Iver Gundersen feels pressure at the back of his eyes as they leave the Colosseum Cinema. He should have checked with Nora in advance how long the film lasted. Over two and a half hours where he couldn’t move, and added to that wearing 3D glasses which involve a completely different strain than the muscles of his eyes are used to. They are worn out now. As is Iver. Nora, however, looks anything but.
‘What did you think?’ she says, beaming.
Iver hesitates. ‘It wasn’t bad.’
‘Not bad? It was absolutely-’
Nora lifts her head towards the dull evening sky while she searches for the right word.
‘Magical,’ she exclaims, enthralled, and looks expectantly at him. Iver doesn’t reply, he sees no need to ruin her experience. Then he takes her hand and says, ‘I’m glad that you liked it.’
Nora smiles and weaves her fingers into his.
‘Are you hungry?’ he continues.
‘More nauseous. I ate far too much popcorn.’
‘A proper meal will soon fix that-’
Iver is interrupted by his mobile ringing. He takes it out and looks at the display. He lets go of Nora’s hand. ‘It’s Henning,’ he says, and looks at her.
She takes one step away from him.
‘Hi, Henning,’ Iver says.
‘Did you enjoy the film?’
‘Eh?’
‘There aren’t many places where people turn off their mobiles these days so I assume that you’ve been to the cinema. Am I right?’
Iver is silent for a few seconds. Then he says, ‘It wasn’t too bad.’
Iver glances at Nora who doesn’t look back at him. Henning spends the next minutes telling him what he has found out about Thorleif Brenden, his behaviour at home, the drawing he left under Elisabeth Haaland’s pillow and the man Brenden referred to as Furio.
‘Wow,’ Iver says when Henning has finished. ‘I’m impressed.’
‘If you’re still planning to visit Asgard later, then ask if they know a hit man or enforcer who is tall as a tree and thin as beanpole and looks a little bit like Furio.’
‘Do you really think anyone will tell me that?’
‘No, but you can probably think of a slightly more elegant phrasing than I can.’
A short distance in front of him Nora is studying a shop window. ‘I spoke to TV2 earlier today,’ Iver says.
‘What did they say?’
‘That Brenden had been acting very strangely in the past couple of days. Guri Palme thought it was because he had been ill — he threw up outside the prison after Pulli’s death. And the footage he shot was completely out of focus as if he wasn’t paying attention at all while he was filming.’
‘That’s probably true if his mind was on other things.’
‘Brenden is one of their best cameramen, according to Guri. They’re very worried about him.’
‘I could include that quote in my story, and I’ll run it with a double by-line. Have fun at M.’
‘Eh?’
‘Cafe M. That’s where you’re going, isn’t it? You should try the halibut if they still serve it. It’s delicious. Grilled with some sort of apple.’
‘We’re not-’
‘Catch you later.’
Iver has no time to reply before Henning hangs up. He sighs and looks at his mobile as if it could explain to him how Henning knew where they were going.
No. Just no.
He takes hold of Nora, but this time he doesn’t seek out her fingers.
‘Listen,’ he says, while they wait for the lights at Majorstua junction to turn green. ‘Why don’t we go somewhere else for dinner?’