Ludvig Grønlie stepped out onto Munch’s smoking terrace to get a bit of fresh air. He let out a small sigh and stretched his body. He was tired, but he wasn’t going to complain. Other members of the unit had worked almost twice as many hours as he had recently. Ludvig Grønlie was approaching sixty, and although no one had said it out loud, it was in the air. Long and loyal service. No one would reproach him if he didn’t work twenty-three hours a day anymore. But it was not only the physical pressure that took its toll—the mental exertion was worse. Never any peace, always something that needed doing. As long as a serial killer was at large, none of them could truly rest.
His cell phone rang. He recognized the name on the display and answered the call.
“Grønlie speaking,” Ludvig said, stretching again.
“Hello, Ludvig, it’s Kjell.”
“Hi, Kjell, did you find something?”
Kjell Martinssen was one of Ludvig’s old colleagues. They had worked together in Oslo for years, but in contrast to Munch, Martinssen had chosen to be demoted. No, that was unfair—he’d made the decision to take it easy. He had met a woman. Requested a transfer to Ringerike Police. Ludvig’s old colleague had made a wise move. He sounded relaxed and happy.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did.”
“A support group for childless women?”
“Yes,” his colleague said. “Only they call it talking therapy. Heidi does quite a lot of work for Ringerike Volunteer Service Bureau, so she pointed me in the right direction.”
Heidi was the woman who had made Martinssen leave the city. The thought had sometimes crossed Ludvig’s mind. Say good-bye to the stress in the capital and find himself a job in a small town. It had never happened, and now his retirement was only a few years away.
“It was active from 2005 to 2007. That was the time frame you were asking about, wasn’t it?”
“That’s correct.” Ludvig nodded. “Do you have a list of names?”
“I can do better than that. I can get you a picture of every member as well as all their names and addresses.”
“Good work, Kjell, good work,” Ludvig said, returning to his desk. “Will you be faxing it over?”
He regretted his words immediately.
“Fax it, Ludvig?” his colleague chuckled. “Don’t you have email?”
“Email me, I meant email me.”
“I’ll get someone to scan it and send it to you as soon as it’s ready.”
“Sounds great, Kjell, great job.”
“Do you think you’ll get him?” His colleague sounded more serious now. “People are talking up here. People worry.”
“We’ll get her,” Ludvig said, then wondered if perhaps he’d given something away.
“Her? Stoltz? The one whose photo you sent us? Who’s wanted for questioning?”
“We don’t know yet,” Ludvig said as an idea came into his head. “Is she in any of your pictures?”
“Might be, I haven’t seen them yet. Heidi had to go down to the Volunteer Service Bureau to pick them up. She’s on the way here now. Hey, Rune, is our scanner working?”
The latter was shouted out into the room at the other end of the phone. Ludvig’s colleague got a positive response back.
“If Heidi is right and she finds it, you’ll have it today, okay?”
“Excellent,” Ludvig said.
He’d just finished the call when Gabriel Mørk popped his head through the door.
“Have you heard anything from Munch or Mia?”
“I spoke to Munch not long ago, but Mia isn’t answering her phone. Why?”
“I just wanted to let her know that I think we’ll have the movie sorted out sometime today. I’ve sent it to a buddy of mine who knows how to clean up noise.”
“Great,” Ludvig said, and suddenly he remembered what Munch had asked him. “You don’t happen to want some fresh air, do you?”
“Why?”
“Munch’s daughter needs some stuff. She’s up in that apartment. Could you deal with it?”
“All right,” the young man said. “What does she need?”
“Hang on,” Ludvig said, checking his phone for the list Munch had sent him.