ELLEN

9.00 P.M.

After the meeting with Carola, Ellen drove out onto E4. Actually, she wanted to stay in the city. But she had no choice — her mother was not going to tolerate anything other than her coming home.

On the way, she stopped at McDonald’s in Nyköping and bought a cheeseburger, a fizzy water, and a coffee. All Ellen had eaten all day was that ice cream, and she could feel her stomach growling loudly. Even though she’d soon be home, she needed coffee to keep her eyes open the whole way. She’d already dozed off several times on that last part of the E4, and woken up to the thumping sound of being about to leave the roadway.

Ellen took the opportunity to ask the young woman at the register if she’d been working on Sunday evening, and she had. ‘Did you see anything unusual?’

The girl shook her head. ‘Like, what kind of thing?’

‘I’m thinking about the murder in Stentuna. Do you know if the police have been here and talked to any of you, checked surveillance cameras or the cash register?’

‘Yes, but I don’t think they found anything relevant — it was really dead here last Sunday evening — but maybe it’s better if you ask my boss.’

Ellen nodded and made a note of the boss’s name in her phone. ‘Please call me if you think of anything,’ she said, handing her a card. ‘Anything at all.’

Then she wolfed down the hamburger, quickly finished the mineral water, and felt stuffed. You chow down, burp, and get hungry again, as Philip liked to summarise a meal at the Golden Arches. She chuckled, picked up the phone, and called him. He answered after just a few seconds.

‘Did you see me on tonight’s program?’

‘No, I don’t watch TV if I’m not on,’ Ellen answered, and they laughed.

‘I can’t believe I did it. They asked me to be on the program because I was into the guy who was on, and I guess they wanted a little gay romance. Would you believe I made out on TV? With that lunatic. We’re no good for each other. We’re both way too out of control. You and I both need broccoli guys. Or we’re going to die much too young.’

‘Broccoli guys?’

‘Yeah, you know what I mean. The cross-trainer, the cottage cheese, and the chicken breast. The mapped-out life. Fish on Tuesdays. Kiss and good night at ten o’clock.’

‘Right, and it doesn’t matter if you tell him that Beyoncé’s in town and we’re invited to her suite, he’ll just say, “No, that’s not going to work, honey, because I’ve already thawed the fish and the oven is on.”’

‘Ha ha, right. You want him to be firm.’

‘It wouldn’t surprise me if Didrik has called in Beyoncé and she’s standing in the castle courtyard singing when I come home.’

‘Oh, he’s wrong in the head. You’d prefer Jay-Z.’

‘Exactly.’

Philip sighed.

Ellen drove up into the yard and slowed down. ‘Am I a sister person?’

‘What?’

‘Ugh, I have to hang up now. Unfortunately, Jay-Z isn’t here to meet me. It’s Mum in her nightgown, waiting on the steps.’ Sigh. She ended the call and got out of the car. ‘Are you waiting for me? It’s the middle of the night.’

‘I heard a car,’ said Margareta.

‘But why aren’t you asleep?’

Her mother didn’t reply.

‘How’s your day been?’

‘It’s been fine, I suppose.’

Ellen squeezed past her, went into the hall, and kicked off her shoes.

‘Where have you been?’

‘Please, we can talk about it tomorrow. Good night, Mum,’ she said, going upstairs towards the bedrooms and into the long, dark corridor.

‘Ellen?’

‘Yes?’

‘Did you see anything funny on the way home?’

‘No, is there something in particular you’re thinking of?’

Margareta’s eyes were hazy. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Good night, Mum,’ said Ellen, giving her a kiss on the cheek and noticing the aroma of gin.

In her room, she pulled off her clothes and lay down on the bed. It was hot and stuffy, and the moon was shining into the room.

Then she thought she heard something outside the door.

‘Mum,’ she called carefully, but got no answer.

It sounded like there was a knock on the door. A muffled knock. She waited for the handle to be turned down, but nothing happened. ‘Mum?’

After a pause, she got up and pulled the blanket around her. Trod softly up to the door. ‘Mum?’ she whispered.

Still no answer.

She took a deep breath and tried to slow down her escalating pulse. She snapped her fingers three times before she opened the door. Was startled by the creak from the hinge and was met by coal-black darkness.

Slowly she stuck her head out in the dark corridor to see what it was she’d heard, but it was barely possible to make anything out. She shuddered, quickly closed the door, and hurried back to bed.

It was probably just her imagination.

Her skin was crawling, and she had a hard time settling down, even though she was tired. She got up and grabbed the sleeping pills from her bag, took two.

When the phone rang, she was at first unsure whether she was dreaming or if it was real. But the ringtone continued, and she fumbled for the phone.

‘Ellen, it’s me, Jimmy. We’ve received information about a girl that has disappeared in Stentuna, not far from where Liv Lind was found murdered. Perhaps there’s a connection? Can you go there? I’m sending a photographer, so you guys can meet there. I’ll email the address. Okay?’

‘What? I don’t understand …’

‘Is everything okay? I’ve texted the address to you.’

There was a beep on Ellen’s phone. She looked at the address. Solbyn 2, Stentuna. Hanna Andersson’s address. Alice …

‘Did you get the message? Hello? Sorry, maybe this wasn’t a good idea. But I thought, you’re there and you really want to work … You would have been furious if I hadn’t called. Ellen!’

‘It’s fine, I’m going,’ she said, hanging up.

She sat up, her head spinning. It took a few seconds before she collected herself. She wanted to hurry, but her body wouldn’t obey. It was as if everything was in slow motion.

Her chest ached, and it was hard to breathe.

The ground rocked beneath her, and she was forced to sit back on the bed again so as not to fall. She tried to pull herself together.

Why is this happening?

She closed her eyes, but forced herself to open them again.

‘Death, death, death …’

Breathe, Ellen, breathe, she thought, trying to snap her fingers, but they had gone numb.

Her heart was beating so hard that she could hear it. It was racing. She tried to keep track of the beats, but they got more and more away from her.