At first, she couldn’t understand why her earphones, which were connected to her tiny iPod, were suddenly yanked out of her ears. Even less what it was that pushed, almost cut, into both her breasts and in the next moment her collarbones and throat. It was only when she fell helplessly backwards that she saw the fishing line glint in the sunshine.

*

The sky was beautiful, as blue and cloudless as it had been all summer. Apart from her own pulse, she could hear the tweeting of all the thousands of birds hiding somewhere just out of sight. But wait, hadn’t she been listening to music? And why was she lying flat on her back in the middle of the trail?

She grabbed her aching throat and sat up. The back of her head was pounding. She probably hadn’t been out for more than a minute or two, so she should still have plenty of time to get everything done before Reidar got home.

She was mustering the strength to stand up when she heard twigs snapping behind her. She turned around and saw the dense foliage next to the trail swaying.

‘Hello? Is someone there?’ she called out, even though there could be no doubt of that. ‘Did you put up this fishing line? Hello!’ She was angry now and was not going to just let it slide, even though she didn’t really have time for this.

But when a man materialized from the wall of leaves, her anger vanished and she realized she should get on her feet right now and run. But she couldn’t. It was as though gravity was extra strong where she lay. The same thing seemed to be true of her gaze, which was inexorably drawn to him as he stepped out on to the trail, a shovel in his hand.

Despite the cloudless summer sky, he was dressed in a dark grey raincoat and wellies so high they went well past his knees, blending with his trousers. Under the pulled-up hood of his raincoat, he wore a ski mask that hid every part of his face except his staring eyes.

She filled her lungs to scream for help, but never got that far because she spotted the wristwatch on his arm as he raised the shovel above his head. It was an Omega Speedmaster, just like the one that had cost her almost a whole month’s salary.

*

She could see nothing except darkness. The tape covering her mouth was so tight she was afraid her lips would be torn off if she tried to scream, while the rest of her face felt battered and swollen. Oh God, he must have hit her with the shovel.