1 YEAR AND 22 DAYS AFTER
THE DAY, FRIDAY, JUNE 4
“A new form of Number Four heroin is about to hit the streets. . it’s cheap and extremely dangerous. . with purity rates of ninety-eight percent and higher. . This deadly heroin is named Osama-H. . because it was developed and manufactured by Russian and Bulgarian scientists hired by Osama bin Laden.”
With that introduction Sohlberg had the undivided attention of the department heads in charge of vice and drugs in all 27 of Norway’s police districts. They had gathered in downtown Oslo to hear Sohlberg’s 40-minute talk on international heroin smuggling. They met in a small auditorium at 12 Hammersborggata where the sleek and modern 7-floor building of the Politidirektoratet or National Police Directorate occupied most of the city block on the southeast corner of Hammersborggata and Torggata.
After his talk Solhlberg took the elevator to Ivar Thorsen’s office on the top floor.
They shook hands and sat down. Sohlberg observed the two fancy glasses and the two elegant bottles of Voss artesian water that sat ostentatiously on the desk. Of course Ivar Thorsen no longer drank Farris mineral water out of the bottle. He was now a big man in the police. Sohlberg smiled at the pretensions which included elegant Swedish furniture and modern art paintings.
How the Oslo district police commissioner’s office had changed!
Who would have thought that Ivar Thorsen would ever sit in a lavish corner office?
In his wildest imaginations Sohlberg would never have dreamed of the dumb and plodding and unimaginative Ivar Thorsen ever sitting in a commissioner’s office decorated by an interior decorator and probably a Swedish one at that. Back when Sohlberg was a rookie police constable the most a district commissioner could hope for was Ikea furniture that was allotted on a very tight budget to only the most senior of commissioners. Now the police budgets were lavish if not extravagant.
“Do the taxpayers know how their money is being spent up here?”
“Don’t be obnoxious Sohlberg. Try to be pleasant for a change.”
“I am being pleasant. I didn’t say what was really on my mind.”
“Well. . I myself will tell you exactly what is on my mind.”
A long and uncomfortable pause followed.
Sohlberg’s mouth almost dropped open when he heard Ivar Thorsen’s next words:
“I need your help Sohlberg. I have a cold case. Perhaps you’ve already heard of it. . the missing seven-year-old boy who vanished one morning in school and has never been seen again.”
“The Karl Haugen boy?. . I saw it on the news a few days ago on N.R.K. One and Two.”
Sohlberg also remembered his wife showing him a special anniversary section on the case on the Sunday edition of Aftenposten.
“Ja,” said Thorsen. “You can’t miss the case.”
“Just this morning. . as I was coming in. . I saw huge headlines plastered on Verdens Gang when I passed a newsstand.”
“Ja ja. The media is all over us because the one year anniversary came and went without us getting any closer to solving the disappearance.”
“One year. . that’s almost beyond solving.”
“But-”
“Thorsen. . you know the rule. . less than half of all missing cases and homicides are ever solved at all unless they are solved within the first forty-eight hours. And you now have a missing case that’s twelve months old?”
“We did our best. We put tons of people and man-hours into it.”
“That’s why my rule is to work smart not hard.”
“Obviously we are not as intelligent as you are. That’s why a few months ago I shut down the investigation. . it was obvious we were getting nowhere. But now the higher-ups want the investigation reactivated. . they’re getting a lot of flak over it.”
“Who was in charge?”
“Trygve Nilsen.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“He’s a Chief Inspector. . just like you.”
“Why am I not surprised that you promoted him?”
“He’s a hard worker. And loyal.”
Sohlberg almost shouted a vulgarity. Instead he shrugged.
“Listen here Sohlberg. . I’m reassigning him. . he’ll be investigating recent death threats over the Nobel Peace Prize. . seems some terrorists published a video in Pakistan saying that they’re going to blow up the storting. . the parliament because of some recent Nobel Peace Prize awards.”
“How nice. Instead of getting fired Nilsen gets a plum job for a botched investigation into the unsolved disappearance of a little boy. I see nothing has changed here.”
“Actually it has. . Sohlberg.”
“Don’t make me laugh.”
“Effective immediately I am appointing you to lead the investigation into the disappearance of Karl Haugen. Sit down! Don’t even think of walking out of this office to call your pals at Interpol. The Politidirektor. . the National Police Commissioner already called the General Secretary of Interpol. He gladly released you to solve this apparent kidnaping.”
“What?”
“Interpol is assigning you here indefinitely until you solve the case.”
“What?”
“Check your e-mail. You’ll find official Interpol notification. You will also find the Politidirektor’s written assignment officially naming you as the lead on the Karl Haugen case.”
Sohlberg said nothing but felt lightheaded enough to pass out.
“Ain’t it great Sohlberg? You’re back working for me. . just like in the good old days. The good news is that you can leave Norway as soon as you solve the case. I suggest you work fast and solve the case soon. I’ve heard through the grapevine how much you and your wife love living in Seattle.”
At first Sohlberg thought that he was the target of a prank. Then he thought that Thorsen was testing him to see if he wanted to come back to Norway. Sohlberg felt like vomiting when the reality sank in that this was no joke.
“Come with me Sohlberg and I’ll show you your cubicle down the hallway. I’ve assigned you a recent graduate from the academy. . a Grade One Politibetjent. . Police Constable Wenke Wangelin. She pArcticipated in the investigation from the very beginning.”
Sohlberg expected Wangelin to be nothing less than a dumb mediocrity chosen by the dumb mediocrity of Ivar Thorsen. He was surprised when a muscular and good-looking 30-something blonde walked up to him and introduced herself with a very strong handshake.
“Politiforstebetjent. . Chief Inspector Sohlberg. . it’s an honor to meet you. I’ve read a lot about you. . I wrote a term paper in law school on how you solved the Wassenaar murders through new forensic techniques.”
Sohlberg nodded. He rarely came across good-looking people who had intelligence. He liked the fact that she did not call him by his first name. Having lived abroad for so long he had come to intensely dislike how Norwegians used first names at work and overall went too far at work with a fake equality that bordered on the insolent.
After a few more questions Sohlberg knew that Constable Wangelin was intelligent and dedicated. That meant one thing: Ivar Thorsen and his bosses definitely wanted the case solved. In other words Sohlberg was apparently not being set up to fail nor did it appear that he and Wangelin were being thrown together as window-dressing to trick the media and the public into believing that the government was finally serious about solving the case.
“Chief Inspector Sohlberg,” said Wangelin, “I suggest we go down the hallway to the Karl Haugen room. . as we call it.”
“You two go ahead,” said Ivar Thorsen. “I have other chores to look after. Let me make perfectly clear Sohlberg that you are authorized to do whatever it takes to solve the case. Take any and all action. I will sign any requisition form you present me for manpower or equipment or any other resources.”
Sohlberg walked away in a daze and still somewhat incredulous at the unexpected turn of events. He could not quit or resign. He still had ten more years to go before he could collect a full pension. He and Fru Sohlberg had made many sacrifices and plans around that pension.
Constable Wangelin pointed at the combination door lock and whispered, “The code is one-one-seven. . that was Karl Haugen’s height. . one point seventeen meters. . The code to get in the computer files is ‘kh at 22.7'. . his initials and weight in kilometers. He is a cute little boy. Imagine him so slight. . just fifty pounds and three feet eight inches tall.”
“I notice that you said ‘He is a cute little boy’.”
“I’m sorry. . am I being too optimistic?”
“I don’t know. One also has to be realistic no?”
She walked him through four rows of tall metal shelves that held 68 binders filled with 4,500 leads among thousands and thousands of pages of police reports. Each binder was at least four inches thick.
“Hhhmmm. . interesting,” said Sohlberg. “But we’ll never be able to read this ourselves. It would take twenty or thirty investigators many weeks to go through this stuff.”
“That’s not going to happen anytime soon. . Commissioner Thorsen dismantled the Karl Haugen Task Force. . fifty-two investigators at one point. I think that’s why he brought you in.”
“To do the work that fifty-two people couldn’t right the first time?”
“We worked hard Chief Inspector. The problem was that no one coordinated our work. We had no direction or leadership. It was more like. . ‘Just go out there and do something.’”
“Ah yes. . the idiot’s solution of throwing people and money at a problem and hoping it gets magically solved.”
Constable Wangelin smiled and then showed him three secure laptops on a conference table. The computers connected directly to a mainframe at KRIPOS (National Bureau of Crime Investigation).
“Hhhmmm. . interesting,” said Sohlberg. “I once met Rolf Harry Jahrmann. . the father of KRIPOS. I also met several of the people who worked for him. . ja. . the old E-Group. . the Mordkommisjonen. . the Homicide or Murder Commission. But enough of old memories.”
“This laptop Chief Inspector is dedicated to a special software on the KRIPOS mainframe that has helped us catalog and sort through more than four thousand two hundred fifty-seven tips that investigators have received over the past year.”
“I’m sure that the proverbial needle is in that haystack Constable Wangelin. But how are we going to find it? Let’s not get mesmerized by fancy technology. . these computers are really toys. I prefer good old fashion questioning. . as if we just started the case fresh. . new.”
“Ja. A fresh approach will be best.”
“Obviously. . one year later no one can explain how a seven-year-old boy vanished in the middle of his school in the middle of the morning while he was surrounded by hundreds of adults and children and teachers attending a kiddie science fair.”
She blushed and showed him stacks of maps with various colors that plotted the 155 square miles searched for Karl Haugen.
“Interesting. But they’re not needed now. Maybe later.”
“As you can imagine Chief Inspector. . a big reason for these maps was to show the media and the public that we were working hard.”
“That seems to be the problem here. . working hard but not smart. Or should I say. . appearing to work hard.”
“Do you want to see more?”
“No. I’d like you to prepare a one page summary of what is actually known. . as facts. . to have actually happened to the boy on the day that he disappeared. Just stick to the facts and do not include any theories. Write up a second summary on the boy’s family. . and. . if relevant. . include the circle of friends or relatives that he hanged around with.”
“That’s it Chief Inspector?”
“Trust me. . it’s hard work. Summarizing all pertinent facts into two pages will take a lot of thought. I suggest you take the rest of the afternoon today and all day tomorrow to write the summaries. Please make sure that you write or talk to every single investigator involved in the case. Get their input on what needs to be in the summary. All of the information that you get from all of the investigators will now be stored in your brain. . far better than any computer.”
“Chief Inspector. . will you be here if I have questions?”
“No. But feel free to call me any time. I’ll be home. I have a lot to explain to my wife about this unexpected assignment. She thought we’d be leaving for Bergen to visit her parents.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“So am I. But isn’t it interesting. . when my wife saw the news on television about the one year anniversary of Karl Haugen’s disappearance. . she said she hoped that somehow I’d be able to help the investigation.”
“I’m glad you’re here Chief Inspector. It was about time. You see. . some of us do take the case very seriously. . we feel bad for the boy. We’re worried about him.”
“Everyone should think like that. I certainly do.”
Sohlberg left the building. His mind worked better in the fresh air and under sunny skies. A thought hit him. He immediately called Ivar Thorsen on his cell phone and said:
“Do not tell the press that I’m working on the Haugen case. Make sure that no one leaks anything to the media about me working on the case!”
“Alright. Alright. Calm down Sohlberg.”
“I’m serious about this. The person or persons who took the boy must not be warned that we’re reactivating the investigation. We must have the element of surprise. Understand?”
“Well-”
“No! The most you can tell anyone on the outside is that you have assigned the case for review. Understand? You say anything more to your buddies in the press and I will tell everyone that you sabotaged the investigation from the start.”
“Alright!”
“Also. . I’m not going to wear a uniform at all. . nor will Constable Wangelin. And we’re not coming to work at the office from eight to four like everyone else. Is that understood?”
“Ja.”
“Also. . I need an unmarked car that doesn’t yell police to everyone who looks at the car. Matter of fact I prefer that you rent us two inconspicious subcompacts. Ja?”
“Here we go again with your demands and conditions.”
“Ja. . just like the good old days that you seem to remember so fondly.”
Feeling calmer Sohlberg decided to walk all the way to the Oslo Central Station to take advantage of the pleasant sunny weather. He had more than enough time to get to his tram. The walk also gave him time to think about how he would break the news to Fru Sohlberg.
Would she be pleased or angry?
Just how disruptive and difficult would this new assignment become?
Fru Sohlberg was already waiting for him in his parent’s Volvo at the Kastellet station of the Oslotrikken tram line Number 18. His parents had begged them to use their car to prevent the battery from dying.
“How did the conference go?”
He explained and included all the details.
“Unbelievable!” she exclaimed. “What a turn of events.”
“Are you angry?. . I doubt if I’ll be able to go with you to Bergen to see your parents.”
“That’s alright. Maybe they’ll come and stay with us for a week.”
“That’s a great idea. . it would be very good. We have more than enough room.”
“I’ll call them tonight and see if and when they can come.”
“So you’re not angry or disappointed?”
“No at all. Why should I be? I knew this would be our life with you in the police.”
“Thank you Emma.”
“No need to thank me.”
“But I do.”
“Actually. . I’m glad you took the assignment. I’ve thought a lot about that little boy.”
“It doesn’t look good. . he’s been missing for more than a year and there’s no sign of him. I have to warn you so you don’t get your hopes crushed. . he’s probably dead.”
Fru Sohlberg shook her head. Her eyes welled up. “How sad. . if that turns out to be the case then at least he’s in a far better place. . that little eternal soul of his.”
Sohlberg’s throat hardened.
Did Ivar Thorsen know that they had lost their two-year-old son to leukemia shortly after moving to Lyon France?
Was that another reason for putting him on the Karl Haugen case?
Did Ivar Thorsen or the higher-ups know that a child abduction was likely to bring back painful memories of the death of their own son?
Harald Junior’s death almost destroyed Sohlberg and his wife. He could not help wondering whether Thorsen had dragged him into the case as the result of a diabolical plan to cause him and his wife severe if not permanent emotional distress.
Was the Karl Haugen assignment another form of payback for Sohlberg exposing corruption by the Supreme Court justices?