it and put my foot on the bottom. Then I sprayed Baygon into the hole."
"What's that?"
"Very powerful insect repellent. You can't buy it over the counter. The snake was knocked out at once."
"How do you have access to that kind of stuff?"
"I work at Anticimex. Pest control. Flies and cockroaches and all kinds of vermin."
"I see. Then what happened?"
"Then that skinny boyfriend of hers got a carving knife and I chopped the sucker in half, put it in a plastic bag, and tossed it into my rubbish bin. I really felt sorry for Annie. She hardly dared sleep in her own bed after that."
He shook his head at the thought.
"But you didn't come here to talk about my career as Superman, did you? In fact, why are you here?"
"Well ..." Skarre pushed a curl back from his forehead. "The boss says we should always measure the pressure twice."
"Is that right? Well ... my pressure is pretty stable. But I still can't comprehend that someone has taken Annie's life. A perfectly ordinary girl. Here, in this village, on this street. Her family can't understand it either. Now they'll leave her room untouched for years, exactly the way she had it. I've heard about this happening. Do you think it's because of a subconscious wish that she'll suddenly reappear?"
"Perhaps. Are you going to the funeral?"
"The whole village is going. That's what it's like when you live in a small place. No use having any secrets. People feel they have the right to know. It has its good and bad sides. Hard to keep anything secret."
"That could be an advantage for us," Skarre said. "If the killer is from here."
Fritzner went over to the dinghy, picked up the beer bottle, and emptied it. "Do you think he's from here?"
"Let's say that we hope so."
"I don't. But if he is, I hope you catch him fast, by God. I expect all 20 houses in the street have noted that you've come to see me. For the second time."
"Does that bother you?"
"Of course it does. I'd like to go on living here."
"Surely there's no reason for you not to."
"We'll see. As a bachelor, a man feels extra vulnerable."
"Why is that?"
"It's unnatural for a man not to have a woman. People expect a man to find a woman, at least by the time he turns 40. And if he doesn't, they think there must be some reason for it."
"Now I think you sound a little paranoid."
"You don't know what it's like, living so close to each other. There will be difficult times ahead for a lot of people."
"Are you thinking of anyone in particular?"
"As a matter of fact I am."
"Jensvoll, for example?"
Fritzner didn't reply, but stood there for a moment, thinking. Looked at Skarre out of the corner of his eye and then seemed to make up his mind. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held out something. "I wanted to show you this."
Skarre peered at it. It looked like a hair tie, covered with material, blue, with beads sewn on.
"It's Annie's," Fritzner said, staring at him. "I found it in the car. On the floor in front, stuck between the seat and the door. It was just a week ago that I gave her a lift into town. She dropped it in the car."
"Why are you giving this to me?"
He took a deep breath. "I could have kept it. Burned it in the fireplace, not said a word. It's to show you that I'm playing with a clean deck."
"I never thought otherwise," Skarre said.
Fritzner smiled. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Possibly," said Skarre, smiling back. "Maybe you're trying to trick me. Maybe you're such a conniving person that this whole sweet confession has been staged. I'll take the hair tie with me. And take you into consideration to a greater extent than before."
Fritzner turned pale. Skarre couldn't resist laughing at him.
"Where did you get the name for your boat?" he asked. "It's a strange name for a boat, isn't it? Narco Traficante?"
"It was just a whim."
He was trying to pull himself together after the incident. "But it sounds good, don't you think?"
He gave the young officer a worried look.
"Have you ever taken it out on the water?"
"Never," he said. "I get terribly seasick."
The district prosecutor had given his verdict. Annie Holland could be buried, and now Eddie saw by his watch that more than 24 hours had passed since the first shovelful of dry earth struck the top of the coffin. Earth on