‘How about a drink then? Don’t you want a drink?’

Hedvig’s eyes filled with tears, which slowly trickled down the sides of her face.

Malin swallowed hard, fighting back her own tears. She focused her mind on the man and woman who’d arrived in the car. They’d seen something in the forest, something that had made them take off in a hurry. Maybe that meant they’d come back, or raise the alarm and send someone else?

I have to be ready. Anything could happen now.

As if it hadn’t already.

She got to her feet, legs shaking, and went back down to the living room. The TV remote was on the coffee table. She picked it up, weighed it in her hand. It wasn’t heavy, but it would have to do.

When they come back, they’re going to hear me.

She tapped on the window pane with the remote. The sound she made was negligible; it certainly wouldn’t be heard outside. She banged harder, felt her fingers cramp. It didn’t matter, she just kept on banging. Even though no one was there, even though no one could hear except her.

And the children.

I’ll frighten them.

But Malin couldn’t stop. She carried on hammering. Pale red marks began to spread across the glass. She knew she was making her hands bleed. It didn’t matter.

I don’t need them any more.

‘Mummy?’

Malin hadn’t realised that Hedvig had come down to see what was going on.

‘What are you doing, Mummy?’

Malin hammered and hammered and hammered.

Hedvig tried to grab her arms.

‘Stop it, Mummy! Stop it!’

Malin could hear that her daughter was crying, but she was in a trance, she thought she would lose her mind if she left her place at the window.

‘Let go of me! Let go!’

Hedvig slumped to the floor. She was sobbing so loudly that Malin couldn’t concentrate. She closed her eyes, felt her energy begin to drain away. Her movements slowed, her hands throbbed with pain.

I’m giving up. We’re never going to get out of here.

That was when the cars came. First one, then another. Malin tried to wipe away the blood; had she actually gone mad? Was she seeing things that weren’t there?

‘Hedvig,’ she whispered. ‘Get up, Hedvig. Can you see what I see? Police cars. There are police cars outside!’

Then she began hammering on the window once more.

Chapter 7

The bad news came thick and fast. First of all Fredrika called: the man who’d bought the five books by Morgan Sander was not Torbjörn Ross. Then Berlin informed Alex that the head of security with the Solomon Community had called the police with regard to a suspected murder in a house that belonged to the Community, but was currently being rented by a Detective Inspector Torbjörn Ross.