“And you called me because you wanted me to persuade you to say yes,” he said, pulling out his cigarettes.
“I’m not the type who lets themselves be persuaded, Harry.”
He nodded towards the headphones. “You let yourself be persuaded to listen to Deep Purple.”
Did he see a hint of a blush on her cheeks? “Only because you said they were the best group in the ‘unintentionally ridiculous but still good’ category.”
“Mm.” Harry put an unlit cigarette to his lips. “Seeing as this plan belongs to the same category, I’m counting on it being of interest and—”
“Harry…”
“And bear in mind that by helping me put a notorious rapist behind bars, you’d be helping all the women of this city. You’d be helping Oleg by getting the man who murdered his mother punished. And you’d be helping me—”
“Stop, Harry.”
“…to get out of a situation I’ve only got myself to blame for.”
She raised one of her dark eyebrows. “Oh?”
“I’ve recruited one of Svein Finne’s rape victims to act as bait, in order to catch him red-handed. I’ve persuaded an innocent woman to wear a microphone and record him in the belief that it’s part of a police operation, whereas it’s actually a solo performance directed by a suspended police officer. Plus his accomplice, a former colleague.You.”
Kaja stared at him. “You’re kidding.”
“No,” Harry said. “It turns out that I have no moral boundaries when it comes to how far I’m willing to go to catch Svein Finne.”
“Those are precisely the words I was going to use.”
“I need you, Kaja. Are you with me?”
“Why on earth would I do that? This is utter madness.”
“How many times did we know who the culprit was, but couldn’t do anything about it because we had to follow the rules? Well, you’re not in the police, you don’t have to follow any rules.”
“But you do, even if you are suspended. You’re not just risking your job, but your liberty. You’re the one they’ll end up putting away.”
“I won’t be losing anything, Kaja. I’ve got nothing left to lose.”
“What about your sleep? You know what you’re exposing this woman to?”
“Not my sleep either. Dagny Jensen knows this isn’t by the book, she’s seen through me.”
“Did she say that?”
“No. And we’re keeping it that way. So afterwards she can claim she thought it was a legitimate police operation, so she won’t be risking anything. She’s just as keen as I am to see that Svein Finne is eliminated.”
Kaja rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up on her elbows. The sleeves of her cardigan slid down her long, thin lower arms. “Eliminated. What exactly do you mean by that?”
Harry shrugged. “Taken out of the game. Removed.”
“Removed from…?”
“The streets. Public life.”
“Put in prison, then?”
Harry looked at her as he sucked on the unlit cigarette. Nodded. “For instance.”
Kaja shook her head. “I don’t know if I dare, Harry. You’re…different. You always pushed the boundaries, but this isn’t you. This isn’tus. This is…” She shook her head.
