The Snowman ( PDFDrive )

either. Christ, he couldn’t even think slowly.
‘I appreciate that you have to compose yourself,’ the inspector said, taking out his own packet of
cigarettes. ‘Take your time.’
Erik watched the inspector light up a Camel and leaned over when he held the lighter out to Erik.
‘Thanks,’ Erik mumbled, sucking so hard that the tobacco crackled. The smoke filled his lungs, and
it was as if the nicotine were being injected into his bloodstream, clearing all the obstructions. He
had always thought this would happen sooner or later; that the police would somehow discover a
link between him and Birte and come asking questions. But at that time he had only worried about
how he would keep it hidden from Camilla. Now everything was different. From right now, in fact.
Because up until this moment he hadn’t realised that the police might think there was a connection
between the two disappearances.
‘Birte’s husband, Filip Becker, found a notebook in which Birte had entered a kind of easy
decipherable code,’ the policeman said. ‘There were telephone numbers, dates and tiny messages.
Leaving little doubt that Birte had regular contact with other men.’
‘Men?’ Erik let slip.
‘If it’s any consolation, Becker thought you were the one she met most often. At a huge variety of
addresses, I’m led to believe,’ Harry added.
Erik, adrift in a boat watching a tidal wave growing on the horizon, didn’t answer.
‘So Becker found your address, took his son’s toy gun along with him – a very authentic-looking
imitation of a Glock 21 – and went to Tveita to wait for you to come home. He wanted to see the
fear in your eyes, he said. Threaten you to make you tell whatever you knew so that he could pass
your name on to us. He followed the car into the garage, but it turned out your wife was driving.’
‘And he he ’
‘Told her everything, yes.’
Erik rose from the cardboard box and walked over to the window. The flat had a view of Torshov
Park and an Oslo bathed in wan morning sun. He didn’t like the old apartment blocks with views.
They meant stairs. The better the view, the more stairs there were and the more exclusive the
apartments, which meant heavier, more expensive goods, higher payouts for damage and more days
with his men off sick. But that was the way it was when you exposed yourself to the risks of
maintaining fixed low rates; you always won the competition for the worst jobs. Over time there is a
price to pay with all risks. Erik took a deep breath and heard the policeman scuffing his feet on the
wood floor. And he knew. This detective would not be worn down by any delaying tactics. This was
one damage report he would not be throwing in the bin. Birte Olsen, now Becker, was going to be
the first customer he would suffer a loss on.
‘Then he told me he’d been having an affair with Birte Becker for ten years,’ Harry said. ‘And that
when they met and had sex for the first time she’d been pregnant with her husband.’
‘You’re pregnant with a girl or a boy,’ Rakel corrected, patting down the pillow so that she could
see him better. ‘Or by her husband.’