The Snowman ( PDFDrive )

dropped, but inside the police force and out it was thought her father had murdered the women and
taken his own life knowing that he couldn’t get away with it. Katrine decided then and there that
she would join the police, clear up the murders and avenge her father.’
Kjersti Rødsmoen looked up. Neither of the two was taking notes; they were just watching her.
‘So after her law degree she applied to go to Police College,’ Rødsmoen continued. ‘And after
finishing her training she was employed by Crime Squad in Bergen. Where she soon started going
through her father’s case in her free time. Until this was discovered and stopped, and Katrine
applied for a transfer to the Sexual Offences Unit. Is that correct?’
‘Affirmative,’ said Müller-Nilsen.
‘It was seen to that she did not go anywhere near the investigation into her father, so instead she
started to examine related cases. While she was going through the national missing persons reports
she made an interesting discovery. Namely, that in the years after her father’s disappearance women
were being reported missing under conditions that bore several points of similarity with the
disappearance of Onny Hetland.’ Kjersti Rødsmoen flicked over the page. ‘However, to make any
progress Katrine needed help, and she knew she wouldn’t get this help in Bergen. Accordingly, she
resolved to put someone on the case with experience of serial killers. Though this had to happen
without anyone knowing that she, Rafto’s daughter, was behind it.’
The Kripos officer, Espen Lepsvik, slowly shook his head as Kjersti continued.
‘After thorough groundwork the choice fell on Inspector Harry Hole at Crime Squad in Oslo. She
wrote a letter to him and signed it with the mysterious-sounding sobriquet, the Snowman, in order
to awaken his curiosity, and because a snowman had been mentioned in several of the witnesses’
statements connected with the disappearances. A snowman had also been mentioned in her father’s
notes on the Ulriken Mountain killing. When Oslo Crime Squad advertised for a detective, stating a
preference for a woman, she applied and was invited to an interview. She said they offered her the
job more or less before she had even sat down.’
Rødsmoen paused, but as the two men said nothing, she went on. ‘From the very first day Katrine
made sure that she came into contact with Harry Hole and was put onto the investigation. With all
that she already knew about Hole and the case, it was relatively easy for her to manipulate him and
steer him towards Bergen and her father’s disappearance. And, with Hole’s help, she also found her
father. In a freezer on Finnøy.’
Kjersti removed her glasses.
‘You don’t need much imagination to understand that an experience of this nature forms the basis of
a psychological reaction. The stress became even worse when three times she thought the killer had
been unmasked. First Idar Vetlesen, then a ’ she browsed through her notes long-sightedly, ‘Filip
Becker. And finally Arve Støp. Only to discover that it was the wrong person each time. She tried
to force a confession out of Støp herself, but gave up when she realised that he was not the man she
was hunting. She fled from the place when she heard her colleagues approaching. She says she
didn’t want to be stopped until she had completed her mission. Which was to identify the
perpetrator. At this point I think we can safely say that she was well into the psychosis. She returned
to Finnøy where she was convinced Hole would track her down. And, in fact, she turned out to be
correct. When he appeared, she disarmed him to make him listen while she instructed him on what
he had to do next in the investigation.’