The Dinosaur Feather

sizes emerged.Some pulled faces and showed their pierced tongues, others had been captured just enjoying themselves, beers half-raised towards lips painted black or in a fit of laughter that caused heavily made-up eyes to squint. Søren instantly recognised Johannes.
    ‘There he is,’ Stella Marie said.
    ‘Do you know the person standing next to him?’ Søren asked. Stella Marie and Henrik peered at the screen.
    ‘Is anyone standing next to him?’ Henrik asked.
    Søren pointed to something black flanking Johannes. What he was pointing to wasn’t necessarily a person, but it might be. A part of someone’s back, or thigh, something dark, certainly, brushing against Johannes’s leg. The fabric seemed to be ribbed and Søren had to concede it might be part of the background.
    ‘We have different seating areas in the bar, crates and old chairs that we cover with black cloth to create an impression of total darkness. It might be a table next to him.’ Stella Marie shrugged. ‘I don’t remember exactly who he spoke to,’ she added. ‘I think he spoke to everyone. Like I said, he was on a roll.’
    ‘Does the name YourGuy mean anything to you?’ Søren asked.
    ‘No,’ Stella Marie shook her head. ‘But it’s standard to use alibis on our scene. It’s part of the game.’
    ‘What’s yours?’ Henrik wanted to know.
    ‘Surprise,’ Stella Marie replied.
    ‘I would like a copy of your mailing list,’ he said. For a moment, Stella Marie looked doubtful.
    ‘All right, I don’t suppose that’s a problem,’ she muttered eventually, returned to her computer, opened a file and pressed print. They sat in silence and Søren studied a shocking pink hair extension that stopped halfway down Stella Marie’s back. When she turned around, she hesitated before she said: ‘Actually, there was one thing about that night that puzzled me.’ She looked tentatively at Søren. ‘There was a guy I had never seen before . . . And he really stood out. It’s probably not important, but I’ll tell you anyway.’
    ‘Can we flick through the photos again,’ Henrik interrupted her, ‘and you can point him out to us?’
    ‘I was just coming to that.’ She suddenly looked shy. ‘This guy was absolutely stunning, he had auburn hair, but not dyed like Johannes’s or a lot of other Goths, it was genuine. And he was tall. When I saw him, I got the feeling I had seen him somewhere before. I noticed him when he arrived. He was on his own and I’ve no idea if he knew anyone. Later, I saw him by the bar. He was alone, but it was obvious that people were staring at him. The women circled him like sharks. I started taking pictures for the Red Mask homepage and I thought it was a good excuse to chat to him. At that point, he was on the right-hand side of the bar where later I saw Johannes entertain the masses.’ She smiled. ‘But when I tried taking his photo, he wouldn’t allow it . . .’
    ‘Wouldn’t allow you to photograph him?’
    ‘No, he put his hand on my camera and pushed it down. He wasn’t aggressive or anything, he just didn’t want his picture taken, and I respected that, of course. When I had uploaded the pictures to the computer, I went through them to see if I had accidentally caught him in one of the otherphotos. I was curious. But he wasn’t there. Like I said, I took around two hundred and fifty pictures, we were around one hundred guests, so in theory each guest should feature two and a half times, but not this guy. It was as if he hadn’t even been there. But several of my friends had noticed him. He was gorgeous,’ Stella Marie emphasised.
    ‘Can you describe him, please? What was he wearing?’ Søren asked, his pulse quickening. A man with auburn hair had been waiting for Anna.
    ‘He wasn’t in costume. But that’s normal. There’s always a crowd who turn up in regular clothes, people wear what they feel like. So I can’t really remember. Black clothes, I think.’ She shrugged. ‘And like I said, I had a funny feeling of having seen him before. I thought about it the next day, but since then . . . well, I’ve got a lot on my plate.’ She nodded in the direction of the little girl who was watching cartoons. ‘But he might show up next time, who knows? Why don’t you join us, you’re both more than welcome.’ Stella Marie’s eyes moved teasingly from Søren to Henrik.
    ‘By the way, do you know when the funeral is?’ she added. ‘I’d like to attend. I know plenty of others