Alex felt a sense of relief. Peder was probably right.

‘Do you know anything about Noah’s situation today?’ he asked. ‘In terms of security systems, I mean.’

Peder didn’t say anything at first; when he did speak, he’d lowered his voice.

‘No.’

Alex heard a key in the front door; Diana was home. Warmth and happiness filled his body, as if she’d been away for years rather than just a few hours.

‘I have to go,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘Anything else you think I ought to know?’

Again Peder hesitated. out in the hallway Diana was taking off her shoes, putting something heavy on the floor – maybe a bag of books? They absolutely didn’t need more books, although of course Diana wouldn’t be pleased if he expressed that particular point of view. According to her, books were not about need. It was worse than that. They were a prerequisite for all rational life on earth.

Love means compromising, Alex thought. Every single day.

He registered Peder’s silence on the other end of the line, and sat down again. To hell with Diana’s books. Peder clearly had more to say.

‘I drove past Noah’s funeral business by pure chance the other day,’ Peder said quietly. ‘I don’t know if . . . Shit, maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this. It’s so easy to jump to conclusions. He might be a bit of a fantasist, but that doesn’t mean he’s always wrong or always exaggerates.’

Alex leaned forward, feeling the hard surface of the desk beneath his elbows.

‘Tell me,’ he said. ‘Tell me what’s bothering you.’

He was acutely aware of Peder’s uncertainty, felt it grow and infect him. And with that uncertainty came a change of heart.

Don’t tell me, because I don’t want to hear what you have to say.

But it was too late.

‘I saw a man slam the door behind him as he left. Then he turned and stormed back inside. There are huge windows, so you can see what’s going on. I pulled up, and I saw the man go over to Noah and grab hold of his jacket.’

‘Okay . . .’

Noah was a funeral director. Death aroused strong feelings; there was nothing new about that.

‘He shoved Noah against the wall,’ Peder went on, ‘so hard that Noah banged his head. If the man hadn’t left straight afterwards I would have called the police. I stayed put until I was sure Noah was all right, then I drove off.’

Alex wasn’t particularly impressed; where was Peder going with this?

And then, with no warning, he said:

‘Alex, it was Spencer.’

‘What?’

‘The man who was so upset was Spencer, Fredrika’s husband.’

Chapter 16

‘Are you sure you can’t stay tonight as well?’

Lovisa Wahlberg was sitting up in bed with a blanket around her shoulders as her boyfriend got dressed.