"Maybe he slipped inside when you weren't looking and is hiding somewhere. You never know."
Sejer was trembling, and Skarre thought that he looked as though a great storm were gathering force under his shirt.
"I'm closing up now!" Johnas said.
They walked past him and up the stairs. Took a good look around. Went into the office, opened the door to the toilet, continued on up to the attic. No one in sight.
"Who did you expect to find here?"
Johnas was leaning against the banister, studying them with one eyebrow raised. His chest was rising and falling visibly.
"Halvor Muntz."
"And who is that?"
"Annie's boyfriend."
"Why would he come here?"
"I'm not sure."
Unperturbed, Sejer wandered round the gallery. "But he hinted that he was coming here. He's been playing detective on his own, and I think we ought to put a stop to it."
"I agree wholeheartedly," Johnas said, with a condescending smile. "But there hasn't been anyone playing Hardy Boys here."
Sejer kicked at the rolled-up carpets with the tip of his shoe. "Does this building have a basement?"
"No."
"What do you do with the carpets at night? Do you leave them out?"
"Most of them, yes. But I put the most expensive ones in the vault."
"I see."
Suddenly he caught sight of the small mahogany table, beneath which a handful of coins lay scattered.
"Are you always so careless with your small change?" he said.
Johnas shrugged. Sejer didn't like the fact that it was so quiet. He didn't like the expression on the carpet dealer's face. In a corner of the room he noticed a pink bucket with a scrubbing brush next to it. The floor was damp. "Have you been washing the floor?" he asked.
"It's the last thing I do before I close up the shop. I save a lot of money by doing it myself. As you can see," he said after a moment, "there's nobody here."
Sejer looked at him. "Show us the vault."
For a moment Johnas looked as if he might refuse, but then he changed his mind and started heading down the stairs.
"It's on the first floor. You can see it of course, though naturally it's locked, and it would be impossible to hide inside."
They followed him down to the first floor to a corner under the stairs, where they saw a steel door, quite low but much wider than a normal door. Johnas went over and twisted the dial of a combination lock back and forth. With every twist a tiny click was audible. He was using his left hand, a little clumsily, because he was right-handed.
"Is this boy so valuable that you think I would hide him in here?"
"Possibly," said Sejer, staring at the clumsy left hand. Johnas gripped the handle of the heavy door and pulled with all his might.
"I'm sure it'd be easier if you used both hands," Sejer said.
Johnas raised an eyebrow, as if he didn't understand. Sejer peered into the cramped space, which contained a small safe, two or three paintings leaning against the wall, and a number of rolled carpets stacked up on the floor like logs.
"That's all there is." He gave them a belligerent look. The vault was brightly lit with two long fluorescent tubes in the ceiling. The walls were bare.
Sejer smiled. "But he was here, wasn't he? What did he want?"
"Nobody's been here, except for you two."
Sejer nodded and walked out of the vault. Skarre cast him an uneasy glance, but followed him out.
"If he happens to turn up, would you contact us immediately?" Sejer said. "He's been going through a difficult time lately after all that's happened. He needs help."
"Of course."
The vault door slammed shut.
Out in the car park Sejer signalled for Skarre to drive.
"Drive up the hill and pull into that driveway at the top. Do you see it?"
Skarre nodded.
"Park there. We'll wait until he leaves and then follow him. I want to see where he's going."
They didn't have long to wait. No more than five minutes passed before Johnas suddenly appeared in the doorway. He locked up, activated the burglar alarm, walked past the grey Citroen, and disappeared down the driveway to a back courtyard. He was out of sight for a few minutes, then reappeared in an old Transit truck. He stopped at the street and signalled left. Sejer could clearly hear the roaring of the engine.
"Ah, yes, he would have a delivery truck," Skarre said.
"With one cylinder gone. It's roaring like an old fishing boat. Let's get going, but be careful. He's making for the intersection down there; don't