Leo’s reaction to Sigrid’s offhand comment had confirmed everything she already knew. She’d seen his amused smile turn into hesitation. And then worry. He had glanced over at Sigrid, who had turned her attention back to the paper, then picked up his coffee cup, and gone back to the annex without a word.

He doesn’t need to know, she tells herself. No one does. Once you have an appointment it’s quick, you don’t even have to stay the night.

And then the dizzying realisation.

She can’t do that either.

*

The only thing she can do is work. She can start up her laptop, she can connect to the police intranet using a slew of different security codes, on the first try for once, she can put the stack of printouts next to her, and she can keep all other thoughts at bay.

And oranges. She can eat oranges.

She methodically works her way through the cases involving Sandrine Broe and Loa Marklund. Checks every name against the list of people who have been questioned in connection with the door knocking in the area, and a list of New Builds Ltd employees. Starts with Kenneth Gammel and discovers that the janitor was one of the first people questioned in connection with the first two attacks. His alibi is both watertight and verified: Kenneth Gammel had been on holiday in Ireland with his brother and sister-in-law when Sandrine Broe and Loa Marklund were assaulted.

All other New Builds’ employees working in the area have also given statements and every last one has consented to being swabbed. And, of course, every last one also has an alibi for at least one of the first two attacks, she notes. A DNA match there would be too much to hope for.

All males whose statements have been taken have also been offered voluntary swabbing. All but a handful had heard the quotes around the word ‘voluntary’ and had obediently opened their mouths. Surprisingly, only six had said no. Four for obvious reasons: petty criminals who had so far managed to avoid ending in a police database and had no desire to ‘voluntarily’ change that. Two had declined on principle; why couldn’t the police solve crimes without jeopardising people’s personal integrity? And Doggerian law is firmly on the side of the principled.

That said, there’s no law against paying extra attention to the alibis and possible motives of those six individuals. Unfortunately, all of them could, after meticulous checking, be struck from the suspect list. Of course.