His conversation with Fredrika had been interrupted before he’d had a chance to find out what she thought about the letter he’d found in Noah’s office. He was glad he hadn’t mentioned what Peder had said about Spencer, but what did she think about the letter? If it weren’t for the letter they wouldn’t have linked Noah’s death to the other two. And yet it could still be a false trail, because the only things in the letter that had caught Alex’s attention were the words ‘I am putting everything right’ and the reference to an author. What was coincidence and what was worth following up? Alex didn’t know.

The man who had written the letter (Alex was sure it was a man) had revealed certain things about himself.

He was dying.

He had children.

He’d been involved in an accident.

He worked in Uppsala.

And he knew of Morgan Sander.

Alex smiled. If you disregarded the first point, the writer could be Spencer Lagergren.

He immediately grew serious once more; he didn’t have time for nonsense. They had to consider the relevance of the letter, work out the possible identity of the person behind it. Alex had read it three times, and it still made his blood run cold. It was a kind of confession; the guy had run over a young woman then driven away from the scene of the crime, leaving her to her fate. There was no way of knowing when the incident had taken place. The daughter he referred to could be five years old, or thirty.

The only thing they knew for sure was what he had chosen to put down in writing.

He had done wrong.

And now he was putting everything right.

Is it him? Is this the killer we’re looking for? A dying man who once ruined a young woman’s life, and is now punishing others?

Torbjörn Ross.

But he wasn’t dying, was he?

These days it wasn’t easy for the uninitiated to know something like that. He recalled how astonishingly healthy Lena had seemed on the day they were informed that she had less than a year to live.

He decided to call Tina Antonsson, the woman Noah had mentioned. It was an unusual name; she shouldn’t be too hard to find.

He was right; Tina lived in Spanga and had both a mobile number and a landline. He tried the mobile first, and she answered almost right away.

‘Yes?’

‘Am I speaking to Tina Antonsson?’

He could hear her breathing. ‘Who’s asking?’

The counter-question surprised him.

‘My name is Alex Recht. I knew Noah Johansson.’

She let out a sob. ‘I’m so glad you called,’ she said in a subdued voice.

Alex assumed she was upset because of Noah’s death, and began by offering his condolences. His words didn’t have the calming effect he’d hoped for.