The Last Fix (16 page)

    'Yes,
I heard the car door slam and she was inside and I looked at the clock and she
teased me because I was asleep. She asked if I had a cigarette. I did and so we
both smoked a cigarette, and then she asked me to drive her to Ole's place.'

    'What
clothes was she wearing?'

    'The
same.'

    'Jewellery?'

    'Assume
so.'

    'What
do you mean by that? Did she have any jewellery or not?'

    Kramer
didn't speak for a few seconds, as though thinking. 'Katrine always wore
jewellery: gold rings… bracelets… rings with twisted snake patterns and big
stones, and chains round her neck.'

    'And
what was she wearing that night?' 'Most of it, I assume. Rings. Yes, she always
wore rings. That night, too.' Kramer shifted, ill at ease. The policeman
watched him in silence.

    'Yes?'
Kramer coughed, changing position.

    Frølich
studied the man for a few more seconds. 'And you're sure she was wearing
jewellery that night? Would you swear to it?' he asked.

    'Of
course.' Kramer's eyelids moved slowly up and back down… up…

    'When
she came back to the car, was she wearing jewellery?'

    'I
reckon so. But I didn't check her over.'

    'So
you're not sure if she was wearing jewellery when she came back?'

    'I
can't swear to it that she was.'

    'But
did you ask her what she had been doing outside?'

    'No.'

    'Why
not?'

    'It
didn't occur to me.'

    'It
didn't occur to you?'

    'No.'
Henning Kramer shrugged. 'She might have been for a pee or perhaps she had just
been stretching her legs.'

    'Did
she have anything else with her? A handbag?'

    'Yes,
she did. Not a handbag, but a small shoulder bag with a long strap that she
wore across her back. I remember that well.'

    Frølich
nodded. 'When did you set off back home?'

    'It
must have been just before three or just after. I can't remember. I was shattered
so I wanted to get home as fast as possible.'

    'Where
did you take her?'

    'Not
so far. She wanted to get out at the roundabout over the E6 - the one by
Hvervenbukta where you turn off for Holmlia.'

    'That's
less than a kilometre from where she was found murdered,' the policeman said.

    Kramer
nodded.

    Frølich
cleared his throat. 'I have to ask you once again,' he said slowly. 'Are you
positive you dropped her at this place?'

    Kramer
cleared his throat. 'Yes,' he answered.

    Frølich
scrutinized him again. 'Why did you drop her there of all places?'

    'She
wanted to walk to Ole's place. Ole lives in Holmlia. Not sure what the address
is. But she wanted to go to Ole's and walk the last bit on her own. She said
she didn't want him to see me, if he was waiting for her.'

    'Why
not?'

    'He
would have made a scene, I suppose.'

    'And
then?'

    'I
drove off.' Kramer paused. All of a sudden he seemed overcome by emotion. Frølich
tried to imagine how he would have behaved in a situation like this. Regardless
of whether the young man was telling the truth or not, it was clear that this
conversation was a strain. It had started off quite light, with philosophical
babble about the dead girl's attitude to life. Even the conversation about their
love-making had gone smoothly. One thing was certain, though. It wasn't smooth
any more. Kramer seemed very moved; his lips were quivering. 'She waved.' He
fell silent again; his lips were still quivering. Frølich studied his
face and said: 'Did you notice any other cars when you dropped her? Was there
anyone following you?'

    Kramer
considered the questions, then shook his head slowly. 'I may have met the odd
taxi down on the motorway. No, I don't know. It all seemed very quiet, but when
I set out I'm sure I met a number of cars.'

    'But
you can't remember anything else about them?'

    'No,
I just drove, listened to music and drove.'

    'And
you didn't see her again?'

    'No.'

    'Did
she stand waving to you as you drove off?'

    'She
wasn't standing. She was walking and she waved.' Kramer's lips quivered again.
'And I didn't see her again,' he concluded.

    'Tell
me the exact spot where you dropped her.'

    Kramer
cleared his throat and closed his eyes. 'We passed the car park by
Hvervenbukta, the one on the left hand side as you're driving into town.'

    'Along
Ljansbrukveien?'

    'Yes,
I suppose that's what it's called… We went on, towards the roundabout and the
bridge over the E6, and then she said: I'll jump out here. And then…' Kramer
cleared his throat again.'… then I drove around the roundabout and across the
bridge over the E6…'

    'Yes…'
Frølich said patiently.

    'I
stopped at the end of the bridge where I would turn left to get down on to the
motorway. She got out there.' Kramer went quiet.

    'Go
on,' Frølich said.

    'Well,
I joined the motorway and didn't see her again.'

    'You
said she started walking up…'

    'Yes.'
'When you last saw her she was walking up the Ljabru road towards Holmlia?'

    'Yes.'

    'But
then she would have had to go through a long tunnel, wouldn't she?'

    Kramer
looked up. He weighed the possibility and gave a slow nod.

    'Yes,
she must have done.'

    Frank
shifted his sitting position. 'It's quite a long way to Holmlia from there. She
must have gone through the long tunnel and then up Holmliaveien. Now I don't
remember whether there's a pavement in the tunnel, but it sounds very
impractical to be dropped off before the tunnel…'

    'I
don't know the area,' Henning Kramer interrupted.

    'But
nevertheless,' Frølich said. 'It's two to three kilometres from the
roundabout up to Holmlia. Why didn't you drive her all the way?'

    'She
asked to be dropped at the roundabout.'

    Frølich
sat observing him for a while.

    Kramer
stared back and coughed. 'Perhaps she went through the woods,' he suggested.
'Perhaps she took a short cut.'

    'But
I thought you said she started walking up the Ljabru road?' 'Yes, I did, but
there must be a short cut through the woods.'

    'It's
possible, but did you see her walking through the woods?'

    'No,
all I know is she insisted on being dropped at the roundabout.'

    Frølich
desisted with that line of enquiry and checked his notes. 'A car followed you
to Ingierstrand, is that right?'

    'No.'

    'I
thought you said you couldn't be on your own in the car park.'

    'That
was just a car parked there. A couple out for a drive, like us, I would guess.'

    'So
there were two people in the car?'

    'No.
No idea. I didn't see if there were two or five people in the car. I didn't
look.'

    'Did
you see what kind of car it was?'

    'Don't
remember. Ordinary car, saloon, Japanese or Ford or Opel, just a bog-standard
car.'

    'Colour?'

    Kramer
shrugged. 'No idea, dark, it was night - not much light.'

    'The
car didn't follow you from Ingierstrand?'

    'Don't
think so. We were alone in the car park anyway.'

    Frølich
ran this through his mind again. 'When you drove back from the place where you
had intercourse, what did you talk about?'

    'Nothing.'

    'Nothing
at all?'

    'No.'

    'You
didn't even discuss where she was going to go or what she would say to her
boyfriend if he asked?'

    'No.'

    Frølich
gave a slow nod, regretful that he had done this interview on his own. He let
out a deep sigh.

    'What's
the matter?' Kramer asked innocently.

    'I'm
afraid your status has changed. You were a witness, but now you're a suspect.'

    Henning
Kramer said nothing.

    'Did
you hear what I said?' Frølich asked.

    'Katrine
was the only person I have loved…'

    ^That's
not how it works,' Frølich said, wearied. 'Katrine was found murdered
and in a condition that suggests the murder was sexually motivated. In nine out
of ten such cases the murder is committed with the intention of concealing
another crime, in other words, rape. And now you claim that you had consensual
sex a few hours before she was found murdered.'

    'We
did.' 'Well, that's possible, but the public prosecutor, the judge or the jury
may not see that in the same way.'

    'But
what should I do?'

    'At
any event you will have to sign a statement and give a DNA sample. And then
you'll have to think about all the exact timings. They have to be as precise as
possible because we will have to cross-check your statement with those of other
witnesses. So if you can remember anybody or cars with passengers or anything
that would corroborate what you have said to me, then things would look a bit
brighter.'

    Kramer
stared darkly into the distance.

    'Where
did you go after dropping her off?'

    'Home.'

    'Where's
that?'

    'In
Holmen, Stasjonsveien.'

    'Is
that your brother's place?'

    'No,
I live there with my mother.'

    'Is
it your mother's or your place?'

    'My
mother's.'

    Frølich
nodded and made a note. 'Was there anything Katrine said that night, anything
at all, that made you uneasy or that you wondered about or you didn't
understand…'

    Kramer
sat with his eyes closed. He was sweating.

    Once
again Frølich rued not having a partner with him.

    'There
was one thing…' Kramer began.

    'Yes?'

    'She
had a secret.'

    'Uh-uh.'

    'I'm
trying to think. There was something about the electricity in the air when we
met that night

    'When
you picked her up?'

    'I
asked her if she had won at bingo because she seemed so high and, like, happy,
but she hadn't. She said something wonderful had happened.'

    'Something
wonderful?'

    'Yes,
and so I asked what it was, but she just shook her head and said she would tell
me later.'

    'Later?'

    Kramer
nodded.

    'Was
it your impression it was connected with the party?'

    Kramer
shook his head.

    'Have
you any theories as to what she might have meant?'

    'Not
an inkling.'

    Frølich
held out his hand peremptorily.

    'Eh?'

    'The
car keys,' Frølich said in a gentle tone. 'You may not remember a lot of
witnesses, but you do have one - the most important one for us in such cases.
And that's the car.'