Harry Hole Oslo Sequence 10 - Police

alternatives,’ Isabelle Skøyen’s voice intoned. ‘We, of course, understand that this may be an excessively demanding issue for a young, newly appointed Police Chief. It is indeed unfortunate that a situation requiring experience and knowledge of procedure should come so early in his period of office. It would have been better if this had landed on the desk of the previous Police Chief, given his long years of experience and his many achievements. I’m sure that’s what everyone in this room would have wished for, including the two Police Chiefs.’
    Mikael Bellman wondered if he had heard what he thought he had heard. Did she mean . . . was she about to . . .?
    ‘Isn’t that right, Bellman?’
    Mikael Bellman cleared his throat.
    ‘Excuse me for interrupting, Bellman,’ Isabelle Skøyen said, placing a pair of Prada reading glasses on the tip of her nose and peering down at the sheet of paper in front of her. ‘I’m reading from the minutes of the previous meeting we had on this matter and in which you said, quote: “I can assure the council that we have this case under control and we have every confidence that there will be a speedy resolution.”’ She removed her glasses. ‘To save ourselves and you the time, which apparently we are short of, perhaps you could skip the repetition and tell us what you’re intending to do now that differs from and is more fruitful than what you were doing before?’
    Bellman rolled his shoulders in the hope his shirt would come loose from his back. Bloody sweat. Bloody bitch.
    It was eight o’clock in the evening, and Harry felt tired as he unlocked the door to PHS. He was obviously out of practice at concentrating for longer periods. And they hadn’t got much further. They had skimmed through reports, thinking thoughts they had thought a dozen times before, gone in circles, banged their heads against the wall hoping that the wall would give sooner or later.
    The ex-inspector nodded to the cleaner and ran up the stairs.
    Tired, and yet astonishingly alert. Elated. Ready for more.
    He heard his name being called as he passed Arnold’s office, turned and poked his head round. His colleague interlaced his fingers behind his dishevelled hair. ‘Just wanted to hear how it feels to be a real policeman again.’
    ‘Good,’ Harry said. ‘I just have to correct the last criminal investigation tests.’
    ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ve got them here,’ Arnold said, tapping his finger on the pile of papers in front of him. ‘Just make sure you catch the guy.’
    ‘OK, Arnold. Thanks.’
    ‘By the way, we’ve had a break-in.’
    ‘Break-in?’
    ‘In the gym. The equipment cupboard was broken into, but all that was taken were two batons.’
    ‘Oh shit. Front door?’
    ‘No signs of forced entry there. So that suggests it must have been an inside job. Or someone who works here let them in or lent them their pass.’
    ‘Is there no way of finding out?’
    Arnold shrugged. ‘We haven’t got much here that’s worth stealing, so we don’t spend any of the budget on complex check-in procedures, CCTV or a twenty-four-hour security guard.’
    ‘We may not have weapons, dope or a safe, but surely we have more cash-convertible things than batons?’
    Arnold smirked. ‘You’d better check to see if your computer is still there.’
    Harry walked on to his office, saw that it appeared to be intact, sat down and wondered what to do. The evening had been set aside for marking tests, and at home only shadows were waiting. In answer to his question, his mobile began to vibrate.
    ‘Katrine?’
    ‘Hi. I’ve got something.’ She sounded excited. ‘Do you remember me telling you that Beate and I had spoken to Irja, the woman who rented out the basement flat to Valentin?’
    ‘The one who gave him a false alibi?’
    ‘Yes. She said she’d found some photos in the flat. Photos of rape and abuse. In one of the photos she recognised his shoes and the wallpaper from the bedroom.’
    ‘Mm. You mean . . .’
    ‘. . . that it’s not very likely, but it may be the scene of a crime. I contacted the new owners and it turns out they’re living with family nearby while the house is being done up. But they didn’t mind if we borrowed the key and had a scout round.’
    ‘I thought we agreed we weren’t looking for Valentin now.’
    ‘I thought we agreed to search where there was light.’
    ‘Touché, bright Bratt. Vinderen is practically round the corner. Have you got