He broke off when he saw who it was. He opened his mouth and closed it. For a second he couldn’t place the man, but then his mind cleared. His heart skipped a beat.

‘Hi!’ He hoped he didn’t sound too cheerful, too relieved.

The man who had just walked in had once helped Dan a great deal. Was that why he’d come to see Noah? To help Dan again?

The man moved slowly towards Noah. He was wearing a leather jacket even though it was the middle of summer, and he kept one hand in his pocket.

If only Noah hadn’t been so exhausted, if only he’d been able to rely on his normal ability to think clearly, then he might have perceived the danger before it was too late. But that wasn’t the case.

‘How can I help you?’ he said. ‘Is it about Dan?’

The man took his hand out of his pocket.

He was holding a revolver.

A revolver?

Noah blinked. He’d seen guns in films, but had never expected to be confronted with one in real life.

‘What do you want?’ he whispered.

The gun was shaking slightly in the man’s hand, but his voice was steady.

‘I want to put everything right,’ he said. ‘And you’re going to help me. Do you understand? You’re going to help me. By keeping your mouth shut.’

Then he forced Noah back into the office. Once again Noah thought that death was no more than a function designed to bring life to an end, and that he would be utterly devastated if his time was already up.

Chapter 13

They met in the Lions’ Den – partly because it was the closest available space, but mainly to annoy Margareta Berlin by ignoring the note she’d stuck on the door, stating that the room was not to be used as long as the air conditioning wasn’t working properly. The first thing Fredrika did was to switch it off, and the temperature immediately began to rise. Outside the sun was pouring down, caressing Kronoberg, doing its best to beautify the irredeemably ugly police HQ. Lovely weather didn’t necessarily make the world a lovely place. Fredrika had known that ever since she was a child.

Torbjörn Ross had insisted on calling them to a meeting. Fredrika was trying not to show how unpleasant she found the situation.

‘I thought it would be a good idea to get together and compare notes,’ Ross said. He was wearing Wellingtons as usual; no doubt he was going fishing after work. Or maybe he’d spent his lunch hour fishing. You never could tell with Ross.