Cold Hearts by Gunnar Staalesen

to the capital is the most stupid thing you can do.’
    ‘But … there are no permanent injuries, are there?’
    ‘Couple of decorative scars, if you like the rugged look. And confirmation that not even superheroes last for ever.’
    She gave a sardonic smile. ‘So you see yourself as a superhero, do you?’
    ‘Not any more.’
    ‘You said you wanted to speak about Margrethe Monsen. Have you found her?’
    ‘I’m afraid not. I don’t suppose you’ve had any recent contact with her, have you?’
    ‘No. As a rule we don’t keep in touch on a daily basis. Margrethe and the other girls know where to find us, and they know they’ll get the support they need here. Besides, we’re out on the streets as good as every night, but, for myself, I’ve cut down on that side of the job. I have more than enough to do with the admin. Of course, Margrethe’s been in the business for some years, so I’ve met her … in action, so to speak.’
    ‘Meaning?’
    ‘No, not that … on the street. But she’s disappeared, you say?’
    ‘Yes, that is, we don’t know yet for sure. It may have been her own choice. She has been reported missing though, by a colleague from the streets.’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘Hege Jensen.’
    She nodded. ‘I know her.’
    ‘Yes, in fact I did, too.’
    ‘Oh, how was that?’
    ‘Former classmate of my son, Thomas.’
    ‘She’s a bright girl, bearing in mind her situation. But haven’t the police been informed?’
    ‘No, that’s why she came to me. She didn’t seem to have a great deal of faith in the police, and … well, I’ve started making a few enquiries. That was when I bumped into the guys I mentioned on the phone. Kjell Malthus and his sidekick, Rolf.’
    Her gaze hardened. ‘Kjell Malthus and Rolf Terje Dalby. God, yes, we know all about them, and we have talked to the police about them on several occasions. Officially, however, all they do is run a rental service, as well as a number of other business activities. Malthus does, that is. Dalby just goes along for the ride. If only you knew how frustrating this is! Even though we all know what they are up to, it requires such enormous resources to establish damning evidence against them that they will be free for years! If you can help us with that, then …’
    She looked at me, and I shrugged. ‘We’ll have to see what we can dig up. The first priority is to find the woman.’
    ‘Tell me what Hege said.’
    I briefed her on what Hege had told me, my visit to the flat in Strandgaten, the encounter with Kjell Malthus and Rolf Terje Dalby and the story Tanya had told me on Monday evening.
    During the latter part, her face darkened further. ‘Some people reckon they can treat these girls like trash, just because their circumstances have led them to soliciting on the street. A black car, did you say?’
    ‘Yes. Mean anything to you?’
    ‘You didn’t get the model?’
    ‘Afraid not. But the car registration starts with SP-523.’
    She jotted that down on her pad. ‘I can ask my colleagues. Many of the customers out there are regulars, aren’t they. Gradually we’ve got to know them by their cars. But …’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘Margrethe turned down a trick, wasn’t that what you said?’
    ‘Right. May be a blind alley, of course. But I was told she refused the number point-blank, so Tanya took her place. Margrethe may have come up against the same punter before. She may have known there were two of them. And that the second was waiting round the corner. But whether this has anything to do with her disappearance I don’t know. All we do know is that what happened was out of the ordinary, and the following day she was gone. Since then no one has seen her.’
    ‘The police can track down electronic leads.’
    ‘The police can do a whole load of things I can’t, Cathrine. But for now I’m the one with the job.’
    ‘I really hope you find her! Safe and sound.’ After a short pause, she continued: ‘I should tell you something …