Silence descends. They all remember the librarian in Grunder who had two molars knocked out after reprimanding a man who returned his books about fly fishing three weeks late. And the woman in Thorsvik who almost lost her life because she suggested to her unemployed husband that he should at least try to find a new job one time too many.

Eventually, Karen clears her throat and presses on.

‘You already know about his connection to Loa Marklund. The others were harder to find. But I’ve spoken to all three victims and there can no longer be any real doubt. Until a few months before she was attacked, Sandrine Broe worked in a local pub and she believes Freske was one of the regulars.’

‘Believes?’

‘Yes, she wasn’t one hundred per cent certain,’ Karen replies truthfully. ‘One of the reasons for her hesitation was that she thought the person the picture reminded her of was considerably older. The driving licence picture of Freske I showed her is over ten years old.’

‘And why would he be holding a grudge against Sandrine Broe?’

‘Because she refused to serve him and kicked him out. Fairly harshly, if I understood her right. He didn’t act out at the time, just stared at her and called her . . .’

Karen hesitates.

‘Cunt,’ she says after a brief pause, avoiding Viggo Haugen’s eyes.

‘Well, I hardly think that’s the first time a waitress has been called a rude word,’ Dineke Vegen comments drily. ‘Especially at an establishment that serves alcohol, which I assume is the case here. And up in Moerbeck, too.’

‘Apparently it was the way he said it,’ Karen explains. ‘It must have stood out to Sandrine Broe because she still remembers it, nine months later. “Creepy” was the word she used to describe him.’

‘Still weak,’ Viggo Haugen says. ‘Very weak. What about the others?’

He nods for Karen to continue.

‘Anita Kollbar is a caseworker at New Builds Ltd and has, among other things, signed the order to evict Gundar Freske on account of delinquent rent. But she has never met or even spoken to him, as far as she can recall.’

Viggo Haugen spreads his hands as if to signal that he has now lost any hope of hearing anything of interest in this meeting.

‘I had expected at least someth—’

‘Why don’t we let Eiken finish,’ Jounas Smeed cuts him off.

Karen shoots him a surprised but grateful glance and clears her throat before continuing.