“I want two of them,” he said decisively.
Bonnie had to laugh. “I think we can do that,” she said. “They’re so cute.”
They went on to the sports store. This was where Simon really went to town. His mother had never been so accommodating, and he was simply overwhelmed. They had bicycles and skateboards, knives and flashlights, helmets and small scooters, sneakers in bright colors and cool backpacks. On the back wall, there was every kind of fishing rod you might want. Then they went through to the clothing section. Bonnie fell for an outdoor jacket and Simon found a good tracksuit.
“We’ll have to wait,” she reminded him.
“But then someone else will buy it,” Simon objected. “Please!”
Bonnie stroked his hair. “All right,” she smiled. “But we’ll have to eat porridge for the rest of the week.”
When they got home, Simon took the tracksuit out of the bag. He found some scissors and cut off the tags, put it on in front of the mirror in the hall, and then paraded back into the living room.
“You look great,” Bonnie said. “Just like the Norwegian flag, all red, white, and blue.”
36
August 2005
Sejer and Skarre continued to visit Henny Hayden at regular intervals. They had investigated the circumstances surrounding Bonnie’s inheritance, but there was nothing to indicate that the two had been killed for the money. Erna Vibe’s other heirs had been duly questioned, but it led nowhere. And according to Henny, very few people actually knew about the inheritance.
“I read all the papers,” she said, distraught, “and they’re saying it’s a very difficult case.”
“That’s true. But that doesn’t mean we won’t solve it. We first have to find the man who was observed near the crime scene. A big man driving a red car. And then we have to prove he went to Skarven Farm. And then we can find out the motive.”
“There are foreigners working there, you know,” Henny hastily informed them.
“Yes, we know. We questioned them some time ago now. You look tired,” Sejer added. “Are you getting enough sleep and eating properly?”
After their visit to Henny, they drove on to Skarven. Woiciech, Stanislav, Jürgen, and Thomas were sitting on the grass in front of the outbuilding eating their lunch, which consisted of thick slices of bread and ham and strong coffee from a thermos. They had taken off their shirts in the warm sun and were all strong, muscular men.
“Woiciech,” Skarre said, “have you ever seen the red car again?”
“No, just that once. We went to visit the graves,” he added. “They were good.”
He had a pair of black-and-yellow suspenders on to keep his sturdy work pants up, and they were all wearing heavy leather shoes. The soles had long since worn down and none of them had the characteristic pattern found on the floor of the trailer.
“When will you be going back home?” Skarre asked.
“In November,” Woiciech told him. “My kids are waiting for me. We’re going to build a house.”
Later, Sejer and Skarre walked down across the fields to where the trailer had stood. Randen had finally towed it away. They wandered around somewhat aimlessly, each lost in his own thoughts. There were other unsolved cases — of course there were — but not that many. Some cases would always gnaw at them.
“He’ll be following what’s happening,” Skarre said, looking at the inspector.
“Obviously,” Sejer replied. “And he may not be sleeping at night.”
When he got back to his apartment on the twelfth floor, he was ambushed by Frank. He knelt down and took one of the dog’s soft paws in his hand. The dog’s eyes, which were barely visible amid all the folds and wrinkles, were black.
“You need a facelift,” he said affectionately. “But it would cost a fortune.”
He went into the kitchen and started to rattle around with the pots and pans. Frank immediately trotted in to beg for scraps. Sejer hesitated before giving him a bit of sausage. I never learn, he thought sheepishly. If only Elise had seen that.
37
April 2005
Bonnie wanted to tell anyone who would listen about her inheritance because she was so excited. But something made her hold back. Many of her clients only received a minimum pension and struggled financially just as she had. However, young Alex was let in on the secret. When he heard about Erna’s generosity, he was thrilled.
“So are you going to take me to Bagatelle?” he asked hopefully. “Or an eleven-course dinner?”
“Of course,” Bonnie agreed. “In the autumn. And Elisabeth can come too. But first I have to clear my debts.” They were in the middle of a chess game.
“I wish I had a pawn on wheels with right of way,” Bonnie said with a laugh.
He immediately responded with a very smart move. He leaned back in his wheelchair and looked at her. He wanted to tell this beautiful woman, who was only three years away from forty, and who came to his door to help him, that she was the highlight of his week. But he was far too proud and shy to show his devotion.
“I’ve got an old aunt who lives on a small farm,” he said instead. “And her Border collie is named Bonnie, and she’s an impossible dog.”
Bonnie laughed. “What’s your greatest wish for the future?” she asked him.
“To have my own child,” he replied without hesitation. “I want what you’ve got. A son. He would run riot, but he’d also do things for me. And he would of course be a genius at chess. And I would make it perfectly clear that when it comes to bad driving, he has to stay alive.”
“What’s wrong with a girl?” Bonnie asked.
“Nothing, I just want a boy.”
“And you know that you can have children?”
“Oh yes, we’re planning to. And what’s more, we have you,” he said with a little smile. “I hope that you’ll be around for a long time, and that you won’t desert me, just because you’re rich.”
“Never,” Bonnie assured him and moved a knight.
Alex brushed his bangs away from his face. He was clean-shaven and smelled good.
“You better watch your queen,” he warned her. “Let’s take a break. Put the pizza in the oven.”
Simon Hayden resembled his father, Olav. He had the same slim body and thin ankles. The same blue eyes and the same restlessness. When he was big, he wanted to work at sea, like his father. Every morning when he sat on the bench under the snail at daycare, he looked up at his mother and said: “Do you think the money will come soon?”
“Yes,” Bonnie told him. “It won’t be long now.”
“It will definitely come, won’t it?”
“Yes, we’ll definitely get it. Because Mr. Falck promised. And he knows things like that because he’s a lawyer.”
Simon had already told Märta the big news, and about everything he was going to get and the trip to Africa. That he would have to have lots of vaccinations and that he would come home with photographs of lions. Märta retorted that he might get eaten, but then Simon told her that the person driving the safari car had a gun. Kaja noticed that he had blossomed; he opened up to the other children and the desperate scenes when his mother left had stopped. He would now run around and at times couldn’t be stopped. She had to admit that she was a little envious. There was no likelihood of her ever inheriting anything like that amount of money. But she was pleased for Bonnie.
Britt was also delighted by what had happened. Bonnie’s life was back on track and she hadn’t seen her so happy since she had been with Olav. She could never have dealt with all those difficult old people. She liked the drama of her work with the air ambulance; the first decisive minutes in which she could save a life made her feel important. But what Bonnie did was important too, only in another way. They saw each other more often now than before. Bonnie had more energy, so she got her mother to babysit and they went out on the town.