The Snowman ( PDFDrive )

Bosse had evidently enjoyed the response he had received to the question of a regular woman,
because he tried to maintain the thread by asking Harry – since he knew he was also single – if he
didn’t long for a woman? Harry smirked and shook his head. But Bosse wouldn’t let it drop and
asked if there was perhaps someone special he was kicking his heels waiting for.
‘No,’ Harry answered, short and sweet.
Usually this kind of rejection spurred Bosse to press further, but he knew he shouldn’t spoil the
party. The Snowman. So he asked Harry if he could tell them about the case all Norway was talking
about, the nation’s first real serial killer. Harry wriggled in his chair as if it were too small for his
long body while summarising the chain of events in short, sculpted sentences. In recent years there
had been some missing persons cases with obvious similarities. All the missing women had been in
relationships, had children and there was no trace of a body.
Bosse assumed the grave expression which informed all and sundry that this was a flippancy-free
zone.
‘This year Birte Becker disappeared from her home in Hoff, here in Oslo, under similar
circumstances,’ Harry said. ‘And soon afterwards Silvia Ottersen was found dead in Sollihøgda
outside Oslo. That was the first time we had found a body. Or at least parts of it.’
‘Yes, because you found her head, didn’t you?’ Bosse interjected. Warily informative for those not
in the know, and blood and tabloid for those who were. He was so professional that Oda
immediately swelled with satisfaction.
‘And then we found the body of a missing police officer outside Bergen.’ Harry ploughed on. ‘He’d
been missing for twelve years.’
‘Iron Rafto,’ Bosse said.
‘Gert Rafto,’ Harry amended. ‘A few days ago we found the body of Idar Vetlesen in Bygdøy.
Those are the only bodies we have.’
‘What would you say has been the worst aspect of this case?’ Oda could hear the impatience in
Bosse’s voice, probably because Harry had neither taken the ‘head’ bait nor portrayed the murders
in the gory detail he would have hoped.
‘So many years passing before we realised that there was a connection between the disappearances.’
Another dull answer. The floor manager signalled to Bosse that he had to start thinking about a link
to the next topic.
Bosse pressed his fingertips together. ‘And now the case is solved and you’re a star again, Harry.
How does it feel? Do you get fan mail?’ The disarming boyish smile. They were out of the
flippancy-free zone.
The inspector nodded slowly and moistened his lips with concentration, as if how he phrased the
answer was crucial. ‘Well, I got one letter earlier this autumn, but I’m sure Støp can say more about
that.’
Close-up of Støp as he looked at Harry with mild curiosity. Two long, silent TV seconds followed.
Oda chewed her lower lip. What did Harry mean? Then Bosse swept in and tidied up.