‘The mysteries from the war, you mean?’
Patricia leaned forwards across the table.
‘We are discovering more and more interesting details and personal stories. It has been a very successful day in that way. Both Arild Bratberg and Mona Varden have been unable to move on from events in the past and are thus human flies. But they are also satellite people. Mona Varden is still orbiting her husband, nearly thirty years after his death. Bratberg had a kind neighbour who circled around him while he clearly was still caught in an outlying orbit around Magdalon Schelderup. And as far as the story from 1945 is concerned, I am surprised that no more attention was given to one very interesting detail in court. Hint: in search of lost time…’
Now, I had heard the book title In Search of Lost Time, but I could not remember who had written it, or see its relevance here. Patricia waited with a teasing smile until I lost patience and demanded that she give me an explanation.
‘It is incredible how often in court cases and investigations it is possible to overlook blatant problems in relation to time. It could be that there is not enough time for the given event to take place, or the opposite: that there is too much time. As is the case here. Magdalon Schelderup’s account may appear to be plausible. But quite some time must have passed between him waving to the policemen outside and them coming up the stairs and into the room; say half a minute, if not a whole minute. Which is a long time in a situation like that. The young Bratberg appeared to be completely petrified. And yet they came in at the door just as Magdalon Schelderup took the gun from his hand. He would have needed nerves of steel to shout out of the window when he was standing with an armed man who had just shot his colleague. But what is even more peculiar is that he took such a long time to take the murder weapon from the paralysed man. That may of course be what happened, but it could not have happened in the way he described in his statement.’
It did seem strange that neither I nor anyone else had thought about this. Out loud I said that I would definitely have thought about it had I been investigating the case. Patricia did not look convinced, so I moved swiftly on.
‘Whereas Arild Bratberg’s apparently insane statement…’
She responded on cue.
‘… given the time perspective, in fact works rather well, yes. It would seem that both the police and the court did not take the case seriously enough. The time issue is one thing. Another is that no one seems to have had intelligence enough to imagine that in some situations, apparently irrational behaviour is in fact the most rational.’
I must have looked puzzled, as Patricia sighed with exasperation again.
‘Imagine the following situation: Ole Kristian Wiig and Magdalon Schelderup find something in the flat that constitutes a shocking revelation, and it would be a catastrophe for Magdalon Schelderup if it ever got out. The only way to avoid this, then, is to shoot Wiig immediately before he can tell anyone. Schelderup knows that Bratberg is mentally fragile and that an unexpected murder might paralyse him. But how then would he escape and prevent Bratberg bearing witness? If he shot Bratberg as well, he would clearly be guilty. What would you do?’
I eventually realized where she was going and had to admit that, true or not, it showed creative thinking.
‘What I would have done, before it was my word against his, was perhaps to make up a simple and credible story about the other person in the room being the murderer. And then also behave madly myself in the hope that he would become even more confused and come across as the less credible of the two, even when he was telling the truth.’
Patricia nodded slowly in agreement.
‘Exactly. All of a sudden, the most irrational behaviour was the most rational. If that is in fact what happened, it demonstrates how terrifyingly quick-witted and cynical Magdalon Schelderup could be. So I am working on the theory that Bratberg’s apparently incredible account is true and that it was Magdalon Schelderup who shot all three Resistance men during the war.’
I had seen it coming now and was therefore not so surprised when Patricia dropped the bombshell that Magdalon Schelderup himself was the Dark Prince. The idea that the Resistance hero Magdalon Schelderup could also be a double agent and triple murderer now seemed plausible. But I was yet to be fully convinced.
‘The way you present it now, it all seems very plausible. But I would still like to keep the option open for the moment that it might have been one of the others, most probably either Hans Herlofsen or Magdalena Schelderup. Because that is equally possible, is it not?’
Patricia nodded somewhat reluctantly.
‘I don’t think that it is very likely, but yes, it is absolutely possible.’
‘And if we move on from the war to the murder of Magdalon Schelderup…’
Patricia nodded, this time in clear agreement. Then she carried on herself.
‘… then all options are still open, yes. However, if my theory is correct, it does not rule out that Hans Herlofsen or Magdalena Schelderup, for example, murdered Magdalon Schelderup. Thus far we do not know enough to rule out even one of his guests. They all have or could have strong motives, and the motives simply multiply and get stronger if he did commit one or more murders during the war. The real challenge…’
I had an inkling of what was coming, but it was unexpectedly fast and concise when it came.
‘… is not to explain why anyone killed Magdalon Schelderup, because everyone around that table might have wanted to do it. The real challenge is still to explain why anyone would kill Leonard Schelderup. And also why in the world the gun was left by the front door.’
I nodded.
‘Well, the mystery of the guest has been solved, at least. It would seem that you were right, that it has nothing to do with the murder.’
Patricia sat deep in thought again. It was obvious that she was struggling and more preoccupied with the murder of Leonard Schelderup.
‘Leonard Schelderup’s male lover definitely had nothing to do with the murder. The fact that Leonard Schelderup had a male lover may, however, be of some interest. I would be keen to know how much his father and brother knew. Do ask the brother about it next time you see him. But there is one thing that puzzles me, in connection with the will…’
She hesitated a moment, but then continued.
‘It may be of no significance, but it is worth noting. In the first will, Leonard Schelderup was left ten times as much as his brother. In the second, they were equal. It would seem that something had happened to improve Fredrik’s standing. So I would like to know whether Magdalon knew about Leonard’s secret and, if so, when he found out.’
I promised to do my best to find out. My visits to Patricia had a tendency to result in both important new conclusions and new tasks.
She stopped me unexpectedly for a moment as I was about to go out of the door. When I turned around, her face was sombre and pale.
‘I should perhaps say that I find this case more and more alarming. And if the theory that is forming in my mind is anything close to the truth, the case will be the epitome of human evil.’
The sudden gravity with which she said this took me aback, but reinforced my own feelings of danger and unease. I knew her well enough to understand that as there was still so much uncertainty, she was not ready to say any more about her theory. So I put my best foot forward and went off to carry on with the investigation.
XI
It seemed to me on the evening of Wednesday, 14 May that the case was becoming more and more intense. It was almost to be expected that the telephone would ring in the evening now, once I had come home. This time it was no later than a quarter past ten and I had just turned on the box to watch the evening’s documentary about the slums of New York.