Someone outside called out, ‘Hey! Eric! Wait!’, which made Jacobsén slam on the brakes so hard the tyres screeched. He rolled down his window.

‘Hello there,’ he said to the man hurrying up to the van, dressed in gym clothes and a baseball cap. ‘Everything okay?’

‘Absolutely. No complaints. I just wanted to check with you if Wilhelm could go home with Rutger after football practice on Wednesday. I have to pop over to Brussels and won’t be back until Thursday afternoon, and Emilie has Pilates, or whatever it was she said.’

‘No problem. I’ll take him, too. Emilie can come and pick him up after dinner, or maybe she wants to come over and eat with us. Either way is fine by me, so long as you’re back for the pool party on Saturday.’

‘Of course. I wouldn’t miss the event of the year.’ The man turned to Fabian and stuck his hand in to introduce himself. ‘Hi. Axel Stjärnström, Eric’s neighbour.’

‘Just mind what you say to him.’ Jacobsén raised a warning finger. ‘He’s a police officer. Hey, by the way, this isn’t an interrogation, is it?’

‘That depends.’ Fabian smiled as he shook Axel Stjärnström’s hand. ‘Hi, Fabian Risk.’

‘Blimey, I’d better watch myself,’ Jacobsén said.

‘It’s fine, I’ll vouch for him and be his character witness if necessary,’ his neighbour chuckled. ‘To be honest, I can’t imagine a better neighbour than Eric, that’s for sure. Without him, this street wouldn’t have been what it is today. And hey, speaking of which—’

‘Hello, I’m back,’ the assistant said over the speakers.

‘And did you find anything?’ Jacobsén let the clutch out and the car started moving at a crawl. ‘Axel, we’ll talk more when you’re back from Brussels.’

His neighbour gave him a thumbs up as Jacobsén rolled up his window and sped away.

‘Yes, we were there.’

‘When?’

‘Two and a half years ago, in October of 2009.’

‘Well, what do you know. That’s more than I remember.’ Jacobsén turned to Fabian. ‘Happy with that answer?’

Fabian nodded, even though it took him a while to remember what he’d actually asked, what with all the neighbours and assistants.

‘Thank you, Lina. As always, a rock. And, right, if you could make me an avocado sandwich and a soft-boiled egg before my meeting this afternoon, I would be eternally grateful.’

‘Just don’t promise too much.’

‘Kisses.’ Jacobsén ended the call while turning south on road 111 and flooring it. ‘Just so you know, I’m counting on not getting fined while you’re in the car.’ He chuckled and pulled out into the overtaking lane.