“You can say that again.”
“On top of that, the national police chief called a couple of times. To underscore the fact that the minister of justice was to be briefed. And the second time he threatened to come in person, but the Countess talked him out of it. Then there was the police director, but that is natural enough. The county commissioner has the mayor of Gladsaxe on his back, so he called in frequently too. Moreover, the attorney general got on the line, distinctly out of sorts.”
“The attorney general? How in the world did he get in the picture?”
“Well, that was what he was asking me about. He didn’t want anything to do with the investigation, I believe he said. He is not completely easy to understand and I could never figure out who it was who involved him in the first place. And the Countess has had her hands full. Both with the chairman and vice chairperson of the parliamentary judiciary committee. Among others.”
“For heaven’s sake, what a mess.”
“You can say that again, and there’s more. Finally I received a call from the head at the Department of State, Helmer Hammer—yes, that is his name—and that was immediately after the minister of justice’s second round, so I was impatient with all the interruptions at this point. I was also a bit shaken, which I can see now in hindsight. Well, I told him in fairly direct terms that unless we had some peace to do our work, there would be absolutely nothing to report on, regardless of whether the queen herself called. Then I hung up or whatever it is you do with a cell phone.”
“Hm, was that wise? What happened after that?”
“He called back.”
“Smart move. Are you going to be directing traffic now?”
“No, he’s reasonable when it comes down to it. He doesn’t know anything about police work, which is something thankfully he volunteered himself, but he promised to stop with the interruptions and he’s kept his word. There have been no VIP calls since.”
Pedersen looked relieved. Simonsen tried to get the conversation back on track without sounding too impatient.
“That all sounds quite positive, but does not actually explain the state of our resources.”
“Yes it does, because he also said that you should take the lead on the investigation.”
“I’m already doing that.”
“Yes, I know. Let me explain. That is, you should lead the investigation and exclusively report back to him. No one else.”
“The usual lines of communication are being silenced?”
“In a manner of speaking, but it gets better. You can proceed freely, and you have no resource constraints whether in regard to man-hours or financials. He will take care of any administrative hurdles so that your time can be completely devoted to investigating.”
“That is quite something.”
“Yes, he is not without power. However, he did make a point of saying that your official mandate has not yet been drawn up, but that is just a matter of paperwork. You should get in touch with him when you have a moment. I have his number. So the sum of all this, Simon, is that you are basically your own boss.”
“Did he say that too?”
“No, that is my own conclusion.”
“Hm, it doesn’t really matter to me that the usual protocol is put aside.”
“It’s better than having all kinds of highly elevated men and women throw us around according to their whims.”
“Maybe, but we’ll have to see about that. Right now we have other things to think about.”
Suddenly the bell went off, high-pitched and piercing. No one had thought about shutting it off since the children had been sent home. It caused Simonsen to jump, and his chair groaned. For a split second he lay outstretched on his desk. Pedersen, whose relationship to school bells was less troubled, waited quietly until the noise ceased, after which he completed his report.
“The current division of labor is that Pauline is trawling the neighbors and the outdoor areas of the school, the Countess is responsible for the interior of the school, Troulsen is debriefing the school staff, and I am free now that you’re here. Our most pressing problem is that the dead are as yet unidentified, and that the janitor is missing. Per Clausen is his name and he was likely the one who unlocked the school this morning, but no one has seen him. It is possible that he’s indisposed due to excessive alcohol consumption—apparently that happens from time to time. As for the task of identifying the victims, I have a dozen experienced people occupied with the task of finding out if the five men have been reported missing anywhere. There are not yet any results.”