Abraham and Ingvill were waiting next to the Audi. A weasel was skittering up and down and around Abraham’s arm. Its back was brown and its belly white and it moved so quickly it looked like a living tail. With the same good sense as a tail, because there seemed to be no purpose to its windings. Then it suddenly stopped. Perched on his shoulder, looking at Lennart with its black nose like a third eye.

‘Have you checked on them?’ he said.

Abraham made a beckoning sound with his tongue against his teeth and tried to catch the animal, which shied away and slipped over to his other shoulder.

‘Do you think it’ll work?’ he said in his slurred voice. ‘If we give her to him?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Can’t we send in our friend with the mask instead?’

Abraham smiled. Or did he? It was hard to tell. Either way, he was decidedly unconcerned. He was playing with the weasel, doing his best to persuade it to run over to Ingvill, but it didn’t want to.

‘The main thing, though,’ he said, ‘is that we get him to turn, right?’

Lennart had spotted something in the car. The sole of a shoe bracing against one of the windows. The woman had managed to heave herself out of the boot and was wriggling into the back seat. He drew Abraham’s attention to what was happening with a nod. Then he looked around to make sure no one could see them.

Just as Ingvill managed to get the car door open, the woman hurled herself forward between the seats, trying to get to the start button with her taped-up hands. She managed to reach the button with an extended finger. The engine started. But now Abraham caught hold of her. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her out of the car. After slamming her into the asphalt, he lifted her up by the hair.

‘Did you not understand me?’ he said and rammed a fist into her stomach.

She doubled over and collapsed and then sat leaning against the car with terrified, staring eyes, while the weasel dashed about on the ground, hissing at her menacingly.

‘Did you figure I was playing around?’

Abraham was standing over her, trying to catch her eye, but she jerked her head away and averted her eyes. That made him pinch her ear and stretch her earlobe out.

‘You’d better listen to me.’

From out of nowhere, he suddenly conjured a knife. An all-purpose knife with a red plastic handle.

‘If you don’t do as I say, I’m going to cut off your ear and put it in your mouth and tape it shut. So you don’t forget what happens when you don’t listen.’