Nora told him about herself and her work experience. She had studied law in Uppsala and had been an active member of the students’ union. After graduating, she had worked in the district court before beginning as a trainee with the bank. Eventually she had applied for her current post.

Her background was detailed in her file, but he seemed to want to go through everything, as if he were dealing with a completely new post outside the bank.

Nora also had to talk about her strengths and weaknesses, and how her colleagues would describe her. She had to tell him what she found difficult and challenging and how she handled stress and conflict.

She thought to herself that it was singularly pointless to ask the mother of small children whether she could deal with stress and conflict. If you couldn’t sort out that kind of situation, you wouldn’t last five minutes in her family. All children clashed at regular intervals, right? In addition, the combination of two parents working full-time, two boys aged six and ten, and an endless stream of notes from day care and school about excursions, packed lunches, and collections for this and that made the perfect stress generator.

Suddenly Sandelin asked how she would describe her relationship with her current boss. Nora was slightly taken aback.

What should she say? That Ragnar Wallsten was a spoiled brat who had been promoted far above his competence level? That his sharp tongue meant that most people were reluctant to stand up to him, but few sought out his company? That when she first started in the department she had watched him bully an older colleague into a bitter departure?

During the course of a few seconds she desperately tried to decide which way to go.

“We have a decent relationship, the way most colleagues do,” she said. Her voice died away as she searched for something neutral to say. “He’s not the kind of boss who interferes a great deal. He leaves people to get things taken care of.” The last comment sounded so idiotic that she regretted it as soon as the words came out. “Of course he’s very busy with major issues within the bank,” she added.

Sandelin seemed to be aware of her embarrassment and smiled at her. He leaned forward and looked Nora in the eye. “I’ll be honest with you. Opinion is divided on Ragnar Wallsten and his ability to lead the legal team.”

Nora bit her lip. This sounded too good to be true. She was sick and tired of working with him.

When they had been talking for about an hour, Sandelin changed focus. Could she tell him about her husband’s work?

“He’s a consultant radiologist at the hospital in Danderyd. He’s really happy there.”

“And how would he feel about moving to Malmö?”

“We haven’t really discussed it yet, but I’m sure he’d have no difficulty getting a job at one of the hospitals in the area.”

Sandelin leaned back in his chair and brought his palms together, which made him look like an old-fashioned schoolmaster. “It’s very important that couples are in agreement on an issue like this. When the whole family moves, it’s a major readjustment. Everyone has to make an effort to do their best to adapt to a new environment.” He gave her a searching look. “Do you think your husband is ready to make that readjustment?”

Nora swallowed. Everything Sandelin had told her about the new job sounded fantastic. Exciting responsibilities, excellent conditions, and a significant promotion. The bank would pay for the move and provide assistance in finding somewhere to live. In addition, the Öresund area was buzzing. The new bridge to Denmark had brought with it a huge upturn for the whole of southern Sweden; the continent had suddenly opened up. Just a few hours in the car, and you were on mainland Europe. The boys would love living so close to Legoland. Imagine being able to drive across to Copenhagen and wander hand in hand down Strøget, the lovely pedestrian shopping area.

“We need to talk about it in more detail, of course, but I’m sure Henrik will think it would be exciting for the family to move and have the chance to experience something new.” Nora secretly crossed her fingers, even though she knew it was a childish thing to do.

Sandelin beamed at her. “You have an excellent reputation within the bank. Magnus Westling, who is the new boss for the southern region, has heard very positive things about you, and he thinks you would be an excellent choice for this position. Think it over for a few days and let me know how you feel; if you wish to proceed, we’ll arrange for you to meet him. In the meantime I’ll send a report to your HR department.”

Back out in the street after saying her good-byes to Sandelin, Nora was both excited and depressed. How was she going to get Henrik to move to Malmö? She really wanted to accept the job.

She went into the nearest café and bought herself a latte. If Henrik had received an offer like this, there would have been nothing to discuss. Henrik and everyone else would have simply assumed she would pack up all their belongings and move. But when it was the other way round, the solution wasn’t quite so self-evident.

On an impulse she called Henrik’s phone, just to hear his voice. Over the past few days they had barely exchanged a word unless it had to do with the children. But his phone was switched off and went straight to voice mail.

Which presumably meant he was at sea. As usual.

CHAPTER 53

Thomas finally managed to get ahold of the forensic pathologist in the afternoon; the most likely hypothesis was that Jonny Almhult had fallen overboard from the ferry to Finland on that Sunday evening.

It normally took almost a week for a body that fell into the water to rise to the surface, but in summer, if the water was unusually warm, as it was this year, it could happen after only a few days.

As the body had been found on a Thursday, it was therefore unlikely that Jonny had fallen overboard any later than Sunday, when he was last seen alive. That meant he must have been on the ferry that left from Stadsgården at seven o’clock in the evening.

The Cinderella had arrived at Strandvägen from Sandhamn at five; there had been plenty of time for Almhult to cross Skeppsbron and catch the ferry to Finland.

Back at the station that morning Thomas and Margit had gone over the previous day’s interview with Philip Fahlén. They had agreed that it was definitely worth taking a closer look at him; Kalle had contacted the economic crime unit to ask for their help in investigating Fahlén’s affairs. They too were working with a reduced staff but had promised their assistance later in the week. Meanwhile the priority was to track Fahlén’s movements.

Thomas made himself a fresh cup of tea and went back to his office. It was just after four o’clock. He had decided to call Fahlén and ask where he had been between Sunday and Thursday the previous week, the period during which Jonny Almhult had been missing before his body was found.

Fahlén answered immediately, almost as if he had been waiting for the phone to ring. When he heard who it was, his tone became significantly cooler.

“Could you tell me where you were between Sunday and Thursday morning last week?” Thomas said.

“What’s that got to do with the police?” Fahlén snapped.