The Åre Murders episode 4 recap: body parts found in the snow

The Åre Murders episode 4 is the first part of a new two-part story based on "Hidden in Shadows" by Viveca Sten.

The latest episode of the Netflix hit opens with a child walking through thick snow and finding a head poking out from the ground! Daniel has got Hanna a coffee, but she fails to thank him. He asks what's wrong and she says nothing. "It's just that a dead body shows up right before you go on parental leave".

They go to the crime scene. The body is in pieces all over the place. It’s a known place for people taking their own life.

We see a man with a large amount of money in an envelope in a car. He is watching a woman and a child. He looks strained.

Back at the crime scene, it's now dark and they haven't managed to recover all of the body. The victim is a man. The pathologist explains why she believes the victim didn't take their own life on the nearby train bridge and how they were already dead when the train hit them. She can't be sure what happened until she does a full autopsy. She also observes the body and his clothing is covered in little red cotton fibers.

A young man, police officer Anton, is at a party but doesn’t seem to be enjoying it. He shares a cigarette with another young man. They drink and dance. Later we see them kissing and taking their clothes off. A woman phones the police and says her husband hasn't come home and she can't get a hold of him.

Daniel is at home with his baby and partner. He gets a call saying the remains belong to Johan Andersson, a 35-year-old former skier and partner in J&L Event. He was killed by a blow to the head. He's asked to postpone his parental leave, which seems really out of order from his boss. Surely there must be more than one cop in Sweden?! Anyway, this goes down like a lead balloon with his partner, Ida, who’s meant to be going on a work course. She has a point. And she heads off on her course and tells him it's his mess to sort out. Daniel is cranky with Hanna due to lack of sleep. They break the news to the widow. We see someone with a pack of dogs pulling a sleigh. They tell someone they're sorry, they don’t know where Johan is. His name is Linus Sundin and he works with Johan at J&L Event. The police phone and tell him the news about Johan.

Daniel meets Leo's father, Jens. Looks like he's the man from earlier who was watching the woman and child. Leo's mum breaks the news to her son, Leo. Hanna talks to Leo.

The widow, Marion, says on the night of his disappearance he was meant to be seeing a childhood friend called Carl Willner for dinner. Jens tells Daniel he split with Marion about 12 or 13 years ago. Leo asks Hanna if they will catch the murderer and she says "Absolutely".

Daniel has a childcare issue, so Hanna takes Anton with her to interview Carl. Anton says they've had lots of tip-offs including the sighting of a dark van with a busted headlight between the train station and the bridge. Anton is shocked to discover Carl is the man he was with the other night! However, he denies knowing Carl to Hanna, which seems a daft thing to do. Carl says the last time he saw Johan he had a bloody nose and seemed stressed and left quickly. Anton goes to search the bins where Johan apparently disposed of a bloody garment. Anton finds it.

Linus is ranting at someone in a church because they haven’t renewed a lease. Daniel phones Hanna to get some formula. He's not coping well without his partner. She comes over, the place is a tip. Hanna has found a picture of the victim with a man wearing the same shirt they found today with the blood. Daniel says that’s Linus. Daniel says one of them took out a loan for the company, J&L Event. He wonders if one of them has financial problems.

Jens and Linus talk about Johan over a drink. Johan tells Jens he needs to move his booze from the garage as the cops will be all over the place tomorrow. Anton is in the gym and gets a call from Carl. But he doesn’t take it. Carl texts can we meet. Anton goes to see Carl and says they can’t see each other anymore because he’s a witness in a murder investigation.

Hanna and Daniel go to Johan and Linus’s office. Hanna asks Linus what’s happened to his lip. He says they were going to invest in the business, but then he found out Johan hadn't signed off on the loan. He admits they had a fight. He says later that day he was watching football with Leo’s dad, Jens. Linus says there’s something up with the congregation they’re leasing from. "Their pastor, Ole Nordhamma, Johan didn't like him".

Jens turns up at Carl’s with a boot full of booze. But Carl says he doesn’t want it as the police are about. But Carl takes it in the end and gives him money. In the office, Raffe is celebrating his birthday. Raffe, in front of his kids!, tells Hanna and Daniel they found the victim's left hand. It's on ice in storage! Hanna spots the wedding ring is missing from the hand. They wonder why he removed his wedding ring.

Ole is revealed as a violent bully

The next day, Hanna and Daniel visit the pastor, Ole, who makes a big thing of his wife being pregnant. Hanna notices a leaflet saying Pilgrimsfjall on his fridge — the same word that appeared in Johan's work diary. He says it's a community college for Bible studies. He says Johan wasn’t involved. Hanna introduces herself to his wife and oddly he answers her name for her: Rebecka. Ole appears very controlling. Hanna looks worried. In the car, Hanna says he thinks Ole is lying and that he’s weird. Linus's alibi checks out.

Hanna and Daniel look at where Johan went in the weeks before his death and she spots he visiting the same part of the forest on the dates he wrote Pilgrimsfjall in his diary. She believes something was going on with Ole.

Ole forces a toothbrush into Rebecka’s mouth. He says he told her to stay in the room and to never ignore him again. Hanna drives out to the forest, she can't see much and returns the next day in the light with some skis. Ole catches Rebecka with a bag, perhaps with stuff packed to leave. He strikes her. Hanna calls at the house. He refuses to let her in but she says she will call for backup. Hanna tells Ole she wants to talk to Rebecka alone. Rebecka has a clear mark on her face. Hanna says they can leave together now if that’s what she wants and Rebecka nods that’s what she wants. They hug and Rebecka leaves.

Hanna checks Rebecka into a hotel. Ole phones Rebecka and asks her to come home. He says he loves her and promises things will be different. He tells him to leave her alone but he can hear the name of the hotel being called out in the background.

Rebecka tells Hanna she knew Johan and they were a couple. She knew him through the development at Pilgrimsfjall. They had an affair. She says she loved him so much. On the night he died, they had planned to go away together. She explains when Johan found out she was pregnant, he wanted to get her away from Ole. She says she doesn’t know where Ole was on the night Johan was murdered.

They go to arrest Ole at his house but he's at the hotel. He sets off a fire alarm it appears. Rebecka leaves her room and is terrified when she sees Ole. She runs and he follows. She manages to get to her room and locks herself in. She tells him to go. When he persists she tells him it's not his baby. He starts attacking the door with an axe!