The Last Fix (13 page)

    'She
fainted?'

    'I
don't know.'

    Gunnarstranda
waited.

    'She
might have fainted.'

    'What
did you do?'

    'I
followed the two of them, her and her boyfriend, to the bathroom and, after a
while he came out, leaving her inside. He said she felt better and would be out
in a while. I waited for a bit, and after a few more minutes I knocked on the
door. But she wouldn't open up. A little later she shouted to me that
everything was fine and opened the door. Then I went in; she was sitting on the
toilet lid. I remember I washed her face. She seemed fine, but was a little
shaky. I remember she asked me to call a taxi, but then didn't bother, that is
to say she told me not to bother. She said she would come out of the toilet,
but that she might leave the party early. So I went.'

    'Did
you say anything else to her?'

    'No.
Some time later I asked Annabeth, but she thought she had gone home early
because she was ill.'

    'What
did you think then?'

    'I
was nervous. She was upset because of an incident that took place earlier in
the day and -'

    'What
sort of incident?' Gunnarstranda interrupted.

    'I
think someone from her former life had appeared in the travel agency where she
was working.'

    'Who?'

    'I
don't know the name. But she rang me a couple of hours before we left for
Annabeth's. It must have been about five o'clock, I think, so it was after she
had finished work. She said something had happened.' Sigrid frowned. 'The whole
thing was a bit incoherent, but I think she said someone from the drugs milieu
she had been part of turned up at her workplace. That was why she had to talk
to me. She insisted on it.'

    'Why
you?'

    'Because…'
Sigrid searched for words.

    Gunnarstranda
leaned back in the chair, silent.

    'Because
we talked a lot. We got on well.'

    'But
what did she want to talk about?'

    Sigrid
Haugom deliberated. 'I asked if we couldn't talk on the phone, but she said no.
I remember I looked up at that clock.' Sigrid pointed to the wall where the
clock in the brown box was ticking loudly. 'It was past five and we had to be
at Annabeth's for half-seven. And I was working out how much time I would need
for a shower and the other things I needed to do. I… well… I tried to make it
all fit, let me put it like that, and asked if I should pop by before we went
to the party, but she said no.'

    'And
how did she go on?'

    Sigrid
shrugged. 'Words to the effect of… then we can chat later, or something like
that. I wasn't so happy with that because I knew she was very touchy in that
area, about being rejected, so I asked:
Are you sure?
And once again I
offered to drive down to hers. But then she asked me if I had time tomorrow,
that is, the day after, on Sunday. And I said yes, but, well, that didn't
materialize.'

    'Can
you remember what she said had happened, the precise words she used?'

    The
woman on the sofa turned this over in her mind. Gunnarstranda sipped his coffee
and sent her another complimentary glance.

    
Sigrid
closed her eyes. 'She said:
I've had a visit… or: Something happened at
work… I've had a visit from the past. I have to talk to you or I'm going to
snap
.
Something like that - I can't remember the exact words.'

    '… or
I'm going to snap?'

    Sigrid
nodded.

    'How
did you interpret that expression?'

    'Not
in any special way. As a way of speaking, like:
I think I'm going to faint
or:
I think I'm going to die,
as some people say.'

    'And
what did you answer?'

    
'I
said:
Who was it then, my love? Or:
My dear, who was it then
?'

    'You
were so intimate? My dear? My love?'

    'Yes,
in fact we were.'

    'Do
you address other patients in the same way?'

    'I
generally get on well with patients.'

    'But
you address them all in the same way?'

    'You
could say that Katrine was… I suppose it is true to say there was something
special about our relationship.'

    'Why
was that?'

    Sigrid
took her time. In the end, she said: 'Because it was her, and it was me.' She
thought a bit more. 'Maybe Katrine was different, yes, I think she was. Katrine
was special.' Sigrid seemed to be clarifying her thinking to herself. She sat
staring into space, lost in thought. 'There was something about Katrine,' she
said at length, and added, 'Oh, I don't know. When it comes to the crunch it
might just have been the chemistry, but on top of that she had confided in me
over a long period.'

    'Confided?'

    'Yes,
it wasn't perhaps very therapeutic, but she preferred me to many others.'

    'But
she didn't say who it was that had visited her or what had happened?'

    'No.
The conversation turned into a discussion of when to meet.' 'Did you try to
contact her on Sunday?'

    'I
rang her in the afternoon, but got no answer.'

    'How
did you interpret that?'

    'I
thought she had forgotten or she would get back to me later. After all, we
hadn't made any specific arrangement.'

    Gunnarstranda
coughed. He considered his next question. 'What sort of person is her
boyfriend?'

    'An
empty shell.'

    'Shell?'

    'I
think so. There's a lot of facade, but not much in here.' She tapped her temple
with her middle finger. 'He was also jealous, not very mature… yes, in fact
that covers it… not very mature.'

    'Is
he violent?'

    'I
don't think so.'

    'Do
you think he hit her?'

    'No.'
She shook her head. 'No, I would have known.'

    'How
did the jealousy manifest itself?'

    'I
guess he was afraid she was intimate with other men.'

    'Was
she?'

    'I
have no idea.'

    'She
didn't take you into her confidence about everything?' 'It would be more
correct to say I wasn't interested in that type of confidence.'

    'Did
anyone at the party make advances to her?'

    'Advances?'

    Gunnarstranda
looked her straight in the eye. 'I think you understand what I mean. Did anyone
at the party "follow her, have sexual intentions, that is?'

    'I
doubt it.'

    'Why?'

    Sigrid
stared into space. She was thinking. 'Then the individual concerned must have
left the party,' she said at last. 'And…' She continued to think. 'And so as
not to be found out this individual must have returned…'

    'Yes,
that's a possibility.'

    'No…'
she took her time, staring upwards. 'That seems quite unlikely.'

    'But
does it seem impossible?'

    'What
do you mean?'

    'Well,'
said the policeman. 'You knew her, she confided in you some of the time and
there is a good chance someone followed her. Whether it was feasible is another
matter. Can you say, with your hand on your heart, that everyone at the party
stayed in the house all that evening and night?'

    'No.'
'Why not?'

    'Some
went into town. After all, the meal was over. Some were upstairs, some were
downstairs, some were at the bottom of the garden or behind the bushes. Who
knows.'

    'Do
you remember who went into the city centre?'

    'A
gang of them went to dance at Smuget… there was a man we called Goggen who was
the leader and desperate to go - he's an ergonomist - his real name is Georg
Beck. I know Bjørn Gerhardsen left…'

    'The
host, Annabeth's husband?'

    'Yes,
he's just an overgrown schoolboy. He wanted others to join them. Quite a few of
the younger ones went along. I don't know how many there were. At any rate,
Goggen and Bjørn Gerhardsen. Plus a few others. Katrine's boyfriend, Ole
Eidesen, may have been with them.'

    'Why
do you think that?'

    'I
couldn't see him or Katrine anywhere. Either he went with Katrine or he went
with Goggen and the others to town.'

    'And
you?'

    'Me?
I went hither and thither.' She put on a tentative smile. 'Do you think I…?'

    'We
don't think anything, but we may need to hear some of the confidences.' 'How
so?'

    'She
may have said something that has a connection with the case. So I would like
you to contact us if you remember anything.' He rose to his feet. Sigrid
followed suit. 'Of course,' she assured him.

    Gunnarstranda:
'How did you hear about her death?'

    'Well,
at today's morning meeting I brought the issue up as I hadn't heard from
Katrine, and someone had seen the news last night, an item about a dead woman
being found in Mastemyr. I don't know why but suddenly everyone was frightened
it could be Katrine. Henning,- a social worker with us, was given the task of
ringing her at work to check.' Sigrid's smile was weary. 'And I don't know if
that was before or after you were contacted,' she added.

    'And
you have no idea why she fell ill at the party or where she went after leaving
you?'

    'Not
a clue.'

    'When
did you leave the party?'

    'I
was picked up by my husband.'

    'When?'

    'Late,
very late, it was beginning to get light.'

    'You
have a nice husband.' 'He's always there for me. When we were younger I thought
this self-sacrifice was a bit wearing. Now it's just great.'

    'But
why did you stay so long?'

    'We
kept going. I talked to Annabeth for a long time. It was a cross between a
sewing circle and a business meeting. The last guests left at around half past
four, I think. Afterwards I helped Annabeth to tidy up. Before I left, Bjørn
came back from town.'

    'What
time was that?'

    'As I
said, it was beginning to get light, so I would guess it must have been around
four in the morning.'

    'Was
the party a success?'

    'Yes,
I think so.'

    'Was
there anyone in particular Katrine spoke a lot to during the evening?'

    'Well,
that's hard for me to say. She left the party early and I sat quite a distance
from her during the meal. I saw her with her boyfriend having coffee. That was
all I noticed about her - until she was ill.'

    Gunnarstranda
got to his feet and walked to the door.

    'Very
nice to meet you,' Sigrid Haugom said to his back. The detective inspector
turned in the doorway. He stood thinking.

    'Yes?'
Sigrid said.

    'Do
you know anything about her background, her childhood?'

    Sigrid
shook her head. 'I went home with her once.'

    Gunnarstranda
waited.

    'It
was very sad.'

    'Why's
that?'

    'Her
mother lives in a pretty derelict house. She was living with a man, but she was
alone when we arrived. It was Katrine's birthday and she hadn't remembered. The
woman hadn't seen Katrine for two years, and she served up tinned spaghetti on
paper plates.'

    Gunnarstranda
pulled a face.

    Sigrid
said. 'Katrine couldn't cope. She ran out and I think that was the last time
the two of them saw each other.'