‘Okay,’ he said with a sigh. ‘I suppose it’s easy enough to climb up there. And I assume you’re still not going to tell me what I’m looking for, right?’

‘I’m not really sure,’ said Erica truthfully. ‘I just have a feeling that…’

‘A feeling? I’m supposed to climb up a rope ladder because of a feeling?’

‘Just do it.’

Patrik went up the ladder and crawled inside the attic.

‘Do you see anything?’ called Erica, craning her neck.

‘Of course I see something. But it’s mostly old blankets, rags, and a few comic books. It looks like the kids’ cubbyhole.’

‘Nothing else?’ said Erica, feeling discouraged.

‘No, it doesn’t look like it.’

Patrik began coming back down the rope ladder but then stopped midway.

‘What’s in there?’

‘Where?’

‘In there.’ He was pointing to a hatch door right next to the opening to the attic.

‘That’s usually where people store their junk in boathouses, but let’s check.’

‘Okay, take it easy. I’ll do it.’ He tried to balance on the ladder as he used one hand to jiggle the hasp loose. He could see that it was possible to lift away the entire hatch door, so he gripped one side of it, pulled it off, and handed it to Erica below. Then he turned to look inside.

‘What the hell?’ he said in surprise.

Suddenly the hooks that attached the ladder to the ceiling gave way, and with a crash Patrik fell to the floor.

Louise filled a wine glass with mineral water, then raised it to drink a toast. It would soon be all over for him. The police officer she’d spoken to had understood immediately what was going on. And he’d told her that they would be taking prompt action. He had also thanked her for ringing. ‘You’re very welcome,’ she had replied. ‘It was my pleasure.’

I wonder what they’ll do with him? she mused. The idea hadn’t really occurred to Louise until now. Her only thought was to stop him, prevent him from fleeing like a cowardly brute with his tail between his legs. But what would happen if Erik was sent to prison? Would she still get back all the money? She started feeling anxious, but then calmed down. Of course she’d get the money back. And she planned to thoroughly enjoy spending every öre of it. He would sit there in his prison cell, knowing that she was using up all of his – and her – money. And he wouldn’t be able to do shit about it.

Suddenly she made up her mind. She wanted to see his expression. She wanted to see how he looked when he realized it was all over.

‘I’ve seen a lot in my day, but this… this takes the cake,’ said Torbjörn. He was standing on the ladder that they’d borrowed from the boathouse next door.

‘It really does beat all,’ said Patrik, rubbing the small of his back, which he’d hit hard when he fell. His chest was aching a bit too.

‘There’s no doubt that it’s blood, at any rate. And a lot of it.’ Torbjörn pointed at the floor, which now had an odd sheen to it. The luminol revealed all traces of blood, no matter how much the surface had been scrubbed. ‘We’ve taken a few samples that the lab should be able to match with the victim’s blood.’

‘Good. Thanks.’

‘So these things belong to Christian Thydell?’ said Torbjörn. ‘The man we cut down from the diving tower?’ He crawled into the small space, and Patrik cautiously climbed up the ladder to join him.

‘That’s what it looks like.’

‘But why…?’ Torbjörn began but then stopped himself. This wasn’t his case. His task was to secure the technical evidence, and with time he’d have all the answers. He pointed.

‘Is this the letter you were talking about?’

‘Yes. At least it proves that his death was definitely a suicide.’

‘It certainly does,’ said Torbjörn, although he still couldn’t believe his eyes. The whole space was filled with female belongings. Clothes, make-up, jewellery, shoes. And a wig with long, dark hair.

‘We’re going to bring everything in. It’ll take a while to collect it all.’ Torbjörn carefully backed up until he reached the edge of the hatch and could lower his feet to follow Patrik down the ladder. ‘I’ve seen a lot of things in my day…’ he muttered again.

‘I’m going back to the station. There are a number of matters I need to review before I can present my report to everyone,’ said Patrik. ‘Give me a ring later, after you’ve finished here.’ He turned to Paula, who was intently watching the crime techs as they worked.

‘Are you staying here?’

‘Absolutely,’ she said.

Patrik left the boathouse and took a deep breath of the fresh sea air outdoors. After they found Christian’s hiding place, Erica had told him more of the story. Combined with the letter they’d found, the pieces of the puzzle were now falling into place, one by one. It was incomprehensible, but he knew that it was true. He understood everything now. And when Gösta and Martin came back from Göteborg, he’d be able to explain the whole sad tale to his colleagues.

‘It’s almost two hours until the plane takes off. We didn’t really need to get here so early.’ Martin glanced at his watch as they approached Landvetter airport.

‘I don’t think we need to just sit on our tails and wait for him,’ said Gösta as he turned into the car park outside the international terminal. ‘Let’s go in and take a look around, and if we find him, we nab the son-of-a-bitch.’

‘Shouldn’t we wait for backup from Göteborg?’ asked Martin. It always made him anxious if things weren’t done by the book.

‘You and I can easily handle this guy,’ said Gösta.

‘Okay,’ said Martin doubtfully.

They climbed out of the car and went inside the airport.

‘So, how should we do this?’ Martin glanced around the terminal.

‘How about a cup of coffee? We can survey the scene at the same time.’

‘But shouldn’t we walk around and look for Erik?’

‘What did I just say?’ said Gösta. ‘We can keep an eye out for him at the same time. If we sit over there,’ and he pointed to a coffee stand in the middle of the departure hall, ‘we’ll have an excellent view in both directions. He’ll have to walk past us when he gets here.’

‘Okay, you’re right about that.’ Martin relented. He knew there was no use arguing once Gösta had set his mind on having a cup of coffee.

They each bought coffee and an almond cake. Then they sat down at a table. Gösta beamed as he took his first bite.

‘This is food for the soul.’

Martin didn’t bother to point out that an almond cake didn’t really qualify as food. But he couldn’t deny that it was delicious. He had just stuffed the last piece in his mouth when he caught sight of someone out of the corner of his eye.

‘Look, isn’t that him?’

Gösta quickly turned around.

‘Yup. You’re right. Come on, let’s bring him in.’ He stood up with unusual speed, and Martin jumped up to follow. Erik was walking away at a good clip, with a carry-on bag in one hand and a big suitcase in the other. He was impeccably dressed in a suit and tie with a white shirt.

Gösta and Martin had to jog to catch up with him. Since Gösta had been the first to get up from the table, he reached Erik first, clapping a hand on the man’s shoulder.

‘Erik Lind? We’re going to have to ask you to come with us.’

Erik turned around with a look of surprise on his face. For a second he seemed to consider running, but he settled for shaking off Gösta’s hand.

‘There must be some sort of misunderstanding. I’m leaving on a business trip,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what this is about, but I have a plane to catch. I’m going to an important meeting.’ Beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

‘I’m afraid you’ll still have to come with us. You’ll have a chance to present your own explanations a little later,’ said Gösta, ushering Erik towards the exit. Everyone nearby had stopped to stare.