The effort was starting to make my thighs burn, but I was making good speed and progress towards Fredheim. Behind me the car was still keeping its distance. But then I was sure it was coming closer – I could hear it picking up speed. There was nowhere for me to go. No track at the side of the road to turn down. The roar of the engine got closer and closer, and finally, a car sailed past me.

It wasn’t the same one.

It was a BMW. The air pressure almost sent me into the ditch alongside the road, but I managed to hold on tight to the handlebars and stop before I fell. As the car passed, I felt something wet hitting me in the face. It was cold and it smelled of alcohol. It took me a few seconds to realise I’d been sprayed with a generous helping of screen wash.

‘Fuck me,’ I said as I dried myself with the sleeves of my jacket. It must have been on purpose, but the question was whether the idiot driver knew it was me, or if he would do something like that to any cyclist. I’d heard it happen before.

I looked back. The same car that had been following me earlier had closed the gap. I wondered if I should wait for it, but decided instead to keep going.

When I got to the petrol station on the outskirts of town, I felt relief. There would be people there – it was open twenty-four hours.

I turned off the road and into the station. A man was filling his car. Another was coming out of the store, eating a hot dog. I stopped behind one of the pumps and waited as the car behind me passed and then picked up some speed. I got a good look at the licence plate: CJ45025. I got my phone out and did a search for the number. It was registered to a car dealer here in Fredheim.

I only knew one person who worked at a car dealer’s in this town.

Frode Lindgren. Mari’s father.

Had he been following me?

When I was sure the car was far enough ahead of me, I got back on my bike. I was just about to cross the bridge, when my phone rang. I stopped and pulled it out of my pocket.

It was Oskar.

‘Bro,’ he said, when I answered. ‘Take a look at the thing you posted on Facebook yesterday.’

‘OK…’ I said, immediately feeling my heart starting to race.

Oskar was not the bearer of good news, I could hear it in his voice.

‘Check out Nina’s comment,’ he said.

‘OK,’ I said again. ‘I’ll call you back.’

I scrolled down. It didn’t take me long to find the comment Oskar was referring to. When I read it, my jaw dropped.