ELLEN

1.05 P.M.

After lunch, Ellen went back up to Editorial. She stole a glance at Jimmy’s office. It was still empty, and the lights were turned off.

According to Agatha, Jimmy had completely gone off the grid. Just like she had after Lycke. She wished she could go to his home, though she knew that that wouldn’t work. Because the other woman, Jeanette, would be there. Jimmy had had no right to judge her the way he had, considering that he himself was living a double life. Ellen hadn’t actually done that. But she had hurt him deeply. The revelation was frightening. She couldn’t remember ever having wounded anyone, not like this. No one cared about her enough for her to actually have done that. It was a sad thought.

Focus on a point close to yourself, she thought, and had a powerful longing to talk to Dr Hiralgo.

She googled the number for Sven, who had worked at Örelo as long as she could remember, and called him. When he answered, Ellen asked him why they bought grain from Didrik, but he couldn’t say.

‘But haven’t you ever wondered about it and thought it was strange?’

‘No, not particularly.’

‘But surely we ought to be using our own grain that we grow on the farm.’

‘Yes, but we sell it to Germany.’

‘But why?’

‘Listen, don’t ask me, it’s a bad deal. You’ll have to bring it up with Margareta, I just do as I’m told.’

It must be nice not to have to wonder about the things that went on around you. Ellen wished her life was that simple.

She stared at the open documents on her screen. She was on the trail of something. Was Carola covering up for Börje? She googled the interview with him on Aftonbladet. Couldn’t stop feeling that he must be involved in some way. The information she’d been given was contradictory, and it looked like he was lying.

She paused the video and managed to catch a still of Börje with his mouth open. She smiled, because it looked pretty funny.

‘Ellen, you’re ringing,’ said Agatha.

‘What? What is?’

‘The landline.’

‘I have a landline phone?’ She picked up a mass of piles of paper on the desk and found an ancient device beneath them.

‘Hello?’

‘Ellen, you have a visitor,’ the receptionist said.

‘Who is it?’ she asked.

There was some rustling. ‘Wait. Hello and welcome to TV4, who are you looking for? Can you come down?’ the receptionist asked, sounding stressed.

‘Are you talking to me now? Who is it?’ She wasn’t expecting a visitor and was in no mood for surprises. ‘Can you tell them that I’m busy?’

‘Hello, yes, I’ll connect you. You’re welcome. Ellen, can’t you just come down. I have quite a bit to do. I’m afraid I don’t have time to take care of your guests.’

She didn’t like the receptionist’s tone, but figured she had no choice. ‘Okay, I’m coming down,’ she said, as if she had nothing else to do, and as if she wasn’t already talking to a dial tone.

Before she went down, she called the girl at McDonald’s, who answered this time.

Ellen barely had time to introduce herself before the girl started talking.

‘Yeah, well you did say that I could call you if I thought of anything … Maybe this isn’t anything, but when I saw that interview on Aftonbladet I recognised someone …’

‘I’m glad you called,’ said Ellen. ‘Who did you see?’

‘The police officer who was interviewed in the segment was here last Sunday evening, or rather during the night. It was when I was going to clean the restrooms, around midnight. I won’t go into any details, but it reeked, as they say, and there was something about the eyes of that police officer.’

Adrenaline, thought Ellen, straightening up.

‘It wasn’t until I saw that interview that I realised that they’d actually been a police officer.’

‘Plainclothes.’

‘Yes, must have been.’

‘What did he look like?’

Ellen noticed a related video on the screen.

See next clip

Behind the big play button, she saw a picture of Carola.

She clicked on it. Carola was being interviewed about the murder of Liv Lind.

‘Hello?’ the girl called through the speaker.

‘Sorry, I just got distracted here a moment.’ Ellen took a deep breath. ‘Was it, by any chance, a female police officer you saw at the restaurant and in the interview?’