Klara nods. ‘Without him, we never would have been able to do this,’ she says. ‘Don’t forget that.’

‘Life isn’t fair,’ he says.

Klara hesitates for a moment and then takes a step towards him and gives him a hug. ‘Thank you,’ she says. ‘For listening to me, even after all that happened this summer.’

‘Klara?’ she hears a faint voice coming from the bed. ‘Where the hell am I now?’

Bronzelius pats her on the shoulder. ‘Take care of him,’ he says. ‘Talk to you later.’

She turns around and leans down over George, kisses him on the cheek.

‘You’re with me,’ she whispers.

26 November

Stockholm

It’s still dark when Klara exits the Rådhuset subway station on Kungsholmen. She’s freezing in the frosty morning air and clutches the coffees she bought at Pressbyrån tightly in both hands. She takes a right on Bergsgatan, towards the police station and Kronoberg jail.

It’s strange that she’s not more tired – she only slept for an hour, curled up in the hospital bed next to George. A nurse offered to let her sleep in another room, but leaving George felt impossible. They lay with their faces so close their noses touched, so close that their lips almost touched, and George told her everything that happened to him, Jacob and Yassim.

‘But why did they drug you?’ she asked. ‘The other two were conscious.’

‘I didn’t have anything they needed,’ George replied. ‘I think I was just ballast for them. I don’t remember anything from that hangar you’re talking about. Perhaps they didn’t want me to know what they were doing with Yassim and Jacob. To avoid any witnesses.’

Now she’s sitting on a bench just outside the entrance of the detention centre and taking small sips of her coffee. A few snowflakes float down into the white light of the lamps near the gates and behind her she can hear the noise of the city’s morning traffic. It’s just a minute after eight when the gates of the jail open from inside.

Gabriella looks the same, though her curly red hair is bigger and wilder than usual, and she has no make-up on, which is unusual for her. When she sees Klara she stops and slings open her arms, a smile spreading on her lips. Klara gets up and walks toward her. They hug each other without saying anything at first. Then Klara pushes her best friend away from her and looks into her eyes.

‘I can’t believe it’s only been four days,’ she whispers. ‘So much has happened.’

Gabriella laughs and shakes her head. ‘Has it?’ she says. ‘As far as I’m concerned the world stood still.’