“We’re here in connection with the murder investigation for Lis’s coworker Malthe. I just questioned your wife yesterday morning.”

“Yes, she told me she was meeting you, but she never made it home to tell me about it.” Robert cleared his throat once more. “She was planning to retire this summer. We were looking forward to it so much, more time to travel and see friends, spend time with the grandkids.”

“It must be rough.”

“It’s a shock. We’re all in shock at her not being here anymore.” His voice quavered on those last words.

Jeppe gave him a moment to recover.

“We know that you’ve already spoken with our colleagues. They informed us that Lis’s death is being treated as an accident.”

Robert sighed.

“Lis hasn’t been able to walk well since her hip replacement. It left one of her legs longer than the other, and she developed back problems before they figured out what was wrong. She refused to use her cane, even though I kept telling her that it was dumb to take chances. That she risked falling and breaking her legs.”

Anette discreetly stuffed a piece of gum into her mouth and started chewing. The sound immediately sparked Jeppe’s irritation.

He shot her a look, which she ignored, then turned back to Robert and asked:

“I understood from your wife that she and Malthe Sæther had a good professional relationship.”

“Yes, they did. It’s terrible what happened to Malthe, totally inconceivable. She was devastated to hear about it.” Robert smiled sadly. “Lis is an unbelievably caring person, not just to her family, but to her students and coworkers as well.”

“But they didn’t socialize outside of work, did they?”

“No, Lis steered clear of that kind of thing. When we were younger, we hung out some with the other teachers after work, but we gave it up many years ago. Too much bickering and bantering, you know.”

Anette’s insistent chewing worked its way into Jeppe’s ear canals like a drill, and he struggled to stop himself from asking her to spit out the gum. Some people are annoying because of their deliberate actions, others have no idea how infuriating they can be. The latter group others just have to learn to live with.

“Lis told me that Malthe consulted her when he had problems at work…,” Jeppe said.

“Several of the young teachers did. Lis has been a staff representative for most of her professional life; people trusted her.” Robert looked proud. “Some of her peers, coworkers who were the same age as her, frowned on it. I assume because they were jealous.”

“What sorts of problems did Malthe need help with?”

Robert hesitated.

“I realize that these were confidential conversations,” Jeppe continued. “But Malthe has been murdered. It could be important.”