‘Yes.’ He nodded. ‘In the middle of the city – he stepped onto a pedestrian crossing while the lights were on red. A bus didn’t manage to stop … He had terrible head injuries and died a few hours later on the operating table.’

‘No witnesses?’

‘Witnesses? What do you mean? I don’t know much more than was written in the papers and what people said. It was an accident, Varg – tragic, but they do happen.’

‘OK, let’s say “accident”. What about Arild Hjellestad?’

‘Arild was quite different. He had no trouble with women – or at least they weren’t in short supply. Now and again there were too many in fact. He became famous and infamous for his many fiancées. Every time he appeared at a party with a new woman he solemnly announced: “This is my fiancée.” And if they survived the rest of the evening they did better than most.’

‘A lethal hobby – for some.’

‘Mm. In other respects he was more like you and me – passed his school exams, did teacher training, started university and never finished.’189

‘Sounds like me, yes.’

‘Worked in a music shop for a while, wrote about music in papers and magazines, but … well…’ He shrugged.

‘Well?’

‘Arild’s problem was alcohol. He never managed to keep it under control. He was pretty pissed most of his last years, and as far as I know there were a lot fewer women too.’

‘Not a glamorous death then?’

‘No. He drank himself to death. One of the coldest January nights that year – and he was outside. Fell asleep and never woke up. They found him early one Saturday morning up near the Starefossen waterfall.’

‘And who’d he been drinking with?’

‘No one knows. Or rather, I don’t.’

‘And Johnny was stabbed to death in the street. Can’t get more black and white than that. Listen, Jakob, there’s one thing that bothers me. One thing I can’t get my head round.’

‘Mhm?’

I leaned forward and stared into his face. ‘Did something happen in 1975, Jakob? Why did you split up exactly?’

He met my stare with a wall of defiance. Then his eyes flitted around the room. ‘I’ve told you before, Varg, it was because we’d gradually grown apart.’

‘OK, but I’ve heard that after 1973 you weren’t doing a lot gig-wise. You were back with the golden oldies and the “remember-this-one?” stuff for the thirty-year-olds. Why 1975?’

‘I can’t give you an answer, Varg.’

‘Because you don’t want to?’

‘Because I can’t tell you any more than I already have!’

‘So nothing of any importance happened?’

‘Of any importance? Like what?’190

‘Something that led to a break-up? Such as something between you and Johnny?’

‘Between…?’

‘It couldn’t be that 1975 was the first time he had a fling with Rebecca, for example?’

‘1975? Surely you don’t think…?’

‘That he got his revenge in 1975 for what you once did to him when you and Anita … well, there was something between you and Anita, wasn’t there?’