‘We certainly have. I also took the liberty of contacting our colleagues in London. I didn’t want to say anything until we were sure, but now we are.’

‘Sure about what?’ Fredrika just wanted her to get straight to the point.

The CSI wasn’t happy, but she managed to keep her voice steady:

‘Sure that Malcolm Benke was shot with the same kind of gun as the one that killed his daughter. A Colt 45.’

A low hum of conversation broke out in the room.

‘The same kind?’ Alex said slowly. ‘Not the same gun?’

‘No.’

Alex processed what he’d just heard. Whoever had killed Malcolm had gone to considerable lengths to make his murder match that of Beata.

‘Thanks, that’s extremely valuable. Now on to something else. Yesterday a funeral director by the name of Noah Johansson was killed. There are reasons to believe that his death could be connected to the others.’

Silence.

Alex knew he’d shocked his colleagues with his brutal statement.

‘Another murder?’ someone said.

‘Yes. Another murder.’

He went on to tell them about the letter. He left out his own involvement, but reported on the content of the letter and its possible significance for their investigation.

‘Can we read it?’ Fredrika asked.

Her face had lost all its colour. She seemed completely floored by this new information.

‘Of course.’

‘I don’t understand the link to Noah Johansson.’

‘No one does.’

‘I mean, seriously.’

‘I am being serious.’

‘Did the murderer leave a message for you?’

Fredrika’s question took Alex by surprise. Everyone was looking at him with curiosity.

‘No – at least not that we’ve found so far. And I don’t think we will.’

The last few words just slipped out.

The murder of Noah Johansson was something different.

Alex had no doubt that it had been driven by a different motivation from the murders of Malcolm Benke and Lovisa Wahlberg. However, he was equally convinced that the perpetrator was the same person.

Ivan thought for a moment, then said:

‘We still haven’t found a link between Benke and Wahlberg?’

Torbjörn Ross.

‘No.’

‘No mutual interests or acquaintances?’

Torbjörn Ross.

‘Not as far as we know.’

How crazy was Ross?

Not that crazy. That was the short answer, the only one that mattered.

And as if he’d sensed that Alex was thinking about him, he knocked on the door. Everyone turned around as Torbjörn Ross entered the Lions’ Den. His gaze swept the room and he realised this was a gathering to which he should have been invited.

‘We’ve just interviewed Lovisa Wahlberg’s boyfriend,’ he said. ‘Could you come with me to check on something, Alex?’

‘I’m in the middle of a meeting. I’ll be along in—’

‘Now,’ Ross said. ‘Berlin wants you there now.’

Alex gave a dry laugh.

‘Tell her I’ll be there when I have time.’