‘What do you think?’ Munch said.
He had just carried a beer and a Farris mineral water gingerly across the floor in Justisen, and set down the beer on the table in front of her.
‘About keeping them overnight, you mean?’
‘Yes.’
Mia took a leisurely swig of her beer, in a half-hearted attempt to hide her thirst in front of Munch.
She had not taken any pills for almost twenty-four hours and she could feel that she needed it now, the alcohol, to calm her nerves.
‘It’s unnecessary.’
‘So you don’t think that one of them did it?’
‘No,’ Mia said. ‘Do you?’
‘It’s just possible.’
‘What is?’
‘That we’re making this more complicated than it really is,’ Munch said, putting his coat on an adjacent chair.
‘In what way?’
‘OK, let’s ignore how she was killed and look at motives instead.’
Mia took another unhurried swig of her beer. ‘Benedikte was jealous?’
‘Yes.’ Munch nodded. ‘And a bit highly strung, didn’t you think so?’
‘I did. But if she wanted to get rid of Camilla, why leave her body where we would find it?’
‘Fair point, but even so?’
‘She doesn’t seem the type. Way too sensitive. Flaky. This is much more calculated. More planned. Crimes of passion rarely are.’
She took another swig of her beer. Twenty-four hours without any medication; she was starting to suffer withdrawal symptoms.
‘But they can be, can’t they?’ Munch argued.
Mia looked at him and wondered why he insisted on keeping this option open: that Benedikte Riis or Paulus Monsen was the person they were looking for. To her it was blindingly obvious that neither of them was the killer. They were just two young people who had got themselves caught in a harmless love triangle. She had not needed to spend long in the interview room before reaching that conclusion, but Munch did not seem to want to let his suspicions go.
‘Yes, sure, but I just don’t see it. And his motive? Sex with a minor? A few cannabis plants in the greenhouse? So what’s your theory?’
‘They might be in it together,’ Munch suggested, taking a sip of his Farris.
‘Do you want to know what I think?’ Mia said, now knocking her beer back.
‘Yes.’
‘That they told us the truth. Benedikte Riis was obsessed with Paulus. I can see why to some extent: he’s a good-looking, charismatic young man. Camilla arrives, and Paulus takes a fancy to her. They fall in love. They start a relationship. Then Camilla goes missing. Benedikte finds her mobile, sends a text message saying she is fine so nobody will look for her. Then she can have lover boy all to herself.’
‘Just like they told us then?’ Munch said.
‘I think so.’ Mia summoned the waiter and pointed at her empty glass.
‘So why are we still talking about it?’ Munch wanted to know.
Mia smiled faintly. ‘You’re the one who keeps talking about it, not me.’
‘So you think we should release them tonight?’
‘It might be worth having another go. Something useful might turn up tomorrow, though I very much doubt it.’
Mia smiled politely to the waiter who brought her another beer.
‘So you think Benedikte threw the mobile in a bin afterwards and that we won’t ever find it?’
Mia nodded and raised the glass to her lips. She had made up her mind now: no more pills, even though she knew it was going to be hard. She would miss the haziness they gave her and their ability to suppress the images in her head.
The naked, twisted body on the heather.
The shadow on the wall.
The nightmare which had made her lose her grip on reality for a moment.
I think it’s your job that’s making you ill.
This evil.
This darkness.
Thank God, she could feel the beer kicking in now.
‘And nothing from the Natural History Museum?’ Munch said, taking another sip of his Farris.
‘Waste of time,’ Mia said. ‘How about Ludvig? The wig? The specialist shop?’
‘No luck there either.’ Munch sighed. ‘It wasn’t bought from them, but I believe there’s another shop which he’ll try tomorrow.’
‘OK.’
‘So what do we think? If the two people we’ve currently got locked up didn’t do it, who did?’
‘Helene Eriksen. The two teachers. One of the seven other girls.’
‘Anders Finstad has been crossed off the list?’
‘The way I see it, yes.’
‘So it’s someone from the Nurseries?’
‘What do you think?’
Munch let out a sigh and fell silent for a moment. And Mia realized why he was still considering the possibility that Paulus and Benedikte might have done it. Because they had no other potential suspects. So much information, so much evidence, and yet they were fumbling about in the dark, and Munch hated it.
‘Still nothing from the crime scene?’ Mia asked.
Munch shook his head in despair. ‘No footprints. No DNA from Camilla’s body.’
‘She wasn’t pregnant, was she?’
‘What? No, not according to Vik, why?’ Munch looked at her with interest.
‘The pentagram,’ Mia said. ‘I’ve been looking into it. Its symbolism.’
‘And?’
‘I mean, there has to be a reason why she was posed like that. Unless someone is trying to mislead us?’
‘Absolutely,’ Munch said. ‘And what did you find? Is this about pregnancy?’
‘Not exactly, but, yes, you remember how her arms had been arranged?’
‘I do.’
‘Pointing at two candles in the pentagram?’
‘Yes?’
‘They’re significant,’ Mia continued. ‘The five points represent spirit, water, fire, earth and air.’
‘Right,’ Munch said. ‘But what do they have to do with pregnancy?’
‘There’s another level of symbolism.’
Mia could see that she was losing him now.
‘Go on?’
‘The deeper symbolism shows that her arms were pointing at something else. Mother. And birth.’
‘Right,’ Munch said, frowning. ‘But she wasn’t pregnant?’
‘No, but I still think it could be relevant. I need time to look into it. See if I can find something we can use, something which ties in with everything else we have. I thought I might shut myself away, explore it.’
‘Do whatever you need, as long as you leave your mobile on,’ Munch said, and put on his duffel coat. ‘I need some sleep now. I still have a faint hope we might get more out of the two of them tomorrow. Do you want to share a cab?’
Mia could see from his expression that this was not a question. He was being Daddy Holger now. Who wanted to make sure that she got home to bed in time.
‘Yes, that would be great.’ Mia smiled, feigning a yawn before getting up and putting on her leather jacket.