“If something had happened to her, her father would have told me,” Torsten said.

“You know him?”

“Karl and I have regular contact, yes. Karl is of the old school. He’s always formal, and he likes checking in.”

“Checking in?”

“He just likes to stay apprised of what his daughter is doing.”

“You mean how she’s performing?”

“Yes, maybe that’s the right word.”

Per stroked his chin with his hand.

“Does he have a reason to keep an eye on her?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Does she neglect things?”

“No, you know Jana. She’s somewhat reserved, but she’s a fantastic prosecutor. Almost more competent than her father. But don’t tell him I said that.”

“So what is he worried about?”

“Karl likes control,” Torsten said, “and that’s why I think that if anything had happened to Jana, he’d be the first one to know. If I were you, I’d talk to him.”

* * *

Through doors and walls, Henrik heard his colleagues’ voices, humming computers and the rumbling HVAC system. Far, far away, he heard a train horn. He was holding his phone up to his ear again.

“So what did you want to ask?” Björn asked.

“Do you have the body in front of you?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

“Does she have wounds on her arms?”

“Yes, but that’s normal,” Björn said. “Dead bodies in the water tend to be found in a characteristic position with the head, arms and legs downward and the back elevated, the legs usually bent at the hips. Decomposition begins in the head because of blood collecting in the cranium—the head can exhibit injuries received from scraping the bottom because of the movement of the water. Similar injuries can be seen on the arms and legs.”

Henrik looked at her pale, thin arms in the photograph in front of him.

“But,” he said, “on her left wrist is a larger, or rather, wider wound.”

“Correct.”

“Could that have been caused by chafing from something else?”

“And you’re getting at...?”

“When we found Pim, she had wounds, both scratches and large lacerations. She also had wide wounds, like red ribbons, around her wrists that were caused by the ropes that she’d been tied up with. Is it possible that the victim in the picture also may have been bound by the wrists?”

“Yes, that’s totally possible.”

“Okay, thanks. I just wanted to have that confirmed,” Henrik said, getting up. He darted out into the hallway, past a confused Ola, into the conference room and up to the large, detailed map on the wall, and put his finger on the round circle that marked where Pim had been found.

“What are you looking for?” Ola said from the doorway.

“Where was the drowned girl found?” he said.

“You mean the girl who—”

“Just tell me where she was found!”