The Snowman

At the curling club the next morning, the cleaning woman finds Idar Vetlesen on the ice, dead, holding an empty syringe. Harry and Bjørn notice that Idar’s boot prints match those found near Sylvia’s body. They believe they have found the Snowman, but Harry wants Bjørn to find out if Idar was left-handed. Later, as everyone is celebrating the closed case, Bjørn tells Harry that Idar was right-handed. Harry leaves the party, uncertain that they have found the killer.

Eli Kvale’s son, Trygve, tells her that a man approached him and asked if he was his father’s child. Although he is unconcerned, Eli is upset and wants to know who asked. But when Trygve wants to know more, she retreats from the conversation.

Harry goes to the Hotel Leon and sits in the room that Idar always rented, thinking about his suicide. A sex worker comes to the door, looking for Idar, and tells Harry that the doctor had come twice a week to test and treat them and their children. Soon after, Harry receives another call from the Bosse producer, who wants to interview him about the Snowman. He hangs up on her and throws the phone against the wall.

At Fenris Bar, the police have continued their celebration. Harry has a few drinks, but Katrine interrupts him as he begins his third. Her father had an addiction to alcohol, and she understands the gravity of his actions. When a colleague pushes her, Harry puts a hand on her side, and she winces. She claims a fencing injury and quickly leaves. Harry goes home and finds the whiskey bottle he hid under the sink. He opens it and begins to drink.

Gunnar Hagen has not seen Harry in four days since he was drinking at Fenris Bar. He believes that Harry is on a bender, and the chief superintendent is ready to fire him. However, when they go to his office, Harry has a syringe plunged into his arm and holds a stopwatch. He tells them that Idar couldn’t have died by suicide.

At the team meeting, Harry explains that although Idar was right-handed, his boots had been tied either by someone left-handed, or by someone facing him. Further, he notes that carnadrioxide is so powerful that Idar would have been paralyzed before he could inject the entire contents of the syringe, yet the syringe was empty when they found it. Harry posits that Idar is being framed by the real Snowman. The chief superintendent is upset by this turn of events, as they have already announced to the press that they’ve caught the Snowman. However, Harry believes this is a good thing because it shows that the Snowman is nervous, which means he may make mistakes.

Jonas Becker is watching television when Filip approaches him with a knife that he bought just after speaking to Idar Vetlesen. When Jonas asks if he is going to cut him, Filip says yes, but only a little bit.

Camilla Lossius arrives home before her husband, Erik. When she gets out of the car, Filip Becker is pointing a gun at her, and when she asks what he wants, he tells her he is there about her “whoring.”

Bjørn reports to the team that Idar’s crime scene was contaminated, and they are unable to get anything new from it. Katrine has a list of phone calls to and from Idar’s office, and Harry notices only one incoming call, from Arve Støp. Magnus receives a call about a missing woman, Camilla Lossius and they decide not to immediately pursue it in connection with the Snowman.

Harry visits Arve Støp to talk about Idar Vetlesen. Arve claims Idar was little more than an acquaintance, just his doctor and curling team member. When Harry brings up Arve’s phone call to Idar the day before he died, he is evasive. He refuses to answer questions, threatening Harry with his lawyer before kicking him out.

Rakel comes to Harry’s apartment, and they have sex again. Afterwards, she admits to problems in her relationship with Mathias. Harry wonders aloud if she is finding problems to rationalize her infidelity, and she leaves. On her car windshield, she finds a note reading, “We’re going to die, whore” (277). As she drives away, she can’t escape the feeling that someone is watching her.

Eli Kvale receives a call that shakes her; the caller said, “We’re going to die, whore” (277). When her husband, Andreas, asks who it was, she says it was a wrong number.

The next morning, Harry tells his team that Arve won’t answer questions and, if they push him, it will come out in the press that they haven’t caught the Snowman after all. Arve also claims not to remember his phone call with Idar, but Harry does not believe him. Harry also points out that the Snowman seems to want him to get close to finding him, but then panics when he does.

Harry visits his childhood friend, Tresko, a world-class poker player. Tresko says he could tell if a suspect was lying if he saw footage of the man both lying and telling the truth. He then visits Beate at the forensics department. He hasn’t seen her since Jack died and feels awkward and guilty. Through footage, she has identified the person who has been following him, and he is shocked that it is Filip Becker. Filip has also been identified as the man who called Idar before his death from a pay phone.

Katrine and Harry go to Filip’s house and wait in the car for backup. Bjørn calls and tells them that Filip’s fingerprints have been found at Camilla’s house. Katrine is excited by the revelation, but Harry still isn’t sure they’ve found the Snowman. It feels too easy, and he reflects on the letter he received, which asked him to consider, “Who made the snowman?” (288). When Harry and Katrine enter the house, they find Filip watching home movies with headphones on, a gun on the floor behind him. Katrine points her gun at him and cocks the hammer, her eyes fiery. Harry steps between Filip and Katrine, and she lowers her weapon. Harry handcuffs Filip and goes upstairs to Jonas’s bedroom, fearing that the boy is dead. Jonas is asleep with a bandage on his arm.