‘You’ve been extremely cooperative.’ Patrik got up and Paula followed suit. They shook hands with Rosander and thanked him for his time.

Back in the car, they went over what they’d heard as they drove.

‘So what do you think?’ said Paula, glancing at Patrik’s profile as he sat next to her in the passenger seat.

‘Hey, keep your eyes on the road!’ Patrik grabbed the door handle as Paula barely managed to avoid colliding with a lorry in the narrow curve just before Mörhult.

‘Whoops,’ said Paula, all of her attention now fixed on the windscreen and the road ahead.

‘Women drivers,’ muttered Patrik.

Paula knew that he was just teasing her and chose to ignore his remark. Besides, she’d been a passenger in the car when Patrik was driving, and she thought it was a miracle he even had a licence.

‘I don’t think Ulf Rosander has anything at all to do with the murder,’ said Patrik, in answer to her question.

Paula nodded. ‘I agree. In this instance Mellberg is really barking up the wrong tree.’

‘So we’ll just have to convince him of that.’

‘But it was still good that we went out there. Gösta must have missed that bit of information. There has to be a reason why Magnus was late for the first time in five years. It was Rosander’s impression that he sounded upset, or at least not like himself when he phoned. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he disappeared that very morning.’

‘You’re right. I just don’t know how we should go about finding out what had upset him. I asked Cia the same question earlier, whether anything in particular happened that morning, and she said no. She did leave for work before Magnus did, but what could have happened in the short period of time when he was home alone?’

‘Has anyone checked the phone records?’ asked Paula, careful to keep her eyes focused on the road.

‘Several times. No one rang their house that morning. No one rang his mobile. The only phone call was when Magnus rang Rosander. After that, nothing.’

‘Do you think someone came over to see him in person?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Patrik shook his head. ‘The neighbours had a good view of the house. They were eating breakfast when Magnus left. Of course it’s possible that they might have missed seeing someone who rang the doorbell, but they were quite confident they hadn’t.’

‘What about his email?’

Again Patrik shook his head. ‘Cia gave us permission to look through his computer, but there were no emails that aroused any interest.’

They drove in silence for a while, both of them lost in thought. What could have happened to make Magnus Kjellner disappear one day without a trace, only to turn up three months later, his body frozen in the ice? What actually happened on that morning?

Foolishly, Erica had decided to walk. In her mind, the distance between her house in Sälvik and her destination had seemed no more than a stone’s throw away. But it seemed it would have to have been a world-record-breaking stone’s throw.

Erica pressed a hand to the small of her back as she paused to catch her breath. She looked in the direction of the Ocean View Development office, which was still a long way off. But she’d have just as far to go if she turned around and went back home, so she could either sit down here in the snowdrift or just push on.

Ten minutes later, feeling exhausted, she stepped inside the office. She hadn’t phoned in advance, thinking that she might win an advantage by making a surprise visit. She had made sure that Erik’s car wasn’t parked outside. Kenneth was the one she wanted to talk to. Preferably without being interrupted.

‘Hello?’ No one seemed to have heard the door close behind her, so she made her way further inside. It appeared to be an ordinary house that had been converted into office space. A large section of the ground floor now had an open-floor plan, and the walls were lined with shelves holding three-ring binders. There were also large posters of the structures the company had built, and a desk stood at either end of the room. Kenneth was sitting at one of them. He seemed unaware of Erica’s presence, because he carried on staring straight ahead, without moving.

‘Hello?’ she tried again.

Kenneth gave a start. ‘Oh, hello! I’m sorry, but I didn’t hear you come in.’ He got up and came towards her. ‘Erica Falck, if I’m not mistaken.’

‘That’s right.’ She shook hands with him and smiled. Kenneth noticed that she was eagerly eyeing one of the visitor’s chairs, and he motioned for her to have a seat.

‘Please sit down. It must be difficult carrying around the extra weight. Looks like your due date must be pretty soon.’

Erica gratefully leaned back in the chair, feeling the pressure ease in her back.

‘I’ve still got a little while to go. But I’m having twins,’ she said, looking a bit surprised by her own words.

‘In that case, you’re certainly going to be busy,’ said Kenneth kindly, sitting down next to her. ‘Are you in the market for a new house?’

Erica was startled by the way his face looked when she saw him up close, in the light from the nearby lamp. He looked tired and haggard. ‘Hunted’ was actually the word she was looking for. Suddenly she remembered hearing that his wife was seriously ill. She resisted the impulse to put her hand over his, suspecting that he might not appreciate such a gesture of sympathy. But she couldn’t help saying something. His sorrow and fatigue were so obvious, so deeply etched into the lines of his face.

‘How is your wife doing?’ Erica asked, hoping he wouldn’t be offended by the question.

‘Things are bad. She’s not doing well at all.’

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Then Kenneth sat up straight and attempted a smile, although it didn’t hide the pain he was feeling.

‘So, are you and Patrik thinking about a new house? The one you have is really very nice. But no matter what, Erik is really the one you and your husband need to talk to. I handle the finances and the account books, and I’m not much of a talker. But Erik will be here after lunch, I think, so if you’d like to come back then…’

‘No, I’m not here about buying a house.’

‘Oh? Then why exactly are you here?’

Erica hesitated. Why the hell did she have to be so curious that she couldn’t help sticking her nose in everybody else’s business? How was she going to explain this?

‘I suppose you’ve heard about Magnus Kjellner? That his body was found?’ she began.

Kenneth’s face turned a shade greyer as he nodded.

‘And as I understand it, the two of you saw quite a lot of each other. Is that right?’

‘Why are you asking me about this?’ said Kenneth, his expression suddenly wary.

‘I just…’ Erica searched for a good explanation but didn’t find one. She’d have to settle for telling a lie. ‘Did you read what it said in the newspapers about the threatening letters that Christian Thydell has received?’

Kenneth nodded, still looking circumspect. Something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone so fast that Erica wasn’t even sure she’d seen anything.

‘Christian is my friend, and I want to help him,’ she went on. ‘I think there’s a connection between the threats he’s been receiving and what happened to Magnus.’

‘What sort of connection?’ asked Kenneth, leaning forward.

‘I can’t go into that right now,’ she said evasively. ‘But it would really help if you could tell me a little about Magnus. Did he have any enemies? Is there anyone who might have wanted to harm him?’

‘No, that doesn’t seem at all likely.’ Kenneth leaned back in his chair again. His whole posture signalled his unwillingness to continue with this topic.

‘How long have you known each other?’ Erica was trying to steer the conversation towards less charged territory. Sometimes it was best to take a roundabout approach.

And it worked. Kenneth seemed to relax. ‘In principle, our whole lives. We’re the same age, so we were in the same class in grade school and also in secondary school. The three of us have always been friends.’