Right at the end there are several pictures that interest her. The first shows a bloodstained bandage that appears to be carelessly wrapped around Rylander’s calf.

There was a gauze bandage around the body’s right calf. Beneath it was a large, recently treated wound. Closer examination revealed that the fibula (calf bone) was fractured, and there were further injuries to the tibia (shin bone). The right leg of Rylander’s jeans was torn and bloodstained, matching the wound. Given the severity of the damage, it is reasonable to assume that Rylander’s mobility was severely compromised.

The next two pictures show the wound itself; it is deep, with ragged edges. She thinks back to her brief encounter with Rylander in the dance hall. He spotted her approaching, pushed himself away from the wall and quickly slipped out through the door without the slightest hint of a limp. Therefore, the injury must have happened after the fracas, but before he died.

She turns back to the forensic examination of the car, finds the page she’s looking for. Three photographs of Rylander’s filthy shoes with an accompanying note.

Trainers, black, Nike. Covered in a thick layer of mud and vegetation. This vegetation consists of dead beech and birch leaves, and fir needles. Inside the right shoe there was a bloodstain so large that it had not completely dried out. Analysis showed that the blood was Rylander’s.

Anna sits quietly, trying to process this new information along with what she already knows. At some point shortly after their encounter at the dance hall, Rylander injured himself so badly that he would have had difficulty in walking. Since the wound was bandaged, it can’t have been sustained at the time of death, which is yet another indication that he didn’t take his own life. Who bandages their leg shortly before they commit suicide? So how did he injure himself? Where did he spend the final hours of his life – and more importantly, with whom? It’s high time she found out, but first of all she needs to reveal her plans to Henry Morell.

*

She knocks on the door frame, then walks into Morell’s office and closes the door behind her. He glances up from the screen, raises his eyebrows and takes off his glasses.

‘This looks serious.’

She nods. ‘I’m afraid it is.’ She takes a deep breath. ‘Rylander’s former name was Joakim Jonsson, and he and his girlfriend, Tanya Savic, were at the quarry on the night Simon Vidje died. Rylander was responsible for the trouble in the dance hall, and he seems to have been trying to blackmail Alex, Bruno, Marie, and Caia Bianca.’

She falls silent, mainly to try and work out to what extent this information comes as a surprise.