‘No, I did, he came home for dinner as usual. But then there was an alert or something on his phone and he had to go.’

‘What kind of alert?’

‘No idea. You should ask him.’

‘So you just didn’t have time to tell him.’

‘I suppose you could put it that way.’

She hadn’t told him after all. ‘That’s good,’ he said, nodding. ‘And I would be very grateful if you would continue to keep it to yourself.’

‘Why? You work on the same team, for Pete’s sake. And now here you are, telling me I absolutely can’t tell him.’ She shook her head. ‘I honestly don’t understand what’s going on.’

‘Gertrud, I know this may seem strange.’ He had to stay calm now and not speak too fast or too slow. The slightest hesitation and she would see right through him. ‘The reason is that it’s still such early days, it’s not clear you can even call it an investigation yet. And before I have more to show, I would prefer to keep as much as possible to myself.’

‘You’re telling me Tuvesson and the team don’t know?’

Fabian nodded. ‘Given how full our hands are already, Tuvesson wouldn’t be best pleased to find out I spent a whole hour with Reidar yesterday.’ She still wasn’t convinced. He could see it in her eyes and decided to gamble on his hand being steady enough to pick up the jug and pour himself a glass of water. ‘And I don’t know what Ingvar’s like at home. But at work, he likes to talk, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he accidentally let something slip during a coffee break.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Gertrud said with a chuckle. ‘I promise I won’t spill the beans.’

‘It’s not about spilling beans, it’s about—’

‘Fabian. I understand exactly what this is about.’ She looked at him with a gravity he didn’t know how to interpret. ‘If my silence can help you find out who did it, you have it.’ She swallowed and closed her eyes. ‘I’m never going to forget the day Ingvar came home and told me what had happened.’ But she couldn’t stop her mascara from running and eventually managed to pull out a tissue. ‘That the long-haired coroner had managed to identify the body that had drifted ashore on Ven. You see, they weren’t just our neighbours. We had dinner together and Inga and I went to yoga every week. I still don’t understand how anyone can put another human being through what she had to go through.’

‘When did he tell you?’