Chapter 31 - Saturday. ‘Isn’t it wonderful to have someone to hate?’

Near midnight outside Police HQ, Bjarne Møller fields an aggressive press pack. He confirms Sven Sivertsen is under interrogation by Tom Waaler and that weapons and red-star diamonds were found in Sven’s suitcase, matching those on the victims. Reporters probe Sven’s Prague ties and his mother’s state, while Møller reluctantly shares how Marius Veland’s body was concealed.

Watching from the sidelines, Harry Hole and Beate Lønn note Waaler’s media triumph. Beate invites Harry to celebrate, but Harry, exhausted and resigned to leaving the police next week, declines. He credits Beate’s intervention during the arrest but remains detached.

In the car park, Waaler congratulates Harry for truly solving the case, then asks to talk in Harry’s car. After a nostalgic preamble contrasting lost youth with the victims’ stolen futures, Waaler asserts that Sven will feign insanity, evade prison, and be released from psychiatric care.

Waaler outlines his “sanitation” creed: a clandestine, extrajudicial cleanup funded by illicit activities. He admits he intended to shoot Sven and stage self-defense, a plan thwarted when Beate entered too early. He presses Harry to finish the job.

Waaler gives Harry an ampoule—“Joseph’s Blessing”—a tasteless, odorless poison, and details the setup: Sven is in cell nine until Monday; a missed rectal search will justify a planted suicide method; the key sits at custody reception. Harry, outwardly compliant, confirms he understands, as Waaler grants him 24 hours and frames their enmity as kinship.