Until now she had been looking down at her own hands that were fiddling with a loose thread on her sweater. Now she looked up and straight at Selma.

‘So there’s nothing wrong with the test. That seems clear. Dad’s already looked into what’s …’

‘I’m continuing to follow that aspect,’ her father said. ‘Even though it seems futile. Tell Selma about …’

‘Jan!’

Now Selma was the one doing the interrupting.

‘Either you stay silent, or else you leave the room. If there’s any point at all in this conversation, I have to be the one in charge of it. OK?’

The man lethargically raised his hands in the air.

‘I choose to believe you,’ Selma continued calmly, looking at Hege. ‘And if you haven’t consciously taken drugs, then in all honesty there are only two possibilities. Either you’ve ingested this banned substance inadvertently, or you’ve been exposed to sabotage. If it’s been an accident, you’re in the soup all the same. To avoid suspension, you have to be entirely blameless. For all practical purposes, it’s only sabotage or something in that direction that can save your skin. So we’ll go for that one, OK?’

She smiled in an effort to be encouraging, but it didn’t feel particularly successful.

‘You’ve been through the Cross-Country Skiing Federation’s anti-doping course, I take it, and know that objective responsibility is …’

‘I’ve never done it.’

‘What?’

‘That course. I’ve actually never …’

‘Isn’t it compulsory?’

‘Yes, but there hasn’t been … time for it, really.’

Selma licked her lips and took a deep breath.

‘OK. I see.’

‘But I know about objective responsibility, of course. That I’m the one who has to prove I’m completely innocent in the case, rather than the drugs authorities having to prove I’m guilty.’

‘Exactly.’

‘But I’m absolutely, incredibly careful! Maggi arranges everything for me. Dad has had a detailed list compiled of all I can eat, drink and take by way of dietary supplements. Maggi prepares everything. Heavens above …’

For the first time Selma could discern an underlying desperation in her voice. Until now she had been pretty subdued, almost apathetic, as if she had already given up.

‘How many travel days do you have?’ Selma asked.

‘Eh … between 220 and 240 a year? Something like that.’

‘Does Maggi accompany you on these trips?’

‘No, of course not.’

‘Then that’s the point. You have to be really precise when you’re talking to me, Hege. I do believe that Maggi takes good care of you when you’re at home. But, you see, you’re not here for most of the year. You’re travelling. You stay in hotels. You’re on planes, buses and cars. Lots of different people make and serve food for you. You also use medicines.’

Nodding, Hege continued to play with the loose thread. Her sweater was about to unravel completely.

‘If we regard this case as a bet of sorts, then I’d say the odds are …’

Selma waved her hand back and forth, hesitating.