The Bat (novel) - Plot

Plot

The story revolves around the Norwegian police officer Harry Hole, who is sent to Sydney by the Royal Norwegian Police Directorate to serve as the Norwegian attaché for the Australian police's investigation into the murder of a young female Norwegian B-celebrity, Inger Holter, who was residing in Australia. Initially trying to adapt to the great differences in time, temperatures, environment, and cultures of Oslo and Sydney, Harry is introduced to Andrew Kensington, an aboriginal and homicide detective for the Sydney police, his nominal partner in the investigation. Hole is informed that Holter's body was found dashed on coastal rocks just under some cliffs north of the city, and that the police believe that she was raped before her death. However, her body was severely cut during her fall from the cliffs, and any DNA remains from the assailant that would previously have been present are now washed away. At first, her boyfriend, Evans White is approached as a suspect. Andrew informs Harry that Evans immigrated to Australia with his divorced mother in the 1970's and eventually became a local drug lord in the town of Nimbin. Through their insertion into the drug world in Nimbin and their meeting with reluctant White, Harry grows confident that White is responsible for Holter's death.

Harry and Andrew visit the Albury, the Sydney pub where Inger Holter worked as a bartender. While there, Harry meets the witness Birgitta Enquist -- a Swede -- and unprofessionally but successfully asks her on a date. Andrew takes Harry to a local boxing tournament in a small town, organized by the Jim Chivers boxing team. Harry is introduced to Robin Toowoomba after the match, the match champion and protege of Andrew. Harry's investigation under chief inspector Larry Wadkins, a keen, but arrogant man, turns to data analysis of rape victim records in New South Wales, specifically with respect to white, blond-haired strangle victims. No culprit is identified, however, the team discovers a string of rape cases fitting those parameters which leads back years.

In the process of attempting to interview a drug lord in Sydney, Harry ends up in a visceral fight. Andrew comes to his rescue, but receives a bad concussion in the brawl and is consequently hospitalized. Harry's growing suspicion that Otto Rechtnagel, a homosexual clown that frequented the Albury and knew Inger well, was responsible for her death based on his Circus's appearance near every location and time of the death of all of the blonde rape cases over the past years. He confronts Andrew with this information at the hospital, hoping to drag something out of him that might be useful for the impending police raid on the circus event to capture the clown, knowing that Andrew knew Rechtnagel well. Andrew desperately attempts to dissuade Harry from taking Rechtnagel, suggesting it is a matter of life or death.

Just as Rechtnagel's act ends and he leaves the stage, Harry and his associates search the backstage, but cannot find the man. They search everywhere until they find his dismembered body in the steaming shower room. With Rechtnagel's death, Harry works under the assumption that his killer was associated with the rape cases but that the clown could still have been the serial rapist/killer and that his alleged homosexuality was only a cover for his true hetero/bisexual tendencies. The day after the murder, Harry and another associate Sergei Lebie discover Andrew's body hanging from the electrical cord of a ceiling light in his apartment. Harry also discovers a small stash of used and unused syringes for heroin injection in the apartment, but conceals this from Lebie. With this discovery, Harry interviews Evans again, only to find out that Andrew was one of his clients, but that he had established a respectable reputation for buying small doses at a constant rate and for always being able to pay.

Harry interviews a prostitute -- whose pimp Andrew introduced him to -- back at his hotel room under the pretense of wanting to have sex with her. Breaking down and having reverted to his unrestrained alcoholism, Harry poorly mismanages the situation when Birgitta attempts to surprise him by coming by. Finding him drunk, naked, and with a prostitute, she storms out, giving Harry reason to believe that their 'relationship' is over. The next morning, the hungover Harry is expelled from the hotel for the noise made during the argument and his resulting rampage against the objects in the hotel room, however, the ultimate cause lay with letting a prostitute into his room. For several days, Harry wanders about the city and tries to act out detective while continually debilitated by his heavy intoxication. He is consequently kicked out from night clubs where he tries to pry information out of strongmen in the Sydney underworld.

Finally recovered from his binge, Harry contacts Birgitta. Under Harry's urging, Birgitta offers to bait Evans by offering to meet him to buy dope. The plan is for her to press him to reveal information about the murders by threatening to go to the police with hearsay information she had allegedly obtained from Inger. The operation falls apart when Birgitta disappears and the police are incapable of tracking down Evans in the vicinity of the planned meeting point or of the place that they last had contact with her. Harry later interrogates Evans once the police finds him back in Nimbin. He claims that he was immediately suspicious of Enquist, and that she failed to meet him at the time and place agreed upon. Harry still doubts White.

Through another meeting, the prostitute reveals to Harry that Toowoomba was a client of hers and that he had frequently requested her to service him while wearing a blond wig. He had also mock-strangled her. Harry confronts Toowoomba over the phone, who coldly admits to having committed all of the crimes. Toowoomba had for a time been in a relationship with Rechtnagel and the poor clown had eventually discovered his evil antics. Given Andrew's hopes for Toowoomba's career, Andrew had attempted to partially lead Harry off track until he was sent back to Norway. Once it became clear that Otto would spill the beans to the police, he became a loose end for Toowoomba.

Harry and the police break into Toowoomba's apartment. Although they cannot find Birgitta there, they find a picture of a sailboat and discover a sailboat registered to Toowoomba in Sydney. The sailboat is empty, but they find Birgitta's body chained to the bottom of the docks.

All hell breaks loose when Harry and the police pursue Toowoomba to the Sydney Aquarium. There, Toowoomba nearly escapes on the roof, but Harry coldly shoots the man once in the leg and once in the back. He falls into the tank containing a large predatory fish that wrenches his body to the bottom.