The Drowned Boy Read Online Free

“Let’s go to my office; it’s just a bit farther down the corridor.”
    She got to her feet and then saw the dog. Frank stood up on his hind legs, wanting to say hello. She stroked him gingerly on the head, but she seemed to be elsewhere. The catastrophe had drained her of color and she had dark rings under her eyes.
    “If he bothers you, I’ll put him in the car,” Sejer said. “But usually he settles down; he doesn’t normally make a fuss.”
    She shook her head. But she did keep looking at the dog, as if he touched something in her, some longing.
    “What is your name?” he asked as kindly as he could, as they walked down the corridor.
    “Carmen,” she replied. “Carmen Cesilie Zita.”
    Her name sounded familiar. And before he could ask, she had given him the answer.
    “Yes,” she said, as though reading his thoughts. “My father owns the fast-food place in Torggata. The one called Zita Quick. He’s had it for ten years, and we both work there. Well, I don’t really at the moment because Tommy’s still so little. But Nicolai does shifts there. We’re open all night.”
    She paused and looked at Sejer with blue eyes surrounded by thick black lashes. “People come all the way from Oslo for our food,” she said proudly.
    He opened the door to his office. Frank slipped in, went over to the blanket by the window, and lay down.
    “Please, find yourself a chair,” he told her.
    He studied the slight girl.
    “My condolences, Carmen,” he added. “It’s terribly sad.”
    He wanted to be friendly. Wanted to do everything right, in case she wasn’t guilty.
    “Why can’t I be with Nicolai?” she asked. But the question was also a complaint and she sounded petulant. You don’t just plow your way into someone else’s life; you tiptoe in with care and respect. So he weighed his words carefully. He had considerable training.
    “You have to be separated, as a matter of procedure,” he explained patiently. “I can understand if you might find it a bit brutal, but we automatically follow lots of rules and regulations, so there is absolutely no need to worry about it. We’re going to talk together for a while, and then afterward you can both go home to Granfoss. Oh, I see you didn’t take your mineral water with you. Shall I get you another one?”
    She shook her head and sat down in a chair by the window. She wasn’t interested in the view; her eyes were fixed on her hands, which she had folded in her lap. But she glanced over at Frank every now and then. The dog lying on the gray blanket was obviously soothing.
    “What was your little boy’s name?” he asked. “Tommy?”
    He rolled his chair across the floor and sat down beside her.
    “Yes, his name is Tommy Nicolai.”
    She started to cry. And while she cried, he sat and waited patiently until the outburst was over.
    “Now, let’s go through it all again,” he said. “Step by step. Exactly as it happened. You can tell me your own way, if you like. Or if you think that’s difficult, I can ask you questions.”
    “Maybe you should ask questions,” she said. “Everything’s just chaos; it’s so hard to remember.”
    “I understand,” Sejer assured her. “I’ll ask you questions then. Now tell me about the day. What were you doing when you discovered that Tommy had disappeared?”
    He could see that she was rifling through her memory; her eyes darted around the room, returning to Frank again, who had fallen asleep on his blanket.
    “Well, it was getting on for supper time. I’d decided we were going to have salmon. So that’s probably what I was doing, preparing the fish.”
    “Probably? You’re not sure?”
    “Yes, of course I’m sure. Don’t talk to me like I’m some stupid little girl.”
    But she paused and didn’t seem certain at all. Sejer reminded himself that she was most likely in shock, so her memory would have gaps; he’d seen it before. Likewise, angry words would spill over in the heat of the moment.
    “Do you