Maridalen medieval ruins

The Maridalen medieval ruins are the deserted meeting place at the center of the account of Ab Lofthus’s planned confrontation with the police mole and his eventual death. They connect the choice Ab recorded in his diary to the Twin’s later explanation of how Ab was killed and why his death was made to look like suicide.

Ab’s Planned Meeting

In the diary, Ab writes that he has asked Z to meet him at the medieval ruins in Maridalen at midnight, saying they have matters to discuss. Z is surprised by the choice of a deserted place and the late hour but agrees. Ab’s entry places the meeting amid his fear that the Twin needs only one of the two men and that the other will be eliminated. He believes Z has already understood the danger and resolves to get to him first.

The Intended Confrontation

Ab records that he has loaded a pistol and is about to take a man’s life. He questions whether his decision comes from protecting his family, personal ambition, or weakness, and considers what he would want his own son to do in his position. He concludes that the answer is clear, then says he is going to Maridalen and may return changed into a killer. The ruins are thus not merely a rendezvous: in Ab’s account, they are the setting for a decision he understands as morally irreversible.

The Twin’s Account of Ab’s Death

Later, the Twin tells Sonny and Simon that Ab was going to kill the mole that very night at the ruins. According to the Twin, the mole had warned him that the police were closing in on Ab and that Ab planned to kill him. The Twin says he agreed to have Ab’s death made to look like suicide, so the police would believe Ab was the mole and stop searching for the actual informant. The account makes the planned meeting the point where Ab’s private intention and the Twin’s response converge.

Significance and Uncertainty

The place anchors two accounts of the same night: Ab’s diary describes his plan to meet Z and his anticipation of becoming a killer, while the Twin identifies the ruins as the scene Ab intended to use to kill the mole. The Twin does not know who the mole is, saying that their communication took place only by email. The ruins therefore clarify the circumstances behind Ab’s death without resolving the informant’s identity or independently confirming every element of the Twin’s explanation.