‘I’m most interested in the victims,’ I say. ‘Whether that’s victims of an online scam or a traffic accident or a terrible murder. When I was fourteen my dad died.’

Emil stops eating his ice cream.

‘When I was fourteen my pappa died.’

‘Well, don’t you two have a lot in common,’ Margareta says, smiling.

I’d usually be reluctant to share, but I need whatever information this pair have. ‘His death was misreported, you see. Journalists stated he was an alcoholic when he wasn’t at all. One alluded to his blood-alcohol levels on the night of his accident. They made mistakes, and that was tough for my mum to endure. It was tough enough without that, but I think it probably tipped her over the edge.’

‘She threw herself off the edge, did she?’ says Margareta, cringing. ‘Right off the edge, was it?’

‘No, she just lost the will to live.’

‘Thank God we had our favourite shows,’ she says, looking at Emil. ‘They got us through the tough times, eh, Emil.’

Emil nods.

When he eats his ice cream I can see just how tiny his teeth are. They look like milk teeth.

Margareta stubs out her cigarette and joins us. She starts shelling pistachio nuts into two bowls on her lap. She never seems to stay still for more than a few seconds.

‘The murder of Arne Persson is my lead story and most likely will be for several issues.’

‘Arne never deserved what came to him,’ she says. ‘People say this is like Emil’s dad but it’s no such thing.’

Emil looks at me. ‘Pappa was an accident.’

Margareta uses her fingernails to pull apart a barely-open pistachio nut. ‘Yes it was, Emil. A tragic accident. Shit…’ She breaks her nail and bites off the torn end. ‘There was no gunshot like with Arne Persson.’

‘I slipped,’ says Emil.

‘Wasn’t your fault in any way, honey,’ says Margareta. ‘Freak accident.’

‘The saw fell on him,’ says Emil.

‘Accidents happen,’ says Margareta. ‘Anyone for a nut?’

We talk about Emil having to change schools and how the Hive was difficult for them to run until Emil was old enough to leave education and work full-time. How it was Emil’s idea to increase prices for the larger, top-floor units by offering a new discreet, premium service up there to people who needed something similar to a safety-deposit service only on a larger scale.

‘Those two pine-carving sisters are from your neck of the woods, aren’t they?’ asks Margareta.

‘Alice and Cornelia? They’re from Utgard forest.’

‘Utgard used to be connected to Visberg forest back before,’ says Emil. ‘Learned it at school. Was all one huge forest until they felled to build the E16 motorway.’

‘Those two sisters are more trouble than people think,’ says Margareta.

‘They’re harmless,’ I say. ‘They’re just eccentric.’