He looked up to see Jack’s horrified face. ‘What? Did I say something wrong?’

‘You said livestock. What does that mean?’ Jack was hoping for a few chickens or perhaps he meant the fish in the sea. He also remembered that he had never gone inside the barn, and got a horrible image in his mind of a pile of dead farm animals.

‘It’s a nice flock of sheep. They’re grazing on the islet,’ Mats said.

‘I don’t think I understood one word in that whole sentence,’ Jack said.

Mats looked shocked. ‘You didn’t know?’

‘Do I look like I know?’ Jack sank down on one of the chairs. ‘Nobody said anything about sheep. It wasn’t in any of the paperwork they sent me, or the paperwork I had to sign at the lawyer’s office. And I would have remembered anyone mentioning sheep.’

Mats pointed at the papers in front of him. ‘It says so right here on the inventory list. About twenty animals, probably more now that lambing season is over. Nobody told you?’

‘The lawyer never said a word. He handed me all the papers Agnar had prepared, and apparently he didn’t check to see if everything had been translated. I’m in a bit of shock here. Did you also say islet? That’s not Norwegian for barn, is it?’

No, of course not; it’s a small island not far from here.’

‘So, there are no animals in the barn?’ Jack wasn’t about to be responsible for dead animals.

Mats grinned. ‘There could be mice, but they are not on the list. And you don’t have to worry, I think. The sheep stay outdoors all year. I’m assuming they get checked on once in a while, although it doesn’t say here how often or by whom. I sure hope they have been attended to by someone. The lawyers have definitely not done their job on this one. You should tell them that.’

Jack remembered Jens’ talk about grass, and Olav mentioning the same. Why on earth hadn’t they said anything? They must have assumed he knew.

‘This is ridiculous. I have to see the animals for myself. How can I get out there?’

‘By boat, of course.’

Mats said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Jack chose not to tell him he hadn’t handled a boat in his life. It was probably something everybody here knew. Ninni certainly did. The only boat he had ever been in was a Thames riverboat.

‘Right. Just tell me one thing. Are the sheep safe where they are?’

‘Oh, absolutely. Like I said, they live there all year round. Mostly they graze on fresh grass and heather, and whatever else sheep eat. But they should be checked on regularly. I’m assuming the former owner did so.’

That didn’t really comfort him. ‘Yeah, well, Agnar’s been dead since January. It took the lawyers some time to find me.’

Mats looked uncomfortable. ‘Then perhaps you should call the lawyers and ask them about the sheep. They knew about them, of course, otherwise they wouldn’t have been on the list.’