Harry Hole Oslo Sequence 10 - Police

patient in there, who is he?’
    ‘I don’t know. That’s also in the rules. He’s anonymous and has to stay that way.’
    ‘But you know something.’
    ‘Do I?’
    ‘Mona. You can’t be on first-name terms with people without having chatted first. What did she tell you?’
    Anton Mittet weighed her up. She was attractive, that was true enough, but there was no warmth or charm about her. Bit too slim for his taste. Untidy hair and a top lip that looked as if it was held in place by an over-taut tendon, causing two uneven front teeth to appear. But youth was on her side. Firm and fit underneath the black uniform, he would bet on it. So if he told her what he knew, would it be because he was subconsciously calculating that his obliging attitude would increase his chances of bedding her by 0.01 per cent? Or because girls like Silje would be inspectors or detectives within five years? They would be his bosses, while he would remain on the beat, an officer on the bottom rung of the ladder, because the Drammen case would always be there, a wall, a stain that could not be removed.
    ‘Case of attempted murder,’ Anton said. ‘Lost a lot of blood. They reckon he barely had a pulse when he came here. Been in a coma the whole time.’
    ‘Why the guard?’
    Anton shrugged. ‘Potential witness. If he survives.’
    ‘What does he know?’
    ‘Drugs stuff. High level. If he wakes up he probably has the goods to bring down some important heroin dealers in Oslo. Plus he can tell us who was trying to kill him.’
    ‘So they think the murderer will return and finish off the job?’
    ‘If they find out he’s alive and where he is, yes. That’s why we’re here.’
    She nodded. ‘And is he going to survive?’
    Anton shook his head. ‘They reckon they can keep him alive for a few more months, but the odds of him pulling out of the coma are slim. Nevertheless . . .’ Anton shifted feet again; her probing stare was becoming uncomfortable. ‘Until then we have to keep an eye on him.’
    Anton Mittet left her, feeling crushed, went down the stairs from reception and stepped into the autumn night. It was only when he was sitting in his parked car that he noticed his mobile was ringing.
    The call came from the Ops Room.
    ‘Maridalen, murder,’ 01 said. ‘I know you’ve finished for the day, but they need help to secure the crime scene. And as you’re already in uniform . . .’
    ‘How long for?’
    ‘You’ll be relieved after three hours, max.’
    Anton was astonished. These days they did whatever they could to prevent people from working overtime. The combination of rigid rules and budgets didn’t even allow deviations for reasons of practicality. He had an intuition there was something special about this murder. He hoped it wasn’t a child.
    ‘OK,’ Anton Mittet said.
    ‘I’ll send you the coordinates.’ This was new: satnav, a detailed map of Oslo and district and an active transmitter for Ops to track you down. That must have been why they rang him. He was closest.
    ‘OK,’ Anton Mittet said. ‘Three hours.’
    Laura would be in bed, but she liked knowing when he would be home from work, so he texted her before putting the car into gear and heading for Lake Maridal.
    Anton didn’t need to look at the satnav. At the entrance to Ullevålseterveien there were four patrol cars, and a bit further away orange-and-white tape showed the way.
    Anton took the torch from the glove compartment and walked over to the officer outside the cordon. Through the trees he saw lights flashing, but also the forensics team’s lamps, which always reminded him of film sets. Not so daft actually; nowadays they didn’t just take stills, they used HD video cameras as well, which not only captured the victims but the whole crime scene so that at a later date they could go back, freeze and zoom in on details they hadn’t appreciated were relevant at first.
    ‘What’s going on?’ he asked the officer with crossed arms, who was shivering by the tape.
    ‘Murder.’ The officer’s voice was thick, his eyes red-rimmed in an unnaturally pale face.
    ‘So I heard. Who’s the boss here?’
    ‘Forensics. Lønn.’
    Anton heard the buzz of voices from inside the trees. There were lots of them. ‘No one from Kripos or Crime Squad yet?’
    ‘There’ll be even more officers here soon. The body has just been found. Are you taking over from me?’
    Even more. And yet they had given him overtime. Anton examined the officer closer.