‘That sounds very worrying.’ Eirik’s eyes are still locked on mine and I love how he listens so intently, he’s able to make people feel like the only person in the world when he turns his full attention to them.

‘Yes. And then she missed her session with me yesterday. So I went to her house—’

‘Wait. What? You went to her house?’

‘Yes.’

‘That sounds like an unusual thing for you to do.’

‘It’s an unusual situation. I have a bad feeling about it. Something has happened to her, something bad.’

‘What happened at her house?’

‘She wasn’t there. Her ex-husband was. My client had a restraining order against the guy; there’s a long history of emotional abuse and threatening behavior. So why would he be at her house? But he was nothing like what I would have expected. From what I’ve heard about the guy, I would’ve expected some kind of monster. You know, weird and shifty, behaving as though he were guilty of something. But he just seemed quite normal. But if he’s telling the truth, that means she’s been lying. A lot. He told me she’s gone to her cabin, and that she’s working on her new book.’

‘And why wouldn’t that be true?’

‘I’m not sure I believe she’s there, doing just great, working away on her book, after the state she was in last week.’

‘So, you think he’s done something to her.’

‘Well, I know he’s certainly capable of it, at least according to her. And he seemed quite bitter and volatile beneath the surface. He said he was upset about the way she’d written about him in her previous book; he talked about feeling compromised and misrepresented. Said he lost his job and had to go live with his parents as a result. She writes autofiction, you know, in the vein of Knausgaard and Vigdis Hjorth.’ Eirik nods thoughtfully, still listening intently. I stroke his hand and uncurl his fist so that my hand fits inside his.

‘Is this client Leah Iverson?’

‘Yes. I mean, I really shouldn’t ever name a client, but I guess it was obvious. So you know of her?’ I feel worse now, having spoken of Leah to my husband – I should have known he would have heard of her.

‘Well, yes. She’s quite high profile, isn’t she? Didn’t she win a big prize?’

‘Yeah. The Nordic Prize for Fiction, a very big deal, I gather.’

‘I remember. She was on the cover of several newspapers.’

‘Yes.’

‘How long have you been seeing her?’

‘Almost three years now.’

‘Right. And her recent behavior is out of character?’

‘Very.’

‘Has she said anything that could indicate why?’