Mats’s smile widens. ‘No problem. I’ll tuck him underneath my coat.’

He winks, opens his jacket to show her what he means.

‘Excellent. Visiting is from nine o’clock. She’s on ward nineteen, room four.’

Mats nods contentedly; he almost looks happy. Anna feels better too, as if the little dog and the big man have given her fresh strength.

‘Thanks again, Mats,’ she says, holding out her hand.

He shakes it slowly in a paw twice the size of hers. He still looks happy, but she notices him glancing up at the window of the chapel.

‘By the way, you don’t need to feel guilty about not telling Elisabet what you saw at the quarry, Mats. Marie had already told her.’

He is clearly taken aback; it’s as if he doesn’t really understand what she means.

‘Your aunt already knew about the fight,’ she clarifies. ‘Marie told her just after your mother died. That’s why Elisabet isn’t angry with her.’

Mats smiles uncertainly.

‘So, the fact that you didn’t say anything doesn’t matter at all,’ Anna concludes.

He nods, and his face brightens again.

‘I don’t suppose you remember anything else about what happened after the fight?’ Anna adds. Old habits die hard.

‘No. I headed for home when the rain started.’

‘How did you get home?’ She is thinking about Simon’s bike.

‘Moped,’ he says, quashing her hope that she might have solved that particular mystery. ‘It was pouring down, I had trouble finding it in the darkness.’

‘On the way home I met a car on a bend and came off, like I said. I’ve still got the scar.’ He pats his leg. ‘People drive like lunatics on the ridge, as you might have noticed.’

He scratches the back of his neck. There is relief in his smile now, as if he’s beginning to realise the significance of what she’s just said.

‘Thank you for telling me about Marie. It’s been on my mind for a long time, but I didn’t dare say anything.’

‘We’re the ones who need to thank you, Mats. You saved Milo – you’re the hero of the hour!’

His smile broadens and he nods in farewell, turns away and heads back into the forest with Milo skipping around his feet.

‘Stupid dog,’ Anna mutters. She is smiling too.

Chapter 57

57

Autumn 2017

She starts the day by calling the insurance company and sorting out the practical details surrounding the car accident. Then she takes a cab to a car rental company on the outskirts of Helsingborg, hires a car and drives to the hospital. When she walks into Agnes’s room, she is met by an unexpected sight.