‘However, Frølich’s testimony should not be used under any circumstances,’ Fristad said with force.
‘The question is whether we can avoid it,’ Gunnarstranda objected. ‘Brigitte Bergum will fight hard for Rognstad. She has all the gunpowder she needs to stage a regular fireworks display: a cop on leave who queers his pitch by humping the sister of a criminal and a story about some mysterious world-famous work of art, which she will have no problem selling to the press – to name but two.’
Fristad cleaned his glasses in silence. He opened his mouth, breathed on his glasses and rubbed them energetically. ‘Continue, Gunnarstranda.’
‘Directly after the court hearing Elisabeth Faremo goes home and packs her things. She contacts her female lover, Reidun Vestli.’
‘Poor old Frølich,’ Fristad sighed. ‘What a wretched story.’
‘If I may continue?’ Gunnarstranda asked politely.
‘Of course.’ Fristad put his glasses back on his nose.
‘Elisabeth Faremo hides in a chalet owned by Reidun Vestli. Then something in the clan gives. Jonny Faremo is found drowned in the Glomma. One theory, then: Faremo knew they had been arrested because someone grassed on them. After his sister provided them with an alibi, Faremo went looking for the grass. Perhaps he points the finger of blame at Merethe. She immediately allies herself with Ballo, who kills Faremo, which binds Merethe to Ballo. Elisabeth may have anticipated this row and therefore flees. To protect herself against the men, and as a security, she takes the safety-deposit box keys with her. The two remaining men, Rognstad and Ballo, feverishly start searching for them.’
‘That begs a question,’ Fristad said. ‘Why didn’t these two men bother to ask Frølich for Elisabeth Faremo’s whereabouts?’
‘Frølich was also searching for her. He had asked her neighbour and Jonny Faremo. Besides, he’s a policeman. No, they go for the easiest target: beat the answer out of Reidun Vestli. At least one of them travels with Merethe Sandmo to the chalet. They stop off for a meal in Fagernes – she is seen there with a man. They go on to the chalet…’
‘There’s something out of sync here,’ Fristad interrupted. ‘I read in one of your reports that the chalet fire was reported before Reidun Vestli was taken to hospital.’
‘Her injuries had been sustained within an unspecified period of time. Unfortunately she clammed up tight afterwards. She wouldn’t tell us a thing about the assault. Consequently we don’t know when she was attacked. On the other hand, I can’t see how Ballo or Rognstad would have found the chalet without going through Reidun Vestli.’
‘And their intention was always to find the key to the safety-deposit box containing the painting and the money?’ Fristad interrupted again.
‘Yes. They knew Elisabeth Faremo had access to the key. But she outflanked them – and put the key in a safe place. She put it in Frølich’s flat.’
‘Where’s the other key?’
‘We don’t know. That’s why Elisabeth Faremo doesn’t have a key when Sandmo and co. arrive at the chalet. There’s a row, which culminates in an arson attack and Elisabeth being burned.’
‘Where can the other key have been?’
‘All we know is that it was used by someone pretending to be Ilijaz Zupac – it happened the same day the three were acquitted at the murder hearing. The person pretending to be Ilijaz Zupac opened the bank box, took the painting, we presume, and disappeared.’
‘It could have been Ballo, as Rognstad suspects?’
‘Of course. The problem is that Ballo had access to the box anyway. Why would he pretend to be Zupac?’
They reflected for a while. ‘Why did this person only take the painting?’
Gunnarstranda opened his palms. ‘Either there is a banal explanation – he wanted to collect the money later – or he left the money so that we would ask ourselves precisely that question, should the story of the painting leak out. It seems unlikely that a thief with access to half a million would leave it there. If the painting never turns up, though, whoever claims there was a painting in the safety-deposit box can neither prove it was there nor make a credible case for it having been there. Leaving the money is in fact an unusually clever move – assuming that Jim Rognstad is telling the truth.’
‘And we should add that he does seem to be telling the truth. So who took the painting?’
‘I have no idea. But I assume the same person was on the container raid, the man who was seen with the other three when Arnfinn Haga was murdered.’
‘It couldn’t have been Ilijaz Zupac? The man himself?’
‘He hasn’t been out of prison since he was sentenced approximately five years ago.’
‘Well,’ Fristad sighed heavily. ‘An unidentified person at the scene of the crime. Could it have been this man who killed Jonny Faremo?’
‘It might have been. Why do you think so?’
‘I don’t think so,’ Fristad said. ‘But this business with the keys is interesting, isn’t it? Let’s say Elisabeth and Jonny Faremo had a key each. Elisabeth hides her key in Frølich’s flat. The mystery fourth man has a fight with Jonny Faremo, grabs Jonny’s key and Jonny drowns. This fourth man drives to the bank in Askim, pretends to be Ilijaz Zupac and picks up the painting. The others don’t know this, however. They only know Jonny is dead and they can’t find his key. So they reason, shit, now they’ll have to get hold of the last key. They know Elisabeth has it and they know she has some relationship with this woman at the university. Whom they turn over to find out where Elisabeth Faremo is hiding, etc, etc.’
‘Anything is possible,’ Gunnarstranda said. ‘We know there were two keys. One of them was in Frølich’s flat all the time. The other was used by someone also known as Ilijaz Zupac. We know Ballo teamed up with Merethe Sandmo immediately after Jonny Faremo’s death. I talked to them myself. This Ballo is still missing – and we have no reliable information as to his whereabouts. My feeling is that Faremo was killed as a result of the row he started when Merethe Sandmo grassed on them.’
‘It really does very much look like an alliance between Ballo and Merethe Sandmo. They could have joined forces, pinched the painting and ridden off into the sunset, couldn’t they?’
‘But why would Ballo pretend to be Zupac when he could have strolled into the bank vault as himself?’
‘To hide his identity. The police are on the lookout for the painting all over the world. Criminal logic: snatch the painting under an alias. And, on top of that, leave the money so that any potential talk of a stolen painting by the others is undermined. Unless the prosecuting authorities manage to get their hands on it, that is.’
‘You may be right. But we still have this witness who maintains there were four people at the crime scene where Arnfinn Haga was murdered.’
‘So there is a man whose identity we don’t know. Who do you reckon it is, this fourth perpetrator?
‘No idea,’ Gunnarstranda said, in brief summary.
‘Could it have been – please forgive me now, but giving rein to your fantasy can be quite useful in this job – could it have been Frank Frølich?’
The room went quiet. The sun shone through the blinds and Gunnarstranda found time to light a cigarette. He lit it without a word of protest from Fristad.
37
Gunnarstranda and Fristad were in the former’s office. Frølich had been summoned without a word of explanation. Gunnarstranda and the prosecuting lawyer each sat in their chair.