The Last Fix [En liten gyllen ring no]

'Haveyou ever used any other intoxicating substances?'

'Eh?'

Gunnarstranda:'You were in a relationship with a drug addict. You must understand what Imean. Did you consume other substances apart from spirits and wine thatevening?'

Eidesen'sface went rigid. 'She was not a drug addict. In a few months she would havebeen regarded as fully rehabilitated. And I do not use other intoxicating substances,as you put it!'

'Soyou didn't take any other substances apart from alcohol that night, is thatwhat I am to understand?'

'Yes.'

'Youeach have your own flats. Had you thought about living together?'

'No,it was still early in the relationship. But we stayed over at each other'splace now and then.'

'Andyou were considered a couple?'

'Bysome perhaps.'

'Andyou?' Gunnarstranda said sardonically. 'Did you consider this a relationship?'

'Ofcourse.'

'Didyou leave the party alone?'

'No,I took a taxi with some of the others after Katrine left.'

'Whowas that?'

'Theguy who lived there, Bjørn, and a gay man called Goggen with his partner- a guy whose name I don't remember – and a woman called Merethe Fossum.'

'Whenwas this?'

'Aroundmidnight.'

'Butyou had just told your girlfriend that you didn't want to leave the party?'

'Yes,but there was this group of people in party mood. Goggen, he's such a funnyman, and Bjørn was all right.'

'Thelady?'

'Yes,she was all right, too.'

'Didyou already know Merethe Fossum?'

'No.'

'Youmet her there for the first time? At the party?'

'That'scorrect.'

'Wheredid you go?'

'Tothe city centre, to Smuget, a restaurant.'

'Thetaxi dropped you off outside the restaurant?'

'Yes.'

'Then?'

'Wepaid and went in.' – 'Everyone?'

Eidesenthought about this. 'I think so. I mean three of us did. The two gay men wantedto go to another place. We three went into Smuget.'

'Youand the lady and Gerhardsen?' 'There was a bit of a queue outside. I stayedwith Merethe. Gerhardsen went off on his own, but I would guess he paid andwent in.'

Gunnarstrandaglanced at Frølich. 'Do you often go to restaurants where you have topay to go in?'

Frølich:'Smuget is not a restaurant in its normal sense; it's more a club with dancefloors and stages for live music…'

Gunnarstrandaturned back to Eidesen.

'Didyou see any of the others as you went in?'

'Isaw Merethe mostly.'

'Whatdid you do?'

'Wedanced a little, listened to music, had a few beers… and…'

'AndGerhardsen?'

'Ihave no idea.'

'Youdidn't see him in there?'

'Wewere together in the queue, but after that…' Eidesen shook his head.

'Whattime did you return home?'

'Ididn't look at my watch, but it was late. It was light and I was worried.Katrine was not here and we usually spent the weekend together – the nights. SoI had somehow expected to find her here.'

'Didyou see any signs that suggested she had been here?' 'She may have been, but Idon't think so.'

'Whynot?'

Eidesenrolled his shoulders. 'How could she have been here? I mean no one had made anyfood, no one had touched anything. If she had been here I would have noticed.'

'Soyou came back, but she wasn't here. What did you do then?'

'Irang her place.'

'Inthe middle of the night?'

'Ofcourse. It was crazy that she wasn't here, with her being unwell and all that.'

Gunnarstrandagot up and walked to the window. 'But suppose you had been ill,' he said.'Suppose you had felt nauseous and had thrown up and hadn't felt like beingwith other people, wouldn't it have been natural to go back to your own place,go to bed and hope you woke up fit and well the next day?'

'Yes,it would, but I would have left a message on the answer machine of the personwaiting for me.'

'Andthere weren't any messages on the machine?' Gunnarstranda lifted up a blackobject beside the white telephone on the window sill. 'On this?'

'Therewasn't a message, no.'

'Andshe usually left you messages?'

'Yes.'

Gunnarstrandanodded. 'Did she pick up the phone when you called?'

'No.'

'Whatdid you do?'

'Iwent to sleep.'

'Yes,and then?'

'Well,I slept.'

'Ithought you ran into the forest and got scratched by thorns. Wasn't that whatyou said?'

'No,that was last night. I couldn't sleep after I heard what had happened.'

'Butthat night you slept?'

'Yes,like a log.'

'Eventhough she had vanished without a trace?'

'Shehadn't.'

'Hadn't?'

'Imean I wasn't aware she had vanished. I thought she was asleep.'

'Butshe didn't answer the phone.'

'No,but she had been ill and had gone home. I assumed she was sleeping.'

Gunnarstrandanodded slowly. 'Can anyone confirm that you did not have the cuts on your faceon Sunday?'

Eidesenshrugged. Silent. 'Maybe.'

'Name?''If you like I'll write down the names of the people I met on Sunday.'

'Fine.You slept. How long did you sleep?'

'Untilnine, more or less.'

'Didyou try to get in contact with her?'

'Yes,several times. On the phone.'

'Whatwere you thinking?'

'Howdo you mean?'

Gunnarstranda,irritated: 'Well, you were anxious. What were you thinking? What hypotheses hadyou formed in your mind after your girlfriend had stayed away all night and wasill?'

'None.'

'None?'the policeman gasped.

Eidesenstood up and walked around the table. He was two heads taller than the short,lean policeman with the comb-over and the anthropoid jaw. 'I don't know how youare supposed to behave in cases like this,' he said in a tremulous voice.

Frølichdidn't move as his boss still seemed to be in control.

Eidesen:'I'm no expert at reactions and feelings, but I have just lost a person of whomI was fond and if you had any respect left in…'

'Areyou thinking these thoughts now or did you fear these things on that morning,too?' the small policeman barked, moving two steps closer to the athlete whoinvoluntarily retreated. The policeman repeated, 'Did it occur to you on thatmorning that something might have happened to Katrine? That she might have beenhurt?'

'No.'

'Andwhy not?'

'Because…' Eidesen was quiet, thinking, it appeared.

'Why?'Gunnarstranda barked.

Eidesensat down on the sofa with a deep sigh.

Gunnarstrandasat down too, took out his packet of roll-ups and found a cigarette for nervousfingers to fidget with.

Eidesenseemed drained, but said nothing.

'Didyou think she was with someone else?'

Eidesenstared out of the window.

'Comeon,' Gunnarstranda said. 'Your girl stayed out all night. She may have been sickor unwell and you do nothing, not even check out the people you must have knownwere closest to her. You don't report her missing. Even when the news on Sundayis full of stories about a dead young woman found in Mastemyr, it doesn't ringa bell with you. It's so obvious why you didn't do anything. You must havethought she was with someone else, unless you killed her.'

'Whatdid you say?' Eidesen's reaction was perhaps divided between shock at thequestion and annoyance at Gunnarstranda's aggression.

'I'mnot saying anything,' the policeman explained, unruffled. 'I'm weighing theoptions. Either you were at ease that morning because you knew how things stood- that she was dead – or you were unconcerned because you had a good reason toassume nothing had happened. In which case, if you assumed everything was finewith Katrine, you must have assumed she was elsewhere. Both options arepossible. You look as if you have been fighting with someone with claws…'

'Anaccident,' Eidesen interrupted.

'Indeed.And, off the top of your head, you cannot tell me the names of anyone who couldconfirm your assertions. But let us suppose you had nothing to do with themurder. Well, you say you were not concerned about Katrine that morning. So myquestion is: Where was she? Or to be more precise: Where did you think shewas?'