‘There were four of them, weren’t there?’ Fristad interrupted.
‘We have a witness who says so, but let’s stick to what we know. The three of them are arrested after a tip-off from Merethe Sandmo, right. All three get off, thanks to Elisabeth Faremo’s testimony. Her statement is disputed by Frank Frølich who is willing to swear she was in his double bed after one o‘clock in the morning. However, since he was asleep when she went home, theoretically she might have been telling the truth. She might have waited until he was asleep before going home and organizing the game of poker with her brother and his two pals.’
‘However, Frølich’s testimony should not be used under any circumstances,’ Fristad said with force.
‘The question is whether we can avoid it,’ Gunnarstranda objected. ‘Brigitte Bergum will fight hard for Rognstad. She has all the gunpowder she needs to stage a regular fireworks display: a cop on leave who queers his pitch by humping the sister of a criminal and a story about some mysterious world-famous work of art, which she will have no problem selling to the press – to name but two.’
Fristad cleaned his glasses in silence. He opened his mouth, breathed on his glasses and rubbed them energetically. ‘Continue, Gunnarstranda.’
‘Directly after the court hearing Elisabeth Faremo goes home and packs her things. She contacts her female lover, Reidun Vestli.’
‘Poor old Frølich,’ Fristad sighed. ‘What a wretched story.’
‘If I may continue?’ Gunnarstranda asked politely.
‘Of course.’ Fristad put his glasses back on his nose.
‘Elisabeth Faremo hides in a chalet owned by Reidun Vestli. Then something in the clan gives. Jonny Faremo is found drowned in the Glomma. One theory, then: Faremo knew they had been arrested because someone grassed on them. After his sister provided them with an alibi, Faremo went looking for the grass. Perhaps he points the finger of blame at Merethe. She immediately allies herself with Ballo, who kills Faremo, which binds Merethe to Ballo. Elisabeth may have anticipated this row and therefore flees. To protect herself against the men, and as a security, she takes the safety-deposit box keys with her. The two remaining men, Rognstad and Ballo, feverishly start searching for them.’
‘That begs a question,’ Fristad said. ‘Why didn’t these two men bother to ask Frølich for Elisabeth Faremo’s whereabouts?’
‘Frølich was also searching for her. He had asked her neighbour and Jonny Faremo. Besides, he’s a policeman. No, they go for the easiest target: beat the answer out of Reidun Vestli. At least one of them travels with Merethe Sandmo to the chalet. They stop off for a meal in Fagernes – she is seen there with a man. They go on to the chalet …’
‘There’s something out of sync here,’ Fristad interrupted. ‘I read in one of your reports that the chalet fire was reported before Reidun Vestli was taken to hospital.’
‘Her injuries had been sustained within an unspecified period of time. Unfortunately she clammed up tight afterwards. She wouldn’t tell us a thing about the assault. Consequently we don’t know when she was attacked. On the other hand, I can’t see how Ballo or Rognstad would have found the chalet without going through Reidun Vestli.’
‘And their intention was always to find the key to the safety-deposit box containing the painting and the money?’ Fristad interrupted again.
‘Yes. They knew Elisabeth Faremo had access to the key. But she outflanked them – and put the key in a safe place. She put it in Frølich’s flat.’
‘Where’s the other key?’
‘We don’t know. That’s why Elisabeth Faremo doesn’t have a key when Sandmo and co. arrive at the chalet. There’s a row, which culminates in an arson attack and Elisabeth being burned.’
‘Where can the other key have been?’
‘All we know is that it was used by someone pretending to be Ilijaz Zupac – it happened the same day the three were acquitted at the murder hearing. The person pretending to be Ilijaz Zupac opened the bank box, took the painting, we presume, and disappeared.’
‘It could have been Ballo, as Rognstad suspects?’
‘Of course. The problem is that Ballo had access to the box anyway. Why would he pretend to be Zupac?’
They reflected for a while. ‘Why did this person only take the painting?’
Gunnarstranda opened his palms. ‘Either there is a banal explanation – he wanted to collect the money later – or he left the money so that we would ask ourselves precisely that question,
should
the story of the painting leak out. It seems unlikely that a thief with access to half a million would leave it there. If the painting never turns up, though, whoever claims there was a painting in the safety-deposit box can
neither
prove it was there
nor
make a credible case for it having been there. Leaving the money is in fact an unusually clever move – assuming that Jim Rognstad is telling the truth.’
‘And we should add that he does seem to be telling the truth. So who took the painting?’
‘I have no idea. But I assume the same person was on the container raid, the man who was seen with the other three when Arnfinn Haga was murdered.’
‘It couldn’t have been Ilijaz Zupac? The man himself?’
‘He hasn’t been out of prison since he was sentenced approximately five years ago.’
‘Well,’ Fristad sighed heavily. ‘An unidentified person at the scene of the crime. Could it have been this man who killed Jonny Faremo?’
‘It might have been. Why do you think so?’
‘I don’t think so,’ Fristad said. ‘But this business with the keys is interesting, isn’t it? Let’s say Elisabeth and Jonny Faremo had a key each. Elisabeth hides her key in Frølich’s flat. The mystery fourth man has a fight with Jonny Faremo, grabs Jonny’s key and Jonny drowns. This fourth man drives to the bank in Askim, pretends to be Ilijaz Zupac and picks up the painting. The others don’t know this, however. They only know Jonny is dead and they can’t find his key. So they reason, shit, now they’ll have to get hold of the last key. They know Elisabeth has it and they know she has some relationship with this woman at the university. Whom they turn over to find out where Elisabeth Faremo is hiding, etc, etc.’
‘Anything is possible,’ Gunnarstranda said. ‘We know there were two keys. One of them was in Frølich’s flat all the time. The other was used by someone also known as Ilijaz Zupac. We know Ballo teamed up with Merethe Sandmo immediately after Jonny Faremo’s death. I talked to them myself. This Ballo is still missing – and we have no reliable information as to his whereabouts. My feeling is that Faremo was killed as a result of the row he started when Merethe Sandmo grassed on them.’
‘It really does very much look like an alliance between Ballo and Merethe Sandmo. They could have joined forces, pinched the painting and ridden off into the sunset, couldn’t they?’
‘But why would Ballo pretend to be Zupac when he could have strolled into the bank vault as himself?’
‘To hide his identity. The police are on the lookout for the painting all over the world. Criminal logic: snatch the painting under an alias. And, on top of that, leave the money so that any potential talk of a stolen painting by the others is undermined. Unless the prosecuting authorities manage to get their hands on it, that is.’
‘You may be right. But we still have this witness who maintains there were four people at the crime scene where Arnfinn Haga was murdered.’
‘So there is a man whose identity we don’t know. Who do you reckon it is, this fourth perpetrator?
‘No idea,’ Gunnarstranda said, in brief summary.
‘Could it have been – please forgive me now, but giving rein to your fantasy can be quite useful in this job – could it have been Frank Frølich?’
The room went quiet. The sun shone through the blinds and Gunnarstranda found time to light a cigarette. He lit it without a word of protest from Fristad.
Gunnarstranda and Fristad were in the former’s office. Frølich had been summoned without a word of explanation. Gunnarstranda and the prosecuting lawyer each sat in their chair.
He noticed two things: Gunnarstranda was smoking and Fristad was not complaining. Frølich looked from one to the other.
‘We would like to discuss the facts of the case with you,’ Fristad said concisely.
‘Oh yes?’
‘Does that strike you as strange?’
‘Not strange, simply different.’
‘well …’ Fristad lowered his gaze, but decided against commenting on his response. Instead he said: ‘What do you consider the most important thing to do now – at this stage of the investigation?’
‘In my view, the smartest move would be to talk to Narvesen again,’ Frølich said.
‘You’ll have to stop this business with Narvesen,’ Fristad exclaimed angrily.
‘You asked me what
I
would do,’ Frølich retorted. ‘And my opinion is that Narvesen should be asked whether he knows the painting Rognstad was talking about.’
‘You believe Rognstad was telling the truth then? Ilijaz and company took the painting when they robbed the safe in 1998?’
‘Rognstad didn’t say that. He said the painting was in the safety-deposit box. He didn’t say one word about the break-in, but I’m sure he was holding back about the Narvesen burglary so that he wouldn’t be charged. On the other hand, if Rognstad was telling the truth about the painting, the odds are that it came from the safe. I believe both the painting and the money were in the safe when it was stolen in 1998. I believe Jonny Faremo was involved in the theft. So for this gang it wasn’t just half a million in the safe, but many more millions. And they deposited the contents in the bank.’
‘But why did they do that?’ Fristad asked.
‘They wanted to wait until Ilijaz got out before dividing their spoils. The usual musketeer motto amongst gangsters: One for all and all for one, and all that crap.’
‘A little while ago this painting was taken from the vault by an … an unknown person. But why? The picture is unsaleable.’
‘Not at all. There is a market for this kind of art. And clearly we have a buyer here. A man who withdrew five million in cash from his account less than two weeks ago.’
‘Narvesen? Was he going to buy the picture back? From whom?’
‘Vidar Ballo and Merethe Sandmo.’
No one said a word for a considerable time.
Frølich broke the silence. ‘Let’s take it from the beginning. The three of them are acquitted after the Loenga murder hearing. Then Jonny Faremo is killed. Suddenly his lover Merethe has the hots for Ballo. Furthermore, she is seen in Fagernes the same day Jonny Faremo’s sister dies in an arson attack on a chalet.’
‘You’re probably still a bit fixated on this Elisabeth Faremo, but I like the idea that Narvesen buys back the picture,’ Fristad said. ‘Then again, five million is a fairly low figure. A picture of this kind would have sold for ten million ten years ago.’
‘Yes, but the figure is dependent on negotiations,’ Frølich said. ‘This gang of robbers had something on Narvesen after the theft of the safe in 1998. They opened the safe and discovered that Narvesen owned a stolen painting – one subject to investigations all over the world – art which was considered part of Italy’s cultural heritage. Narvesen also had something on them: they had stolen items of great value, and grand larceny is a punishable offence. So both parties had a vested interest in keeping stumm. The painting may be worth fifteen or twenty million today, no one knows for sure. But it can
only
be sold to individual collectors. The only collector Faremo, Ballo and Rognstad knew was Narvesen.’
‘Wait, wait, wait,’ Fristad raised his hand in objection. ‘What are you saying? Are you saying that Narvesen could be sitting on the picture now?’
‘I believe so,’ Frølich said. ‘I believe the reason he followed me to Hemsedal and tried to set fire to …’
‘Wait a minute. No unfounded accusations.’
‘OK. I can try to reformulate the reasoning. If Narvesen has the picture, it would explain why he’s so angry with me. He wants to shift attention away from the 1998 break-in and himself. If he has the picture – for all we know, he may be keeping it at home – it is particularly inconvenient for him that I look him up, go to his house and start digging and asking questions.’
Fristad looked across at Gunnarstranda, who was smoking slowly and deliberately.
‘Narvesen rang me to check we weren’t continuing the investigation connected with the robbery of his safe. It makes sense – if he’s sitting on the painting. But even if he is,’ Gunnarstranda said, ‘we can’t prove it.’
‘But who sold the picture back to Narvesen?’ Fristad asked.
‘Ballo,’ Frølich said. ‘Everything points to him and Merethe playing the others off against each other. We know the two of them were an item the day after Jonny died. Even Jim Rognstad, who knows Ballo best, suspects him. You and I heard that.’
Fristad looked at Frølich. ‘Thank you, Frølich,’ he said.
When Frølich had gone, the two men studied each other’s faces for an impression.
‘What do you think?’ asked Fristad.
‘I never think anything.’
‘No gut instinct?’
‘Not even that.’
‘Ignoring our assumption that he is emotionally involved and believes what he says, suppose Narvesen is sitting on the picture. Can we take any action? Can we search his house, for example?’
‘We can’t, but
Sørlie
can. Eco-Crime can whack a charge down on the table, alleging that the five million he withdrew in cash is being used for money-laundering. Then they can search his house and his office.’
‘But will they find the painting?’
‘Doubtful. He might have put it in a bloody safety-deposit box,’ Gunnarstranda grinned.
‘And he gets a solicitor who tears our arguments to shreds and says we’ve been taken in by some cock-and-bull story from Rognstad, who probably cooked something up to get a lighter sentence.’
‘But if Eco-Crime and Sørlie take action, that side of things will never have to see the light of day. One of our people could be on the team.’
‘Who?’ Fristad asked immediately. ‘Frank Frølich is out of the running.’
‘I had Emil Yttergjerde in mind,’ Gunnarstranda decided. ‘I’ll put a good word in for him with Sørlie.’
Fristad left. Gunnarstranda had just managed to get his legs behind his desk when Lena Stigersand arrived with a large pile of papers. ‘Bull’s eye,’ she said and sat down so hard the chair rolled back more than a metre.
‘Out with it.’
Lena Stigersand brandished the papers. ‘Merethe Sandmo. She caught the plane from Oslo to Athens on 30 November. With Lufthansa via Munich.’
Gunnarstranda stood up. ‘Ballo?’ he asked.
Lena Stigersand shook her head. ‘His name’s not on the list.’
‘So she travelled on her own?’
‘That’s not definite. He may have travelled under another name.’
‘When did the chalet burn down?’
Lena Stigersand checked the papers. ‘28 November. During the night of 28/29 November. It was Sunday night, Monday morning.’
‘On Sunday Merethe Sandmo has dinner with an unidentified man in Fagernes. The same evening the chalet burns down with Elisabeth Faremo inside. The timing is perfect. End of November and the summer season, so no one else is around. And any weekenders in the area will have travelled back to Oslo on Sunday night. They strike at night. It ends with the murder of Elisabeth Faremo, which they try to disguise with a fire. On Monday they’re back in Oslo. Tuesday, Merethe Sandmo – and in all probability Ballo – is sitting on a plane to Athens.’
Gunnarstranda stood lost in thought before continuing: ‘Have you contacted the Greek police?’
‘Usual procedure. Interpol office at Kripos. Photo and description of Merethe Sandmo are being faxed to Athens now, I understand. Didn’t she get a job at a strip club?’
Gunnarstranda shrugged. ‘A bar. That’s the official reason she left at any rate – according to Frølich. Have you still got the passenger lists?’ he asked.
‘Yes.’
‘Perhaps we can find Ballo under an alias. Check for Ilijaz Zupac.’
‘Will do.’