Chapter XVI: This is not the end
Jon Mold was still trying to recover from his hangover, after having managed to find a bottle of Aspirin. He looked at the reports he had filed recently on the case. Conveniently, he’d left the diary out of them, as he hadn’t assessed it fully yet. He sneezed loudly.
“About the only thing I’ll catch today, is a cold”, he muttered to himself as he hunched over his desk, trying to find his notes. His desk was a mess. The phone rang. It was Marcussen again.
“Mold, I’d like to see you in my office at once!”. The tone was neutral.
“Yes, sir!”
Mold went off. His head was slightly better, but he was getting hungry. He hadn’t eaten all day.
Marie just smiled, and motioned for him to go right in.
Marcussen was sitting there, his arms crossed. He nodded towards a chair, and Mold sat down. Marcussen looked nauseous.
“How are you, Mold? News spread quickly here. Your wife has left you. Can’t be easy. Maybe you need a break. Some time off. Just to recuperate…?”
“I’m fine, but thank you for your concern. I don’t want a break, sir!”
“Given that your current investigation is producing no results whatsoever, I have decided to close the case, Mold. It would be futile to tie up such huge amounts of resources on such a small case”. Marcussen looked warily at Mold.
“Sir… I’m aware that we haven’t produced any results yet, but we are following some promising leads that…”. Marcussen interrupted him.
“Sorry, inspector. The case is closed. There’s nothing I can do”
“What?”
“You heard me. Now, take a week off. Get back on your feet. Gjertsen will be re-assigned to another case. Good bye! I will see you in a week, Mold”. Marcussen made a dismissive gesture, and Mold had little else to do than to walk out of the office. Marie looked at him with great pity, but Mold gave her a brave smile and kept walking.
He walked to Gjertsen’s office, which apart from a pile of books on criminology and penal law, stood in stark contrast to his own. There was no sign of Gjertsen.
Mold had one last hope of salvaging his investigation. He had decided to call major Schultz again. He went back to his office, and picked up the phone. The secretary seemed just as reluctant to let him through this time as well, but finally he managed to convince her that this was in fact important business.
“Schultz?”
“Inspector Mold here, sir… look…”
“Yes, hello. What can I do for you?”
“Seems as if Marcussen is closing the case on Mathiesen”
“Really? Well, it’s not a surprise to me. You’ve had a rather poor showing, inspector”
“Pardon?”
“Your investigation. It hasn’t produced any results. We’re taking it from here”
“What?”
“Look, inspector, there is no other way. You have been relieved of a case that was obviously beyond your competence, and which has turned into a military matter. Thank you for your co-operation, and have a nice vacation!”
Click.
Mold was stunned. Taken off the case. Military investigation. There was indeed a first for everything. But it was all very obvious. Marcussen had gotten orders from above. But why on Earth? It wasn’t as if they were on the way of unveiling some hideous plot or something? Or were they?
Mold tried to trace whatever it could be that was iffy about the case. Clearly, Mathiesen hadn’t been 100 % loyal. Why would military intelligence be afraid of that being exposed? Whatever Mathiesen had done, it was in the past. Could the past be dangerous?
He picked up his notes, and stuffed them in his coat pocket and walked out of Victoria Terrasse. What was he to do now?
Arvid Gjertsen had stopped for lunch after his visit at Spigerverket. While eating his hamburger sandwich, he mused upon how glad he was that he hadn’t ended up an industrial worker. Having finished his glass of milk, he left the lunch shop and drove back to Victoria Terrasse. He was surprised not to find Mold in his office. He became even more surprised by the note on his desk saying the investigation was over.
Jon Mold was still trying to recover from his hangover, after having managed to find a bottle of Aspirin. He looked at the reports he had filed recently on the case. Conveniently, he’d left the diary out of them, as he hadn’t assessed it fully yet. He sneezed loudly.
“About the only thing I’ll catch today, is a cold”, he muttered to himself as he hunched over his desk, trying to find his notes. His desk was a mess. The phone rang. It was Marcussen again.
“Mold, I’d like to see you in my office at once!”. The tone was neutral.
“Yes, sir!”
Mold went off. His head was slightly better, but he was getting hungry. He hadn’t eaten all day.
Marie just smiled, and motioned for him to go right in.
Marcussen was sitting there, his arms crossed. He nodded towards a chair, and Mold sat down. Marcussen looked nauseous.
“How are you, Mold? News spread quickly here. Your wife has left you. Can’t be easy. Maybe you need a break. Some time off. Just to recuperate…?”
“I’m fine, but thank you for your concern. I don’t want a break, sir!”
“Given that your current investigation is producing no results whatsoever, I have decided to close the case, Mold. It would be futile to tie up such huge amounts of resources on such a small case”. Marcussen looked warily at Mold.
“Sir… I’m aware that we haven’t produced any results yet, but we are following some promising leads that…”. Marcussen interrupted him.
“Sorry, inspector. The case is closed. There’s nothing I can do”
“What?”
“You heard me. Now, take a week off. Get back on your feet. Gjertsen will be re-assigned to another case. Good bye! I will see you in a week, Mold”. Marcussen made a dismissive gesture, and Mold had little else to do than to walk out of the office. Marie looked at him with great pity, but Mold gave her a brave smile and kept walking.
He walked to Gjertsen’s office, which apart from a pile of books on criminology and penal law, stood in stark contrast to his own. There was no sign of Gjertsen.
Mold had one last hope of salvaging his investigation. He had decided to call major Schultz again. He went back to his office, and picked up the phone. The secretary seemed just as reluctant to let him through this time as well, but finally he managed to convince her that this was in fact important business.
“Schultz?”
“Inspector Mold here, sir… look…”
“Yes, hello. What can I do for you?”
“Seems as if Marcussen is closing the case on Mathiesen”
“Really? Well, it’s not a surprise to me. You’ve had a rather poor showing, inspector”
“Pardon?”
“Your investigation. It hasn’t produced any results. We’re taking it from here”
“What?”
“Look, inspector, there is no other way. You have been relieved of a case that was obviously beyond your competence, and which has turned into a military matter. Thank you for your co-operation, and have a nice vacation!”
Click.
Mold was stunned. Taken off the case. Military investigation. There was indeed a first for everything. But it was all very obvious. Marcussen had gotten orders from above. But why on Earth? It wasn’t as if they were on the way of unveiling some hideous plot or something? Or were they?
Mold tried to trace whatever it could be that was iffy about the case. Clearly, Mathiesen hadn’t been 100 % loyal. Why would military intelligence be afraid of that being exposed? Whatever Mathiesen had done, it was in the past. Could the past be dangerous?
He picked up his notes, and stuffed them in his coat pocket and walked out of Victoria Terrasse. What was he to do now?
Arvid Gjertsen had stopped for lunch after his visit at Spigerverket. While eating his hamburger sandwich, he mused upon how glad he was that he hadn’t ended up an industrial worker. Having finished his glass of milk, he left the lunch shop and drove back to Victoria Terrasse. He was surprised not to find Mold in his office. He became even more surprised by the note on his desk saying the investigation was over.
