He counts the floors to number eight, follows the terraces to the corner, until his eyes hit a silhouette standing in the corner. He almost loses his breath.

Yassim.

He knows immediately, would recognize that body anywhere, from any distance. Yassim has a phone pressed to his ear, and he’s standing in the corner of his terrace looking down at Cornichen and the sea. Jacob feels guilty, like he’s a spy. He has no right to stand here in the shadows like some kind of stalker, but he can’t stop looking at him. Then Yassim finally takes the phone from his ear, puts it in his pocket, and goes back into the apartment.

Then Jacob’s phone vibrates again. Blocked number.

‘Hello?’ he answers in English. ‘I’m already outside.’

‘I’m sure you are,’ says Myriam’s hard voice. ‘Do you remember what I said last time, Matti?’

Jacob closes his eyes and waits for her to continue.

‘I told you to call the second he contacted you. But you didn’t.’

‘I just…’ he starts, ‘I got so stressed.’

‘There’s no room for stress. You know what you’re supposed to do. You call me on the number I gave you as soon as you hear from him. Is that clear?’

‘Yes,’ Jacob whispers. ‘It is.’

He cuts the call and looks up towards Yassim’s apartment again. The terrace is empty, but he follows the windows until he catches sight of two people in the shadows of Yassim’s apartment. One is Yassim, the other is nearly as tall, but looks older. They seem to be having a serious discussion. Yassim seems to be listening, as if the one talking is an authority figure.

Jacob checks the time on his phone again. Twenty minutes until he said he’d be there. He heads towards the entrance. Should he just take the elevator and ring the doorbell? But Yassim has a visitor.

He sits down on a low wall, out of sight of the armed guard in front of Yassim’s building, but still with a view of the entrance.

It doesn’t take more than a few minutes until a man exits. He looks stressed and hands some cash to the guard, says a few words. The guard nods, looks pleased, and the man looks up and down the street as if making sure nobody sees him. Then he crosses the street with a phone pressed to his ear and heads straight towards the wall where Jacob is sitting.