“And you have to ask your buddies to buy drinks for you.”

“Right, of course.” Henrik sighed. “But the main thing is that the baby is healthy.”

“Everyone says that. The main thing is that the baby is healthy and has ten fingers and ten toes and develops a little faster than all the other kids. Just imagine how it is for people who have ugly babies. I mean, really ugly, not just the normal ugly.”

“What do you mean, people? You mean, what if I have an ugly baby?”

“I wasn’t talking about you.”

“But I’m the one who’s going to have a baby.”

“Take it however you want.”

Mia examined her pear.

“If we’re being honest, though?”

“But aren’t all babies cute?” Henrik asked.

“Parents say so, yes. But have you ever heard someone say, ‘Oh, what an ugly baby’?”

“No, because there’s no such thing as an ugly baby.”

“No, it’s because no one would dare to say so. But everyone has thought it at one time or another.”

“But not everyone thinks that babies are ugly!” Henrik protested.

“Haven’t you ever thought it?” Mia asked.

“No. Never.”

“See, it’s because you’re a father. If you weren’t, you would have. You agree with me, don’t you, Ola?”

Ola held his hand up. “No comment.” He wasn’t going to join in Mia’s fun.

“Wimp. You agree with me,” Mia said.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Ola said.

They all fell quiet. Ola broke the silence. “Going back to our previous conversation, Henrik, did that train attendant actually have anything to say?”

Henrik didn’t have a chance to answer before Gunnar Öhrn came into the cafeteria and interrupted them.

“Mia!” he barked.

“Yes?” she said, turning around.

“I want to talk to you.”

“Is that an order?”

“Yes. It’s important. In my office in five minutes.”

Mia sighed and took a bite of the pear.

* * *

Gunnar sat in his office and knew that as soon as he had given Mia the assignment, he should let Anders Wester know that a new witness had turned up at the train station. But it was hard.

He fiddled with his phone and pulled out Anders’s number. It still felt unnatural having the National Crime Squad looking over his shoulder, as if their department had suddenly become a class of special needs kids with Anders Wester as their “normal” peer mentor.

He knew that if she could hear his thoughts, Anneli would say, Knock it off! You’re being childish!

He began to type in Anders’s phone number, but when he came to the last digit, he changed his mind and deleted it. He had absolutely no desire to talk to Anders, or to have anything at all to do with him, really.

Just then, someone knocked on his door. Mia stuck her head in. “You wanted something?”