She takes a sip of the tea she’s just got from the kitchen.

Looks out of the window, the same darkness as before.

Then the start of the evening news, a female voice and pictures.

‘The man who admitted murdering two people in Linkoping this autumn, as well as the kidnap of a third person, was killed today during an attack in Linkoping District Court. A man who has been identified as the victim of the kidnapping and the father of one of the murder victims had somehow managed to smuggle a sawn-off shotgun into the courtroom and. .’

Malin feels faint.

She spills tea in her lap, but doesn’t feel the heat as she concentrates on the screen.

Pictures from the courtroom.

A commotion.

She hears the shots. The screams.

Then Axel Fagelsjo’s face, pale scars on his cheek.

His head held down against the floor of the courtroom by two police officers.

His face expressing conviction, determination, isolation and grief.

A face, not a mask.

You did it, Malin thinks. And I understand you.

The monster above Tove. Ready to strangle her.

If a parent doesn’t protect his or her child, who else will?

My task is to protect Tove.

There’s a place in this world for me as well, Malin thinks. She feels that everything’s going to be all right.