He met them in the corridor and paused to shake hands. The woman, who was tall and blond, gripped his hand so hard that he thought his bones would break. The short man with the glasses had a more relaxed handshake.

‘Petra and Konrad, right? I thought we could sit in the kitchen. How was the drive?’

They chatted some more as they took their seats, and Patrik was struck by what an odd pair these two were. Yet they seemed perfectly at ease with each other, and Patrik suspected that they must have worked together for years.

‘We need to talk with Nathalie Wester,’ Petra finally said, having tired of the small talk.

‘As I said, she’s here. Out on her island. I met her about a week ago.’

‘And she didn’t mention her husband?’ Petra fixed her eyes on Patrik, who felt as if he were being interrogated.

‘No, she never said a word. We went out there to talk to her about an old boyfriend. He was found murdered in Fjällbacka.’

‘We read about the case,’ said Konrad. He turned to look at Ernst, who had come into the kitchen. ‘Is he the station’s mascot?’

‘Yes, you might say that.’

‘This is quite a coincidence,’ Petra went on. ‘We have a husband shot to death, and you have an old boyfriend shot to death.’

‘I was thinking the same thing. But we have a possible suspect in our case.’

He briefly told his colleagues what they’d found out about Stefan Ljungberg and the Illegal Eagles. Both Petra and Konrad looked startled when he mentioned the bag of cocaine found in the litter bin.

‘Yet another connection,’ said Petra.

‘The only thing we know is that Sverin had touched the bag.’

Petra waved away Patrik’s protests. ‘No matter what, we need to look into this. Fredrik Wester mostly dealt in cocaine, and his transactions weren’t restricted to Stockholm. With Nathalie as the common link, maybe they got in contact with each other and started doing business together.’

Patrik frowned. ‘I don’t know … Mats Sverin wasn’t exactly the type who …’

‘I’m afraid there isn’t a specific type,’ said Konrad. ‘We’ve seen it all: upper-class youths, mothers of small children, even a pastor.’

‘Oh, right, that guy,’ laughed Petra. She suddenly looked less intimidating.

‘Yes, I realize that,’ said Patrik, feeling like a real country bumpkin. He knew that he was a novice when it came to this type of crime, and his instincts might be wide of the mark. He needed to trust the experience of his Stockholm colleagues instead of paying attention to what his gut was telling him.

‘Let’s hear what you’ve got, then we’ll fill you in on our case,’ said Petra.

Patrik nodded. ‘Okay. Who wants to start?’

‘Go ahead.’ Konrad got out a pen and paper, and Ernst lay down on the floor, disappointed.

Patrik paused to gather his thoughts and then from memory told his colleagues what they’d found out so far. While Konrad took notes, Petra sat and listened intently, her arms crossed.

‘Well, that’s basically all,’ Patrik concluded. ‘Your turn.’

Konrad put down his pen and gave him a summary of their investigation. They hadn’t been working the case very long, but they’d already amassed a lot of information about Fredrik Wester and the narcotics organization he’d been part of. Konrad added that they’d gone over a lot of the details on the previous day, when Martin Molin had phoned. Patrik knew this, but he had wanted to hear their report himself.

‘As you can tell, we’re working closely with our colleagues in the narcotics division on this investigation.’ Konrad shoved his glasses back into place.

‘Yes, that sounds good,’ murmured Patrik. An idea was starting to take shape in his mind. ‘Have you run the bullets through the police database yet?’

Konrad and Petra both shook their head.

‘I talked to the lab yesterday,’ said Konrad, ‘and they were just getting started.’

‘We haven’t received a report yet either, but …’

Petra and Konrad stared at him. Petra suddenly realized what Patrik was getting at.

‘If we asked the lab to compare the bullets from these two cases …’

‘Then we’d probably get the results back quicker,’ said Patrik.

‘I like the way you think.’ Petra glanced at Konrad. ‘Could you give them a call? You’re on good terms with the lab, whereas they’re not too happy with me lately because of—’

Konrad seemed to know exactly what she meant, because he interrupted her and took out his mobile. ‘I’ll ring them now.’

‘Do that. In the meantime, I’ll go and get the information you’ll need.’ Patrik jumped up and ran to his office. He came back with a document that he set on the table in front of Konrad.

Konrad chatted on the phone for a bit, and then made the request. He listened, nodded, and a smile appeared on his face.

‘That’s fantastic. I owe you one. I owe you big time. Thanks!’ Konrad ended the conversation with a satisfied look on his face. ‘I talked to one of the boys I know over there. He’s going to do a comparison right away. He’ll call back the minute it’s done.’

‘Incredible,’ said Patrik, clearly impressed.

Petra seemed unfazed. She was used to Konrad’s ability to accomplish minor miracles.

Anna had slowly made her way home from the cemetery. Erica had offered to drive her, but she wanted to walk. Falkeliden was only a stone’s throw away, and she needed to collect her thoughts. Dan would be waiting at home. He was hurt when she told him that she wanted to visit the grave with Erica and not with him. But right now she just didn’t have the energy to take his feelings into consideration. She was hardly capable of examining her own emotions.

The inscription on the headstone would be etched into her heart for ever. Little One. Maybe they should have tried to come up with a proper name. Afterwards. But that hadn’t felt right. They had called him Little One the whole time he was inside of her and loved by them all. So that was what he would always be called. He would never grow up, never be anything except that little mite that she’d never even held in her arms.

She’d been unconscious for so long, and then it was too late. Dan had held him, wrapped up in a tiny blanket. He’d been able to touch the baby and say goodbye. Even though she knew that wasn’t Dan’s fault, it hurt that he’d had that experience and she hadn’t. Deep in her heart she was also angry at him for not protecting them, her and Little One. She knew that she was being ridiculous and irrational. It had been her decision to get in the car, and he’d not been present when the accident occurred. There was nothing he could have done. And yet she was angry that even Dan had not been able to protect her from bad things happening.

Maybe she had allowed herself to be lulled into a false sense of security. After everything she’d been through, after all those awful years with Lucas, she had convinced herself that it was finally over. That her life with Dan would be a long, straight road, without any unexpected bumps or curves. She hadn’t had any high-flying plans or big dreams. All she wanted was an ordinary life in a row house in Falkeliden, with dinner parties, mortgage payments, football practice for the kids, and the ever-present piles of shoes in the front hall. Was that asking too much?

In some sense she had viewed Dan as the guarantor for that sort of life. He was so steady and stable, always calm and with the ability to see beyond any problems that arose. She had leaned on him, without standing on her own two feet. But he had fallen, and she didn’t know how she was going to forgive him for that.

She opened the front door and went in. Her whole body ached after the walk, and her arms felt heavy as she lifted them to take off her scarf. Dan glanced at her from the kitchen and then stood motionless in the doorway. He didn’t say a word, just looked at her with a pleading expression. She averted her eyes.