Molander had narrowed it down to a circular area centred on the eastern part of Stortorget Square, between the Trygg-Hansa building and the Elite Hotel. With a radius of a hundred and fifty feet, the circle stretched from the statue of Magnus Stenbock all the way up to Kärnan, which in turn meant the two events were too geographically close not to be connected.

Compared to the search area on Söderåsen, this was nothing. That said, the city centre was far from easy to search. The square and the stairs leading up to Kärnan were no problem. Apart from some vegetation and various nooks and crannies, they were relatively open areas; two uniformed officers had been able to clear them in minutes.

No, it was the other part of the circle, between the Maria Church and Strömgränden, that presented the greatest challenge. It contained everything from hotels, offices and private residences to shops, basements and courtyards.

No matter what approach they took, it would take hours to search everything. Besides, they couldn’t use all the resources available to them, because more than half of the uniformed officers had been tasked with securing the perimeter so Skanås couldn’t escape. Because they were going to arrest him. She wasn’t worried about that. Her concern was rather what he would have time to do to the girl before they found him.

According to Molander, the phone hadn’t moved for the past hour. That made it easier to organize the search. But it also meant he’d likely found a place where he could live out his sick perversions. Or, alternatively, he’d just tossed it in a bin somewhere to throw them off his scent and was actually somewhere else entirely.

‘As many as you can spare,’ she heard Klippan half-shout into his phone as he came walking towards her across the cobblestones. ‘No, I need them right now.’ He ended the call and turned to Lilja. ‘I have one team searching both hotels and one tackling the H&M and the offices in the Trygg-Hansa building. But it’s going to take time.’

‘I figured. How many more are on their way?’

‘About ten. I was thinking they could form a third team and take on the smaller properties. But it’s going to be at least thirty minutes before they’re here, and just getting access to all the facilities is going to be a nightmare.’

‘Yes, Klippan, I know it looks bleak, but what are we supposed to do?’

‘What would you say to just calling him?’

‘What would I say to that? I would say I think he’s going to realize we’re on to him and that we have his number, which will make him turn it back off, and right now, I’d say that’s the last thing we want. You?’