‘We can stand around glaring at each other all morning. But if you don’t trot back inside and fetch what I want pretty soon, Jimmie’s going to be calling. And I can promise you he won’t be happy when he finds out what you get up to at night.’

Without another word, Landertz turned his back on her and disappeared into the house, returning minutes later with a USB stick in his hand. ‘I hope you’re aware that this is pure, unadulterated blackmail.’

Lilja countered with a smile, took the USB stick from him, slipped it in her pocket and pulled out her radio: ‘I’m done here.’

‘Roger,’ said a male voice on the other end, and soon after, three men in police uniforms materialized out of the morning mist.

‘What the fuck is this? We had a deal.’

‘We do, and you don’t have to worry. The video will stay in my possession, at least until further notice.’ She nodded for the officers to arrest him.

‘But, hey, no, hold on, calm the fuck down,’ Landertz said as he was manhandled and pressed up against the wall. ‘I haven’t done anything illegal! I’ve done fuck all to give you the right to just march in here!’

‘Personally, I would probably categorize your lovely little diatribe as hate speech, which can net you a maximum of two years behind bars. But you’re right. It wouldn’t really get you anything worse than a fine in reality. Inciting arson, on the other hand – that is, oddly enough, more generally frowned upon, even if it’s just your own office.’

Landertz, who had just had his hands cuffed, looked completely uncomprehending.

‘You don’t have to act surprised. You know as well as I do it was your son and one of his mates.’ She turned to one of the officers. ‘By the way, you should probably head inside and get him, too, before he drinks too much chocolate milk.’

21

Gazing out through the bus window towards Hyllinge Mall with the ICA Maxi supermarket in the foreground, he noted that the sky had become overcast and there was rain in the air. But it didn’t matter. Given everything that lay ahead, this day would turn out amazing regardless.

He couldn’t remember when he’d last had such high expectations of an individual day. Not even the time he ran away from home with all his money burning a hole in his pocket could hold a candle to today. Just seven years old at the time, he’d made it all the way to Påarp, across the sound and down to Copenhagen to go to the Tivoli amusement park.

The feeling of being completely free to do whatever he pleased had filled him with such a sense of power he’d been walking on air and had stayed until his last coins were spent and the sun had long since set.