Karen is reminded of what her aunt told her. If Albin Huss had, in fact, been a Nazi collaborator, that would undeniably have been solid leverage for blackmail. His position as the strong man of Noorö would have been gone for sure, and the government would have seized the opportunity to expropriate his mines for a pittance. Something similar had happened to the owner of one of the lanoline factories outside Ravenby right after the war when some unpleasant truths were revealed. To William Tryste’s forebear, relinquishing the distillery had probably seemed a low price to pay.

‘So the Groths made off like bandits and kept mum about what they knew,’ she says. ‘I imagine it would hurt their brand if that became public knowledge.’

‘Probably. Which suits me just fine. But we’re going to keep that a secret between the two of us.’

The significance of his words sends a shiver of fear down her spine. I need to play for time, she tells herself again. Keep him talking. Play dumb, let him brag.

‘Gabriel,’ she says quickly. ‘How did he get involved?’

‘When I couldn’t persuade Fredrik, it made sense to try my luck with him instead. Convincing Gabriel that we ought to take back what should rightfully have belonged to our family wasn’t much of a challenge. You met him, right?’

Karin nods mutely.

‘Then I’m sure you believe me when I say it didn’t take much. The mere thought of ousting the Groths and taking over their expansion plans had the poor sod drooling with anticipation. The prospect of money and power, without having to lift a finger to get it. Well, that and a few words about how the Groths blackmailed Albin Huss back in the day. You know, I’m not sure he even knew he was related to Old Huss until I told him.’

‘So, did he figure out that you were the one who killed his grandfather?’ Karen says sceptically and thinks about her impression of Gabriel Stuub. Granted, he had hinted that his grandfather was doddery and troublesome, but he’d also expressed a kind of respect for him.

‘No, he was dumb enough to think it must have been Björn Groth. And I got lucky. Gabriel actually drove past the quarry on Christmas Day and saw one of the Groth’s company cars parked there. I’d obviously made sure to take the one Björn normally used, so it wasn’t hard to convince the stupid git it must have been Björn driving it.’