She had been forced to listen to Christmas music the whole way. The radio station had boasted in a jingle that they were going to play it nonstop until Christmas Eve. She couldn’t imagine anything worse.

She turned her collar up and looked at the building that housed the police station.

It had already begun to grow dark, and she could see lights on in a number of windows. In just one hour it would be dark—at just three o’clock in the afternoon.

She had no problem with the darkness, quite the opposite. She appreciated it, felt comfortable and safe in it.

An older couple was walking down the sidewalk some distance from her. Otherwise, the street was empty. She went in through the glass door, into the warmth. Slowly she ascended the stairs to the third floor and entered the conference room and looked around for her scarf.

It wasn’t there.

She crouched down, searching everywhere a second time.

But no scarf.

Then she went back through the hallway, checking Henrik’s office. He wasn’t there. But in the next room, Mia sat with her feet on the desk and her phone pressed to her ear.

Jana leaned against the door frame. Mia didn’t sound like herself. She was talking with a silky, unnatural voice and Jana heard something akin to I miss you before Mia pulled her phone from her ear and looked toward the door.

“Can’t a person talk in peace? What do you want?”

“I just wanted to ask if you’ve seen my scarf. It’s black. Louis Vuitton.”

“Haven’t seen it. Ask someone else.”

Mia turned away and put the phone back to her ear. “Sorry,” she said to the person on the other end of the line.

Jana continued down the hallway. She nearly ran into Ola, who came rushing past her. He stopped outside Mia’s door and Jana heard him tell her to hang up.

“You have to call Henrik. He’s on his way to a building downtown...”

“What happened?”

“Just call him. He’s down in the industrial district, Garvaregatan 6. He’ll explain...”

Jana gave a start at the address. She felt an icy chill run down her spine and up the back of her neck, then all the way down to her fingertips.

Garvaregatan 6!

She stood still, waiting for Ola, who was now on the way back to his office.

“Where did you say Henrik was? I need to talk to him about something.”

“He’s looking for a man whom he clearly thinks is in town somewhere.”

“Thanks, good to know,” she said in a controlled voice.

The last thing she wanted was for the police to search the building.