‘Beatrice Dahlberg, Reidar’s wife of two years.’

‘I see. How do you do.’ They shook hands.

‘As you can see, he’s waiting for you. But before you start opening up a lot of old wounds, I want you to know Reidar has put that horrible story behind him and doesn’t really want to talk about it.’

‘Well, I’m afraid that’s not up to him,’ replied Fabian, who had already grasped that this woman was going to be trouble. ‘In an ongoing murder investigation, you’re obligated to answer police questions whether you want to or not.’

‘I would appreciate it if you would at least go easy on him.’

Instead of responding, Fabian walked over to the table. ‘Hello, Reidar,’ he said, trying to catch the man’s lowered eyes. ‘I’m the one who called you. Fabian Risk.’

‘I think that much is clear to him,’ Beatrice said, taking a seat next to her husband.

Fabian sat down across from them and signalled to the waitress, who was on her way out, that he would like coffee, too. ‘I understand it may feel strange to talk about this, so many years after the—’

‘Yes, it really does. Doesn’t it, Reidar?’ Beatrice waited for a nod from Reidar before turning back to Fabian. ‘As I said, two years ago Reidar decided to draw a line under all that awfulness and move on. And it’s made him feel a lot better.’ She put her hand on his.

‘Good for you. But unfortunately, drawing a line under something doesn’t make it go away,’ Fabian said, pondering how to make her leave them alone. ‘You see, some new information has come to light, which in turn has given rise to new questions. If all goes well, we might even be able to identify and apprehend the perpetrator.’

The woman let out a short laugh. ‘That’s what you said last time. If Reidar just answered all your questions. If he just let you search the house one more time. Then everything would be cleared up and the perpetrator would be arrested. But then, after that debacle of a trial, you gave up and left him with an open wound. And now you think you can just come here and open all of this up again.’

‘I’m sorry, but how do you know all that? It was over five years ago. Did you know Reidar back then?’

‘No, but he’s told me. Reidar’s told me everything. Like how you interrogated him and turned his life upside down. As though he were the one who raped her and nailed her to that… I’m sorry, Reidar, I’m just very upset.’

‘Beatrice, I think it might be best if I spoke to Reidar alone.’

‘My husband and I share everything, and right now he needs my support more than ever.’