Damp haze stuck to the windshield like glue, and the entire city was dripping moisture. It was just above freezing, but the Weather Service predicted a change in the afternoon. A high was coming in from the east, bringing clear skies and cold temperatures for the next few days. It would be pleasant to have a change from the dismal grey rain they’d endured during the past week. Felipe had given Katarina two free tickets to The Fire Dance, and she’d asked her uncultured mother to the premiere. She didn’t have to ask twice, as Irene was already curious about Sophie’s saga in dance. Always something to look forward to, Irene thought, as she turned the wipers on high. THE DAY STARTED with a bang: a gruesome case of assault connected to a case the papers had already started calling “The Gang Killing.” The week before, the leader of the Gårdsten gang was knifed outside the Central Train Station. The victim’s name was Roberto Oliviera, and he called his gang the Pumas. The suspect belonged to a rival gang, and the teenage witness who had fingered him lay unconscious with a fractured skull at Östra Hospital.
