“So how did she get around the young man’s parents?”
“Agnes’s own friends told us that she lied to him about being pregnant. . and how she might even press rape charges against him. So he was forced to marry her. Then. . when no baby bump showed up on her belly she claimed that she had a miscarriage. That’s when his parents swooped in and paid her off handsomely to get a divorce.”
“This belongs in some Hollywood tabloid.”
“Happens all the time Chief Inspector.”
“Not when I was growing up. That would’ve been extremely unusual. A young woman sleeping around like that to get a monied husband. Huh!” Sohlberg immediately noticed that Wangelin gave him a pity look as if saying, “Boy did you lead a sheltered life. You need to get on with modern times and not be an old-fashioned prude.”
“Now Chief we have Agnes’s husband Number Two. . a good-looking hunk but not too smart. She used the divorce pay-off and her parents’ money to try to get him set up in several businesses. . but they all failed. He’s broke. . a ne’er-do-well who’s failed in too many business ventures. . but he does succeed in impregnating her.”
“Don’t they always.”
“They have a son Thor. . but by then the marriage is an unhappy disaster. . each spouse accusing the other of infidelity. . seems they each had lots of casual sexual liaisons. Then she marries husband Number Three. He seems to know the most about her. . he has quite a lot of dirt on her. . on account of him being in contact with all of the husbands. . including the current Number Four. . who is of course. . Karl’s father.”
Sohlberg nodded in glum silence as Constable Wangelin proceeded to tell him about the many lies that Agnes had used to ensnare Gunnar Haugen into an unhappy marriage. Sohlberg wondered if someone — an ex-husband or her current husband — was trying to frame Agnes Haugen the stepmother with a salacious if not controversial past. Solhlberg sighed and said:
“I’m not surprised about her lies to get this man Gunnar Haugen since. . as you can imagine. . I’ve come across far worse marriages in my more than twenty years of investigations. . but my head is still spinning from all these crazy family relationships.”
“They are complicated.”
“What bothers me the most Constable Wangelin. . is that these adults meet twice a month to trade kids as if they were collectors who meet to trade Pokemon or baseball cards or some other collectible. So. . who picks up Agnes Haugen’s son Thor?”
“Her third husband’s parents. . the paternal grandfather is retired Navy. . they live near Trondheim.”
“Alright. Do this today. . since I doubt Nilsen ordered this. I want to find out what happened at the gas station where the parents met to trade the children. Call whoever’s in charge of policing Otta. . get whatever constables are necessary out there today or tomorrow at the latest. . have them find any witness who may’ve come into contact with this sad bunch of parents. Also. . have them check out all of the closed circuit cameras at or near the gasoline station. . maybe a camera filmed something interesting on the Friday of Karl Haugen’s disappearance. . or the Saturday after.”
“But it’s more than a year later.”
“I know. . I doubt if they’ll find anything. . but it’s worth the long shot that someone saw something suspicious. . or that some camera captured a picture of someone else with Karl Haugen. At least see if they can get any video. Look for bank ATMs nearby. They usually keep their video much longer. We need to focus on the parents before we look at anyone else.”
“Ja Chief Inspector. . it’s not good that we turned a blind eye on these parents. . and grandparents. You should have heard Nilsen praising Maya and Arvid Engen as solid members of the courts and the police. He heaped even more praise on Maya’s first husband the goat farmer for raising their son alone while making great cheese.
“I almost puked when Nilsen about got on his knees to worship the two retired university professors in Stavanger who are the parents of Agnes Haugen. As you can imagine. . Nilsen couldn’t say enough nice things about Thor’s paternal grandparents as honorable citizens and a Navy captain.”
“We’ll see how honorable all these citizens are in reality. Also. . did the team bother checking out the activities and whereabouts of Maya Engen’s first husband the goat farmer on June four?”
“No.”
“What about the paternal grandparents of the stepmother’s first son Thor. . who live up in Trondheim?”
“No.”
“What about the stepmother’s parents. . the retired university professors in Stavanger?”
“No.”
“I want their homes searched top to bottom and their whereabouts for Friday June fourth and Saturday June fifth thoroughly examined. Call headquarters right now and let them know that we need this done immediately.”
“Ja. Chief Inspector.”
While Constable Wangelin placed the call to Oslo on her cell phone Sohlberg thought about the infinite possibilities that existed for mischief — and murder — as a result of the messy relationships of the adults around little Karl Haugen.
The minutes passed by slowly as Wangelin made several more phone calls to launch the re-invigorated investigation. When the calls finally ended Sohlberg let out another exasperated sigh. He shook his head and said:
“Did the team check the phone and computer records of Maya and Inspector Arvid Engen?”
“I don’t think so. . let me think. . Actually no.”
“What? That’s outrageous.”
“Nilsen said it was ridiculous to even think that a police officer or a goat farmer or a retired Navy captain or retired university professors would kidnap Karl or help someone do that.”
“Get the records for all of them. . six months before June fourth and six months after. . ”
“Ja.”
“Did Nilsen get the phone and computer records for Karl’s father and the stepmother?”
“No. Again Nilsen said it was a waste of time to think that the mother or father or stepmother would take or harm the child. According to Nilsen, ‘These are good people. Not the criminal element.’”
“Get me the phone and computer records for the father and the stepmother. . six months before and after June fourth.”
“Not that I mind Chief Inspector but. . that’s a lot of stuff for me to look into. . ”
“Just look for frequently called phone numbers. . or e-mail addresses that show up a lot. I’m sure that KRIPOS has some software to do that in minutes. If they don’t then just go on the Internet. I’m sure you’ll find some company somewhere selling that software.”
“Of course. I’ll call or go to a company called Alta Soft. . I think they’re still up on Adolph Tidemandsgt in Lillestrom. . about twenty minutes northeast of downtown Oslo. They have very good stuff.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Steen and Strom sells software next to linens and housewares. Everything is available nowadays on the Internet. . especially software.”
“Ja Chief Inspector. I’ll look at altasoft dot no and see what they carry. Then I’ll call them to find out if their software can help us.”
“Good,” said Sohlberg. He started to frown. “There’s something else.”
“What?”
“I’m really bothered by Karl’s mother. . so this Maya Engen woman gave birth to two sons and then she abandons the two boys to her two husbands?. . Maybe she wanted back what she had so carelessly given away.”
“That’s a thought. . we never considered that angle Chief Inspector. Everyone saw her more as a pitiful victim.”
“Could be she’s a pitiful victim. . as you call her. It could also be that she arranged for Karl’s kidnaping.”
“Ja. . could be.”
“Alright then. . after you get the phone and computer records I want you to give me a list of every single one of the friends and family of Karl’s mother. . of Karl’s father. . and of Karl’s stepmother. . who had frequent phone or computer contact with these three people.”