The picture was moved to the stop bath on its way to a tray of fixer before being hung up to dry, but Fabian was already staring intently at the next picture, whose dark fields were becoming more clearly delineated.

Once again, the same Saab, but this picture was taken from behind and in a completely different location, with trees and shrubs in the background. Molander was only a dark silhouette. The woman was more visible, wearing the same dress as in the pictures from Hugo Elvin’s drawer and walking towards the car with a big smile on her face.

But it was when Fabian saw the next picture, the last one before Einar must have run out of film, that he started getting a strong feeling. A feeling of recognition. He couldn’t say where he had seen her before, but the longer he studied her zoomed-in face, the more convinced he became that he had seen that woman not too long ago.

34

The man who had shot at Lilja out on Söderåsen was waiting for her in the interview room when she finally entered and slowly pulled the door shut behind her. She had left him to stew for a few extra hours on purpose, with nothing but a small plastic cup of water to keep him company. All to help him realize who was in charge.

But the moment she turned around and met his gaze, she knew the hours of quarantine had not been enough. The cup sat untouched, and the way he looked at her as she walked up and took a seat across from him was so intense that her own eyes dropped to the floor out of sheer self-preservation.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, she involuntarily shot him a conciliatory smile once she had mustered enough strength to look up again. The whole thing was so ridiculous she wanted to slap herself so she could snap out of it and start over.

‘Are you Igor Skanås, Assar Skanås’s younger brother?’ She looked him straight in the eye, determined not to look away before he did.

Igor Skanås nodded, seemingly completely unperturbed by her attempt to dominate him.

‘I would prefer if you answered audibly since this is a police interview and not a pantomime,’ she continued, her eyes already burning from not allowing herself to blink. ‘Nodding has a tendency not to be picked up by the audio recorder.’

‘I bet, but maybe by one of the many CCTV cameras?’ Now he was smiling, but since he still hadn’t blinked even once, it only served as another reminder of who had the upper hand.