INTERROGATION OF OLAV TVIET AND
INTERROGATION OF DANICA KNUTSEN,
AFTERNOON OF 1 YEAR AND 28 DAYS
AFTER THE DAY, FRIDAY, JUNE 4
Everyone on the top floor of 12 Hammersborggata felt the frenzied activity that was typical of a major case drawing to a close. Sohlberg sent out five teams of two detectives each to gather evidence at the Haugen residence and the school and the condominium of Danica Knutsen. A harried and exhausted Wangelin coordinated the incoming and outgoing telephone calls and text messages. A secretary ordered sandwiches and beer.
“Ah. . perfect,” said Sohlberg as he picked up four egg salad sandwiches from a tray of gargantuan open-faced sandwiches that older Norwegians favor. “I miss these sandwiches. I can’t think of many other countries where they make open-faced sandwiches. Aren’t you having any?”
Wangelin smiled and shook her head. “I’m having a salad.”
Sohlberg felt old and old-fashioned upon realizing that Wangelin and the younger detectives had ordered salad bowls from a nearby health food store. “Ja. I should’ve had a salad like you.”
Sohlberg and Wangelin ate together in silence in his cubicle office. He devoured his four sandwiches in less than 10 minutes but he did not touch the beer.
Wangelin twice started to say something but she immediately stopped herself. Sohlberg felt that she wanted to ask him why he never drank any alcohol which state of affairs was an oddity for a senior detective. Or perhaps she wanted to warn him of the increased risk of heart attack from his four egg salad sandwiches. Either way Sohlberg felt more than ever like the proverbial odd fish out of water in his own country. He looked forward to returning to America with Fru Sohlberg.
A few minutes after two o’clock Sohlberg and Wangelin took the elevator down to the third floor to interview 43-year-old Olav Tveit. The man had called headquarters the day before and insisted on speaking with the detective in charge of the Karl Haugen case.
Unlike other detectives who ignored or turned away potential witnesses Sohlberg was always accessible to talk with anyone who wanted to discuss a case with him. Of course this led to many bizarre interviews with unhinged citizens who claimed to be psychics or that aliens from outer space had committed certain crimes. Sohlberg had nevertheless gleaned many valuable tips and evidence from walk-in interviews.
The modestly dressed man shambled into the room with a defeated and sad air. He reminded Sohlberg of drastically diminished men who retain the smidgen of dignity that is just enough to avoid suicide or a murderous rampage. Wangelin made the obligatory introductions and legal statements after turning on the video and microphones.
“I’m here,” said Olav Tveit, “because I should have told you. . about some information. . I had it a year ago when you people were investigating the Karl Haugen case. I don’t know why I withheld it. . I was unemployed. . depressed. . I wasn’t thinking straight. . I needed time to think about everything that had happened.”
“What information?” said Sohlberg. He tried not to sound too excited about the proffered information.
“I dated Danica Knutsen for three years. . we met at the gym. . she used to be full of energy. . she was mostly vegetarian and ran marathons and used to compete in iron-man contests with fifty miles of swimming and running and bicycling.
“She was smart. . full of curiosity about the world. . and very very honest. But about eighteen or maybe nineteen months ago. . her personality completely changed after she lost her job as a receptionist at a downtown law firm.
“She bragged that she’d get a job in two weeks. . of course that never happened. I mean. . who over age forty finds a good job in today’s economy?. . After three weeks she went on unemployment. . she grew obsessed over finding ways to get the most welfare benefits. . she soon refused to leave her apartment. . or look for a job. . or keep her diet. . or do any exercise.”
Although Wangelin appeared bored Sohlberg certainly was not. The information fit perfectly with the background check on Danica Knutsen and the resulting psychological profile that Sohlberg had drawn up for the woman that he felt was the key to solving the case. Sohlberg nodded and said:
“Would it be fair to say that she was depressed?”
“Ja!. . By all means. She started making poor decisions.”
“Like what?” said Sohlberg who moved closer to the edge of his seat.
“She quit taking classes at a cooking school. . she was preparing for a new career. I joined the same school after I lost my reporter job in a round of layoffs at Aftenposten about the same time that she lost her job.
“We needed to get new careers that would pay decent salaries. I was stunned when she quit. I reminded her that the school guaranteed placement at a good job. . I begged her to come back to school but she would not.”
Sohlberg felt sympathy for the man before him. He wondered what he would do if he was unemployed and struggling to find a new career. A chill went down Sohlberg’s spine — he realized that he could never work at anything other than as a police detective.
“Thank you Herr Tveit,” said Sohlberg with genuine gratitude, “for sharing this information. . Every detail no matter how seemingly trivial is important. Anything else?”
“Danica seemed obsessed with living in extremes. . she went from a strict vegetarian to round-the-clock overeating on ice cream and cakes. . She used to exercise all day long and spend a lot of time running marathons and then suddenly she does nothing all day long except sit in front of the television for weeks and weeks. . Or she’d get involved in projects that only wasted her time and energy. . projects that would never help her find a new job or get a new career started.
“I lent her a lot of money that I badly needed myself. . I asked her not to but she went ahead and she ran and got elected to the unpaid position of president at her condominium association where she wasted forty or more hours each week on stupid squabbles and trivial decisions. .
“She then decided she’d become an organic gardener even though she doesn’t own any land and has no funds to rent or buy any land on which to grow organic produce. . She refused to get any old job to pay me back my loans. . instead she took this unpaid internship. . it required her to work more than forty hours a week at an organic farm. . the internship was basically unpaid slave labor at the organic farm.”
“What organic farm?”
“Anabel’s Organic Farm. . owned by that restaurant chef who’s on television. . she writes all those organic food cookbooks. . the farm’s out near Lake Bogstad. . just west of Holmenkollen.”
Sohlberg nodded. The farm was less than two miles from Karl’s school and it had come up in the background investigation that Sohlberg had ordered of Danica Knutsen. Earlier that day at five in the morning Sohlberg had dispatched a team of detectives and crime scene investigators and a canine unit to the organic farm to gather evidence and search for Karl’s body.
“Did she mention anything else about the organic farm Herr Tveit?”
“Not really.”
“What did she tell you about Agnes Haugen?”
“Well that’s the strange thing. She never mentioned Agnes while we were together those three years. . even though it now seems that those two are very very good friends according to what I’ve read in the newspapers. . I was stunned when I read that Danica had literally moved in to live full-time at the Haugen residence for fifty-two days after Karl Haugen’s disappearance.”
“She never mentioned Agnes Haugen?. . Think carefully before you answer.”
Olav Tveit frowned and then said:
“Maybe once or twice after she first met Agnes Haugen at the gym. . that was a month or so after Danica and I started dating.”
“What did Froken Knutsen say?”
“Just that she had met this redhead at the gym who worked out a lot and wanted to be a world champion bodybuilder. She also mentioned that Agnes Haugen had ridiculously large breast implants. We laughed about that quite a bit since a lot of the men at the gym used to ogle at Agnes working out in very tight t-shirts.”
“Did they see each other socially outside of the gym?”
“No. At least not the first couple of years after they met. But they got much closer when Danica lost her job. . that’s when I noticed changes to Danica’s personality and outlook. . all of the sudden she hated men. . men were controlling good-for-nothing abusers of women.”
“Danica went around repeating whatever Agnes spouted. . like saying that women should stick it to men and make sure men suffer for dominating women. I’m pretty sure that Agnes tried getting Danica to think she was a lesbian or bi-sexual or at the very least that she has lesbian tendencies that she needs to explore.”
“Do you think that Agnes and Danica had an affair or physical relationship?”
“I. . I. . I’m not sure. I don’t think so.
“I saw right through Agnes’s brainwashing campaign. I warned Danica when I found out that Agnes had taken Danica to lesbian bars and left her with lesbian magazines and feminist books.
“I was amazed at how quickly Danica started repeating and believing a lot of poisonous garbage that Agnes planted inside her head. I think that Agnes Haugen played on Danica’s insecurities and Danica’s need to be loved unconditionally now that she started losing her athletic looks.”
Sohlberg nodded and wondered when was the last time that he had come across someone as manipulative and cunning as Agnes Haugen.
Olav Tveit shook his head and moaned. “Agnes Haugen destroyed my relationship with Danica.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I was forced out of a very good relationship with Danica soon after Agnes got close to Danica. You see. . we had even spoken of marriage. That became impossible when Danica told me she was not going to pay back my loan.”
“Why not?”
“Because Agnes told her that I should’ve gotten the loan down in writing. . and that since I did not do that then it meant that I intended to give her the money as a gift. In other words. . I tricked Danica into believing it was a gift and that now I’d be able to force her to do whatever I wanted by claiming the gift was a loan.”
“How much was it?”
“Six months of my old salary. . I had saved so much over the years.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want to file a criminal complaint against Froken Knutsen for taking your money under false pretenses?”
“No. No. I still love her. I’d never do that.”
“Then why did you come here?”
“To let you know that Danica would never ever harm a little boy like Karl Haugen. . no matter what you think Danica did or might have done in the disappearance of Karl Haugen.
“You see. . Danica Knutsen is smart but very gullible when it comes to other people manipulating her. She once had a boyfriend who made her buy him a motorcycle and tons of other things a few days before he left her for another woman.
“I just cannot emphasis strongly enough that Danica would never harm Karl Haugen.”
“I appreciate you coming here to put in a good word for Froken Knutsen.”
“Are you going to charge her in the kidnaping of Karl Haugen?”
“It’s too early to tell. . but you helped put a lot into context.”
A call came through to Wangelin’s cell phone. She turned to Sohlberg and whispered in his ear:
“They just drove in. . Danica Knutsen is down in the basement. They want to know if you want her brought up to interrogation room number one.”
“Ja. Let’s go.” Sohlberg turned to Olav Tveit and made a short bow that showed the policeman’s respect and appreciation for the informant. “Thank you so much for coming in Herr Tveit. We have to go now. I will see how I can help Danica Knutsen.”
“I knew you would. . I just knew it the minute I walked in and saw you. . you’re a good man.”
Sohlberg and Wangelin turned down the hallway just as Danica Knutsen was ushered into a special interview room that Sohlberg had requested. The room had a one-way mirror that looked out into the hallway so that the police in the room could observe the reaction of witnesses and suspects inside the room to those witnesses or suspects who were made to walk past the room’s window without the walking witness or suspect knowing that they were being seen from the interview room.
Constable Wangelin turned on the video and microphone and made the obligatory statements.
Frumpy and arrogant Danica Knutsen did not present a pleasant picture. She did not acknowledge Sohlberg when he walked into the claustrophobic room. He noticed that Danica Knutsen cast a lustful if not lewd look at Wangelin.
Sohlberg sat down and looked straight into Danica Knutsen’s eyes and said:
“Froken Knutsen. . the game is over. We know what you did.”
“What?”
“Ja. . we know what you did. Let’s start off with what you did three days ago when Gunnar Haugen got arrested.”
“It was high time you arrested him. He’s responsible you know.”
Sohlberg kept a bored look that said, “I know everything there’s to know about this case but I have to go through the motions and tell you this stuff because of police bureaucracy.”
Danica Knutsen shook her head in disgust. “That monster Gunnar Haugen. He’s done so many horrible things. . I’m glad you brought me here. . I want to help as much as I can to put him in prison.”
The interrogation was progressing far better than Sohlberg had hoped for in his wildest dreams. Danica Knutsen was opening doors as soon as he offered them. She was the opposite of the recalcitrant father and stepmother of Karl Haugen.
“What has Karl’s father done that’s so monstrous?” said Sohlberg. “What horrible things has he done?”
“Uhhh!. . You name it,” yelled Danica Knutsen. “He’s verbally and physically abusive to Agnes. He ignored her and treated Karl as if he didn’t exist. He’s a controlling manipulative man.”
Sohlberg noticed that even while Danica Knutsen cast aspersions on Karl’s father she was sneaking appreciative glances at Constable Wangelin. He wondered how badly Agnes Haugen had lied to Danica Knutsen about the so-called monstrous behavior of Gunnar Haugen. He also wondered how Agnes Haugen had taken advantage of Danica Knutsen’s obvious preference for women.
“Froken Knutsen. . please be more specific about the horrible things Gunnar Haugen has done. . especially as to Karl’s disappearance.”
“For starters he’s the one who made Karl switch his science fair project from icebergs to red-eye tree frogs. . that’s the kind of insensitive beast that he is.”
“What else?”
“He’s the one who suggested that Agnes drive his pickup truck that day. . he’s the one who insisted on staying home from work that day. . he’s the one who wanted Agnes to take Karl to the doctor on a Friday. . he’s the one who told Agnes not to pack Karl’s lunch for that Friday. . he’s the one who asked Agnes to drive around town for the baby’s medicines. . he’s the one who suggested she take the baby on a long drive to calm the baby down. . He planned everything that happened that Friday. . don’t you see?”
“No. Please explain.”
“He did all of that just so he could stay home and spy on Agnes. He wanted to find out if men would come to the house if they saw that his pickup truck was gone and her red car was in the driveway.”
“Ja. . that’s very clever of him,” said Sohlberg who knew that the opposite had to be true because Danica Knutsen was merely repeating what Agnes Haugen wanted the world to believe about her husband. He admired the intricate and cunning plan of Agnes Haugen to frame Gunnar Haugen for his son’s disappearance. “But. . Froken Knutsen. . I need you to explain one small matter.”
“What matter?”
“You say that Gunnar Haugen planned and carried out a very complicated plan that would allow him to stay at home and spy on his wife. . ja?”
“Ja.”
“Then when did Gunnar Haugen have time to kidnap his son and make him disappear?”
“That was the diabolical brilliance of the plan. . Gunnar Haugen had his brother the pervert pick up Karl at school so that he and the brother could molest Karl. . just the same way that their grandfather had molested them as kids.”
“But,” said Sohlberg patiently, “Gunnar Haugen’s brother was not even near Oslo or Holmenkollen that Friday.”
“Oh he was. . you just haven’t looked into it.”
“We have. That’s why we know for a fact that Gunnar’s brother was working down south in Kristiansand. . that’s over two hundred forty miles away. We have several credible witnesses who saw him or met with him that day between seven in the morning and four in the afternoon.”
“Hah!. . Mister Detective you are so gullible. These people are lying for him. These so-called credible witnesses are friends of Gunnar and his brother. They’re all in cahoots. They’re lying!”
“What about a bank’s ATM camera. . do they lie? An ATM took a picture of Gunnar’s brother getting cash at seven-fifteen in the morning in downtown Kristiansand.”
“Bah. You are so gullible. But then again. . you’re a man. . always controlling women.”
Sohlberg pounded the desk and yelled:
“Froken Knutsen. . are you a parrot?. . Why do you have to repeat everything Agnes Haugen tells you or puts inside your head?. . Don’t you understand that you’re going to go to prison for a long long time?”
“Why?”
“Because you did her bidding. . you obeyed her orders. . you believed her lies. Don’t you understand that Agnes Haugen used you to help kidnap and murder the boy and frame her husband?. . Are you really that gullible?”
Sohlberg noticed that for the first time in her interactions with the police Danica Knutsen grew somber. He was glad that the seriousness of her situation was starting to dawn on her. He felt sorry for the naive woman. But he still had to deliver the first of two punches designed to knock down Danica Knutsen’s relationship with Agnes Haugen.
“Froken Knutsen. How many cell phones do you have?”
“One. Why do you want to know?”
“Because I just caught you in a lie. Three days ago we followed you after you received a telephone call from Agnes Haugen. We know where you went. We know what you did.”
“What?”
Sohlberg moved closer to observe her ever-widening eyes. “Our detectives saw you throw away a disposable prepaid cell phone at a garbage can next to a restaurant near your home. We of course retrieved the phone and downloaded all of the incoming and outgoing telephone numbers and text messages. And guess what?”
“What?” said Danica Knutsen as she visibly shrank away from Sohlberg.
“All your calls and text messages in and out of that phone went to another prepaid disposable cell phone owned by. . Agnes Haugen.”
Danica Knutsen moaned.
“Our detectives,” said Sohlberg loudly as he got closer to her, “followed Agnes Haugen after she called you three days ago. . and just like in your case they saw her throw away her cell phone. . in a dumpster by a bus stop. . and just like in your case they also retrieved the phone.”
A pale green color shaded Danica Knutsen’s face.
“Now Froken Knutsen. . why would two women. . in the middle of an investigation into the kidnaping of a child. . happen to buy and use two cell phones in addition to their own cell phones?”
“We needed our privacy. . Agnes told me the police were listening in on her phone after Karl disappeared.”
“Really?”
“Agnes also told me her husband was spying on her. . and trying to frame her for Karl’s disappearance.”
“That’s rather interesting since you and Agnes Haugen bought and used the prepaid cell phones more than ten months before Karl disappeared. The police were not involved back then.”
“Ja. But that evil controlling twerp of her husband kept tabs on her all the time. . Agnes told me that he was listening in on all of her calls because he ordered her to only use the cell phone that Nokia had given him to test.”
“Actually Froken Knutsen no judge is going to buy that pathetic lie as an excuse for your secret telephone relationship with Agnes Haugen. The court will see that your secret telephone calls months before Karl Haugen disappeared are part and parcel of your conspiracy with Agnes Haugen to kidnap and murder the little boy.”
“No!” shouted Danica Knutsen. She squirmed in her seat and pulled her short wavy brown hair with both hands.
“We know what you did that fateful June fourth.”
“No,” she said with a whimper.
“You went to do your internship work at Anabel’s Organic Farm. . but you conveniently vanished in the afternoon from twelve-twenty to one forty-five and then you-”
“No!. . No. No. No. I never left.”
“Oh yes Froken Knutsen. Your boss and her assistant have submitted sworn statements declaring that you got a phone call at fifteen minutes past twelve and that you then took off with no explanation and that they looked for you all over the farm but never found you.”
“I was there.”
“That’s another lie Froken Knutsen. Your boss and her assistant walked all over the grounds looking for you. . they went to the main house and saw that your car was gone from the parking lot and driveway.”
“I. . I. . had to get lunch. I was feeling faint.”
“Where did you get lunch?”
“There’s a little vegetarian restaurant. . I don’t remember the name right now. I paid cash.”
“Vegetarian? How can that be?. . You quit eating healthy foods after you lost your job. Your friends and your ex-boyfriend and your boss and her assistant have all declared that they only saw you eating junk food since last year.”
“They’re mistaken.”
“No Froken Knutsen. They’re not mistaken.”
“Then I don’t know what more I can tell you. I have nothing more to say.”
“Actually. . Froken Knutsen. . I don’t need you to tell me anything more since you obviously want to take the blame for the kidnaping and murder of Karl Haugen.”
“What are you talking about?”
Sohlberg took a calculated risk. He wanted to get an immediate reaction from her. So he presented his theory of her conduct that day as a set of proven and known facts. “Don’t you understand Froken Knutsen? You set up the perfect alibi for Agnes Haugen when you took her call at twelve-fifteen. . you then abandoned your internship job the organic farm so that you could meet Agnes Haugen nearby. . you took her cell phone and drove down to Smestad. . you drove up and down Sorkedalsveien near Ring 3 so you could take and place calls on her cell phone from twelve-twenty to one forty-five in the afternoon.”
“How ridiculous.”
Sohlberg nodded at Wangelin who sent a text message from her cell phone. A minute later Agnes Haugen walked down the hallway past the one-way mirror.
“Do you see her?” said Sohlberg laying down the trap with a bait of truth. “Agnes Haugen will testify that you kidnaped and killed Karl Haugen because you have a lesbian obsession with her.”
A deep moan rumbled from the horror-stricken Danica Knutsen. She shrieked and cried and shook uncontrollably.
Sohlberg knew the symptoms of suspects electrocuted by the truth. He shrugged and said:
“Constable Wangelin will you please take Froken Knutsen downstairs for booking. . give her a moment to compose herself so she can be fingerprinted and photographed and then taken to be charged before a judge-”
“No! I would never harm little Karl. Never! Never! Never! Agnes told me to drive up and down Sorkedalsveien and use her cell phone so she could go spy on her husband and see what he was doing to Karl.”
“It’ll be your word against hers.”
“You may think I’m really stupid. . but you see. . I decided to prove where I was at the time because Agnes acted really weird that day. . Agnes looked so freaking happy. . something just wasn’t right about what she was asking me to do. So I bought a snack on the way down to Smestad and I bought gasoline on the way back to the organic farm.”
“Where?”
“At the Shell Seven-Eleven store. . at the corner of Stasjonveien and Hollmenkollveien. I have the receipts. I had no cash so I paid for both with my father’s debit card.”
“Froken Knutsen. . are you willing to testify against Agnes Haugen?”
“Yes!. . I won’t let Agnes get away with it. She won’t make a fool out of me. I can’t believe how easily she tricked me.”
“You’re not the only one Froken Knutsen.”
Sohlberg met with Thorsen and Gunnar Haugen and Haugen’s lawyer upstairs at Thorsen’s office. Sohlberg stood by the doorway and he waited for Thorsen to take full credit for solving the case and he did not have to wait long.
“Thank you for coming,” said Commissioner Thorsen. “This case has been one of the most difficult ones in my career but I decided to throw everything at it. . to fully dedicate myself completely to finding the criminal who took your son. . ”
Sohlberg was not surprised when Thorsen went on to summarize the case by reading straight out of the executive summary that Sohlberg had written in his final report to Thorsen.
“Agnes Haugen meticulously planned and rehearsed and executed the kidnaping and murder of Karl Haugen for the sole purpose of tormenting her husband and then framing him for her own criminal conduct.
“We know from eyewitnesses and phone and text and e-mail records that she rehearsed every phase of the kidnaping and the murder. For example we have three credible eyewitnesses who saw Agnes Haugen park her husband’s white pickup truck several times at the dead end of Orreveien in the days leading up to the kidnaping on June fourth.
“We know from circumstantial evidence. . and from credible eyewitnesses or from forensic evidence the following facts and circumstances. . that she used sign language to order the little boy to meet her in the school’s parking lot right after the science fair ended at 9 A.M.
“We also know that she drove Karl to the dead end at Orreveien and then strangled or smothered him in the forest where she had lured him with the promise of studying more frogs before going to the doctor’s appointment. . And we know that she hid Karl’s body near the pond in a temporary grave.
“We know from eyewitnesses and circumstantial evidence that Agnes Hagen returned that same day in the afternoon to the dead end at Orreveien where she was seen parking her husband’s white pickup truck. . she walked into the forest that afternoon from about twelve thirty to one thirty. We also know that at the same time Danica Knutsen. . having been duped by Agnes Haugen. . used Agnes Haugen’s cell phone so as to create an electronic alibi for Agnes Haugen.
“Agnes Haugen claimed that she spent most of the morning and early afternoon driving around town to pick up medicines and to calm down her sick baby daughter. Her claim was a half-truth that she used to cause confusion around the fact that she brazenly returned to the pond that afternoon so she could move Karl Haugen’s body to his permanent grave.
“Using previously gathered bark and twigs and leaves Agnes Haugen did a superb job in expertly hiding the boy’s body in the cracked trunk of a fir tree. The crack begins almost three feet above the ground and it measures four feet in length. . and one foot across. . with a depth of almost two feet. No one could see the crack.
“Cadaver dogs and canine tracking units were not brought out to sniff the area around the pond because huge areas were already being searched at the time. . areas where Agnes Haugen sent investigators and search-and-rescue teams on wild goosechases as a result of her false and misleading statements to investigators that her stepson might have gone exploring in those areas when in fact the boy was afraid of being alone or in the woods. She also claimed that the boy may have left school thinking that he’d perhaps meet with his father and explore the woods but the factual record conclusively shows that Gunnar Haugen never had time to go on excursions with his son.”
Gunnar Haugen cast his eyes down in shame and regret.
Thorsen cleared his throat and continued reading out of Sohlberg’s report. “Insects and wild animals and the elements destroyed any evidence that may have been on or in or near Karl Haugen’s body. The exact cause of death will probably never be determined because of the extreme decomposition of the boy’s small body after more than one year in the forest. The forensic team will probably find more bones. The forensic team has already collected one of Karl’s front teeth and a small bone chip probably from his shoulder bone from inside the tree trunk.”
Gunnar Haugen raised his hand and said, “How did you know that my son was in that tree?”
Commissioner Thorsen blushed. “I. . I. . I’ll let my assistant Chief Inspector Sohlberg answer. . ”
“Well,” said Sohlbergh, “from the very beginning I was bothered by the fact that Agnes Haugen forced Karl to study the red-eye tree frog for his science fair project. Why should she care so much about his science fair exhibition?
“I was always curious as to why she forced him to study frogs when he only liked to study icebergs. I was even more curious about the frogs when I observed that everything that Agnes Haugen ever said or did was for one purpose only. . to benefit her. . and usually at someone else’s expense.”
“That’s the truth,” said Gunnar Haugen barely above a whisper.
“I also got interested in the area around the pond after I discovered that we had already interviewed a witness. . an old man. . who had seen some strange comings and goings by a white pickup truck that matched the one owned by you Herr Haugen. That’s when I decided to focus on that area. . especially after a Google satellite map search by Constable Wangelin revealed that there was a small pond on Dag Svendsen’s property.”
“Dag?. . Who?” said a devastated Gunnar Haugen.
“He’s the old man who lives where Orreveien becomes a dead end. . he saw your wife park your pickup truck there for half an hour at nine in the morning right after the science fair and later that afternoon. . from about twelve thirty to one forty-five.”
“Isn’t the dead end at Orreveien near the school?” asked Gunnar Haugen’s lawyer.
“Yes,” said Sohlberg. “That’s where Agnes murdered and hid Karl. . less than a quarter mile from the school.”
“She’s a sneaky one,” observed Thorsen. “She hid everything so well.”
“Ja,” said Sohlberg. “That’s typical of the most brilliant criminals. . they operate right under our noses. That’s what makes them so hard to identify and catch.”
“That woman,” said Gunnar Haugen in a weak pitiful voice. “She destroyed me!”
“That might be Herr Haugen,” said Sohlberg with his eyes solemn and mournful. “Just don’t forget. . a man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
Gunnar Haugen nodded. But he didn’t seem to really understand what Sohlberg was telling him. Haugen was a broken man. The lawyer asked more questions.
Sohlberg took a few steps back and left the room. He looked forward to spending the evening with Fru Sohlberg. He was grateful that he had a loving home to go to that evening because Sohlberg knew that no amount of money or success could buy a happy marriage or a loyal spouse.
“I’m done. . finished,” said Sohlberg to his wife on the cell phone as soon as he left the ground floor lobby of 12 Hammersborggata.
He walked out into the street with a spring to his step. The burden of the little boy’s sad life and death lifted temporarily off his shoulders. Of course the burden would return from time to time and weigh Sohlberg down. The dead always came back to him. He remembered all of the homicide victims whose cases he had worked on. Even if strangers to Sohlberg the dead and gone visited him in the labyrinths of his mind.
“Solve the case?”
“Yes. It’s time to go home and leave Norway.”