‘I’m fine, aside from my knee still hurting sometimes and my boss having decided to demand daily written reports. But how are you? You sound a bit down.’

Aylin lets out another chuckle.

‘Just tired. Both the kids have the flu and I have a headache and chills, so I’m worried I’m next.’

‘Oh dear, well, I’ve been lucky enough to—’

‘Actually,’ Aylin cuts in, ‘Bo is calling, so I have to hang up now. But I’ll see you at Eirik and Kore’s on New Year’s Eve.’

Before Karen can tell her they probably won’t be seeing each other on New Year’s, Aylin has hung up.

New Year’s Eve. The first big party Eirik and Kore are throwing in their enormous new house in Thingwalla. The party she spent weeks of mind-numbingly boring physical therapy looking forward to. Now, there’s a real risk she may be spending New Year’s alone in a hotel room on Noorö. And of course Bo has to interrupt when Aylin finally calls.

Karen puts the phone down with a deep sigh and opens her laptop. She wouldn’t have had time to talk to Aylin anyway if she wants to send her damn report off before eight.

Chapter 23

23

‘If you have time, I can give you a tour after you’ve asked your questions? I’m afraid the place is a bit dead between Christmas and New Year’s, but I’d be happy to show you around.’

The man standing before them extends his hand and looks at them with an expectant smile. His long, slightly gawky body is casually dressed in jeans and a blue jumper, which with notable exactness matches his eye colour. His hair is cut very short, in a style that often hints at the onset of male pattern baldness, but a dark blanket of hair covers every square inch of William Tryste’s head. He is unreasonably good-looking, Karen muses.

Groth’s distillery is located in Gudheim County, at the eastern tip of the narrow promontory that juts straight out into the sea. Karen passed it many times as a child. Every summer when she went with her relatives to the large cemetery by Gudheim church, the Eikens would also swing by the ship setting at the island’s northernmost point. As a child, she thought of the two events as inextricably linked. Now, she realises, with a forty-year delay, that the visit to the ship setting must have been for her benefit. The place might be a draw for teenagers, new age types and the occasional tourist, but hardly for locals. She been impressed by the distillery’s large red-brick buildings but stopping for a closer look had always been out of the question. At least with her in the car.

‘That sounds interesting, but I’m afraid we don’t have time for that today. Maybe some other time,’ she adds with a smile.