That wasn’t true, however. There were no cameras in the bathroom or the main bedroom. Or the hallway, which was extremely unfortunate. Torbjörn had managed to work out what they were up to only because the two adults had positioned themselves on either side of the kitchen door. In order to reach the rest of the house from the hallway it was necessary to go through the kitchen, so it hadn’t been a bad plan. If they’d stood in the hallway instead, he wouldn’t have seen them. That was why his gun had to be at the ready, his mind sharp and clear.

The reason why he’d rushed over was because there had been no sign of the family for several hours. He didn’t have time to analyse hours of film, nor to follow their movements in real time. All he knew was that however much he searched and switched between different cameras, he couldn’t find them. His only option was to come out here to check what was going on.

He flung open the door.

‘Hello?’

He took one step and almost fell over. For a moment the world turned upside down. What the fuck? Torbjörn staggered, regained his balance.

He blinked, trying to understand what he was looking at.

Red.

Blood.

Everywhere.

The man. With his eyes open, his throat slit.

Torbjörn inhaled sharply, felt the air get stuck halfway down his windpipe.

The woman and the children were sitting with their backs against the wall two metres in front of him. The woman was clutching a bloodstained knife, her hand shaking.

‘We want to go home now,’ she said.

INTERVIEW WITH ALEX RECHT
06-09-2016

Present: Interrogators one and two (I1 and I2), Detective Chief Inspector Alex Recht (Recht)