When Harry arrived in his flat he tore off his clothes, went into the shower and turned on the hot water. The steam ran down the walls and he stood there until his skin was red and sore. He went into the bedroom. The water evaporated and he lay on the bed without drying himself. He closed his eyes and waited. For sleep to come. Or images. Whichever came first.

Instead the mumbling came.

He listened.

What were they whispering about?

What plans were they making?

They were talking in codes.

He sat up. Rested his head against the wall and felt the carving of the devil’s star against the back of his head.

He looked at his watch. It would soon be light outside.

He got up and went into the hall. He searched the pockets of his jacket and found his last cigarette. He ripped off the tip and lit it. He sat in the wing chair in the living room and waited for morning to come.

The light from the moon shone into the room.

He thought about Tom Waaler staring into eternity. And about the man he had talked to in Oslo Old Town after the conversation with Waaler outside the canteen on the roof terrace at Police HQ. It had been easy to find him, because he had kept his nickname and still worked in the family kiosk.

‘Tom Brun?’ the man behind the tiled counter had answered and had run a hand through his greasy hair. ‘Yes, indeed I do remember him. Poor lad. Was beaten by his dad at home. His father was an unemployed brickie. Drank. Friend? No, I wasn’t any pal of Tom Brun’s. Yes, it was me who was called Solo. Inter-rail?’

The man had laughed.

‘Furthest I’ve ever been by train is just down the coast, south of Oslo. Don’t think Tom Brun had that many pals in fact. I remember him as a nice lad, the kind of boy who would help old ladies cross the road, a bit like a Boy Scout. Strange guy though. There was something dodgy about his father’s death. Very weird accident, that.’

Harry ran his ring finger over the smooth surface of the table. He felt small particles stick to his skin and knew it was the yellow dust from the chisel. The red light on his answerphone flashed. Journalists, presumably. It would start this morning. Harry put the tip of his finger on his tongue. It tasted bitter. Mortar. He remembered that it came from the wall over the door to room 406 where Wilhelm Barli had carved the devil’s star. Harry made a smacking noise with his tongue. It must have been a strange mix the bricklayer had used because there was another taste in there somewhere. Sweet. No, metallic. It tasted of egg.