“I’m sorry for your loss,” said Sandra. “And there’s really no need to apologise for being unable to be in two places at once. You prioritised your friend, and you were right to do it. Unlike me, she wasn’t surrounded by medical staff, and she couldn’t help herself. I’m so sorry about what happened to Jeanette.”

“It was what she wanted,” said Kerstin. “That’s some comfort to me.”

Sandra nodded and looked around the small flat.

“This is a really lovely place,” she said. “You’ve got so many books—I like that.”

“Thanks,” said Kerstin. “I’ve got a hell of a lot of money too.”

Sandra strolled over to the bags and slung one over her shoulder with some effort.

“And you cycled with these?” she said, laughing. “Quite a job, I have to say.”

Then she looked at the spot where a tag had clearly been removed from the holdall she had picked. She looked up and caught Kerstin’s eye.

“You know that was just the final straw, right?” she said. “The one that broke the camel’s back.”

Kerstin wasn’t so convinced. She shrugged her shoulders and pursed her lips.

“If Jeanette hadn’t found that tag, some other last straw.”

It was possible that Sandra was right. Kerstin wanted to believe she was, but she felt far from certain. However, there was comfort in the fact that Jeanette had made the choice herself, and that even in death she had looked satisfied with the choice she had made.

“Come on, Kerstin. You’ll have to take the other bag.”

“But I can’t . . .”

“Nonsense, of course you can. We’re going to end this together.”

It wasn’t what they had agreed to, but Sandra was so persuasive that Kerstin was unable to resist. And perhaps it was about time to get a new, healthier relationship with the long arm of the law.

HALF AN HOUR LATER, they were standing at a desk in an open plan office at Visby police station. Sandra had specifically asked to speak to the same investigator she had been assigned as a liaison while Erik had been missing, but Kerstin also knew him. He was one of the two officers who had brought her the news of Karl-Erik’s death after he had gone missing—the one who had been there when she had identified the body.

“This bag contains three million kronor,” said Sandra, heaving the holdall onto the table with a loud thud. “The proceeds of multiple robberies years ago.”

Following Sandra’s cue, Kerstin did the same thing. Several other officers had already stood up at their desks and joined the trio with ill-concealed curiosity.

“This bag contains another three million kronor,” said Kerstin.