Cold Hearts (13 page)

I HAD HIM ON THE TELEPHONE
before I was in the car. He spoke quickly in a low voice, and it was my hunch she was in another room fixing her hair or changing her clothes. Or perhaps she was as God made her, for all I knew.

‘Varg … we must have a chat.’

‘I’m ready anytime you like. At your office or …?’

‘Not this time. Can I come to yours, before office hours?’

‘Before your office hours or mine?’

‘I’ll be at yours for eight,’ he gabbled. Suddenly his voice was raised. ‘No, I don’t have any time right now. If we could talk tomorrow we can take it from there. Alright? Bye.’

Then he rang off. She was obviously back in the room, dressed or undressed.

I sat in the car peering up at what I had worked out had to be her windows. No curtains drawn, no lights turned off. Not yet.

Then I twisted the key and drove back down to the centre. I was in Kong Oscars gate when my mobile rang again. I drove straight to the crossroads by Nygaten and pulled in by Bergen Cathedral School before answering. ‘Yes?’

‘Varg Veum?’ It was a woman’s voice, and it took me a couple of seconds to recognise Inspector Annemette Bergesen.

‘Yes?’

‘Where are you?’

‘In Kong Oscars gate, a stone’s throw from the police station.’

‘Yes, but that’s not where I am. Are you driving?’

‘I’m sitting behind the steering wheel and I’m stinking sober, if I can put it like that.’

‘I wonder if you could come to Tollbodhopen?’

I had an unpleasant feeling in my gut. ‘Tell me more.’

‘We’ve found a body in the sea. A young woman.’

The feeling rose to my throat region, and I found it difficult to swallow. ‘But why ring me?’

‘We checked her purse for ID and found your card, among other things.’

‘What colour’s her hair?’

‘Just get over here and we’ll take it from there.’

It was an unpleasant drive. To the best of my memory, I had given my card to Hege and Tanya. Passing through C. Sundts gate, I noticed the street was conspicuously empty of working girls. At Tollbodhopen I saw an ambulance and two police vehicles, as well as a throng of spectators. I parked my car by the kerb in front of the large, white customs building with the hipped roof.

In the car park to the west a large crowd of people had gathered. As I approached I scanned the ranks but it was difficult to make out those I was looking for in the darkness. The police had cordoned off the area where they had found the body by the sea. I elbowed my way roughly through the milling masses. At the front I was stopped by an officer, but when I said I had been summoned by Inspector Bergesen I was allowed through. Behind me camera flashes went off. The press was on the spot, as always. Not for nothing did they have police radios on their office desks.

The woman had been dragged up onto the quay. There was a defibrillator on the ground beside her, but it was too late for that. Much too late.

Annemette Bergesen met my eyes as I arrived, but I looked past her and down. Her hair was red, even though it was soaked in seawater. Her skin was pale blue, her eyes unnaturally wide open, and there were dark marks around her neck. Even in death I seemed to be able to hear her northern Norwegian tones.

Annemette Bergesen looked at me. ‘Do you recognise her?’

I nodded. ‘Her name’s Tanya. I don’t know her other names. Russian. I talked to her a couple of days ago about a case I’m investigating. A young woman who’s missing, from the same milieu.’

‘Can you confirm she’s a prostitute?’

‘Yes.’ I hesitated. ‘Who found her?’

She looked round. ‘The man over there. With the dog. He was out taking it for a walk.’

A man in a blue coat with an old-fashioned peaked cap on his head and a red setter on a lead was speaking to one of the police officers.

‘Where was she found?’

‘Down there.’ She pointed to the big rocks by Tollbod Quay, and I shuddered. The sea washed in from Byfjorden, black and cold. Not a nice place to be found.

‘Any idea how long she might have been there?’

‘Not yet. When did you see her last?’

‘Monday evening.’

She made a note on her pad. ‘We shall of course have to question the others, but for the moment we have to wait for the report from Forensics.’

‘The marks on her neck …’

‘Yes.’

‘When I spoke to her she told me she had been subjected to
an assault by two very brutal punters before the weekend. For your information.’

‘Did she have those marks then? When you spoke to her, I mean.’

‘No.’

‘She didn’t say anything that could identify the customers, I suppose?’

‘No, but her so-called protectors are Kjell Malthus and Rolf Terje Dalby. I wanted to speak to them.’

She nodded and took notes.

‘Do you need me any more?’

She considered the question. ‘In fact we don’t. Drop by early tomorrow so that we can question you formally.’

I smirked. ‘As a suspect?’

‘As a witness, Veum. For the moment.’

I nodded in confirmation. Then I took a few steps closer to Tanya and stood studying her. I had little or no idea of her background, but for reasons unknown she had chosen to make her living roaming the streets as a prostitute in Bergen, a coastal town with several hundred years of history of such activity. But once, not a very long time ago, in an overcrowded metropolis or in a frozen rural district, she had been someone’s little daughter, a small girl who played with her tatty dolls, if she had any, a schoolgirl who had taught herself to read, heard about Brezhnev and Kosygin and other famous people, had her first lover, if she hadn’t been raped by a brutal stepfather, a precocious boy or a seaman on leave; one small person on her way into life, later across the border in the neighbouring country in which she stayed long enough to acquire the local dialect before moving south to the town where all too abruptly she would end her days, without anyone knowing where she came from or who she was.

‘Well, well …’ Sad at heart, I took my final leave of Tanya No Surname, nodded to Annemette and plodded wearily back to my car.

A storm of flashes went off, but I dismissed the journalists flocking round me with ‘No comment. No comment, I said!’

They snorted with irritation, but were forced to accept that I had nothing to say to them. Then I caught sight of a figure peeling off from the flock of spectators and following me to the car. It was Hege.

She came up close to me. I saw the trails of tears in the streaks of mascara running down her cheeks. She clasped my lapels and stared me in the eye.

‘Good to see you,’ I said. ‘For a while there I was frightened it was you.’

‘Was she killed? Was she beaten up?’

‘Looks like it. She didn’t die from natural causes at any rate.’

She gasped as she inhaled. She looked around, desperation in her eyes. ‘And Maggi? Have you found out anything about her?’

‘Nothing. At least nothing that can tell me where she is.’

She forced a blink with both eyes and tossed her head towards Tollbodhopen. ‘I’m afraid they’re going to find her like that as well.’

I was about to say something, but she spoke first. ‘Take me with you!’

‘With me … you mean …?’

‘I’m scared, Veum. Scared to death. Next time it could be me.’

‘Why?’

‘Had I known this, I wouldn’t have told you!’

I looked at her. ‘Of course I can. I can drive you home. Where …?’

‘Home! Do you know where I live? In a bloody hospice, full to the brim with dopeheads and … people like me.’ After a brief pause she added: ‘Will you take the responsibility for them finding me tomorrow … like Tanya?’

‘No.’ I opened the door with the remote control. ‘Get in.’

She sat at the front. I sat behind the wheel. Before starting up I turned towards her. ‘But I will say one thing, Hege. This is the first time I have taken a girl home from this area. I hope you won’t make me regret it.’

‘I promise not to tell your mother.’

‘My mother died a long time ago.’

‘The policewoman over there.’

‘Hm.’ I made no comment, just turned the ignition key and set off.

‘I can give you a night you’ll never forget.’

‘Didn’t you say you’d dated Thomas?’

‘That’s why.’

‘Then thanks, but no thanks. A good night’s sleep is what we both need, I’m afraid.’

‘Aren’t you going to offer me a drink first?’

‘Think I can manage that …’

Then we said very little until I parked in Øvre Blekevei and I led her as discreetly as possible to Telthussmauet. If we had met any neighbours on the way my reputation would have been in tatters for good, for all the difference that would have made. But we didn’t bump into anyone, and she sent me a grateful look as I unlocked the front door.

WE DOWNED A BOTTLE
of red wine between us. When it was empty she asked whether I had another one.

‘I’m afraid not. But I have a bottle of aquavit open.’

She shrugged. ‘Whatever. So long as it works.’

She sat down on the sofa, I sat on a chair. She seemed to have made herself at home. For myself I was still a bit uneasy with the situation. Had the cards played out differently she could have been my daughter-in-law.

I got to my feet, found two spirits glasses and poured from the bottle of Simers.

Her black skirt was short. Her red blouse was décolleté enough to give you problems knowing where to look. She had tousled her black hair, but fear lay smouldering in her eyes, as black as the sea at Tollbodhopen.

She had told me that she had spoken to several of the other girls. No one could remember having seen Tanya being picked up. No one could remember having seen her at all that day. And who said it was a punter who had picked her up? It could have been anyone.

I asked her if it was Kjell Malthus and Rolf Terje Dalby she had on her mind, but as far as they were concerned she was not very forthcoming. She had been totally unaware that Rolf Terje and Maggi had grown up together, or that he had been her brother’s best friend.

I had referred to what Tanya had told me, that Maggi had
said she wasn’t going to be there long, she would soon be on her travels. She had looked at me with astonishment and asked me: ‘Why the hell did she say that to Tanya, and not to me?’ I had explained it was tied up with the trick she refused. When I told her about the two guys who had beaten up Tanya, she said: ‘That was what I told you when I hired you! Do you think …? Perhaps it was them who came back? Were they the ones who killed Tanya? Did it just go too far this time?’

We got no closer to the answer.

Over the rim of the aquavit glass I asked: ‘What got you into this mess, Hege?’

‘What do you think? Nine out of ten girls are victims of child abuse. Drugs come with the territory …’ She swallowed hard, and the follow-up lived long in the memory. ‘As for me I was raped by three classmates when I was at school. And I didn’t have anyone I could talk to.’

This burned right through me like an electric shock. ‘Not even …?’

She laughed when she saw my expression, but it was a cheerless laugh. ‘No, not even Thomas. It was over between us when this happened. The little there had been …’ Her smile softened. ‘He was sweet, actually …’ Then her eyes darkened again. ‘One of them was my best friend. Or so I thought.’

‘A girl?’

‘Yes, she held me down. But that was the worst bit, anyway. Her being part of it. Afterwards she said it was because I had made a move on her boyfriend.’

‘And this boyfriend, was he one of the attackers?’

‘No. But I was in love with him. So, in a way, she was right. It was my own fault.’

‘It’s never your fault when that sort of thing happens, Hege.’

‘Never?’

‘Never.’

‘But Maggi …?’

‘Yes? Did she tell you … a similar story?’

‘No, but she … not in so many words. It was a hellish winter night, ten degrees below and not a single bloody punter out in a car. We went up to hers and sat drinking. I told her – the same as I’ve told you, but perhaps in more detail, and she said … Yes, I understand how you feel, Hege. I know exactly what it feels like.’

‘Exactly what it feels … Did she say anything else? Who, when, how?’

‘No, she didn’t say any more. It ended up with us lying in each other’s arms and crying. And the next morning we spewed in unison.’ She smiled cynically. ‘At one in everything.’ Then she held out her empty glass. ‘Another?’

I poured slowly. ‘Perhaps it’s time to go to bed?’

She gave a wry smile. ‘Have you changed your mind?’

‘My bedroom’s in there. You’re here.’ I pointed to the sofa. ‘I’ll find you some bedlinen.’

I went into the bedroom and fetched some clean sheets and a padded quilt from a wardrobe. When I entered the living room again, she had removed her blouse. Her lingerie was black, but her upper body was pale and a bit flabby.

I threw the linen on the bed while she slid down the zip on the side of her skirt, let it fall and blew a kind of trumpet fanfare.

‘Relax, Hege. I’ve see naked women before.’

‘So you’re not a homo then? That’s not your problem?’ she blurted with an aggression I had not expected. ‘Or is it because I am who I am? There have been far too many on top of me? And you’ll become a customer like all the others?’

‘No, it’s not that. On the contrary. In fact, you’re my customer. You pay for my services, and it would be immoral of me to … exploit the situation.’ The moment I said it I knew what the counter-argument would be.

‘Exploit the situation! Don’t make me laugh! As if I haven’t been …’ With a swing of the arm she unhooked her bra at the back and slung it into the air. She peeled off her panties and threw them towards me. They didn’t quite reach. ‘I haven’t had a trick all day. I’m showered and fresh, as fresh as any girl on the game!’

She thrust her hands behind her neck, spread her legs and strutted her stuff. There was a feverish glow in her eyes, and the artificial smile she put on for me would have disintegrated at the slightest touch.

I tried to hold her gaze. In a dry, sober voice I said: ‘I’ll go and get ready in the bathroom first, Hege. I’ll put out an extra toothbrush and hang up a towel for you.’

‘I’ll put out an extra toothbrush!’ she mimicked. ‘You’re not going to wipe my arse for me as well, are you?’

‘Let me know if there’s anything you need. And put on your clothes. The show’s over. The audience’s gone home.’

I turned and left. In the bathroom I washed with cold water, thoroughly. Raising my head and looking at myself in the mirror, I glimpsed a shadow of the same feverish glow I had seen in her. I finished and cleaned up for her, but when I went in she had crawled under the quilt and turned her back on the room.

‘Good night,’ I said.

She nodded in silence.

‘I have to get up at seven for a meeting at eight, but you can lie in for as long as you like, just close the door after you when you leave.’

She rolled over and looked at me with raised eyebrows. I knew I was taking a risk, but on the other hand both the TV and hi-fi were such old models that she wouldn’t get much for them on the open market. Besides, the TV was bigger than bankers’ bonuses. She nodded. ‘Thank you … I’m sorry I was … so stupid. You’re almost as sweet as Thomas.’

‘Almost,’ I said.

She smirked. ‘Good night.’

I closed the door behind me and lay for a while listening to the sounds of the night: a cat out a-courting in Fjellgaten, an owl flying low over Skansen, a driver changing down with revs too high on the Øvre Blekevei hill. The whole time I was distressed by the image of Tanya lying on the quay by the Customs House, pale, dead, without even the minimum accompanying customs declaration.

Then I must have fallen asleep. I woke with her standing beside my bed. Her voice was thin, reedy. ‘Varg? I can’t sleep. Can I come into your bed?’

Half delirious and incapable of resistance, I folded the duvet to one side. ‘OK then, but to sleep, alright.’

She snuggled up to my back and put her arms around me. ‘I kept thinking about Tanya,’ she said.

‘I did, too. But try to sleep now.’

‘I’ve got some condoms in my handbag.’

‘Jesus Christ!’ In one agile leap I was over her and onto the floor. ‘I’ll take the sofa. Sleep tight.’ Once a scout, always a scout. Someone should have awarded me a medal.

At that she gave in. Perhaps when it came down to it what she had been after was my bed.

The next morning she was fast asleep when I inched the door open to say that I was off. I shrugged and crossed my
fingers that she would take no more than the aquavit bottle as she left.

At eight I had a meeting with Nils Åkre at my office. If nothing else, at least I felt I had a kind of moral advantage over him now.