Jens grimaces. ‘You know that’s going to cause all kinds of problems? The son of the former chief of police, the restaurateur, the leader of the local council and our local celebrity, all interviewed about something that happened twenty-seven years ago. Something that most people around here would prefer to forget. And only days after the police commissioner and the county governor were here.’

Anna nods. ‘I’m aware of all that, but we are conducting a murder investigation. We can’t treat certain individuals differently because of who they are. And this is about Joakim Rylander, not Simon Vidje.’

Jens lets out a snort. ‘You’re going to have to practise that statement a few more times if you want it to sound sincere. I’m out in the patrol car today, but call me if you need my help.’

‘There is one thing I wanted to ask you, Jens. I could do with your advice.’

He gives her a crooked smile. ‘You want to know if I think you should share your plans with Henry.’ He shakes his head. ‘Sorry – I’m going to pass!’

*

Both reports arrive just after lunch. The forensic examination of the white Saab basically tells Anna what they already know, and she quickly skims through the pages. Joe Rylander’s fingerprints are all over the car, and his DNA is on the cigarette butts they found on the floor. There are also half a dozen different sets of prints in various places in the vehicle, most of such poor quality that they are probably quite old. In the most relevant locations – the steering wheel, gear stick and rear-view mirror – there are only Rylander’s prints, which means there is no real evidence that anyone else drove the car to the spot where it was found. When it comes to fibres, the results are equally depressing. There are plenty of clothing fibres on the old, sagging seats, plus both human and dog hairs, but as the Saab is thirty years old this is hardly surprising, and it is virtually impossible to say whether any of the fibres are relevant to the investigation. A couple of fibres have been matched to Rylander’s trousers and to the wire fence at the viewpoint, but that gets them precisely nowhere.

The autopsy report is extremely well written. The pathologist has divided Rylander’s injuries into two categories. The first are those consistent with a fall from a great height – crush injuries, broken bones, the eye that had fallen out of its socket, all listed in alphabetical order with accompanying photographs.

In the second group he has detailed a large number of wounds, from small scratches on Rylander’s forehead to the hole in his chest, caused by the branch on which he was impaled. The pathologist states dryly that even though these injuries are not typical of a fall, they can be explained by the fact that the body landed in a tree.