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been taken to the veterinarian’s office for closer examination.”
    “How did the perp get into the yard? Don’t most people in Klinten keep their places locked up?” asked Wittberg.
    “He picked the lock in the gate facing the street. It was easily done. Ambjörnsson didn’t even notice any damage to it when he opened the gate.” Sohlman pushed his chair back from the table. “If there are no more questions, I’d like to get back there.”
    “Go ahead,” said Knutas.
    With a nod to his colleagues, Sohlman hurried out the door.
    “The fact that the head belongs to a different horse and not to the one we found out in Petesviken is perplexing, to say the least. We haven’t received any reports of a decapitated horse or one that’s missing,” Knutas went on. “As for Ambjörnsson, he was born in 1942, he’s not married, and he doesn’t have any children. But he does have a big family, a hell of a lot of siblings and nieces and nephews scattered all over the island. His parents passed away a few years ago. He’s not a controversial figure and has never been mixed up in any major political trouble, as far as I can recall, but, of course, that’s something we need to look into. At the moment he’s staying with his girlfriend in Stånga. The thing is that he was actually planning a trip abroad, which couldn’t come at a better time, if we’re supposed to interpret the horse’s head as some sort of threat. The day after tomorrow, on Sunday, he’s going to Morocco for three weeks.”
    “With his girlfriend?” asked Kihlgård.
    “No, he’s traveling alone. Apparently that’s what he usually does.”
    “What does Gunnar Ambjörnsson have in common with Martina Flochten? That’s the first question that we need to answer,” said Jacobsson. “First Martina was killed, and the murder clearly has ritualistic elements. Then, barely a week later, a horse’s head is found stuck on a pole at Gunnar Ambjörnsson’s house. That seems extremely odd.”
    “It would be very strange if there was no connection between these two events,” Wittberg agreed. “But the nastiest part about the whole thing is that the head doesn’t belong to the horse in Petesviken. Someone is going around decapitating horses and deep-freezing the heads. Someone who might also be a ritual murderer.” He nodded toward the window. “Who is he going to strike next?”
    Silence settled over the room. The summer greenery outside the window didn’t seem as idyllic as it had before.
    “All right,” said Knutas, as if to break the uncomfortable mood. “We have a statement from the teacher Aron Bjarke that Staffan Mellgren was romantically interested in Martina. The teacher claims that Mellgren is a real womanizer and that he’s constantly getting involved with various young students, even though he’s a married man. He even went so far as to describe Mellgren as a sex addict.”
    “It’s just odd that no one else mentioned any infidelities,” said Wittberg.
    “Yes, especially since they seem to have been so frequent. Is there anyone else who might confirm this information?” asked Kihlgård.
    “Not so far. Although you never know. Maybe the other teachers want to protect him. It’s a sensitive situation right now, with the murder and all.”
    “What about the students in the course?”
    “Several of them have said that they suspected Martina was secretly meeting someone, but none of them can say who it might be. We haven’t talked to the rest of the students at the college. Everyone attending classes right now is a summer student, and they wouldn’t know Mellgren.”
    “What does Mellgren say?”
    “He flatly denies it, of course.”
    “And his wife?”
    “The same thing. According to her, they have no marital problems.”
    Knutas gave his colleagues a solemn look. “Whatever you do, don’t let anything get out about the incident at Ambjörnsson’s place,” he said emphatically. “The day after tomorrow he’s going abroad, which will hopefully give us an opportunity to work in peace and quiet. We also took great pains to be discreet when we were out there yesterday. We’ve got to keep that up. From now on, all questions regarding the investigation should be referred to either Lars or myself.”
    After the meeting Knutas went to his office and closed the door. He took out his pipe and began filling it. He needed to be alone to collect his thoughts. The calm that had reigned at the beginning of the summer