He huddled on his chair. Stuck a finger between the rubber sole and the canvas of his shoe and began prising them apart.
"Why don't you look for fingerprints on the bag?"
"We will, of course. But it's not hard to wipe them clean. I have a strong suspicion that we won't find a single one, except for yours and your grandmother's."
"I never touched it before. Not until today."
"We'll see. Finding the bag also gives us reason to do a closer check on your motorcycle and gear and helmet. And the house you live in. Is there anything you need before we continue?"
"No."
The gap in his shoe was now quite big. He pulled his hand away.
"Do I have to stay here tonight?"
"I'm afraid so. If you could look at the situation objectively, you'd understand that I have to hold you."
"For how long?"
"I don't know yet."
He looked at the boy's face across the table and changed tactics.
"What have you been writing on your PC, Halvor? You sit in front of the monitor for hours, from the minute you get home after work until close to midnight every day. Can you tell me what you've been doing?"
Halvor looked up. "Have you been spying on me?
"In a way. We've been spying on a lot of people lately. Are you writing a diary?"
"I just play games. Chess, for example."
"With yourself?"
"With the Virgin Mary," he said.
Seje; blinked. "I would advise you to tell me what you know. You're keeping something from me, Halvor, I'm sure of that. Were there two of you? Are you covering up for someone?"
Halvor remained silent.
"If we end up charging you, we may have to confiscate your PC."
"Go ahead," he said, smiling suddenly. "But you won't be able to get in!"
"We won't get in? Why not?"
Halvor stopped talking and went back to working on his trainer.
"Because you've put a password on it?"
His mouth was dry, but he didn't want to beg for a Coke. In the refrigerator at home he had a Vørter beer; he sat there thinking about it.
"So I assume that it contains something important, since you've made sure that no one could find it."
"I just did it for fun."
"Could you give me more than one-line answers, Halvor?"
"There's nothing important. Just things I scribble when I'm bored."
Sejer stood up, and his chair slid back without a sound on the linoleum.
"You look thirsty. I'll get us a couple of Cokes."
Sejer left and the office closed in around Halvor. There was now a real hole in his trainer, and he peered at his filthy tennis sock. Far off in the distance he could hear a siren, but he couldn't tell what kind of emergency vehicle it came from. Otherwise there was a steady hum in the big building, like the sound in a movie theatre before the film starts. Sejer came back with two bottles and an opener.
"I'm going to open the window a little. OK?"
Halvor nodded. "I didn't do it."
Sejer found two plastic cups and poured the Coke. Foam spilled over the sides.
"There was no reason for me to do it."
"It's not immediately clear to me either why you would do it." He sighed and took a sip of the Coke. "But that doesn't mean that you didn't have a reason. Sometimes our feelings can run away with us – that's often the simple answer. Has that ever happened to you?"
Halvor didn't reply.
"Do you know Raymond on Kolleveien?"
"The guy with Downs syndrome? I see him in the street once in a while."
"Have you ever been to his house?"
"I've driven past. He has rabbits."
"Ever talk to him?"
"Never."
"Did you know that Knut Jensvoll, who was Annie's coach, once served time for rape?"
"Annie told me that."
"Did anyone else know?"
"I have no idea."
"Did you know the little boy she used to baby-sit for? Eskil Johnas?"
Now he looked up, startled. "Yes! He died."
"Tell me about him."
"Why?"
"Just do as I ask."
"Well, he was sweet... and funny."
"Sweet and funny?"
"Full of energy."
"Difficult?"
"A bit of a handful, maybe. Couldn't sit still. I think he took medication for it. Had to be strapped down all the time, to his chair, in the pushchair. I went along a few times when Annie took care of him. She was the only one who could handle him. But you know, Annie ..."