‘But I was never part of it. I promise, I didn’t do anything. I had no idea. I just accidentally watched one of their videos where they pushed this guy in a shopping trolley. It was horrible. You could see him struggling to get out, but he couldn’t, because they’d tied him to it and… Fuck, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen… Straight out on to the motorway, and then there was a lorry and—’ Theodor broke off again as silent sobs took over, racking his whole body.

Fabian wanted to comfort him and say it was all going to be all right. That time would heal all wounds. But he couldn’t get a word out. It was as though everything had short-circuited – his ability to speak, to think, everything.

‘They said that I was done for if I told anyone. Dad, I promise. I never wanted to be in on it, but I had to help them, I had no choice. She’d dropped the necklace with my name on it and probably my fingerprints, too.’

‘Who? Who had your necklace?’ His brain was finally snapping back in.

‘Alexandra. She was in on that crap, and when I realized that, I just wanted to get out of there. Leave and never come back. But Henrik, this mate of hers, refused. Said I was one of them whether I wanted to be or not.’

‘And Dunja? Where does she fit into this?’

‘No idea. She just knocked on Alexandra’s door one day. I’d just seen the video and didn’t know what to do.’

‘So what did you do?’

‘We hid until she gave up. We must have sat behind that sofa for at least an hour.’

In some ways, his son was so big now; in just another year or two, he would be taller than him. And yet he was also still a little boy hiding behind sofas.

‘And the gun?’

‘Henrik gave it to me when I was on lookout in Helsingør. That’s when she showed up again. I don’t know how she knew we were there.’

‘So it was Dunja you got in a fight with?’

Theodor nodded.

She must have been working on the investigation. That’s why she’d asked for his help finding the names of a number of residents in his own neighbourhood of Tågaborg.

‘But hey…’ Theodor met his eyes. ‘We don’t have to tell Mum about this, do we? We can keep this between us, right?’

‘Theodor, you have to know that’s not possible.’ Fabian made an effort to sound calmer than he felt. ‘Of course we have to tell her. And you also have to report to the Danish police as soon as possible.’

‘What do you mean, report? Why?’ Theodor was blanching.

‘To give a statement and tell them about your involvement and about—’