The Dinosaur Feather

weren’t on the dead or missing persons’ registers. But they had died. Bo had identified them.’
    ‘Oh, no.’ Vibe was sobbing, the tears ran in two straight lines down her cheeks.
    ‘That was it. I had a breakdown. I took time off. Forgive me, Vibe. I know that you blamed yourself for my suffering. I couldn’t talk about it. I suppressed everything about Maja.When Knud died soon afterwards, I added my grief for Knud to my grief for Maja. So no one would know.’
    Vibe stared silently into space.
    ‘I can understand if you hate me,’ he said.
    ‘I don’t hate you, Søren,’ she said. She leaned forward as best she could and took his hand.
    ‘It must have been terrible for you,’ she said. Søren could feel his toes curl and he looked away.
    ‘So why now?’ Vibe wanted to know, as she stroked his hand. ‘Why tell me now? Is it because I’m pregnant? Has something happened?’
    Søren closed his eyes so he wouldn’t cry. Having succeeded, he turned to look at her.
    ‘It’s this case I’m investigating,’ he said, softly. ‘It’s not especially tragic – all things being equal – and it shouldn’t be so harrowing, either. Not for a detective. No children have been hurt, and both the victims . . . well, of course they have friends and families, but even so. No suddenly orphaned children staring at me with lost eyes. Do you know what I mean?’
    Vibe nodded.
    ‘And yet it’s the worst case I’ve ever been involved with. It touches every raw nerve. Everybody’s lying to me! Or, most of them are. They’re lying to protect something that isn’t worth protecting. Something they believe must remain hidden at any cost. Just like I did with Maja. The investigation only started five days ago. The papers call us clueless, but that’s a load of rubbish. It took us four weeks to solve the Malene case and we were praised for our swift work. They just write that because I’m not coming across very well.’ He looked embarrassed. ‘And I always used to. I spoke to tworeporters the other day. The headlines could have been worse. They should have said
Top cop gets personal
or something like it.’ He swallowed.
    ‘And I’ve fallen in love with one of the suspects,’ he said. Vibe didn’t reply. When he looked at her, she had turned to one side and didn’t appear to have heard his last confession.
    ‘Are you okay?’ Søren asked, scared. He thought about John who had taken the dog for a walk and Vibe’s massive stomach which looked as though it might burst at any moment.
    ‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘I’m not about to go into labour.’ She smiled. ‘But . . .’
    ‘But what?’
    ‘I’ve got something to tell you, too.’
    And then Vibe told Søren something that changed his life.
    Afterwards Søren thought long and hard.
    Henrik had been right. Things weren’t always black and white.

CHAPTER 13
     
    As promised, Karen was waiting on the platform when Anna and Lily arrived at Copenhagen central station after their visit to Odense. She was carrying a plastic bag full of crisps and bottles of wine, which she nearly dropped when she hugged Anna. Anna froze, but Karen whispered, ‘Never let me go,’ and Anna cautiously put her arms around her.
    Lily’s turn was next. Sleepy and groggy, she received the greeting of her life from a woman she had never met. Anna had to laugh, and Lily showed how wrong all theories on how quickly an object can melt could be. She radiated, even more so when Karen conjured up a teddy. Lily wanted to hold Karen’s hand, Karen wanted to hold Anna’s hand and together they walked to the taxi rank, through an almost deserted station.
    When Lily had been put to bed, they made themselves comfortable in the living room. Karen wanted to know everything. Anna showed her photos from Lily’s birth, of Thomas in the maternity ward, sitting down with Lily in his arms, and standing, smiling, flanked by Cecilie and Jens. Karen made no attempt to hide her interest and looked at the photographs for a long time.
    ‘Well, it’s obvious,’ she said, at last.
    Anna didn’t understand. Karen pointed to Thomas.
    ‘He’s way out of his depth.’
    Anna took the photographs. She thought Thomas was gorgeous. Relaxed, calm, on top of things. Everything she had ever dreamed of. His chin was lifted, his gaze was confident.
    ‘Watch his hand.’ Anna followed Karen’s finger. ‘You don’t clench your fist in the hospital when you’ve just become a dad. And look into his