Read Online In the Darkness by Karin Fossum - Free Book Online Page A

almost every day. I could really count on those boys, that they’d be in. No idea what happened, apart from Primus getting stabbed by someone. I don’t know why the others kept away. A sad business. They really were a source of income those boys. Enjoyed themselves, too. Decent people.’
    ‘Tell me what they did when they were here. What they talked about.’
    He ran his hand back across his hair, a totally unnecessary adjustment. ‘Played a lot of darts.’ He indicated a large dartboard at the back of the premises. ‘Played tournaments and suchlike. Talked and laughed and argued. Drank and laughed and messed about. Basically, they behaved like most lads. They could relax here, never brought their wives along. This is a man’s bar.’
    ‘What did they talk about?’
    ‘Cars, women, football. And work, if something special had happened. And women, or have I already said that?’
    ‘Did they argue sometimes?’
    ‘Oh yes, but nothing serious. I mean, they always parted friends.’
    ‘Did you know them by name?’
    ‘Well, yes, if you call Primus and Peddik and Graffen names – I hadn’t a clue what they were really called. Apart from Arvesen, the youngest of them. Nico Arvesen.’
    ‘Who was Graffen?’
    ‘A graphic artist. Worked on posters and advertising material for the brewery, very good stuff, too. I don’t know his name.’
    ‘Could any of them have knifed Einarsson?’
    ‘No, no way. Must be someone else. They were friends.’
    ‘Did they know Maja Durban?’
    ‘Everyone did. Didn’t you?’
    He ignored the question. ‘The evening Durban was killed you had a disturbance here, didn’t you?’
    ‘That’s right. And the only reason I remember it is because of the flashing blue lights. That sort of thing isn’t normally a problem. But no one gets off scot-free.’
    ‘Did the trouble start before or after you saw the emergency vehicles?’
    ‘Oh God, I’ll have to think.’ He munched peanuts and licked his lips. ‘Before, I think.’
    ‘Do you know what caused the disturbance?’
    ‘Drink, of course. Peddik had too much. I had to ring for the Black Maria, even though I hate doing it. I pride myself on dealing with things myself, but that evening it didn’t work. He went completely off the rails in here, I’m no doctor, but I think it was something akin to the DTs.’
    ‘But was he usually boisterous?’
    ‘A bit excitable, no doubt about it. But several of them were. They were pretty loud the whole lot of them. Primus was one of the quieter ones in fact, occasionally he would rumble a bit, like one of those small earthquakes in San Francisco, the ones that make glasses in cocktail cabinets tinkle. It was rare that anything came of it. He came in his car too, drank Coke or Seven Up. Always did the paperwork when they were playing tournaments.’
    ‘So our people took this Peddik in?’
    ‘Yup. But afterwards I found out they changed their minds.’
    ‘Einarsson pleaded his case.’
    ‘Hey, can you really do that?’
    ‘Well, even we are open to reason. There’s nothing better than social networks, you know. We’ve got too few of them. You didn’t catch anything? During the trouble?’
    ‘Oh yes, I couldn’t help it. “Fucking women”, and that sort of thing.’
    ‘Problems with women?’
    ‘Doubt it. Just a lot of alcohol, and then they go for the most obvious thing. His marriage probably wasn’t of the best, well, that’s why they come here after all, isn’t it?’ He pulled a toothpick from a little barrel on the bar and scraped his pristine nails. ‘Do you think there’s a connection between the two killings?’
    ‘I’ve no idea,’ Sejer said. ‘But I can’t help wondering, because as I sit here looking down the street, I can almost see the block of flats Maja lived in. Almost.’
    ‘I know what you mean. A gorgeous woman she was. Just how girls should look.’
    ‘Did she come here often?’
    ‘Nope. She was too refined for that. She popped in occasionally,