Lisa has already set off towards the house, and Anna catches her up. Bruno has piled the bales of hay on top of each other just inside the door. He presses himself against the wall to let them pass.

‘You don’t have to do this, Bruno,’ Anna says. ‘Rylander’s death was an accident, but this is murder in cold blood. Marie is c . . . c . . . crazy . . .’

‘Shut the fuck up!’ Something hard strikes her on the back of her head, making her jaws clamp together. She stumbles forward, but manages to stop herself from falling. She spins around to defend herself against the next onslaught.

Marie is pointing the gun straight at her, baring her teeth. Her eyes are black. For a second Anna is convinced that Marie is going to shoot her in the face. Bruno’s horrified expression indicates that he thinks the same thing.

‘Marie,’ he says quietly. No response. Her knuckles on the hand gripping the gun whiten. A part of Anna wants to close her eyes, block out the shot and the pain, but she forces herself to keep them open. The dogs growl threateningly, baring their teeth in the same way as their mistress.

‘You have no fucking idea,’ Marie hisses at her. ‘No idea what it means to be the one who always has to hold everything together. Carry all the expectations, all the responsibility. Every single thing . . .’ She raises the gun a fraction, her forefinger squeezing the trigger.

‘Darling,’ Bruno says, a little louder this time. ‘This isn’t what we decided. We need to stick to the plan, don’t we?’

Marie remains motionless for a few seconds, then slowly lowers the gun. A vestige of sanity returns to her face.

‘Never say that again,’ she hisses at Anna. ‘Never!’

Anna nods.

‘Would you please go upstairs,’ Bruno says. His tone is so polite that it’s almost funny.

When they reach the chapel, Marie gestures towards the painting.

‘Go and sit in the corner.’

‘Do you really think this is going to work?’ Anna ventures. ‘Do you seriously think that the police will believe a fire started for no reason?’

The ghost of a smile passes across Marie’s face. ‘I’m not a police officer, but I’m pretty sure the investigation will show that the foreign tradesmen Aunt Elisabet employed didn’t follow Swedish standards when they did the wiring. A short circuit caused by the storm leads to a fire with tragic consequences.’ The insanity is back. ‘Not least because I’m very close to the person who will be leading the inquiry.’

Anna realises that her mouth has dropped open.