‘The first point has to do with what kind of relationship there was between the priest and Kramer Nielsen. What did he know about him besides whatever it was they talked about in the confessional?’
‘Right. The cohabitation angle. Everything that doesn’t come under the privilege of the confessional.’
‘The next step is to uncover Kramer Nielsen’s religious life as best we can under the circumstances. A lot of it’s going to be privileged information, but we want to know why he converted, and in particular whether he had any sort of relationship going on with anyone from the Catholic community, as well as who was there when they buried him.’
‘Cremated. Kramer Nielsen was cremated.’
‘Whatever. So, who was at the funeral? Focus with regard to any friends or acquaintances… Hey, hang on a minute, Simon.’
‘I’m hanging on.’
‘What’s the difference between getting buried and cremated? In terms of the ritual, I mean.’
‘In the first instance the body’s lowered into the ground, in the other it’s driven away for cremation.’
‘What happens if there are no family or friends? You can’t ask a corpse, can you, do you want to be buried or cremated?’
‘Buried is the default, I think.’
‘Jørgen Kramer Nielsen was cremated.’
Konrad Simonsen mulled this over before responding. Eventually, he replied, cautiously:
‘I see what you’re getting at. In Kramer Nielsen’s case, the Catholic Church stepped in and took over the duties of burial from the state. I’ve no idea if there are any other standards that might apply in that case. There could have been a stipulation in Kramer Nielsen’s will, of course.’
‘Which Pauline unearthed six months after cremation had taken place. I think we can dismiss that possibility. And if there was some departure from normal procedure, then someone must have known it was the wish of the deceased. They could only have known if they’d spoken to that person about Kramer Nielsen’s death. The most obvious candidate would be the priest.’
‘Interesting. I can do the groundwork for you tomorrow morning, then hopefully you’ll have a really good question to put to him. But let’s get back to these five points, because I’m knackered.’
It wasn’t entirely true, but Simonsen felt Arne Pedersen could very well keep on going over every detail until his briefing meeting with the Deputy Commissioner, and Simonsen couldn’t be bothered.
‘The third area is Jørgen Kramer Nielsen’s Confessions. What were they about? Does the priest know things we ought to know too? Is Jørgen Kramer Nielsen’s religious affiliation in any way linked to his killing? These all being matters where I can expect to encounter unco-operative witnesses.’
‘Basically, we want to know whether the priest thinks if, with his help, we’d be able to clear this killing up if it were possible for him to share information divulged to him during Confession.’
Arne Pedersen summed up their thinking so far.
The main thrust of the interview was going to consist of hypotheses, negation and indirect correlations, and as interviewer he would need to draw the right conclusions as quickly as possible in respect of a no and a no comment. Hesitation, a look or any other sign of uncertainty between the two witnesses would give him the information he needed, whatever they actually said. Moreover, the pace at which he proceeded would be crucial. It would be all about timing rather than the third degree.
Simonsen approved Pedersen’s appraisal, thinking to himself that in fact the purpose of this exercise was more to do with Pedersen’s presentation of their groundwork to the Deputy Commissioner than the actual interview itself. Pedersen repeated:
‘Swift, seamless logic. That’s the key.’
‘Good. Let’s take the last item.’
The last item was Kramer Nielsen’s relationship to the girl in the loft, including who she was, why he was so obsessed by her, and so on. Though that all depended on whether the priest even knew about the girl, which was what they had to uncover first.
‘The most important question of all being: who is she?’ said Pedersen.
‘Or rather was. I’ve been thinking a great deal about this, and I’m inclined to go along with Pauline’s hunch and assume she’s dead. That loft’s a mausoleum. If you can clear up the main issue of whether she’s dead or alive for certain, we’ll have come a long way. Oh, and while we’re at it, Kurt Melsing says you’ll have a photo of her tomorrow morning first thing. The technicians have done a composite from the posters in the loft. Right, that’s it, we’re finished here. Any more and you’re just waving to the crowds, Arne. You’ve got it all off pat, and I want something to eat.’
‘Wait a minute. What about… what about her?’
Meaning the Deputy Commissioner, that much was obvious. Arne Pedersen began going through the possibilities: what if she said this, what if she asked about that or, worse, what if it turned out she thought that he…
Simonsen stopped him in his tracks.
‘Knock it off, Arne. You’re as prepared as can be, and besides, she’ll spend most of the time telling you she doesn’t mean to interfere.’
‘How come?’
‘You can work that one out, surely?’
‘You didn’t tell her I was scared of her, did you? You didn’t!’
‘You are, though, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, but… but that doesn’t… what did she say?’
‘She was very sorry to hear it, as indeed she ought to be. There’s no point in your going about like a bag of nerves. You can die from that.’
CHAPTER 5
Autumn was setting in. The Boston ivy on the Homicide Department facing Niels Brocks Gade changed colour, the summer’s weary green all gradually replaced by cheerful yellow and orange hues that lent the gentle morning drizzle a golden appearance. Soon they would turn again, into bright reds, and when they did the summer half of the year would be definitively over according to Konrad Simonsen’s calendar. He raised his head and looked out over the roof. Pale grey clouds, barely discernible against the blue-white sky, drifted east like smoke wafting from a chimney.
He had clocked in earlier than usual so as to come in with the Countess. She was run off her feet and needed a long day at work so she wouldn’t get home too late. He thought to himself that she probably wouldn’t get back until evening anyway, and truth be told it was a bit daft coming in together in separate cars, but it had been his own idea that they leave home at the same time, so…
His train of thought came to a halt when he discovered the note. She had stuck it to the TV screen in his annexe with Sellotape, and as soon as he set eyes on it he knew it was from her. No one but Pauline Berg would leave a message for him there, if only because she was the only person familiar with his new habit of starting the day by zapping through the news on Teletext before getting on with his work.
He tore the note from the screen and shook his head in annoyance at the small but no less visible area of sticky tape that was left behind. Couldn’t she have stuck it somewhere else instead? He read her words with puzzlement. Pauline couldn’t come in to HS today because she had gone to Frederikssund to pursue the Juli case. That was it, apart from the signing off which he found slightly inappropriate: Lots of love, Pauline. Whether she had left the note for him when she went home the day before, or whether she had come in early and then gone again, he had no idea. He addressed the note with a frown: the Juli case? And then at last his brain joined the dots and he put a clenched fist to his brow.
‘Oh, God, tell me she hasn’t.’
A long conversation with the chief constable in Frederikssund told him she had.