‘I know the feeling. Can I borrow two minutes of your time?’

She thought about that for a second. ‘Will I ever get them back?’

He laughed at that. ‘I guess you won’t. I need to speak to you, though.’

‘Well, why didn’t you just say so?’

He didn’t have an answer to that. ‘Can I come in?’ he said.

Susanne waited another beat before pushing the door open for him. ‘Don’t bother with the shoes,’ she said over her shoulder. ‘It’s already filthy in here.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ he said. ‘My boots are as dirty as … well, let’s just say that they are very dirty.’

Susanne was about to protest again. Why, she really didn’t know – she hated grimy floors. She always gave her boys a hard time whenever they walked in with their shoes on. She watched Mork undo his laces and place his boots next to the others. Neatly. Manners, she thought. So that’s what that looked like.

‘So what can I do for you this time, officer?’ She tried to sound inviting, but didn’t think she’d pulled it off.

‘I need to talk to you about … Can we sit down somewhere, please? Your kitchen, for instance, is really nice. I was there yesterday with your son.’

‘I’m sure it looks a mess.’

‘I’m sure it’s fine.’

‘Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

She went inside first, clearing away some glasses and plates, before showing him to a chair. ‘Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? A drink, maybe? Oh, I forgot. You’re on duty.’

‘I am,’ he said with a smile. ‘And I’m fine, thank you.’

‘Suit yourself.’

She poured herself a glass of tap water, before sitting down opposite him at the table. She realised she was fidgeting with her fingers, so she stopped.

‘So how are things?’ he asked.

‘They’re awesome,’ she said, immediately regretting her choice of words. She wasn’t a teenager. She wasn’t Tobias. ‘And I’m a bit busy, so…’

‘Alright, then,’ Mork said. ‘How well did you know Mari Lindgren?’

The question took her by surprise. She thought of Cecilie for a second, then pushed her out of her mind.

‘I only talked to her a couple of times,’ she said. ‘Briefly. So no, I really didn’t know her at all.’

‘Did you, by any chance, talk to her on Monday night?’

‘No, I left with everyone else right after the show was over.’

He held her gaze for a moment. ‘So you did go to the show?’

‘I just said that I did.’

‘Why didn’t you tell us?’

‘Hm?’

‘We’ve been asking everyone who attended the show that night to come forward. To contact us. You might have seen something important.’

‘I didn’t know about that.’

‘You didn’t?’