The Chestnut Man: A Novel

Though Nylander continues to defend the original Hartung investigation, he privately worries that Hess may be right after all. Ricks’s grieving partner, Jansen, makes a drunken request to rejoin the investigation. Nylander refuses. Jansen blames Hess for Ricks’s death, saying Hess put Ricks in harm’s way.

During her interview with the detectives, Rosa states that she didn’t know the victims. Rosa reveals that she was a foster child, an experience that fueled her passion for child welfare. After sharing what she knows about the chestnut dolls, she asks if Kristine might still be alive. Rather than directly answer her question, Hess expresses that it is cruel for the killer to make the Hartungs believe it. 

Rosa allows the detectives to look through the ministry’s case files for leads. Frustrated with the process, Hess urges Thulin to abandon the task, indicating that they should return to “the beginning.”

In a meeting with Genz, Hess recounts the details of the Kristine Hartung investigation. Hess reveals a press photo from the night of Kristine’s disappearance that shows Bekker in the crowd behind the cordon, contradicting his confession that he was driving to bury Kristine’s body then. He argues Bekker was likely truthful before confessing and was framed for murder. He proposes they visit him.

The detectives drive to Slagelse, the institution where Bekker resides. Thulin remains skeptical that Bekker will say something different. Hess believes the killer scapegoated Bekker.

Slagelse head psychiatrist Weiland objects to the police interview, concerned it will disrupt Bekker’s treatment. Hess threatens to get a warrant; Weiland reluctantly gets consent. They’re warned not to agitate him and shown an emergency cord.

Bekker initially appears timid and childlike. He claims that he experienced schizophrenic blackouts and that police helped him “remember” what he did. Hess presses him with questions, causing Bekker to change his demeanor. Bekker reveals that he’s been tracking the case via teletext, which he also uses to access crime scene photos. He claims that the real killer is “the master” who “made me part of his plan. Otherwise I’d never have confessed” (317). Bekker anticipates that he will soon be released. This provokes Hess to lunge at him. Bekker pulls the alarm, reverting to his frightened persona as guards rush in.

After being ejected from Slagelse, Thulin learns that detectives at the ministry found promising leads. Hess is convinced Bekker told the truth about a “master” and the killer’s identity is contained in the crime-scene photos Bekker hacked. 

Thulin calls Genz for an analysis of Bekker’s most-viewed photos. Genz informs them that Jansen has requested backup at a Sydhavnen address, claiming he has located the killers.

Acting on a tip, Jansen arrives at the residence of a couple named Benedikte Skans and Asger Neergaard at a former slaughterhouse. An elderly woman tells him that they have moved out, but Jansen spots a baby’s mobile in an upstairs window and pushes past to investigate it. 

Jansen discovers a child’s room converted into a shrine: one side is a memorial to the deceased child while the other is covered with clippings, surveillance photos, and violent threats against Rosa. Convinced this is a lead, he awaits backup.

The slaughterhouse becomes a crime scene. Hess recognizes Skans as the nurse from the pediatric ward. Jansen briefs Nylander: the couple held a grudge after their child was taken into care and died. Thulin notes nothing directly connects them to the three murders. Hess then finds a hidden photograph showing Neergaard beside a car identical to Rosa’s ministerial vehicle. Genz informs the investigators that one of the slaughterhouse’s rooms was converted into a makeshift holding cell.

The narrative shifts to Asger Neergaard, who has abducted Gustav Hartung using Rosa’s ministerial car. A leak in Hartung’s security had alerted him to the raid on his and Benedikte’s address. 

Asger reflects on his relationship with Benedikte, their child’s death while in state care, and their revenge plan against Rosa Hartung, which involved getting hired as Rosa’s driver. They sent the threats against but ultimately had nothing to do with the murders. 

Asger meets Benedikte in a rented van. He wants to abandon the plan and escape. Benedikte sees Gustav and refuses to give up.

At Christiansborg, Rosa learns of the raid. Earlier, the prime minister had pressured her to disavow Steen’s public speculation that Kristine might be alive. 

As the staff identify Skans and Neergaard, Rosa and Vogel gradually realize that the couple have been harassing Rosa and getting close to her with Neergaard as her driver. Rosa checks her tracking app and sees that Gustav’s phone is off. An intelligence agent approaches Rosa with grim news.

Nylander diverts all resources into a manhunt. Hess objects that there is no evidence to link the couple to the murders, adding that Neergaard even has an alibi for one of them. Nylander furiously dismisses him, insisting that they might have reached the couple sooner if not for his insubordination.

Realizing they are trapped in a forest, Benedikte prepares to kill Gustav with a knife. Asger wrestles it from her and calms her, suggesting they release the boy as a diversion. As he opens the van, another car pulls up. As the driver approaches, Asger retrieves the knife.

Thulin returns alone to the slaughterhouse, unconvinced. She follows a beeping noise to a makeshift gym and finds a mini-fridge swarmed by rats. Opening it, she reacts in horror.

Hess investigates Neergaard using the ministry files. A digital log shows on the night of the third and fourth murders Neergaard was on duty at the Royal Library waiting for Rosa. Rosa reveals she’d canceled her appointments that day and that Vogel was to inform Neergaard. This makes Hess suspicious considering what Neergard listed in his log anyway.

In Vogel’s office, Hess spots photos of Vogel with Rosa and her children. Steen is missing from these photos. When Hess confronts him over the digital log, Vogel evades the query, suggesting he has no alibi for the murders. Nylander calls Hess to inform him that Genz has tracked Skans and Neergaard to a forest.

Hess drives to the crime scene. Gustav is rescued unharmed. Jansen explains Neergaard and Skans were found already dead when he arrived. He suspects they died by murder-suicide.

Gustav returns to Rosa and Steen. They desperately seek information about Kristine; Gustav only recalls his kidnappers arguing with each other.

Nylander tells the family the case is closed. When Rosa cites the fingerprints, Nylander reveals that they found “irrefutable” evidence at the slaughterhouse that proves otherwise, crushing Rosa’s hopes for Kristine’s survival.

Hess confronts Nylander before the press conference, laying out evidence that somebody else killed Skans and Neergaard. Nylander dismisses him. 

Thulin arrives and shows Hess crime scene photos from the mini-fridge: four amputated human hands on a shelf and a female foot in the crisper. Thulin looks at Hess with pity. Horrified, he flees.