t want to take a break.’

Brogeland paused for a moment, before nodding and redirecting his gaze down to the papers in front of him.

‘So, you shot Timo Polmar in the back.’

A few seconds passed by.

‘Yes,’ Blix said at last.

‘From the walkway?’

‘Yes, he … would have killed Emma.’

‘How could you tell?’

‘He was armed and had already demonstrated that he was capable and willing to use the gun.’

‘He had shot his friend in the foot,’ Brogeland specified. ‘But he hadn’t shot Iselin, and he didn’t seem like a particularly proficient gunman either. So what made you come to the conclusion that Emma was in immediate danger?’

Blix tried to reconstruct the situation in his head. Search for the words to describe it. But he couldn’t find them.

‘The fact is … you shot him four times. In the back. Without him having fired a single shot at anyone with the intention to kill.’

Blix couldn’t verbalise a response to that either.

‘Did he say he was going to kill Emma?’ Brogeland enquired.

‘No,’ Blix answered weakly.

‘Did he aim his gun at her at all?’

Blix closed his eyes and tried to visualise the scene, but all he could see was the sight of Iselin.

‘He must have done,’ he replied, rather than admitting his uncertainty.

Brogeland waited for him to continue.

‘You can ask Emma,’ Blix continued. ‘She was the one facing him. She can explain.’

Brogeland leant back, considered Blix.

‘It is very unfortunate for both of you, and the investigation as a whole, that we can’t get Timo Polmar’s version of events,’ he said. ‘We might have been able to establish a motive, taken his statement for Kovic’s case, asked him if he had actually intended to kill Emma Ramm. But we can’t, Blix. We can’t do that, because you shot and killed him.’

Blix lowered his head.

‘Did you pull the trigger because of what he did to Iselin?’

‘No.’

‘So it had nothing to do with revenge?’

‘I had to stop him.’

‘And that’s why you fired four times?’

‘Yes … it was a justified use of lethal force. I had reason to shoot.’

‘There will be mixed opinions about that.’

‘Maybe among those of you who weren’t there,’ Blix contested. ‘People who have never had to make a split-second decision and act accordingly.’

Brogeland carried on:

‘Whatever the case may be, let me remind you that you have broken every single one of our protocols,’ he said. ‘First, by not staying out of the investigation as you were told to by your superior. You then armed yourself, without permission. You didn’t alert anyone to the fact you were also pursuing a suspect.

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