Frølichsat in silence for a few seconds.
Gunnarstrandacrushed the cigarette between his fingers.
'Iwasn't happy about doing the interview on my own,' Frølich said.
Gunnarstrandagrimaced. 'What's done is done.'
'Buthe could be the killer.'
Gunnarstrandatook a deep breath. 'Now I'm intrigued,' he grinned, pointing the glow of thecigarette in the air and watching it. 'Let's say Kramer raped and killed her.Tell me what he did afterwards.'
Frølichleaned forward in his chair. 'You said it yourself,' he acknowledged. 'That'sthe most logical conclusion. He removed her clothes; they were covered in hishair and sperm and bits off his clothing. He knew that one stain, one singlehair was enough for DNA profiling to identify who had committed the rape. Thatexplains why his powers of persuasion failed when he was talking to me. Afterall, he had to cobble together a plausible explanation for what he was doing.He may well have dropped her off in Mastemyr. The difference is that she wasnot alive. The truth may be that she was dead and that he pushed her over thesafety barrier and into the ditch.'
Gunnarstrandawaited.
'Thatmust have been how it happened,' Frølich concluded.
'Andnow?' Gunnarstranda asked.
'Whatdo you mean?'
'Shouldhe be arrested?'
'That'swhat I don't know,' Frølich sighed. 'That's why I would have liked tohave you along. Anyway, we're checking his car over now. So we'll have to waitand see.'
'Youdon't think there's a chance the evidence may have been destroyed?'
'Ofcourse there is. He could have hidden her clothes and…'
'Butthere is reasonable cause for suspicion?'
Frølichhesitated.
'Well,let me ask again. Should he be arrested?'
Frølichstood up, annoyed: 'If you want to bring him in, for Christ's sake go and doit!'
'Butwould you?'
'Whatdo you mean Would I?
'Well,should he be arrested or not?'
'That'syour decision!'
'ButI have only your report to go on,' Gunnarstranda fumed, waving the papers hehad just read.
'Don'tyou think it's good enough?'
'Ididn't say that. But there are two factors which would hold me back fromarresting Kramer!' Gunnarstranda stood up as well. He barked: 'First of all, wehave to check out Kramer's story. Right now. We have to keep several optionsopen, particularly because of one thing Kramer said and which I am surprisedyou didn't pick up on yourself!'
'Andwhat's that?' Frølich asked.
'Thefact that the man has already admitted sexual congress with the murder victim.'
Onappreciating the full force of this piece of information, Frølichslumped into the chair and realized what Gunnarstranda meant. 'OK,' he said. 'Iwas too keen.'
'Kramermust be dealing from a straight deck,' Gunnarstranda continued, without showingany mercy. 'Because he admitted having had intercourse with her. Admittingintercourse with a rape victim is a logical strategy for an assailant if, but,only if, the parties are due to meet in court. Then the question of guilt isdecided on the credibility of the parties involved. But here there is adifference, and that is that Katrine is dead. If the motive for the killing ofKatrine Bratterud was to conceal a rape, with the intention of silencing thevictim, why would he admit intercourse afterwards? That's the same as puttingyour head on the block, isn't it!'
'Soyou don't think Kramer killed her?'
'Ididn't say that. But if he did kill her, he must have had other motives thanwanting to conceal a rape.'
Frølichsighed.
Gunnarstrandacontinued. 'It would be totally illogical of him to admit to sex with Katrineif he had killed her to cover up a rape.'
'Sowe don't arrest him,' Frølich said.
'Whatdo we know so far?' Gunnarstranda asked with a show of impatience.
'Weknow she was alive at three o'clock in the morning.'
'IfKramer is telling the truth.'
Frølichnodded. 'If he's telling the truth, she was alive at three in the morning. Wehave to assume she was killed soon thereafter because she was found five to sixhundred metres from where she was last seen by Kramer.'
'Butshe wasn't killed where she was found,' Gunnarstranda said. 'She was moved.'
'Soit might have been a random encounter,' Frølich said. 'Any nutter mighthave bumped into her. In the tunnel, for example, which she had to walk throughto reach her boyfriend's flat. Anyone could have picked her up, dragged her offsomewhere and strangled her.'
'Butthere has to be a crime scene.'
'Sowe ought to look for the place where she was murdered?'
'Ofcourse. We have to check all the places Kramer mentions in his statement, walkthe route she is supposed to have taken to Holmlia and comb these areas for acrime scene. We also have to check Kramer's story and try to find witnesses toconfirm what he has said. However, we also know that a group of guests left theparty at more or less the same time as Katrine. We also know that a carfollowed Kramer and Katrine to Ingierstrand – is that not correct?'
'Hedidn't think anyone was following him.'
'Butsomeone might have been. Let's say that someone was following him. The two ofthem in the car may not have seen the car until it drove into the car park inIngierstrand.'
'Isn'tthat a bit far-fetched?'
'Idon't care whether it is far-fetched or not; the point is that it is feasible,'snapped Gunnarstranda. 'Someone might have been following them. Or,' hecontinued, 'someone in this car in Ingierstrand can confirm what Kramer says.My personal opinion is that the attacker is a stranger. Someone who is turnedon by this girl walking alone in the middle of the night.'
'Wealso have the guy who went for her at her workplace,' Frølich said in alow mumble. 'That is a specific violent incident. We have to find out whathappened and hope that madam in there,' he nodded in the direction of theclosed door, 'recognizes one of the faces.'
Thepolice inspector nodded. 'If this man had a score to settle he might havefollowed Kramer and her in his car. He might have spied on her all day, allevening and all night and struck when she was alone.'
'Butthen you're presupposing that they were followed?'
'Let'sfind out. Put out a search for the car that drove into the car park inIngierstrand. The best would be if it turned out that it was driven by loverswho didn't want to waste a summer night sleeping.'
'Threelines of enquiry,' Gunnarstranda concluded at last. 'It could have been astranger who assaulted Katrine as she was walking on her own to Ole Eidesen'sflat. It could have been someone who knew her: to whit, the man in the travelagency and others – for example at the party…'
'Andthe third?'
'HenningKramer. He could have killed her.'
'Ithought you just rejected that possibility.'
'Wrong.I said he can't have done it to cover up a rape. That's quite different. Wehave only his word for what happened between midnight and three o'clock in themorning.'
'Whatdo we think about the murder victim's secret? Is that worth following up?' Frølichwondered.
'Nota lot to get our teeth into there, but I suppose there's nothing wrong withasking people.'
Gunnarstrandanodded. 'Make time in your programme to check out Kramer's statement – try AkerBrygge and Oslo Taxis. Dig up as much dirt as you can.'
Chapter Twelve
KatrineBratterud's flat was small but very appealing with bright wallpaper on thewalls. The main furniture in the living room was a sofa bed, a TV and a desk.In front of the window there was a flower rack with three levels – a kind ofpedestal on which some house plants had been arranged in a very refined way.There was a strawberry begonia, a large aloe vera and a very vigorous hoya thathad coiled itself around the wooden frame and formed an impenetrable tangle.Gunnarstranda stuck a finger in the soil in the pot. It was dry, but it hadn'tdried out.