Chapter 19 #2
"Except you might be able to track where he gets his rugs. You might be able to get someone who can tell you something about him. Or it might turn out he's not the one doing it at all. How likely is it a man like him is a serial killer. You said he's a teacher."
Nikolai ate some scrambled eggs and watched Frode with narrowed eyes. "You said he touched the rug after the victim but before the forensic team. Who other than the killer would? A normal person wouldn't touch anything; they'd call the cops."
Frode leaned forward. "Isn't it best to know before you put all your resources into nailing him? I'll touch another rug. If nothing else, it can help us see a pattern."
"Frode..." Nikolai didn't like this, didn't like it at all. "Let's talk to Hjalmar."
"Hjalmar has nothing to do with this investigation."
True, but he knew Frode's limits best. "I'd still like to talk to Hjalmar."
Frode snarled at him, and Nikolai almost smiled. He didn't. He didn't think smiling right now was a good idea, but a snarling Frode he could handle. A snarling Frode he was used to.
In jerky motions, Frode got his phone out of his pocket and called Hjalmar. He put it on speaker and waited.
"Frode?" Worry was evident in Hjalmar's tone.
"You're on speaker. I'm gonna touch another rug."
Silence. "Now?"
"Soon. Nikolai and I are having breakfast. I'll grab a quick shower, then we're heading to town."
Hjalmar took a deep breath. "And you're going to touch a rug you have no idea where it's been? The list you submit to all your clients says differently."
Nikolai sipped some coffee; happy Hjalmar was the one to bring it up.
"People are dying, Hjalmar."
"Yes, and I don't want you to be one of them."
Nikolai nodded in agreement despite no one looking at him. Frode was glaring at the phone.
"What if I will be because what I saw when touching the first rug has sent the police looking in the wrong direction?"
Hjalmar huffed. "Frode, no one could've killed someone on a rug without touching it. Or I guess they could, but it would take effort."
Nikolai held his breath. It was possible, but then it would mean the killer was aware he had to hide from a possible psychic reading.
Hjalmar spoke in a softer tone. "If you saw him there, he was there."
Frode's face scrunched, and Nikolai wondered what was going on in his mind. He'd been sure before. What had made him change his mind now?
"Is there any way for someone to hide their touches from you?
Since we haven't been able to find fingerprints at any of the crime scenes, I'm assuming he's wearing gloves.
Would someone wearing gloves be enough for you not to pick up on their touch?
" If it was the case, then he could see why he was hesitating to point fingers.
"No. I can shield myself by wearing gloves or wrapping fabric around an item, but their touches are seared into whatever they've touched no matter what they wore when the contact was made.
Shoes on a rug, which is why I don't do things from public places.
How many people step on a rug in a lobby in a year?
" He fell silent, then narrowed his eyes. "Unless they know something I don't."
Know what? Of a way to shield from his reading? Then they'd have to know about him and the possibility of the police calling him in.
"Frode, where's this coming from?" Hjalmar's sounded hesitant.
"I don't know. It doesn't feel right."
"Feel?"
Frode huffed. "Nikolai said he's a teacher. Teachers shouldn't be serial killers."
"No, they shouldn't, but you saw him there. He was there." Hjalmar took a breath and kept quiet for a second before he continued. "You never care about the cases. You read the objects, then you move on. Most often, you don't ask what happened."
"I know, but something doesn't feel right."
Hjalmar sighed, and Nikolai wanted to join in but held back.
"What will touching another rug prove? You're willing to risk yourself for what?"
Frode narrowed his eyes while gazing into the distance. "To see the order."
"Oookay. What will seeing the order tell you?"
"I don't know. I need to see the order."
Hjalmar made an annoyed sound. "You're willing to risk yourself because you feel something is wrong with the order of touches?"
Was there anything wrong with the order of touches? Nikolai believed everything made sense. Sam Neace, who'd sold the rug, had touched it, then Nathaniel Altman, then the victim, then Altman again before the forensic team took over. It made perfect sense.
"I'll ask Saylor for the rug with the least wear and tear."
"Doesn't mean it won't melt your brain." Hjalmar's tone was sharp. "Nikolai, help me out here."
"Frode." Nikolai reached over the table and took his gloved hands in his.
"It's not worth it. We know who he is now.
The order of touches of the other rugs won't change that he was there.
Let the police do their job. You've pointed us in the right direction, now let the guys find what there is to find. "
Frode shook his head. "No. I'll ask Saylor."
"Frode--" Hjalmar's voice was loud.
"No. I'm an adult. You have no say in what I touch and don't touch."
"Except you can't check out evidence without having had someone agree to it."
Frode huffed. "I'm pretty sure I can get Medlin to agree to it. You might have to fight Givens every time you want me involved, but Medlin rarely says no."
Nikolai swallowed a curse. He was right. Medlin would most likely agree. Especially since when they'd first called Frode in, the plan was to have him touch all the rugs. Fuck.
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