by Samuel Bjork
Tobias hadn’t been to school for a week. She had tried calling his home, but there’d been no reply. She’d asked around, discreetly, and discovered that his younger brother hadn’t been to school either. She had spoken to the school counselor without mentioning any names but asking for guidance. What was the policy? What action should she take? She’d been given rather vague messages; no one had wanted to tell her exactly what to do unless she had proof. You had to tread carefully. Emilie Isaksen had heard it all before, but she refused to let herself be put off. What harm could a visit do? She just wanted to drop off some homework. Have a quick chat with his mother. Perhaps arrange a meeting with his parents. There was no reason that meeting couldn’t take place in Tobias’s home if his mother found it difficult to leave the house. Unorthodox perhaps, but Emilie had made up her mind that it was worth the risk. She was going to be polite. She was not going to accuse anyone of anything. She was only trying to help. It would be fine. Perhaps they had gone away on holiday without asking the school if they could take the boys out. Perhaps both boys were ill; there’d been a spring bug going around the school, among both pupils and teachers. There could be so many reasons.
She drove up the old Ringvollveien until she found the address. “Address” might be an exaggeration, since it was just a lane that led deeper into the forest. A mailbox at the bottom of the road said IVERSEN & FRANK. She decided to leave her car there and walk the last stretch up to the house. The house was red and small and surrounded by other, even smaller buildings. A long time ago, it might have been a nice little cottage, but now the whole place was more of a junkyard. There were several rusting cars sitting about and piles of what she would call junk in several places. She walked up to the front door and knocked. There was no reply. She knocked again and heard a noise from the other side. The door opened, and a small, filthy face appeared.
“Hello?” the little boy said.
“Hi,” Emilie said, bending down so as not to tower over him. “Are you Torben?”
The little boy nodded. He had jam smeared around his mouth, and his hands were grubby.
“My name is Emilie, I’m Tobias’s teacher. Perhaps you’ve heard about me?”
The boy nodded again.
“He likes you,” Torben said, scratching his head.
“That’s nice. I’m looking for Tobias? Is he at home?”
“No,” the little boy said.
“Is your mother or your stepfather at home?”
“No,” the little boy said again.
She could hear that he was almost on the verge of tears.
“So are you home alone?”
The boy nodded. “There’s no more food,” he said sadly.
“How long have you been home alone?”
“I don’t know.”
“How many nights has it been? How many times did it get dark?”
The little boy thought about it. “Six or seven,” he said.
Emilie Isaksen could feel herself getting angry, but she decided not to show it. “Have you any idea where Tobias might be?”
“He’s with the Christian girls.”
“Where is that?”
“Up in the woods, by Litjønna. That’s where we hunt bison. I’m really good at it.”
“I’m sure you are. I bet that’s fun. How do you know that’s where he is?”
“He wrote me a note and left it in our secret hiding place.”
“You have a secret hiding place?”
The boy smiled faintly. “Yes, we’re the only ones who know about it.”
“How exciting. Please, can I see the note?”
“Yes. Would you like to come in?”
Emilie considered her options. Technically, she was not allowed. She could not enter someone’s home without permission. She glanced around. There was no sign of the adults anywhere. The little boy had been home alone for almost a week, and there was no food in the house. Surely that was reasonable cause.
“Yes, please.” Emilie Isaksen smiled and followed the little boy into the house.
61
Holger Munch was standing outside his mother’s room at Høvikveien Nursing Home struggling to get his thoughts in order. Too much had happened recently, far too much. The threat against Marion. His daughter and granddaughter being forced to go into hiding. They had found Malin Stoltz. They had lost Malin Stoltz. Mikkelson had called him countless times, and Munch had yet to call him back. He sat down on a chair and stretched his legs. He caught a whiff of something unpleasant and realized to his horror that the smell was coming from him. He had dozed a couple of hours in his office chair and had not had time to change his clothing. He rubbed his face and fought to keep his eyes open. Thank God he could afford for his mother to live in a place like this. They had a doctor on call, so she hadn’t even had to leave her room. She was fine. Fortunately, her problem had turned out not to be as serious as it first seemed.
Fortunately.
Holger Munch found his cell phone and called Miriam, but for some reason there was no reply. He shook his head and tried again, only to get the same result. Typical. Stubborn girl. He had promised to bring them more food, fresh clothes, more toys for Marion, and now he was stuck here. He sent her a text message asking her to call him, and then he put his phone back in the pocket of his duffel coat. The corridor was warm. He found the air stuffy. He ought to take off his jacket, but he really did not smell very good. He got up and went to one of the lavatories. Stuck his mouth under the tap and drank some water. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and didn’t like what he saw. He looked dreadful. Malin Stoltz’s apartment has been filled with mirrors from floor to ceiling. He’d never seen anything like it. Who lived like that? He had struggled just to stay in it for five minutes. Malin. Miriam. Marion. Mikkelson. Munch. So many M’s. He tried for a moment to be Mia. Nothing but M’s. Was it significant? He returned to the corridor and sat down again. Nothing but M’s? Nonsense. Perhaps Mikkelson was right after all. Perhaps he should step aside. Let someone else take over. His head was no longer working as it should. He hated to admit it, but she really had them over a barrel. Malin Stoltz. If that was her real name. She had hit them at their most vulnerable point, their private lives, rattled them. Rattled him. He was no longer thinking clearly. He couldn’t tell the difference between emotion and reason. He was tempted to go outside for a cigarette but opted for a mint instead. Four girls dead and his family in hiding. At least they had a suspect now. And no more girls had disappeared—that was something. It’ll be over soon, he thought, leaning back in the chair. We’ll find her, and then it will be over. He wasn’t aware of it, but his eyelids were closing. He realized it only when the door opened and the on-call doctor appeared, together with Karen, who had alerted him.
Munch quickly got up.
“How is she?”
“She’s fine,” the doctor said. “And I mean that. I found no signs of anything wrong. She must just have been a little tired. Perhaps she got up too quickly from her bed. It could be so many things, but there’s really nothing to worry about. She’s quite all right.”
Munch breathed a sigh of relief. “Can I see her?”
“I’ve given her something to make her sleep, so it’s better that she rests. Perhaps this afternoon.”
“Thank you.” Munch shook the doctor’s hand.
“And who else?” the doctor said, now addressing Karen.
“Torkel Binde,” Karen said. “He’s been complaining about his medication. His room is at the far end of this corridor. Let me show you the way.”
Karen smiled tenderly at Munch and followed the doctor down the corridor. Munch got up and went outside. He lit a cigarette and called Gabriel Mørk.
“Yes?”
“It’s Holger. I’m at the nursing home, had to deal with a private matter. Where are we?”
“I’ve found the
movie on the laptop that Sarah Kiese brought in. It’s a little damaged, especially the sound, but I have a friend who can fix it. Is it all right if I contact him?”
“Go ahead,” Munch said.
“I’ll call him at once,” Gabriel said.
Munch next called Mia. She didn’t answer her phone. He called her again, but there was still no reply. What is it with these stubborn girls? he thought, and sent her a text message as well.
Call me!
He then tried Ludvig, who did reply.
“Yes?”
“Munch here, can you do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Please send someone to the apartment in Frogner with some things for Miriam and Marion.”
“Will do. What do they need?”
“I’ll text you a list. And pick someone you trust, won’t you?”
“Will do,” Ludvig replied.
“Yes, and would you . . .”
“Yes?”
For a moment Munch forgot what he was going to say. He rubbed his eyes. He had to get some rest now. This was irresponsible.
“What do we have on Malin Stoltz?”
“Still missing, nothing to report. Nothing from Gardermoen Airport, ditto Oslo Central Station. Do you want to call it off?”
Munch remembered what Mia had said. That Stoltz would not try to escape. That she wanted to go home. An apartment full of mirrors. He shuddered. He was loath to admit it, but this particular detail gave him the creeps.
“Yes, we’ll call it off. Please, would you do it?”
“Okay,” Ludvig said.
“Did you circulate a description of the two men from the church?”
“That has already gone out,” Ludvig said.
“Good.”
Munch threw aside his cigarette and was about to light a fresh one when Karen appeared on the steps.
“Are you all right, Holger?” The strawberry-blond woman looked at him anxiously.
“Hi, Karen, yes, fine.”
“I don’t think you look too good. I mean, don’t you think you should get some rest?”
She stood very close to him. He could smell her perfume. He got a strange feeling he couldn’t quite identify until he realized what it was. She cared for him. She was looking after him. It had been a long time since someone had done that. Usually it was he, Holger Munch, who took care of everyone else.
“Are you busy?” Karen asked.
“I’m always busy.” Munch laughed and coughed slightly.
“You couldn’t spare just one hour?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on,” Karen said, grabbing the sleeve of his duffel coat.
“Where are we going?”
“Hush,” Karen said.
She pulled him up the steps, into the nursing home, down one of the corridors, and into an empty room.
“I haven’t got time for this,” Munch said, but Karen placed her finger on her lips.
“Do you see that bed over there?”
She pointed to a freshly made bed below the window. Munch nodded.
“And that door over there?”
Munch nodded a second time.
“Then I suggest that you take a shower. Afterward you lie down in that bed and get some sleep. I’ll wake you in one hour. No one will disturb you here.”
“No, I—”
“To be quite honest, you’re badly in need of both,” Karen said, wrinkling her nose. “You’ll find towels in the bathroom,” she added. “One hour, okay?”
She gave him a hug and left the room.
A one-hour nap. What harm could it do? Good for his brain. Good for his body. Good for everyone.
Munch sent a quick text to Ludvig with instructions about what Miriam and Marion needed in the apartment, passed on the shower, and collapsed on the bed, still fully dressed, and closed his eyes.
62
Marion Munch awoke not knowing where she was. She normally woke up at home, but the last few days had been different, and recently she had awakened in two strange places. A small apartment. And then a big apartment. Now she was in yet another new place.
“Mom?” she whispered tentatively, but there was no reply.
She sat up in her bed and looked around. The room was very nice. It was clearly a child’s bedroom. The other places had been just for grown-ups—no toys, nothing belonging to a child anywhere.
“Mom?” she called again as she climbed out of bed and started to explore the room.
The walls were white, bright white, so white that she almost had to shield her eyes with her hand, and there were no windows in the room. Marion felt a little sorry for the girl who must surely live here. No windows, what a silly idea. From her bedroom window in Sagene, she could see all sorts of nice things. Cars and people and so on. The girl who lived here could not see anything at all. The strange thing was, there was no door in this bedroom either.
There was a desk in one corner. With a lamp. And a pad of paper and some pens and crayons. Her mother had promised her a desk like it now that she was starting school, and that was soon. It was in . . . well, it was soon anyway. On one wall there were small posters with letters of the alphabet. One had an A and a picture of an apple. Another had a B and a picture of a banana. She could not remember the next letter—oh yes, C. She remembered it now, and she recognized the drink on the picture, the one her mother disapproved of but that her granddad let her have, cola. She couldn’t read yet, but she also recognized a few words: “cat,” “ball,” “car.” Her mother had taught her a song about it, the ABC song; it was quite good, and it taught you the letters. The alphabet. She knew it was called that. Her mother had always stressed the importance of learning to read, and she did want to, but then she wondered what her teacher would say if she started school already knowing how to read, because then the teacher would have nothing to teach her and perhaps she might be bored. So she might as well wait, mightn’t she? She could swim. Not everybody could. And she could ride her bicycle almost without her training wheels. She was the only one she knew who could do that. And she couldn’t be expected to learn everything at once, now, could she?
It was then that Marion discovered that she wasn’t wearing her own clothes. How very strange. Hadn’t she had been wearing her light-blue nightdress earlier? The one with the tear in it, which her mother wanted to throw out but Marion refused to let her. She liked putting her finger through the hole, feeling the soft fabric around her finger; it made it easier for her to fall asleep now that she had stopped sucking her thumb. She had done really well, stopping that. It had been very hard to begin with, she had missed the thumb terribly, had lied to her parents a few times and sucked it after all. But then Christian at nursery school had told her that only babies suck their thumb, and that had made her stop. Because she was no longer a baby. After all, babies couldn’t swim, could they? Indeed, could any of the others swim? Oh, no, they could not. But perhaps that wasn’t surprising, because none of them spent as much time in Tøyenbadet Swimming Pool as she and her mother did; she had certainly never seen anyone she knew there. She glanced down and almost had to laugh. She looked as if she were going to a costume party. She was wearing a big, old-fashioned dress that made it hard to move around, Then she discovered the dolls on the shelf. There were five dolls sitting up there, dangling their feet. Not new dolls, not cool ones like Draculaura, but old-fashioned ones with hard white faces, the kind of dolls her grandmother had up in the attic. One of them was even wearing the same dress as the one Marion had on. A bright white dress with all sorts of bits of lace, or whatever it was called. Marion climbed up on her bed and took down the doll. It had a sign around its neck. Marion knew what the sign said. It said MARION. Her name. She recognized her own name. She knew how to read and write it. It was on her peg at nursery school where she hung up her coat. She looked up at
the other dolls, which were also wearing dresses and had signs around their necks. She could not read any of the names—oh, yes, Johanne, she knew that one, a girl at her nursery school was named that. Her peg was right next to Marion’s.
“Mom?” Marion said, a little louder this time.
There was still no reply. Perhaps she had gone to the bathroom? Marion realized that she needed the bathroom herself. Now, where was the bathroom in this place? She walked up to what could be a door—grooves in the wall but without a handle—and ran her tiny fingers along the grooves but could not open it.
“Mom?”
She really needed the bathroom now, she really did. How strange that the girl who lived here had a sign with her name on it. Perhaps she was really nice. Perhaps she had known that Marion would be staying here for a while, and maybe she’d made the sign to say that it was fine for Marion to borrow her room, that she was welcome, like it said on their neighbors’ doormat, WELCOME. I welcome you, I live here. Go ahead, do some drawing and learn the alphabet if you like.
She was close to bursting now.
“Mommy?” she called out at the top of her voice.
Her voice flew around the room and slammed back into her ears.
No, she could hold it no longer.
Suddenly something happened to the wall. A buzzing noise and some squeaking. Then it fell silent again, only for the sound to resume, coming closer and closer, almost as if someone were banging two saucepan lids together, like they did at nursery school once when they made an orchestra out of the things they already had.