Orjan Mjones waits for fifteen minutes until Jeton and Durim have reached Nystolvegen before he walks back to the hotel. He enters the lobby and nods to the girl at reception.
‘Hi,’ he says and pretends to be out of breath. ‘I didn’t find him.’
‘Oh,’ she stutters, nervously. ‘What a… shame.’
‘You don’t happen to know where he lives, do you?’
‘No, it… I’ve no idea. He never mentioned it. He never really said very much about anything.’
Mjones nods, turns around, and sees that the laptop is no longer on the table.
‘It was my laptop,’ she says by way of explanation. ‘I let him borrow it. He didn’t have a mobile or a laptop with him.’
Mjones nods. ‘Did he say why he wanted to borrow it?’
‘No, all he said was that he… he had to check something.’
Another nod. He fixes his gaze on her. She is sweet. A sweet, innocent and naive young girl.
‘What’s your name?’ he asks.
‘Mia. Mia Sikveland.’
‘Okay, Mia, I need to have a look at your laptop.’
She hesitates.
‘I just need a quick look,’ he assures her.
She still appears reluctant.
‘Don’t you need a court order or something in order to do that? Or a green light from the public prosecutor?’
Mjones has to think quickly. Mia is clearly not as gullible as she looks. He closes his eyes in an overbearing manner as if he is explaining something very simple to a small child.
‘This is an active investigation,’ he lectures her. ‘In which case it’s my decision whether I need to obtain a warrant from the court before I carry out a search or confiscate potential evidence.’
She looks at him for a few seconds.
‘Besides, it’s late. I can’t call anyone in Oslo now.’
‘But, I… I thought you were from the local police?’
‘No, I’ve been following Br-… Einar all the way from Oslo.’
She nods slowly.
‘This isn’t unusual. And you could help me save time,’ he says with a hint of irritation in his voice. ‘Time could be of the essence here.’
‘Okay, it’s just that I… ’
He looks at her.
‘Nothing.’
She hands him her laptop bag over the counter.
‘Thank you. And I’ll need your telephone number and address in case I need to speak to you again.’
‘Okay,’ she says, unwillingly.
‘Thank you,’ Mjones says and smiles at her.
*
Thorleif blinks hard in an attempt to stay awake. His legs can barely manage to keep him upright. He has no idea what time it is except that it must be late. The sky is dark, but there are no clouds to cover the twinkling stars.
He drinks a mouthful of water from a glass he has filled up several times. He will have to go to the lavatory soon. Surely it would be safe to go now? He hasn’t seen a living soul since the two men he noticed further down the road for what must now be several hours ago. He runs to the lavatory, pees, but doesn’t wash his hands before resuming his position behind the window.
His eyes widen.
Only 100 metres away he sees a figure striding purposefully up the road. Thorleif snatches up a pair of binoculars he found in a drawer in the living room and puts them to his eyes. He gasps.
Frantically, Thorleif grabs the knife and raises it, ready to strike. The man with the ponytail is close now. What the hell am I going to do? Thorleif panics. He can’t possibly know which of these cabins I’m in, he says to himself in disbelief.
Or can he?
He takes a step back as he considers his options. What is better: making a run for it now in the middle of the night or hiding somewhere in the cabin and waiting for the right moment to attack? He mutters a string of expletives. He can’t stay behind the window in case he makes a movement that attracts the man’s attention. He looks around while his thoughts rage. Then he grips the knife harder and slips into the living room.