Death on Pilot Hill (An Inspector Harald Sohlberg Mystery)

by Jens Amundsen

  “What organic farm?”

  “Anabel’s Organic Farm . . . owned by that restaurant chef who’s on television . . . she writes all those organic food cookbooks . . . the farm’s out near Lake Bogstad . . . just west of Holmenkollen.”

  Sohlberg nodded. The farm was less than two miles from Karl’s school and it had come up in the background investigation that Sohlberg had ordered of Danica Knutsen. Earlier that day at five in the morning Sohlberg had dispatched a team of detectives and crime scene investigators and a canine unit to the organic farm to gather evidence and search for Karl’s body.

  “Did she mention anything else about the organic farm Herr Tveit?”

  “Not really.”

  “What did she tell you about Agnes Haugen?”

  “Well that’s the strange thing. She never mentioned Agnes while we were together those three years . . . even though it now seems that those two are very very good friends according to what I’ve read in the newspapers . . . I was stunned when I read that Danica had literally moved in to live full-time at the Haugen residence for fifty-two days after Karl Haugen’s disappearance.”

  “She never mentioned Agnes Haugen?. . . Think carefully before you answer.”

  Olav Tveit frowned and then said:

  “Maybe once or twice after she first met Agnes Haugen at the gym . . . that was a month or so after Danica and I started dating.”

  “What did Frøken Knutsen say?”

  “Just that she had met this redhead at the gym who worked out a lot and wanted to be a world champion bodybuilder. She also mentioned that Agnes Haugen had ridiculously large breast implants. We laughed about that quite a bit since a lot of the men at the gym used to ogle at Agnes working out in very tight t-shirts.”

  “Did they see each other socially outside of the gym?”

  “No. At least not the first couple of years after they met. But they got much closer when Danica lost her job . . . that’s when I noticed changes to Danica’s personality and outlook . . . all of the sudden she hated men . . . men were controlling good-for-nothing abusers of women.”

  “Danica went around repeating whatever Agnes spouted . . . like saying that women should stick it to men and make sure men suffer for dominating women. I’m pretty sure that Agnes tried getting Danica to think she was a lesbian or bi-sexual or at the very least that she has lesbian tendencies that she needs to explore.”

  “Do you think that Agnes and Danica had an affair or physical relationship?”

  “I . . . I . . . I’m not sure. I don’t think so.

  “I saw right through Agnes’s brainwashing campaign. I warned Danica when I found out that Agnes had taken Danica to lesbian bars and left her with lesbian magazines and feminist books.

  “I was amazed at how quickly Danica started repeating and believing a lot of poisonous garbage that Agnes planted inside her head. I think that Agnes Haugen played on Danica’s insecurities and Danica’s need to be loved unconditionally now that she started losing her athletic looks.”

  Sohlberg nodded and wondered when was the last time that he had come across someone as manipulative and cunning as Agnes Haugen.

  Olav Tveit shook his head and moaned. “Agnes Haugen destroyed my relationship with Danica.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I was forced out of a very good relationship with Danica soon after Agnes got close to Danica. You see . . . we had even spoken of marriage. That became impossible when Danica told me she was not going to pay back my loan.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because Agnes told her that I should’ve gotten the loan down in writing . . . and that since I did not do that then it meant that I intended to give her the money as a gift. In other words . . . I tricked Danica into believing it was a gift and that now I’d be able to force her to do whatever I wanted by claiming the gift was a loan.”

  “How much was it?”

  “Six months of my old salary . . . I had saved so much over the years.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want to file a criminal complaint against Frøken Knutsen for taking your money under false pretenses?”

  “No. No. I still love her. I’d never do that.”

  “Then why did you come here?”

  “To let you know that Danica would never ever harm a little boy like Karl Haugen . . . no matter what you think Danica did or might have done in the disappearance of Karl Haugen.

  “You see . . . Danica Knutsen is smart but very gullible when it comes to other people manipulating her. She once had a boyfriend who made her buy him a motorcycle and tons of other things a few days before he left her for another woman.

  “I just cannot emphasis strongly enough that Danica would never harm Karl Haugen.”

  “I appreciate you coming here to put in a good word for Frøken Knutsen.”

  “Are you going to charge her in the kidnaping of Karl Haugen?”

  “It’s too early to tell . . . but you helped put a lot into context.”

  A call came through to Wangelin’s cell phone. She turned to Sohlberg and whispered in his ear:

  “They just drove in . . . Danica Knutsen is down in the basement. They want to know if you want her brought up to interrogation room number one.”

  “Ja. Let’s go.” Sohlberg turned to Olav Tveit and made a short bow that showed the policeman’s respect and appreciation for the informant. “Thank you so much for coming in Herr Tveit. We have to go now. I will see how I can help Danica Knutsen.”

  “I knew you would . . . I just knew it the minute I walked in and saw you . . . you’re a good man.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Sohlberg and Wangelin turned down the hallway just as Danica Knutsen was ushered into a special interview room that Sohlberg had requested. The room had a one-way mirror that looked out into the hallway so that the police in the room could observe the reaction of witnesses and suspects inside the room to those witnesses or suspects who were made to walk past the room’s window without the walking witness or suspect knowing that they were being seen from the interview room.

  Constable Wangelin turned on the video and microphone and made the obligatory statements.

  Frumpy and arrogant Danica Knutsen did not present a pleasant picture. She did not acknowledge Sohlberg when he walked into the claustrophobic room. He noticed that Danica Knutsen cast a lustful if not lewd look at Wangelin.

  Sohlberg sat down and looked straight into Danica Knutsen’s eyes and said:

  “Frøken Knutsen . . . the game is over. We know what you did.”

  “What?”

  “Ja . . . we know what you did. Let’s start off with what you did three days ago when Gunnar Haugen got arrested.”

  “It was high time you arrested him. He’s responsible you know.”

  Sohlberg kept a bored look that said, “I know everything there’s to know about this case but I have to go through the motions and tell you this stuff because of police bureaucracy.”

  Danica Knutsen shook her head in disgust. “That monster Gunnar Haugen. He’s done so many horrible things. . . . I’m glad you brought me here . . . I want to help as much as I can to put him in prison.”

  The interrogation was progressing far better than Sohlberg had hoped for in his wildest dreams. Danica Knutsen was opening doors as soon as he offered them. She was the opposite of the recalcitrant father and stepmother of Karl Haugen.

  “What has Karl’s father done that’s so monstrous?” said Sohlberg. “What horrible things has he done?”

  “Uhhh! . . . You name it,” yelled Danica Knutsen. “He’s verbally and physically abusive to Agnes. He ignored her and treated Karl as if he didn’t exist. He’s a controlling manipulative man.”

  Sohlberg noticed that even while Danica Knutsen cast aspersions on Karl’s father she was sneaking appreciative glances at Constable Wangelin. He wondered how badly Agnes Haugen had lied to Danica Knutsen about the so-called monstrous behavior of Gunnar Haugen. He also wondered how Agnes Haugen ha
d taken advantage of Danica Knutsen’s obvious preference for women.

  “Frøken Knutsen . . . please be more specific about the horrible things Gunnar Haugen has done . . . especially as to Karl’s disappearance.”

  “For starters he’s the one who made Karl switch his science fair project from icebergs to red-eye tree frogs . . . that’s the kind of insensitive beast that he is.”

  “What else?”

  “He’s the one who suggested that Agnes drive his pickup truck that day . . . he’s the one who insisted on staying home from work that day . . . he’s the one who wanted Agnes to take Karl to the doctor on a Friday . . . he’s the one who told Agnes not to pack Karl’s lunch for that Friday . . . he’s the one who asked Agnes to drive around town for the baby’s medicines . . . he’s the one who suggested she take the baby on a long drive to calm the baby down. . . . He planned everything that happened that Friday . . . don’t you see?”

  “No. Please explain.”

  “He did all of that just so he could stay home and spy on Agnes. He wanted to find out if men would come to the house if they saw that his pickup truck was gone and her red car was in the driveway.”

  “Ja . . . that’s very clever of him,” said Sohlberg who knew that the opposite had to be true because Danica Knutsen was merely repeating what Agnes Haugen wanted the world to believe about her husband. He admired the intricate and cunning plan of Agnes Haugen to frame Gunnar Haugen for his son’s disappearance. “But . . . Frøken Knutsen . . . I need you to explain one small matter.”

  “What matter?”

  “You say that Gunnar Haugen planned and carried out a very complicated plan that would allow him to stay at home and spy on his wife . . . ja?”

  “Ja.”

  “Then when did Gunnar Haugen have time to kidnap his son and make him disappear?”

  “That was the diabolical brilliance of the plan . . . Gunnar Haugen had his brother the pervert pick up Karl at school so that he and the brother could molest Karl . . . just the same way that their grandfather had molested them as kids.”

  “But,” said Sohlberg patiently, “Gunnar Haugen’s brother was not even near Oslo or Holmenkollen that Friday.”

  “Oh he was . . . you just haven’t looked into it.”

  “We have. That’s why we know for a fact that Gunnar’s brother was working down south in Kristiansand . . . that’s over two hundred forty miles away. We have several credible witnesses who saw him or met with him that day between seven in the morning and four in the afternoon.”

  “Hah! . . . Mister Detective you are so gullible. These people are lying for him. These so-called credible witnesses are friends of Gunnar and his brother. They’re all in cahoots. They’re lying!”

  “What about a bank’s ATM camera . . . do they lie? An ATM took a picture of Gunnar’s brother getting cash at seven-fifteen in the morning in downtown Kristiansand.”

  “Bah. You are so gullible. But then again . . . you’re a man . . . always controlling women.”

  Sohlberg pounded the desk and yelled:

  “Frøken Knutsen . . . are you a parrot? . . . Why do you have to repeat everything Agnes Haugen tells you or puts inside your head? . . . Don’t you understand that you’re going to go to prison for a long long time?”

  “Why?”

  “Because you did her bidding . . . you obeyed her orders . . . you believed her lies. Don’t you understand that Agnes Haugen used you to help kidnap and murder the boy and frame her husband? . . . Are you really that gullible?”

  Sohlberg noticed that for the first time in her interactions with the police Danica Knutsen grew somber. He was glad that the seriousness of her situation was starting to dawn on her. He felt sorry for the naive woman. But he still had to deliver the first of two punches designed to knock down Danica Knutsen’s relationship with Agnes Haugen.

  “Frøken Knutsen. How many cell phones do you have?”

  “One. Why do you want to know?”

  “Because I just caught you in a lie. Three days ago we followed you after you received a telephone call from Agnes Haugen. We know where you went. We know what you did.”

  “What?”

  Sohlberg moved closer to observe her ever-widening eyes. “Our detectives saw you throw away a disposable prepaid cell phone at a garbage can next to a restaurant near your home. We of course retrieved the phone and downloaded all of the incoming and outgoing telephone numbers and text messages. And guess what?”

  “What?” said Danica Knutsen as she visibly shrank away from Sohlberg.

  “All your calls and text messages in and out of that phone went to another prepaid disposable cell phone owned by . . . Agnes Haugen.”

  Danica Knutsen moaned.

  “Our detectives,” said Sohlberg loudly as he got closer to her, “followed Agnes Haugen after she called you three days ago . . . and just like in your case they saw her throw away her cell phone . . . in a dumpster by a bus stop . . . and just like in your case they also retrieved the phone.”

  A pale green color shaded Danica Knutsen’s face.

  “Now Frøken Knutsen . . . why would two women . . . in the middle of an investigation into the kidnaping of a child . . . happen to buy and use two cell phones in addition to their own cell phones?”

  “We needed our privacy . . . Agnes told me the police were listening in on her phone after Karl disappeared.”

  “Really?”

  “Agnes also told me her husband was spying on her . . . and trying to frame her for Karl’s disappearance.”

  “That’s rather interesting since you and Agnes Haugen bought and used the prepaid cell phones more than ten months before Karl disappeared. The police were not involved back then.”

  “Ja. But that evil controlling twerp of her husband kept tabs on her all the time. . . . Agnes told me that he was listening in on all of her calls because he ordered her to only use the cell phone that Nokia had given him to test.”

  “Actually Frøken Knutsen no judge is going to buy that pathetic lie as an excuse for your secret telephone relationship with Agnes Haugen. The court will see that your secret telephone calls months before Karl Haugen disappeared are part and parcel of your conspiracy with Agnes Haugen to kidnap and murder the little boy.”

  “No!” shouted Danica Knutsen. She squirmed in her seat and pulled her short wavy brown hair with both hands.

  “We know what you did that fateful June fourth.”

  “No,” she said with a whimper.

  “You went to do your internship work at Anabel’s Organic Farm . . . but you conveniently vanished in the afternoon from twelve-twenty to one forty-five and then you—”

  “No! . . . No. No. No. I never left.”

  “Oh yes Frøken Knutsen. Your boss and her assistant have submitted sworn statements declaring that you got a phone call at fifteen minutes past twelve and that you then took off with no explanation and that they looked for you all over the farm but never found you.”

  “I was there.”

  “That’s another lie Frøken Knutsen. Your boss and her assistant walked all over the grounds looking for you . . . they went to the main house and saw that your car was gone from the parking lot and driveway.”

  “I . . . I . . . had to get lunch. I was feeling faint.”

  “Where did you get lunch?”

  “There’s a little vegetarian restaurant . . . I don’t remember the name right now. I paid cash.”

  “Vegetarian? How can that be? . . . You quit eating healthy foods after you lost your job. Your friends and your ex-boyfriend and your boss and her assistant have all declared that they only saw you eating junk food since last year.”

  “They’re mistaken.”

  “No Frøken Knutsen. They’re not mistaken.”

  “Then I don’t know what more I can tell you. I have nothing more to say.”

  “Actually . . . Frøken Knutsen . . . I don’t need you to tell me anything more since you obviously want to take the blame for the kidnapi
ng and murder of Karl Haugen.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Sohlberg took a calculated risk. He wanted to get an immediate reaction from her. So he presented his theory of her conduct that day as a set of proven and known facts. “Don’t you understand Frøken Knutsen? You set up the perfect alibi for Agnes Haugen when you took her call at twelve-fifteen . . . you then abandoned your internship job the organic farm so that you could meet Agnes Haugen nearby . . . you took her cell phone and drove down to Smestad . . . you drove up and down Sørkedalsveien near Ring 3 so you could take and place calls on her cell phone from twelve-twenty to one forty-five in the afternoon.”