‘Stop it,’ he says. ‘I’m serious. Don’t go spreading rumours like that. Eva and Sven are aloof, yes. Some people find them a little arrogant but they are not capable of anything so awful, I can assure you. And I just told your local policeman the exact same thing.’

‘You, then?’

‘Me?’

I shrug. ‘Frustrated hygienist who always dreamed of becoming a dentist proper but never had the grades. You do it, Tobias?’

He pushes his wrists together. ‘You got me.’

‘Someone told me you’re a prepper.’

‘No. Just prepared, there’s a difference. I worry about winter storms, mainly, up there on the hill. I like to keep food stocks and antibiotics. People think that’s crazy but it gives me a sense of security.’

‘Any theories, then? About Arne Persson?’

‘I don’t know,’ he says. ‘Gossip can lead to lynching in a small town like Visberg. Hill people, you know.’

‘You’re not a hill person?’

‘I’m a Karlstad person.’

‘Okay. So who killed your town plumber and then fixed up his teeth?’

Tobias sips his lemonade and then coughs a little, like it went down the wrong way. He turns from me and coughs some more and then turns back, his eyes watering.

‘On paper at least, Kodro is the most dangerous man in the town.’ His voice is hoarse. ‘But personally I think he’s also one of the most intelligent.’

‘Grill owner?’

‘A very erudite man. Reads a lot.’ One more cough. ‘Listens to podcasts on all sorts of subjects. But it is true that he was a killer back in his home country, and I’m not sure you ever lose that ability.’

‘Luka Kodro get on well with Arne Persson?’

‘His wife sure did,’ says Tobias, giving me some side-eye. ‘But we can’t blame her for all that. Arne Persson broke a lot of hearts in Visberg town over the years. He played games with Margareta over at the Hive, strung her along for years after her husband died in that accident. Some people think Arne Persson wasn’t the saint he’s being made out to be.’

‘You’re saying that?’

‘Not what I meant.’

‘He break any other hearts I should know about?’

He takes a sip of his drink. ‘I heard Luka Kodro and his wife went through counselling and extensive couples therapy afterward. Sex can be a strong driver to action.’

I frown at him.

‘Are you flirting with me, Mr Robinson?’

He looks at me then looks away then looks at me again and we both laugh. The sound of it cuts through the tension and my tiredness. The table of hunters look around to us. One man, with a patchy beard, camo cap and mosquito bites all over his neck, perks up and presses his bloodstained finger to his lips in a silent warning.

‘It was probably an out-of-towner,’ says Tobias.