‘I’d never sell to kids. You know me, for Christ’s sake. I’d never give any to kids.’

‘We don’t think you would, either. As I said, they found it in the litter bin.’ Paula allowed her voice to soften a bit. ‘But there’s a connection between the guy who was murdered and that bag of cocaine.’

‘What connection?’

‘That’s not important.’ Paula waved her hand dismissively. ‘What we want to know is whether you had any contact with him, whether you know anything. And no, we’re not going to arrest you for it if you did,’ she went on before Rolle had time to speak. ‘We’re investigating a murder, and that’s much more important. But it could be to your benefit in the future if you decide to help us now.’

Rolle seemed to ponder what she’d said. Then he shrugged and sighed.

‘Unfortunately, I’ve got nothing for you. I saw the guy in passing now and then, but I never talked to him. It didn’t look like we’d have much to talk about. Although, if what you say is true, maybe we had more in common than I thought.’ He laughed.

‘And his name never cropped up amongst your other contacts?’ Martin interjected. Nikki had moved over near him, and he was scratching her neck.

‘No,’ said Rolle reluctantly. He probably would have liked to earn some extra points with them, but evidently he knew nothing.

‘If you should hear anything, give us a call, okay?’ Paula took out a business card and handed it to Rolle, who shrugged again and then stuffed the card in the back pocket of his stained jeans.

‘Sure. You can find your own way out, can’t you?’ He grinned as he reached for a container of snuff lying on the table. When his shirt sleeve hitched up, they could see the needle tracks in the crook of his arm. Rolle was addicted to heroin, not cocaine.

Nikki saw them to the door, and Martin patted her before they closed the door behind them.

‘One down. Three more to go.’ Paula started down the stairs.

‘It’s so much fun spending the day with a bunch of druggies,’ said Martin, as he followed.

‘If you’re lucky, you might meet some more dogs. I’ve never seen anybody switch so fast from sheer terror to total infatuation.’

‘She was nice,’ muttered Martin. ‘But I really don’t care for big dogs.’

Erica felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. In her heart she knew that there was a long road ahead, and that Anna might suddenly slip back into the darkness. Nothing was certain. At the same time, Anna was a fighter. She had proved that in the past, pulling herself up through sheer will power, and Erica was convinced that she’d be able to do it this time too.

Patrik was also pleased to hear about Anna’s progress when she’d told him. This morning he’d been whistling as he left for work and she hoped that his good mood would last. Ever since he’d collapsed and been taken to the hospital, she had kept a close watch on his moods – maybe too close. She was terrified that something might happen to Patrik. He was her best friend, her beloved husband, and the father of her wonderful children. She didn’t want him to put all that at risk by working himself to death. She refused to allow him to do that.

‘Hi. We’re back,’ she said as she pushed the pram into the library.

‘Hi,’ said May cheerfully. ‘You didn’t finish what you were working on yesterday, did you?’

‘No. There are a few more reference books that I’d like to look at. I thought I’d do it now, while the boys are asleep.’

‘Okay. I’m here if you need anything.’

‘Thanks,’ said Erica, sitting down at a table.

It was a complicated business, trying to find what she was looking for. She pulled out a notepad so she could write down references to other sources that turned up along the way. Usually they turned out to be no help, leading her to information about other islands and areas in Sweden. Occasionally, however, she found a few helpful nuggets, just as with any other research project.

She leaned forward to peer into the pram. The twins were sleeping peacefully. Stretching out her legs, she returned to her reading. It had been a long time since she read any ghost stories. When she was a kid, she’d devoured all the scariest tales she could find. Everything from Edgar Allan Poe to Nordic folktales. Maybe that was why, as an adult, she’d started writing books about real murder cases. They were almost like an extension of the creepy tales from her childhood.

‘You can make copies of anything you want to take with you,’ said May, helpfully.

Erica nodded and got up. She’d found a number of pages that she wanted to read more closely at home. There was a familiar tingling sensation in her stomach. She loved delving for information and assembling the puzzle, piece by piece. After spending several months thinking about nothing but babies, she was thoroughly enjoying having a more grown-up project to occupy her mind. She’d told her publisher that she wouldn’t begin work on her next book for at least six months, and that was a decision that she intended to stick to. Nevertheless, she needed to keep her brain busy until then, and this felt like a good start.

Having stuffed a stack of photocopies in the babies’ nappy bag, she headed for home at a leisurely pace. The twins were still asleep. Life was good.

‘That fucking bastard, that damn shitty …’ Patrik’s language wasn’t usually so coarse, but Gösta could certainly understand his mood. This time Mellberg had really outdone himself.

Patrik pounded his hand on the dashboard so hard that Gösta jumped.

‘Remember your heart. You’re not supposed to get stressed.’

‘Okay, okay,’ said Patrik, forcing himself to take a couple of deep breaths to calm down.

‘Over there.’ Gösta pointed to a parking place. ‘So how are we going to approach this?’ he asked as they sat in the car for a moment.

‘There’s no reason to beat around the bush,’ said Patrik. ‘It’s all going to be in the newspapers, anyway.’

‘Yes, but we need to focus on this, regardless of what Mellberg has done.’

Patrik looked both surprised and chastened as he cast a glance at Gösta.

‘You’re right. What’s done is done, and we need to get on with the job at hand. I suggest that we start with Erling and then talk to Mats’s other co-workers. We need to find out whether any of them noticed any signs of narcotics or drug use.’

‘Like what?’ Gösta hoped that he didn’t sound too stupid, but he really didn’t know what Patrik was getting at.

‘Well, for instance, if Mats was behaving strangely or exhibiting any other unusual signs. He seems to have been such a proper sort, but maybe they can think of something that doesn’t fit the pattern.’

Patrik got out of the car and Gösta followed. They hadn’t phoned ahead to find out who might be at work in the council offices, but when they spoke to the receptionist, they found they were in luck. Everyone was present.

‘Could we see Erling first?’ Patrik asked, making it sound more like a command than a request.

The young receptionist nodded, looking slightly alarmed. ‘He doesn’t have any meetings scheduled,’ she told them as she pointed down the corridor. Gösta already knew where to find Erling’s office.

‘Hello there,’ said Patrik as they stood in the doorway.

‘Well, hello!’ Erling stood up and came forward to shake hands. ‘Come in, come in. How’s it going? Have you made any progress? I heard about those little boys yesterday. Good Lord, what’s the world coming to these days?’ He took his seat behind the desk.

Patrik and Gösta exchanged glances and then Patrik began.

‘The thing is, there seems to be a connection.’ He cleared his throat, uncertain how to proceed. ‘We have reason to believe that there’s a connection between Mats Sverin and the cocaine that the boys found.’

There was utter silence in the room as Erling stared at them and they waited calmly for his response. His surprise seemed genuine.