‘I’m not referring to anything, just listening. What do you know about it?’

‘Nothing, really, at least not from a police perspective. I have no proof, but the local gossip has it Gabriel is pretty chummy with those lads. Apparently, he spends quite a bit of time up at their clubhouse near Tyrfallet. I would caution you to take all of this with a grain of salt, though . . .’ Erling Arve hesitates briefly then wipes his mouth with his napkin and continues, ‘There are some who say he supplies the OP from the Groth’s warehouse,’ he says, fixing her levelly. ‘But that’s just what I hear.’

She knows he won’t answer, but she asks anyway.

‘And whom do you hear it from?’

As expected, Arve only smiles in response.

‘Fine,’ she says. ‘Do you have any idea whether the Groths are aware of this alleged theft? Whether they’ve been threatened somehow?’

‘I couldn’t say, but if I were you, I’d ask them,’ Arve says and gets up. ‘Now, you’ll have to excuse me, unless you have any more questions. Can I give you a ride somewhere?’

‘No, thank you, I parked by the church. And thank you for the lovely food and for talking to me. I assume this conversation will stay between us?’

‘Of course. And I hope you’ll think about what I said about that grain of salt.’

*

On her way to the car park, Karen pulls out her phone and finds the number she added just a couple of days ago. She hesitates for a few seconds. Maybe it would be better to hold off on opening this particular door. No, she decides, she might as well get it over with.

With a heavy sigh, she presses the call button.

1 Lord’s Prayer in Dogger

Chapter 28

28

Neutral ground, Karen thinks, looking around the pub. Over by the bar, she catches a glimpse of Ellen Jensen’s platinum curls and, at the tables closest to the TV, she sees the same faces as yesterday. Today, though, their attention is held by what appears to be some kind of Formula 1 race; the high-pitched whining of the cars blends with the old ABBA song coming out of the speakers. The likelihood of anyone taking an interest in her or who she’s with must be considered extremely low, she concludes with relief.

When Karen finally spots her cousin at a table at the far end of the room, she waves and walks over to the bar to order before sitting down across from him.

‘Thank you for coming,’ she says, unwrapping her scarf.