Munch was already waiting outside the hotel when Mia appeared. She got into the black Audi and tried to force herself to wake up. The pill she’d taken was still in her system, making her slow and lethargic. Munch didn’t look as if he had slept much either. He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, the brown corduroy jacket with the leather patches on the elbows and a stained shirt. He had bags under his eyes and deep frown lines on his forehead. Suddenly Mia felt a little sorry for him. He really needed company. A woman in his life. Someone who could take care of him, the way he always took care of everybody else.
“What have we got?” she said.
“Isegran Fort.”
“Where is that?”
“Fredrikstad.”
Mia frowned. The two other girls had been found near Oslo. In the woods. The killer had changed MO again.
“Who found them?”
“A couple of students.” Munch sighed. “I believe the area is fenced off, but they crept in to make out or something, what do I know?”
“Who have we got down there?”
“The local police. Curry and Anette are on their way. They should arrive soon.”
“And what do we know so far?”
“Both girls were lying on the ground on either side of a stake.”
“A stake?”
Munch nodded.
“What kind of stake?”
“A wooden one. With a pig’s head on top.”
“What do you mean?”
“What I said. The girls were lying on the grass on either side of a wooden stake with a pig’s head stuck on top.”
“A real pig’s head?”
Munch nodded again.
“Jesus Christ.” Mia let out a sigh.
“What do you think it means?” Munch turned on the heat and took the tunnel by Rådhusplassen to get out of the city center.
“It’s hard to say,” Mia replied.
The heat inside the car made her sleepy. She was in need of her morning coffee but didn’t want to ask Munch to stop.
“It has to mean something.”
“Lord of the Flies,” Mia said quietly.
“What?”
“It’s from a book. Lord of the Flies. Some kids wash up on a desert island, no adults present. They think a monster lives there. They place a pig’s head on a spike as an offering.”
“Christ Almighty.” Munch sighed. “We’re dealing with a monster, is that it?”
“Could be.”
“There’s a bag of mints in there,” Munch said, pointing to the glove compartment.
“And?”
“You need one,” Munch said as he turned onto Drammensveien.
Mia felt a flash of irritation, but it passed quickly. She opened the glove compartment and took out the bag of mints. Put two in her month before stuffing the whole bag into the pocket of her leather jacket.
“Why Fredrikstad of all places?” Munch wondered out loud. “It makes no damn sense. And it’s so public.”
“We’re too slow on the uptake,” Mia said, taking out her cell phone.
“What do you mean?”
“The killer is telling us we’re doing a bad job.”
“Dear Lord.”
Mia found Gabriel Mørk in her list of contacts.
“Gabriel speaking.”
“Hi, it’s Mia, are you at work?”
“Yep.”
“Tell me what you have on Isegran Fort in Fredrikstad.”
“Now?”
“Yes, Munch and I are on our way there. They’ve found the girls.”
“I heard.”
There was silence from the other end. Mia could hear Gabriel type on his keyboard.
“Have you found something?”
“What am I looking for?”
“Anything.”
“Right, here we go,” the young man said. “Isegran Fort. Fortification on a small island outside Fredrikstad. It divides the Glomma Estuary into two. It was built at the end of the twelfth century by the Earl of Borgsyssel, whoever he was. A stone-and-wood building. Destroyed in 1287 by some king or other. New fortress built in the sixteenth century. Peter Wessel Tordenskiold used the place as a base during the Great Nordic War, whenever that was. The name Isegran means . . . the wise men seem to be in disagreement here, but it could be from the French Île Grande, ‘Big Island.’ Does any of this help?”
“Not really,” Mia said. “Is there anything else? Something contemporary? What is it used for today?”
“Hang on.”
Mia wedged the phone between her ear and shoulder and popped another mint. She could still feel the taste of alcohol at the back of her throat.
“There’s not much here. Wedding photographs taken at Isegran Fort. It’s a popular destination for retirees on a day out.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes. No, wait.”
There was silence again.
“What have you got?”
“I don’t know if this is useful, but a monument will be unveiled there in 2013. Not on the fort itself but on the seaside promenade.”
“What kind of monument?”
“It’s called Munch’s Mothers. Bronze statues of Edvard Munch’s mother and aunt.”
“Of course,” Mia muttered to herself.
“Was that any help?”
“Absolutely, Gabriel, thank you so much.”
She was about to hang up, but Gabriel stopped her. “Is Munch there with you?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of mood is he in?”
“So-so, why?”
“Please could I speak to him?”
“Okay.”
Mia passed her phone to Munch.
“Yes, Munch speaking.”
Munch’s Mothers. She’d been right after all.
“Yes, I understand,” Munch said on the phone. “But don’t worry about it. Like I said, it’s personal. We have other, more important things to do. . . . What? . . . Yes, it can drive you crazy, but I— What? . . . Yes, I got it from a friend online. From Sweden . . . What? She calls herself Margrete_08. Don’t worry about it. . . . Yes, yes, I understand. Talk to you later.”
Munch laughed briefly to himself before handing the phone back to Mia.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing important, just a private matter.”
“He’s good,” she said.
“Who? Gabriel? Yes, absolutely. I like him. I’m glad we hired him.”
Mia opened the window slightly.
“Did you get anything from him? About Isegran Fort?” Munch asked.
“Absolutely.” She repeated what Gabriel had just told her.
“Damn,” Munch swore softly to himself. “So this is about me? It’s my fault that these girls are dying?” He narrowed his eyes and banged the steering wheel hard.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Mia said. “How long before we get there?”
“An hour and a half,” Munch said.
“I think I’ll take a nap,” she said.
“Good idea,” he agreed. “Have one for me, too, while you’re at it.”