So Selma had sat in bed for three hours. The bedroom window looked on to the back yard. A former tenant had covered the glass in Christmas wrapping paper that Selma, for want of curtains and in the hope of leaving soon, had resisted the temptation to tear down. Only this morning had she discovered that the lopsidedness of the bed was due to the legs on the left-hand side being sawn short. What such an operation might be good for was beyond Selma’s comprehension. With the help of two old volumes of legal statutes, she had succeeded in making the rickety bed somewhat level.

Darius had started to become more approachable.

His eyes were still blue and hostile, but he sometimes approached her to be petted. His tail usually stood erect with a tiny flourish at the top, something she had come to appreciate was a friendlier sign than when the tail was wagging. Since last Thursday he had caught another four mice, but no longer offered to share the deadly game with her. The cat now killed the rodents properly and left them at the front door, ready for disposal in the rubbish bin at the entry.

To her surprise, she heard him purring, curled up at her feet as she sat with her laptop on her knee in bright daylight tinged red by the Christmas paper on the windowpane.

If it had been easy to build a comprehensive picture of Hege Chin Morell by searching on the internet, her father was far more difficult to pin down. Admittedly, his name generated 153,000 hits on Google, but most were of no interest. The articles dealt primarily with his company, Morell Clear View. Annual accounts and rights issues. Contracts and expansion. New branches and the opening of offices in Asia.

Plus the occasional announcement about Jan’s numerous directorships.

He was also frequently quoted after important ski races. Unfortunately he adhered to the usual parental clichés. Naturally, he was proud and happy. He assured everyone that Hege deserved her success. It was his pleasure to turn up, and his contribution was extremely modest in comparison with hers.

All spoken with a broad smile.

Selma had only found three in-depth interviews with him. The most recent was the paper version that Einar had shown her, a double interview in the Aftenposten weekend supplement. It dealt mainly with Hege. Almost only about her, as even the little that Jan Morell actually contributed was also related to his daughter. He talked about the good fortune of her adoption. About their shared passion for skiing. Father and daughter described her career, winning and losing and everyday life in the timber villa in Vettakollen. They mentioned Katinka’s tragic death in passing. That also focused on Hege, who rather reticently spoke of her grief at losing her mother at the age of only eleven.