‘I can’t guarantee it, but we think it would be worth our while taking a closer look,’ said Patrik.

‘What did you find out at Sverin’s former workplace?’ asked Gösta.

‘Nothing much of interest there either. At least, not directly. But we plan to keep that avenue open too. We talked to the director of the organization, and she seemed upset to hear of Mats’s death, but she wasn’t … how should I put it?’

‘She didn’t seem terribly surprised,’ Paula interjected.

‘Another of your feelings?’ said Mellberg, sighing heavily. ‘Bear in mind that the station has limited resources. We can’t be running off in all directions and doing whatever we like. Personally, I think it’s a waste of effort to be sniffing around the victim’s life in Göteborg. My long experience on the force has taught me that the answer is often to be found closer to home. For example, have we taken a good hard look at his parents? I take it you’re all aware of the statistics – most murders are committed by a relative or someone close to the victim.’

‘Yes, well, in this case I don’t consider Gunnar and Signe Sverin to be at the top of our list of candidates.’ Patrik restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

‘I don’t think that they should be ruled out so quickly. You never can tell what secrets a family might be hiding.’

‘True, but in this particular instance, I don’t agree.’ Patrik crossed his arms as he leaned against the kitchen counter and swiftly changed the subject. ‘Martin and Annika, did you come up with anything?’

‘No, everything seems in order. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about Mats Sverin in the public records. He never married, and he’s not listed as the father of any children. After he moved away from Fjällbacka, he was registered at three different addresses in Göteborg. The last one was on Erik Dahlbergsgatan. The lease on that flat was still in his name, but he had sublet it to another tenant. He had taken out two loans: a student loan and a car loan. Nothing unusual about the payments. He’d owned a Toyota Corolla for the past four years.’ Martin paused to consult his notes. ‘His employment record matches the information we already have. He was never convicted of any sort of crime. That’s as much as we’ve been able to find out. Judging by the public records, Sverin seems to have led a completely normal life with nothing remarkable to report.’

Annika nodded her agreement. They had hoped to find more, but this was all they’d been able to track down.

‘Okay, at least we know that much,’ said Patrik. ‘But we still need to search Sverin’s flat. Who knows what we might find there?’

Gösta cleared his throat. Patrik gave him an enquiring look.

‘Yes?’

‘Er, well …’ Gösta began.

Patrik frowned. It was never a good sign when Gösta cleared his throat.

‘What are you trying to say?’ Patrik wasn’t sure he really wanted to know, since his colleague was obviously having a hard time spitting out the words. When Gösta cast an entreating glance at Mellberg, Patrik felt his stomach lurch. Gösta and Bertil did not make a good combination.

‘The thing is … Torbjörn phoned yesterday while you were in Göteborg.’ Gösta fell silent, swallowing hard.

‘Yes?’ Patrik repeated. He had to stop himself from stepping forward to shake the words out of the man.

‘Torbjörn turned over the flat to us yesterday. And we know how you hate to waste time, so Bertil and I thought we might as well go over there and have a look around.’

‘You did what?’ Patrik grabbed hold of the edge of the counter, forcing himself to breathe calmly. He remembered all too well the feeling of pressure in his chest, and he knew that under no circumstances should he allow himself to get upset.

‘There’s no reason to react that way,’ said Mellberg. ‘In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the boss of this station. Which means that I’m your superior officer, and I made the decision to go over to the flat.’

Though Patrik realized that Bertil was right, that didn’t make it any easier to bear. Mellberg might be the official police chief, but in reality Patrik had undertaken that role ever since Mellberg had arrived at the station when he was transferred from Göteborg.

‘What did you find?’ he asked after a moment.

‘Not much,’ Mellberg admitted.

‘The flat felt more like a temporary residence than somebody’s home,’ said Gösta. ‘There were hardly any personal possessions. In fact, I’d say none.’

‘Seems a bit odd,’ said Patrik.

‘His laptop is missing,’ Mellberg added, as he scratched Ernst behind the ear.

‘His laptop?’

Patrik’s irritation grew. Why hadn’t he thought of that? Of course Mats Sverin would have a laptop, and it should have been one of the first things he asked the crime-scene techs about. He silently cursed himself.

‘How can you be certain that it’s missing?’ he went on. ‘Maybe it’s at the office. Maybe he didn’t have a computer at home.’

‘Apparently he had only one computer,’ said Gösta. ‘And we found a cord for a laptop in the kitchen. Plus Erling has confirmed that Sverin had a laptop that he used for work and usually took home with him.’

‘So you’ve had another talk with Erling?’

Gösta nodded. ‘I went over there yesterday after we were done at the flat. He seemed concerned that the computer is missing.’

‘I wonder if the killer took it. And if so, why?’ said Martin. ‘By the way, has anyone found Sverin’s mobile phone? Has that disappeared too?’

Patrik swore again. Yet another thing that he’d missed.

‘Maybe there’s something on his computer that might reveal a motive for the murder or who the killer is,’ said Mellberg. ‘If we can just locate the computer, we’ll have the whole case sewn up.’

‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,’ said Patrik. ‘We have no idea where the laptop might be, or who could have taken it. But we definitely need to locate it, as well as his mobile. Until then, let’s not jump to conclusions.’

‘If we ever find it,’ said Gösta. Then his face lit up. ‘Erling said that Sverin was concerned about something in the accounts. He was going to meet with a man named Anders Berkelin, who’s in charge of finances at Badis. Maybe he has the laptop. They were working together on the project, so it’s possible that Sverin left the computer with him.’

‘Gösta, I want you and Paula to drive over there and have a talk with him. Martin and I will go to the flat. I want to take a look around. And we’re supposed to get Torbjörn’s report sometime today, aren’t we?’

‘That’s right,’ Annika told him.

‘Okay, then. And Bertil, you’ll take charge of things here?’

‘Of course,’ said Mellberg. ‘That goes without saying. And you haven’t forgotten what’s happening tomorrow, have you?’

‘Tomorrow?’ Everyone turned to give him an enquiring look.

‘It’s the VIP event at Badis. We’re invited, remember – and we have to be there at eleven o’clock.’

‘Do we really have time for that now?’ said Patrik. ‘I assumed it had been cancelled since we have more important matters to think about at the moment.’

‘What’s best for the town and the surrounding area has always been our top priority.’ Mellberg stood up. ‘We are role models for the community, and our participation in local projects is of paramount importance. So I’ll expect to see all of you at Badis tomorrow morning at eleven.’

A resigned murmur passed through the room. They knew it was pointless arguing with Mellberg. And a couple of hours spent getting a massage and being pampered, body and soul, might do miracles for their energy level at work.

‘Bloody stairs.’ Gösta stopped halfway up.

‘We could have driven to the other side and parked in front of Badis instead,’ said Paula as she paused to wait for him.

‘Why didn’t you mention that earlier?’ He took a couple of deep breaths before continuing. He hadn’t managed to play enough rounds of golf this year to get himself in shape. Reluctantly he also had to acknowledge that age was beginning to take its toll.