At first he didn’t hear anything but breathing. Then came a rush of words. He had to ask the person on the other end to repeat them – twice. ‘He’s dead,’ the voice finally managed to say. ‘He’s just lying there. He’s … there’s blood everywhere.’

The voice, Yngve now realised, belonged to Tic-Tac, the janitor at Fredheim High School.

‘OK,’ Yngve said. ‘Don’t touch anything, just go to the main entrance and stay there. Don’t let anyone in. I’m on my way.’

Yngve hung up and took a deep breath. Glanced over at the breakfast table. The one plate. The one glass.

He was on his way, he’d said.

On his way where?

That you have to figure out for yourself, Åse had said to him one night when they were talking about the future she would no longer be a part of. But I want you to move on, Yngve. I don’t want you to forget me, but I want you to continue with your life. Can you do that for me?

He closed the cupboard without looking at the tea bags again and put on his leather uniform coat. He was about to step out into the rain, when she came in through the doorway, almost startling him.

‘Oh, hey,’ he muttered. He hadn’t even heard her coming. Even now, when she looked sleepy, her skin pale and dry, he was struck by her incredible beauty. He always was, especially when she had no make-up on. Not a single raindrop seemed to have landed on her completely hairless head.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I have to go; I don’t have time to clear the breakfast table.’

She said, with her eyes, that it was OK.

‘I’m sorry,’ he repeated, for a lot more than the fact that he had to leave. He looked out of the open door and said: ‘God, it’s really raining.’

He heard her ask where he was off to, what was going on.

‘I don’t know yet,’ Yngve said. ‘But it doesn’t sound good.’

Yngve parked as close to the school entrance as possible. Two girls and a boy were standing outside the door as he approached, eager to get in. They stared at him, intrigued.

The janitor opened the door for him.

‘I did as you told me to,’ Tic-Tac said, his voice shaking, a spasm seeming to twist his face. ‘I’ve been standing here the whole time.’

‘Can we come in, too?’ one of the girls behind Yngve asked. ’It’s so cold.’

‘No,’ he said with a firm voice.

‘What’s going on?’ the boy asked. ‘What’s happened?’

‘We don’t know yet,’ Yngve answered and closed the door. He turned to Tic-Tac. ‘Where is he?’

Tic-Tac pointed to the stairs. They moved along the hall, their wet shoes making squeaking noises on the floor. ‘I didn’t touch anything,’ Tic-Tac stuttered.