‘That’s not why I called. I wanted to ask you about the song you played just before it all kicked off.’

There is a brief silence at the other end of the line. ‘You mean that demo recording, or whatever it was?’ He sounds surprised rather than angry now.

‘Yes – how did you come to play it?’

‘Some guy gave me a USB stick earlier in the evening – it happens sometimes. It’s a kind of 2017 version of requests. I usually say no, because I don’t like putting a stick that isn’t mine into my computer, but he was very insistent. He gave me five hundred kronor to play the track when Caia Bianca was on the dance floor, and promised me the same again afterwards. The gig wasn’t particularly well paid, so I thought what the hell – a thousand extra just for playing one song.’

‘Who was this guy?’

‘I’ve no idea. I don’t think he was local.’

‘What did he look like?’

Kristian thinks for a moment. ‘A bit scruffy. In his early fifties, maybe. Skinny, with a beard. Tattoos on his hands.’

‘Was he wearing glasses?’

‘Yes – with tinted lenses. I could hardly see his eyes.’

Anna knows exactly who he means.

‘Do you remember anything else about him? Anything he said or did?’

Silence. ‘No, he just said the song was an old favourite that would go down really well, and that Caia and her friends would recognise it right away.’

They certainly did, she thinks. They recognised it only too well.

Chapter 30

30

Autumn 2017

Anna has just walked in through the door at Tabor when her new work phone rings. Agnes has already texted to say that she’s gone to Erik’s, and as usual Milo seems moderately pleased to see her.

‘Hello, this is Olsson in the patrol car,’ says a voice in her ear.

‘Yes?’

‘We’re over at Glarea – one of the team leaders called us. They’ve found a dead body in a tree.’

‘What?’

‘A jumper,’ the officer clarifies. ‘There’s a steep drop where the quarry meets the northern end of the ridge. We had another suicide there a while ago.’

‘OK, I’m on my way. Can you tell me exactly where you are?’

*

It is dark by the time Anna reaches the main entrance to Glarea, where a white Jeep with a security company logo is waiting for her.

‘Follow me – it’s a bit tricky to find,’ the driver says.

This turns out to be something of an understatement. After the gates and the office buildings, the road slopes steeply downwards. The heaps of gravel on either side grow higher and higher until Anna reaches the bottom of the immense quarry. The smell of burning that sometimes pervades the village is so strong that she switches off the air con.