Thomas Enger - Burned

‘What do we know about stoning?’ Emil Hagen asks.

Hagen is a short man who has recently graduated from the police academy. Brogeland recognises the type: bursting with enthusiasm, keen to get stuck in and nurturing a vision of making a difference to society, one villain at a time. You just keep thinking that, Brogeland muses. You’ll be brought down to earth soon enough, just like the rest of us. Emil has blond hair and looks like an adult version of the eponymous Astrid Lindgren character. He even has a big gap between his front teeth.

‘Only Iran officially uses the method today,’ Sandland explains. ‘However, it’s also used in other countries, as a form of vigilantism. It’s mainly adultery, indecency and blasphemy which are punishable by stoning. In 2007, Jafar Keyani was stoned to death in Iran. It was the first time since 2002 that Iran officially admitted to using this form of punishment.’

‘What had he done?’ Nokleby asks.

‘You mean what had she done?’

Nokleby bows her head, embarrassed at her ignorance.

‘She had an extra-marital affair.’

The rest of the team looks at Sandland. Fredrik Stang puts down his water glass.

‘I don’t follow, didn’t we just make an arrest?’ he says. Stang has dark hair, cut short to the point of a crew cut and a face that always oozes earnestness. He likes to wear tight-fitting clothes, so people can see he spent much of his youth in the gym.

‘Indeed we did, but he denies the murder and it’s far too early not to pursue other leads. Besides, we’re trying to establish a motive,’ Nokleby points out.

‘Hagerup had screwed around,’ Stang protests. ‘The texts suggest she had. And Marhoni is a Muslim, isn’t he. To me, it sounds like a straightforward home win.’

Sandland raises a bottle of Cola Zero to her lips and takes a swig.

‘Sure, I agree that it might look that way. But I still think we need to ignore the honour killing theory. It’s more obvious to take a closer look at sharia.’

‘Sharia?’ Gjerstad frowns.

‘Yes. You do know what it is, don’t you?’

She looks around the team. Most people nod, but not very convincingly. Emil Hagen shifts in his chair.

‘Extreme rules telling you how to live or something?’

Sandland smiles briefly.

‘That’s one way of putting it. Most people who’ve heard about sharia immediately think “mad mullahs and fundamentalists”. But sharia is a complex concept. Those who call themselves learned, as far as sharia is concerned, have studied the legal principles of sharia for years. They study the Koran, the sayings and doings of the Prophet Mohammed, Muslim history, how different legal schools have interpreted the law and so on. In Muslim countries today, sharia primarily applies to aspects of family law such as divorce and inheritance.’

‘But what has this got to do with the murder of Henriette Hagerup?’ Gjerstad asks impatiently.

‘I’m getting to that. There’s no such thing as one Islamic law, and only a few countries enforce a penal code based on Islamic law. The countries that do, have something they call hudud punishments.’

‘Hu-what?’ Hagen asks.

‘Hudud punishments. It’s a penal code in the Koran. It prescribes specific punishments for certain crimes. Flogging, for example. Or chopping off someone’s hand.’

Brogeland nods quietly to himself. He has instantly grasped the implications of Sandland’s information.

‘So what crimes warrant these punishments?’ Nokleby asks, folding her hands in front of her. Sandland looks at her, while she explains.

‘Adultery, for example. You can get one hundred lashes for that. If you’re caught stealing, you might lose your hand. But the degree of enforcement of hudud punishments varies from country to country and, in some cases, people take the law into their own hands and justify their sick acts by referring to the law of Allah. The symbolic value of having such punishments is probably more important, because it proves that you respect the edicts of the Koran and Islamic law.’

‘Even if it’s only in theory?’ Nokleby continues.

‘Even if it’s only in theory,’ Sandland says and nods. ‘However, some countries do actually enforce the laws. In November 2008, a thirteen-year-old Somali girl was stoned to death for trying to report a rape. She was taken to a football stadium, buried in a hole which was filled with earth up to her neck. Then fifty people started stoning her and a thousand people watched.’

‘Bloody hell,’ Hagen gasps. Brogeland gazes dreamily at Sandland. You can lecture to me anytime, he thinks. With a cane and handcuffs within easy reach, for when I give the wrong answers.

Stang shakes his head.

‘How come you know all this?’

‘I did Religious Studies for A-level.’

‘This is all very well,’ Gjerstad interjects, ‘but we’re still no closer to knowing to why this happened.’

‘No, or who did it.’

‘You don’t think Marhoni did?’ Nokleby asks.

‘I don’t know what I think yet. But Marhoni didn’t strike me as a hardcore Muslim, to be flippant, or as someone who is up to date on hudud punishments. And I think it’s important to bear in mind that this isn’t normal Muslim behaviour. Someone with extreme views — and I mean really extreme views — and a twisted mind probably did this. And I don’t think that description fits Marhoni.’

‘Don’t you have to be a Muslim to warrant the punishment?’ Brogeland asks.

‘Yes, that’s correct, you do.’

‘But Hagerup is white, like us?’

‘Precisely. So lots of things don’t add up.’

‘She could have converted?’ Hagen suggests.

Sandland pulls a face.

‘But as she was white and Norwegian, this might not have anything to do with sharia or hudud,’ Gjerstad objects.

‘No, it’s…’

‘Perhaps someone just felt like stoning her to death. Hell of a way to kill someone. It takes forever, I imagine, especially if the stones are small.’

‘Yes, but we should be looking for someone who knows about hudud punishments.’

‘That could be anyone, surely?’

‘Anyone can read up on it, that’s true, whether you’re Norwegian or Muslim. However, this killing is highly ritualistic. Flogging her, stoning her and chopping off one of her hands — it all means something.’

‘So it would appear,’ Nokleby remarks.

‘Was Hagerup unfaithful?’ Hagen asks. ‘Or did she steal something?’

Sandland shrugs.

‘No idea. Could be both. Or neither. We don’t know yet.’

‘Okay,’ Gjerstad says in a voice designed to bring the meeting to a close. He gets up. ‘We need to carry out a more detailed background check on both Marhoni and Hagerup, find out who they were and what she did or didn’t do, what she knew, what she studied, people she knew, friends, family situation and so on. Secondly, we need to talk to the Muslim communities, find out if anyone there approves of flogging and that kind of punishment and see if there’s a link to Hagerup or Marhoni. Emil, you’re an IT whiz. Check the chat rooms, homepages, blogs and more, look up everything you can on sharia and hudud, and report back if you come across any names we should take a closer look at.’

Emil nods.

‘And one more thing,’ Gjerstad says and looks at Nokleby, before he continues. ‘It shouldn’t need saying, but NRK was remarkably well informed at today’s press conference. This investigation ticks so many boxes that we’ll only make it worse for ourselves if the press gets a hint of what we’re looking into. Anything said here stays within these four walls. Understood?’

Nobody says anything. But everyone nods.

It doesn’t take him long to finish at Westerdal. He interviews some people, gets the information he knows the newspaper wants him to get, takes more pictures and heads home. He is outside Jimmy’s Sushi Bar in Fredensborgvei when his mobile rings.