‘But was this Jens Rune Meier really the Dark Prince, then?’
Patricia shook her head, but took the time to help herself to some more meat before answering. There was certainly nothing wrong with her appetite any more.
‘We’re on less firm ground there. But lots of pieces fall into place if Jens Rune Meier had to die not because he was the Dark Prince, but because he knew who the Dark Prince was. Particularly if my theory of who the Dark Prince was is correct.’
Patricia chewed happily for a minute before looking up at me. I was still so confused by this sudden change in scenario that it was all I could do to ask who had killed Hans Petter Nilsen and Bjørn Varden then, according to her theory. The answer was like a punch in the stomach.
‘Magdalon Schelderup, of course. You are forgetting to eat,’ Patricia remarked. It was only then that I woke from my trance-like condition.
‘What extraordinary reasoning. You have surpassed yourself. But we cannot be sure about that.’
Patricia nodded thoughtfully.
‘No. But we are starting to get to know the quite remarkable Magdalon Schelderup rather well, following his death. He thought, as his sister said, more like a player than a normal person. He would sooner change the wind than his coat. But if the wind was not for changing, he would swiftly turn his coat. And it is quite obvious that this is what he did in 1941. Whether he went so far as to kill two members of the Resistance is, however, not so clear. There are other possible explanations.’
‘That Magdalena Schelderup was the Dark Prince, for example?’ I asked. It was a theory that I had found hard to dismiss, particularly given the information that the wartime fiancé who had let her down was one of those murdered. It was tempting to think that arresting her for the two old murders and two new ones would tie up all the loose threads in this extraordinary case.
Patricia nodded.
‘For example, yes. Or Herlofsen. Or Wendelboe. Or even Mrs Wendelboe or Ingrid, Magdalon Schelderup’s wife at the time. Keep a note of anything you find of interest when you speak to Mona Varden and others tomorrow. But in the meantime, Magdalon Schelderup is at the top of my list of suspects for the two murders. And I would double the odds on him. He obviously seems to have known who else was in the group when he contacted Wendelboe on the way home from Wiig’s birthday. Again, the chronology fits suspiciously well. In spring 1941 there was great optimism on the German side, and the outcome was not yet clear. From a player’s perspective, it makes perfect sense that Magdalon Schelderup engaged in a secret operation for the Germans. In autumn 1941, the campaign in the Soviet Union still looked unexpectedly promising for the Germans. This may have inspired Schelderup to carry out another murder and, for example, tell his contact that he had joined the group as a double agent.’
