‘The call was made by a dog owner by the name of Nathanael Iverson and was about a man, likely a junkie. Iverson couldn’t tell if the man was alive or dead and had only briefly glimpsed his upper body and hoodie before calling emergency services. Iverson had no desire to turn the man over, let alone try to resuscitate him, according to the operator.’

‘Most people think twice about touching junkies,’ Johannisen puts in.

Everyone murmurs agreement.

Smeed continues, ‘Emergency services dispatched an ambulance, which arrived sixteen minutes later. The closest police patrol was up in Gaarda and arrived six minutes after that.’

Karl Björken is unable to keep quiet any longer.

‘And who pulled their head out of their arse first, the ambulance or us?’

‘PC Sara Inguldsen,’ Smeed replies curtly. ‘Nathanael Iverson had, as mentioned, only seen shoulders, one arm and the back of a hoodie when he made the initial call. But as soon as the paramedics arrived and found a pulse, the body was turned over and pulled out of the shrubbery – and it was discovered that it wasn’t an overdosing man after all, but rather a middle-aged woman with no clothes on her lower body. Inguldsen obviously knew what she was looking at straight away. She spotted the woman’s sweatpants and shoes deeper into the shrubbery and a broken bottle a few feet away.’

Smeed lets the information sink in before continuing.

‘The woman, an Anita Kollbar, has been taken to Thysted Hospital and, as far as we know, she was still alive when the ambulance drove off. Inguldsen and her partner have cordoned off the scene and are still there. The technicians are on their way. We obviously can’t be sure it’s the same guy starting up again, but that will be our working theory until we have reason to believe otherwise.’

The sound of chairs creaking under impatient bodies.

‘How was she identified so quickly? Did she have ID on her?’ Karen asks.

‘Nathanael Iverson hung around until the ambulance and police arrived. He recognised her straight away once they turned her over. Apparently, Anita Kollbar lives just three houses down from him. According to him, she lives alone.’

Jounas Smeed takes a sip of water and stands up.

‘As you all know, it’s been almost four months since the last attack,’ he says. ‘You also know the investigation has remained our number one priority, whatever the media might claim. Björken, you’re still in charge, and it goes without saying every resource is at your disposal. This time, I want us to catch this fucking swine. I’m off to inform the higher-ups. Karl, the floor is yours.’

Everyone turns to Karl Björken. They accept assignments, listen, take notes. One by one, they disappear out the door with determined steps that signal: ‘We’re finally going to catch that bastard.’