He didn’t know if that was the ultimate reason he turned the key in the ignition and drove on towards Johan Banérs Gata, where he turned left towards the sea. But he felt a lot better as soon as he got there and could roll down his window and fill his lungs with the briny sea air blowing in from the sound.

He turned on the radio, which was playing The The’s ‘Love is Stronger than Death’.

He’d never been a singer. Not even when his friends had dragged him to a karaoke place for his stag do had he agreed to get on stage. Now, though, he was singing with such feeling he had tears in his eyes all the way to Hittarp, where the music faded out to make room for the news.

‘Tomorrow, Monday, will be the first day of the trial of the four Swedish teenagers of the so-called Smiley Gang in Helsingør’s County Court. The four stand accused of murdering three homeless people in Denmark. The prosecutor’s most damning evidence is said to be the videos the accused disseminated online, which show them killing by means of what is best described as torture methods. Even so, the risk of a complete acquittal is said to be considerable. Rolf Sandén, Professor of Law, commented earlier today:

‘“The problem is that they were masked and will very likely blame one another. It’s really not so different from some of the recent rape cases that have featured in the media, in which there were several perpetrators. There, too, we have seen a number of acquittals, as a lack of third-party witness statements has made it virtually impossible to determine who did what.”’

He turned the radio off, slowed down and stopped by the side of the road near Svanebäck, where the land around him was so flat the grass appeared to meld into the mirror-like water, and even though he didn’t think it would work, he found her number again and tried it. He had to talk to her and find out exactly what she knew about the case.

‘The number you have dialled is no longer in use. The number you have dialled doesn’t exist. The number you have dialled is no longer in…’

He tried information, only to be told that they couldn’t find anyone named Dunja Hougaard in Denmark.

She had gone off grid and apparently had no interest in being found by him or anyone else. But why? Had something happened? Or was something about to happen? Either possibility was disconcerting. He decided to go over to Copenhagen as soon as he could to try to locate her.