Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum Read Free Book Online

lap. His blood was flowing gently in his veins, thinned by a shot of whisky. He rang for a cab, and twenty minutes later he was in his office.
    "They arrived in an old Toyota," Skarre said. "I was waiting for them outside. Her parents."
    "What did you say to them?"
    "Probably not the right things. I was a little stressed. They called first, and half an hour later they drove up. They've already gone."
    "To the morgue?"
    "Yes."
    "They were quite certain?"
    "They brought along a photo. The mother knew exactly what she was wearing. Everything matched up, from the belt buckle to the underwear. She was wearing a special kind of bra, a sports bra. She exercised a lot. But the anorak wasn't hers."
    "Are you kidding?"
    "Incredible, isn't it?"
    Skarre couldn't help himself, he could feel his eyes light up.
    "He left us a clue, free of charge. In the pockets there was a packet of sugar and a reflector shaped like an owl. Nothing else."
    "To leave his jacket behind ... I can't believe it. Who is she, by the way?"

    He looked at his notes. "Annie Sofie Holland."
    "Annie Holland? What about the medallion?"
    "Belonged to her boyfriend. His name is Halvor."
    "Where is she from?"
    "Lundeby. They live at 20 Krystallen. It's actually the same street where Ragnhild Album stayed overnight, just a little farther up the block. An odd coincidence."
    "And her parents? What were they like?"
    "Scared to death," he said in a low voice. "Nice, decent people. She talked nonstop; he was practically mute. They left with Siven. As you can probably imagine," he added, "I'm a little shaken."
    Sejer put a Fisherman's Friend lozenge in his mouth.
    "She was only fifteen," Skarre continued. "A high-school student."
    "That can't be right!" He shook his head. "I thought she was older. Are the pictures ready?" He ran his hand through his hair and sat down.
    Skarre handed him a folder from the file. The pictures had been blown up to eight by ten, except for two that were even larger.
    "Have you ever dealt with a sex murder?" Sejer asked.
    Skarre shook his head.
    "This doesn't look like a sex crime. This is different."
    He leafed through the stack. "She's laid out too nicely, looks too good. As if she'd been put to bed with the covers pulled up. No bruises or scratches, no sign of resistance. Even her hair looks as if it's been arranged. Sex offenders don't do things like that. They show off their power. They cast their victims aside."
    "But she's naked."
    "Yes, I know."
    "So what do you think the pictures are telling us? At first glance."

    "I'm not really sure. That jacket is arranged so protectively over her shoulders."
    "Almost tenderly?"
    "Well, look at the pictures. Don't you think so?"
    "Yes, I agree. But what are we saying then? Some kind of mercy killing?"
    "Well, at least that there were emotions at play. I mean, in between all the rest, he had feelings for her. Positive feelings. In which case he may have known her. As a rule, they do."
    "How long do you think we have to wait for the report?"
    "I'll breathe down Snorrason's neck as effectively as I can. Too bad it was so damn free of rubbish up there. A few unusable footprints and one pill. But otherwise not even a cigarette butt, not so much as an ice-cream stick."
    He crunched the lozenge with his teeth, went over to the sink and filled a paper cup with water.
    "Tomorrow we'll go back to Granittveien. We have to talk to the boys who were looking for Ragnhild. Thorbjorn, for one. We have to know exactly when they were at Serpent Tarn."
    "What about Raymond Låke?"
    "Him too. And Ragnhild. Kids pick up on a lot of strange things, believe me. I speak from experience," he added. "What about the Hollands? Do they have any other children?"
    "Another daughter. Older."
    "Thank God for that."
    "Is that supposed to be some kind of consolation?" Skarre said.
    "For us it is," Sejer said gloomily.
    The younger man patted his pocket. "Is it all right if I smoke?"
    "Go ahead."
    "There are two ways to reach Serpent Tarn,"