‘Most of the information is already on the computer,’ Alex pointed out, sounding more dismissive than he’d intended. And it was typical of him to say that the material was ‘on the computer’. Since Fredrika’s arrival the IT system had steadily improved, but they were still lagging behind, and in fact very little was ‘on the computer’.

‘I prefer to meet face to face,’ Ross said.

That was generally how the team operated, but on this particular day Fredrika would have liked to get home a little earlier than usual. Spencer had called and promised barbecued steak for dinner.

‘You’re not going to barbecue on the balcony, are you?’ Fredrika had said, only too well aware of what the neighbours on the floor above would think.

‘I’m going to barbecue wherever the hell I like,’ Spencer had replied.

She wanted to laugh out loud at the memory, wanted to scream because there wasn’t enough time to make lots more memories. Because there would be too little to tell the children one day.

Do you know how much your daddy loved barbecuing on the balcony?

‘The mask that was buried with Lovisa Wahlberg,’ Ross began. ‘I showed her parents a picture of it. We’d originally intended to keep that detail to ourselves, but they recognised it right away. Apparently she brought it back from the West Indies.’

‘When she was accused of being a drug courier?’ Alex asked.

‘Yes. She said her boyfriend had given it to her. He stayed behind, which was why she kept it.’

A boyfriend who gave his partner a carnival mask. Which she kept. After being dragged into a narcotics investigation.

What did I do when I was young? Fredrika thought. She knew the answer before a ghostly voice whispered in her ear:

You were never like others. You were with Spencer, no one else. And you studied way too much.

‘Why did he stay in the West Indies?’

‘He was convicted of drugs offences. He’s rotting in jail – if he’s still alive. Apparently there’s been no contact between him and Lovisa for years. I’m not interested in him; the question is how Lovisa’s murderer got hold of the mask. And why he killed her.’

‘And how her death is linked to Malcolm Benke’s,’ Alex said.

‘Which is the main reason why we’re all sitting here,’ Ross agreed. ‘If I’ve understood Berlin correctly, you’re working on the hypothesis that Benke was killed by someone who was close to his daughter?’

Alex pulled a face.

‘It’s too early to start formulating any hypotheses,’ he said. ‘But obviously he was executed in the same way as Beata, and he was wearing her wedding ring when he was found.’

‘And you don’t think that’s enough for a hypothesis?’ Ross sounded weary.

‘No. Not when we also have Lovisa’s murder to take into account.’

Fredrika tried to redirect the conversation.