‘I … but … how …’ he stammered, and then merely shook his head.

‘You didn’t suspect anything of this kind?’ asked Gösta to help him along.

‘No, absolutely not. We’d never have thought … never in a million years.’ For once he seemed at a loss for words.

‘So there was no sign that things weren’t as they should be with Mats? Mood swings, turning up late for work, or difficulties keeping appointments? Maybe a change in his appearance?’ Patrik studied him closely, but Erling seemed truly stunned.

‘No. As I said before, Mats was the epitome of a stable person. Maybe a bit reserved when it came to certain topics, but that’s all.’ He gave a start. ‘Could that be the reason? Because of drugs? Maybe it wasn’t so strange after all that he never discussed his personal life.’

‘We don’t know for sure. But it’s possible that was the reason.’

‘This is terrible. If it comes out that we had somebody like that on the staff, somebody working here, it’ll be disastrous.’

‘I’m sorry to tell you this,’ said Patrik, again cursing to himself, ‘but the fact is that this morning Bertil Mellberg held a press conference regarding this matter, so it’s bound to be made public sometime today.’

As if on cue, the receptionist appeared in the doorway with flushed cheeks and a worried expression.

‘I don’t know what it’s about, Erling, but the phones have gone crazy. A lot of reporters are trying to reach you, and both Aftonbladet and GT want to speak to you urgently.’

‘Dear God,’ said Erling, wiping his brow where beads of sweat had gathered.

‘The only advice we can give you is to say as little as possible,’ said Patrik. ‘I’m very sorry that the press has become involved at such an early stage in the investigation. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to prevent it.’ His tone was bitter, but Erling seemed oblivious to anything but his own crisis situation.

‘Of course I’ll have to take the calls,’ he said, nervously rocking his chair back and forth. ‘I’ll deal with the situation, but a drug addict working for the town … How on earth am I going to explain that?’

Patrik and Gösta realized that they weren’t going to get another sensible word out of Erling, so they stood up.

‘We’d like to talk to the rest of the staff,’ said Patrik.

Erling glanced up, although he wasn’t really focusing on them.

‘Yes, of course. Go ahead and talk to them. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to take these calls.’ He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.

They slipped out and knocked on the door of the next office.

‘Come in,’ chirped Gunilla, apparently blissfully unaware of what was going on.

‘Could we have a few words with you?’ said Patrik.

Gunilla nodded cheerfully. Then her expression changed.

‘Oh dear. Here I am, merrily laughing. But I assume you’re here about Mats, right? Have you found out anything?’

Patrik and Gösta exchanged glances, uncertain how to tell her what they wanted to know. They sat down.

‘We have a few more questions,’ Gösta began. He was feeling nervous. They really didn’t know enough to ask sensible questions.

‘All right. Go ahead and ask,’ said Gunilla, smiling again.

Evidently she’s the kind of person who’s always upbeat and positive, thought Gösta. The sort that he wouldn’t want to have around at seven in the morning before he’d had his first cup of coffee. He was grateful that his late wife had shared his own sour mood in the morning, so they’d been able to grumble to themselves in peace and quiet.

‘Yesterday several schoolkids ended up in hospital after tasting some cocaine that they’d found,’ said Patrik. ‘Maybe you heard about it?’

‘Yes, it was awful. But I heard the incident is going to have a happy ending.’

‘That’s right. The boys are okay. But it turns out that there are certain connections between the incident and our investigation.’

‘Connections?’ said Gunilla, shifting her perky chipmunk eyes from Patrik to Gösta and back again.

‘Yes. We’ve found a link between Mats Sverin and the cocaine.’ He could hear that he sounded a tad formal, which always happened when he was feeling uncomfortable. And this was not a pleasant situation. But it was better for Mats’s co-workers to hear about it now instead of reading it in the newspapers.

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Well, we think that Mats may have used cocaine.’ Gösta looked down at the floor.

‘Mats?’ Gunilla’s voice sounded a bit shrill. ‘You can’t be serious. Not Mats.’

‘We know nothing of the circumstances,’ Patrik explained. ‘And that’s why we’re here. To find out if anyone noticed anything strange about him.’

‘Anything strange?’ repeated Gunilla. Patrik could see that she was starting to get upset. ‘Mats was the nicest man you could ever meet. I just can’t imagine that he … no, I just can’t.’

‘So there was nothing about his behaviour that struck you as odd? Nothing that you noticed?’ Patrik was clutching at straws now.

‘Mats was an exceptionally wonderful person. It’s unthinkable that he would ever have been involved with drugs.’ She tapped her pen on the desk to emphasize each syllable.

‘I’m sorry, but we have to ask these questions,’ Gösta apologized. Patrik nodded and stood up. Gunilla stared after them angrily as they left her office.

An hour later they were finally able to leave the council building. They had talked to the other staff members, and they had all reacted in the same way. Not one of them could imagine Mats Sverin being mixed up in drugs.

‘That confirms my own feeling. And I never even met the man,’ said Patrik when they were once again sitting in the car.

‘I agree, and we still have the worst ahead of us.’

‘I know,’ said Patrik as he drove out of the car park and headed for Fjällbacka.

He had found them. She knew it. Just as she knew that she had nowhere else to go. She had used up all possible avenues of escape. It had been so easy to shatter everything once again. All it took was a postcard – without any message or the name of the sender, postmarked in Sweden – to destroy her hopes for the future.

Madeleine’s hand shook as she turned over the postcard after studying the side that was blank except for her name and new address. No words were necessary; the picture on the card said everything. The message couldn’t be more clear.

Slowly she walked over to the window. Down in the courtyard Kevin and Vilda were playing, unaware that their lives were about to change again. She clutched the postcard in her hand until it was damp with sweat from her fingers. She was trying to gather her thoughts to make a decision. The children looked so happy as they played with the other kids. The desperate look in their eyes had gradually disappeared, though a hint of fear still remained. They had seen too much, and that was something she could never undo, no matter how much love she showered upon them. And now everything was wrecked. This had seemed like the only option, one last chance at a normal life. Leaving behind Sweden and him and everything else. How could she give them a sense of security when her last lifeline had been cut?

Madeleine leaned her forehead against the windowpane. It felt cold on her skin. She watched as Kevin helped his sister up the ladder of the slide. He placed his hands on Vilda’s rear end, both supporting her and giving her a little push. Maybe she’d done the wrong thing by making him the man in the family. He was only eight. But he had so naturally assumed the role and taken care of his girls, as he called them. He had grown with the responsibility, finding security in his role. Kevin raised his hand to push a lock of hair out of his eyes. He looked so much like his father, but he had her heart. Her weakness, as he used to call it as the blows fell.

Slowly she began beating her forehead against the window. Hopelessness filled her body. Now nothing was left of the future she had planned. Harder and harder she pounded her head on the glass, noticing how the familiar feeling of pain brought with it a strange sense of calm. She dropped the postcard and the picture of the eagle with outspread wings slid along the floor. Outside, Vilda came down the slide with a delighted smile.