Her behaviour would have been a nervous reaction to the strain she was under, the strain we were all under

When the man didn’t reply, Liz reached down and tore off his mask. I stared at his face. “Do you speak English?” she said roughly. A crowd had gathered and was silently watching the proceedings. Sweat was running into the man’s eyes and he was having difficulty breathing. “A little.” His accent was French.

“You’ve been following us since we left the park,” I said quietly. I glanced at Liz, afraid she’d have another go at him.

“I was not following you.” He managed to get the words out. “When you ran at me, I thought – ” He motioned to Liz’s face. “I thought you were a man.”

She removed her ski mask and pulled down her hood, shaking out her hair. He made an attempt at a smile but it was more of a grimace. “A misunderstanding on both sides,” he gasped. He started to drag himself up but fell back, wincing. I reached down and took his arm, signalling to Liz to do the same. She stepped away.

I threw her an angry look. What on earth was she playing at? The man was obviously a tourist. One of the crowd came forward and, supporting him under the shoulders, lifted him to his feet.

Frowning

I hooked a hand under Liz’s elbow. “Let’s get out of here, before we’re arrested for GBH.”

She was frowning at the Frenchman. “Have you been anywhere near the Icehotel?” she said rudely.

“Madame, I am in Kiruna only for today.” He was breathless from the effort of standing upright. He inclined his head. “Please accept my apology for anything I have done to offend you.”

He limped towards the road, the crowd parting to let him pass. I stared at Liz as though seeing her for the first time.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she said sullenly.

“Unbelievable, Liz. You could have broken his ribs, to say nothing of what you’ve done to his ability to procreate. That was totally uncalled for.”

Her eyes blazed. “Oh, that’s rich, coming from you. You’ve been bleating on about being followed by an axe murderer and, when I take action, this is your response.

“Yes, of course, now I see he’s a tourist, but, for all I know, he could have been the man who killed Harry.”

“Hold on, Liz, press the Pause button.” I tried to keep my voice level. “Okay, but when you saw he wasn’t the murderer, you could at least have apologised. I had no idea you can be so vicious. If you wanted to immobilise him, why didn’t you use a judo hold, instead of whacking at his ribs?”

Her anger dissolved. “I’m sorry, Mags,” she said quietly. “I’m so sorry. I know what I did was awful. I really don’t know why I’m behaving like this.”

Her voice shook. “I just want to get home to Annie and Lucy.”

I put my arms round her and held her shaking body against mine, unable to bear her tears. “It’s not your fault, Liz.”

I took her to the next stall that sold drinks and bought her a glass of hot, spiced wine, making sure she drank it all.

She wiped her eyes. “Thanks, Mags.” She drew up her ski mask, smiling bravely. “So shall we go shopping?”

In a large department store, I watched her spend money on things she didn’t want. My mind was still at the scene with the Frenchman.

Nervous reaction

Her uncharacteristic behaviour would have been a nervous reaction to the strain she was under, the strain we were all under.

I was playing with the testers at the perfume counter when she said, looking at her watch: “Whoops, I’m going to be late. I need to get to the coroner’s.”

“Already? I’ll come with you.”

“It’s miles away at the other end of town. You should get back, Mags, you look absolutely frozen. Go and warm yourself up with a sauna.”

I frowned. “You sure you don’t want me along?” “There’s no need to worry, I’m fine now, really I am.” She glanced at the bottle in my hand.

“I’d buy that, if I were you. According to the label, it’s supposed to drive men wild with desire. I’ll see you at dinner.” She hurried away.

I sat in the bus and soon forgot the black-clad Frenchman. My thoughts turned to the reason for our trip into Kiruna.

Would Harry’s body be released? I closed my eyes, seeing his flaccid corpse, the Y-shaped scar livid on his chest.

In the far distance, the Excelsior was a tiny red pillar box in an expanse of white.

I was removing my ski mask in the foyer when Leo Tullis came running out of the lounge.

“Maggie? Thank goodness we’ve found you.” He ran a trembling hand through his hair. “They’ve got them. Marcellus and Aaron.

“Marcellus is already at the station. Aaron is being arrested now.” He looked past me. “There he is,” he murmured.

Aaron, his wrists handcuffed, was being frogmarched down the corridor by two policemen. Hallengren was with them.

Hallengren ignored the crowd gathering in the foyer and pushed his way to the door. As Aaron passed us, he stared at me.

He hesitated, opening his mouth to speak, but the officers pulled him away. The front door closed behind them. A minute later, I heard the whine of a car engine.

“They’re being charged with murder,” Leo said, his voice strange. “They hatched a plan in Stockholm to kill Wilson. I don’t have the details yet.”

Charged

He nodded at the receptionist. “Mr Karlsson had a few words with one of the officers. They’re being charged with the murder of Harry, too.” “Harry,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

“We’ll get the press release in the morning. But it’s official.” Leo clasped my fingers and squeezed hard. “It’s over, Maggie.”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel,” I said weakly.

“Well, I feel like a drink, a stiff one. Join me?” “But why did they murder Harry?” I said, my mind a whirl.

“We’ll get the details soon enough.” Leo sounded greatly relieved.

“Mr Karlsson said they’re not looking for anyone else. We can rest easy. The killers are under lock and key.”

Seeing my tears, he put an arm round my shoulders. “Come on, Maggie, chin up.”

I let him lead me away, feeling relief flood through me. Harry’s killers had been caught.

More on Monday.

Icehotel, available on Amazon Kindle, is Hania Allen’s debut novel. Her second book, The Polish Detective (Constable, £8.99), is the first in her new series featuring DS Dania Gorska and is set in Dundee.