An awkward minute of silence later, the car in front of them turned out on to the motorway. Klippan followed it towards Perstorp, where it turned right on to the much smaller Gustavsborgsvägen. Having been surrounded by quite a bit of evening traffic, the Mercedes in front of them and their own car were now the only two vehicles in sight.

They were so deep into the countryside, they didn’t pass a single house in the five minutes before the brake lights in front of them came on.

‘What do you reckon?’ Klippan slowed down to watch the Mercedes, which had turned left and continued down a narrow, tree-lined road. ‘Doesn’t that road look awfully private?’

Lilja nodded. For the first time, she agreed with her colleague. The road unquestionably led to a private farm, and if they turned too, it would be obvious they were tailing the Mercedes.

Klippan slowed down further, apparently waiting for her to take charge. She was just about to tell him to carry on straight ahead when she noticed in the wing mirror the lights of two more cars indicating left.

‘Follow it.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘No, but apparently the two cars behind us and that one there are heading up there as well, so we don’t have a lot to lose.’ She nodded at a car coming towards them, indicating right.

Klippan turned on to the gravel road and continued down it a few hundred yards. It ended in a large area where around forty cars and motorcycles were already parked.

Sievert Landertz and his son were already walking towards a clutch of torches burning further off in the gloom.

‘All right. Now what?’ Klippan said as soon as he’d found a free spot.

‘Now we find out where we are.’ Lilja was already climbing out of the car. ‘But if you want, you can wait here.’ She closed the door before he could answer and set her course for the torches. Being alone was never a good idea. But right now, she preferred almost anything to being with Klippan.

Unfortunately, she heard a car door open and shortly after close again behind her, and seconds later she picked up the sound of panting as Klippan hurried across the grass.

‘What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?’

She stopped and turned to him with a sigh.

‘Fine, go on, sigh. But surely you don’t for a second think I would let you go on by yourself. What if something happened to you? How would that look, and how—’

‘Enough. I get it,’ she hissed. She watched two men in long leather coats getting out of a car together with a woman with blonde hair.

‘Good. And from now on, I want you to keep a low profile and let me do the talking.’ Klippan strode on ahead towards the flickering light by the entrance.