‘That’s a great place. I’ve spent a couple of summer holidays out there.’

Petra looked at Konrad in amazement. For some reason, she’d never really pictured him going on holiday. She had to bite her tongue to prevent herself asking who he’d gone there with.

‘Where is this place?’ asked Petra. ‘It looks like she owns a whole island. Called Gråskär.’

‘Between Uddevalla and Strömstad,’ said Konrad. He was going through Fredrik Wester’s phone records – both outgoing and incoming calls. It was tedious work, but it had to be done, and phones could be goldmines for criminal investigations. He doubted that they would find anything in this instance. These boys were too shrewd to leave any traces behind. They probably used a phone card that they threw away the minute anything risky took place. But it was worth a shot, and Konrad was known for his tenacity. If a clue was lurking in this endless list of phone calls, he would find it.

‘I haven’t managed to find a mobile number for her yet,’ said Petra. ‘So it would probably be faster to contact the police up there. If they have a police force, that is. It’s not exactly a big town. Maybe Göteborg is the closest station?’

‘Tanumshede,’ said Konrad as he continued to type in phone numbers to compare with the list. ‘The closest police station is in Tanumshede.’

‘Tanumshede? How come you know that?’

‘There was a big story in the papers a couple of days ago about a drug-related murder out that way.’ Konrad took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. After staring too long at the small type on the list, his eyes had begun to hurt.

‘Oh, so that sort of shit doesn’t only happen here in the big city.’

‘No, believe it or not there’s a whole world outside of Stockholm. I realize that may seem strange, but it’s a fact,’ said Konrad.

Petra had been born in Stockholm and she’d lived her whole life in the city. She rarely ventured north of Uppsala or south of Södertälje. ‘Is that so?’ she said. ‘And where do you come from?’ she added sarcastically. At the same time she realized it was odd that she didn’t know, given that they’d worked together for fifteen years. But it had never come up in conversation.

‘Gnosjö,’ replied Konrad, without taking his eyes off the phone list.

Petra stared at him. ‘In Småland? But you don’t have an accent.’

Konrad shrugged. Petra was about to ask another question but stopped herself. She had just learned where Konrad was from and where he’d spent his holidays. That was more than enough information for one day.

‘Gnosjö,’ she repeated with astonishment. Then she picked up the phone. ‘I’m going to call our colleagues in Tanumshede.’

Konrad merely nodded. He was deeply immersed in the world of numbers.

‘You look tired, sweetheart,’ Erica told Patrik, giving him a kiss. She was holding a baby in each arm, and he kissed his sons on the tops of their heads.

‘Yes, I’m feeling a bit worn out. How are things with you?’ he asked, looking guilty.

‘Everything’s fine, as a matter of fact.’ She was surprised to hear herself say that, but she really meant it. Everything had gone smoothly. Maja was at the day-care centre, and the twins had just had their bottles, so they were both content.

‘Was it worth the trip? How are Göran and Märta doing?’ she asked as she laid the twins down on a blanket. ‘There’s coffee if you’d like some.’

‘Thanks. That would be great.’ Patrik followed her to the kitchen. ‘I can only stay a short time. I have to get back to the station.’

‘Sit down for a few minutes and unwind,’ Erica said, practically shoving him down on to a kitchen chair. She set a cup of coffee in front of him, and he gratefully took a sip.

‘Look, I’ve even baked buns.’ She set a plate of buns, still warm from the oven, on the table.

‘Wow, I can’t believe it. Looks like you’re turning into a real homemaker, in spite of everything,’ said Patrik, but from the look on Erica’s face, he realized the joke wasn’t appreciated.

‘Okay, tell me what you found out,’ she said, joining him at the table.

Patrik gave her a summary of what had happened in Göteborg. A hint of resignation was evident in his voice.

‘And Göran and Märta are fine. They’re thinking of coming to visit us some weekend in the near future.’

Erica’s face lit up. ‘That would be wonderful! I’ll phone Göran this afternoon and we can agree on the date.’ Then she turned serious. ‘Something just occurred to me. Has anyone told Nathalie what happened to Gunnar?’

Patrik looked at Erica, realizing that she had a good point.

‘No, I don’t think so. Unless she phoned Signe.’

‘Signe is still in hospital. Apparently she’s not doing well at all.’

Patrik nodded. ‘Okay, I’ll ring Nathalie as soon as I get a chance.’

‘Good.’ Erica smiled. Then she got up, moved his coffee cup out of the way, and sat astride his lap. She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him gently on the lips.

‘I missed you.’

‘Mmm, I missed you too,’ he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

From the living room they could hear the twins prattling happily, and Patrik saw a familiar gleam in Erica’s eyes.

‘Is my sweet wife in the mood to accompany me upstairs for a while?’

‘Yes, please, dear sir. I would like that.’

‘So, what are we waiting for?’ Patrik stood up so abruptly that Erica almost fell off his lap. He took her hand and led her towards the stairs. But the moment he set his foot on the bottom step, his mobile rang. He fully intended to ignore it, but Erica stopped him.

‘Sweetheart, you need to take that call. It might be the station.’

‘They can wait,’ he said. ‘Because believe me, this isn’t going to take very long.’ He tugged at her hand again, yet she held back.

‘I’m not sure that’s much of a selling point,’ she said with a smile. ‘And you do have to answer the phone. You know that.’

Patrik sighed. He knew she was right, no matter how disappointed he was.

‘Will you give me a rain check?’ He went out to the front hall to get his mobile out of his jacket pocket.

‘With pleasure, dear sir,’ said Erica and curtseyed.

Patrik laughed as he answered the phone. He truly loved this dotty wife of his.

Mellberg was worried. It felt as if his whole life depended on resolving this matter. Rita was out taking a walk with Leo, and the girls were at work. He’d run home for a while to watch the sports programme. But for the first time ever, he was unable to concentrate on what was happening on TV. Instead, he found himself paying attention to all the thoughts racing through his mind.

Suddenly he gave a start. By God, he had the solution. It was right in front of his nose. He rushed out of the flat and down the stairs to the office on the ground floor. Alvar Nilsson was sitting behind his desk.

‘Hi, Mellberg!’

‘Hi.’ Mellberg gave him a big smile.

‘What’s going on? Are you here to keep me company?’ Alvar opened the top drawer of his desk and took out a bottle of whisky.

Mellberg fought a silent battle with himself, but it ended as it always did.

‘Sure, what the hell,’ he said, sitting down.

Alvar handed him a glass.

‘There’s something I want to talk to you about.’ Mellberg swirled the whisky in his glass, taking a moment to savour the sight before sipping it.

‘Is that so? What can I do for you?’

‘The girls have decided that they want a flat of their own.’

Alvar looked amused. The ‘girls’ were both over thirty.

‘That usually happens in these situations.’ He leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head.

‘The thing is, Rita and I don’t want them to move too far away.’

‘I can understand that. But it’s hard to find flats in Tanumshede at the moment.’

‘That’s exactly why I thought you might be able to help.’ Mellberg leaned forward and fixed his eyes on Alvar.