The Dinosaur Feather

into it, it would squeal and hide behind the milk, from where it would peek out and get scared the moment it saw Lily and her many teeth. Lily laughed so hard that she cried. A moment of harmony had been created. And then the witching hour descended on them, Lily rubbed her eyes and everything went wrong. It took Anna forty-five minutes to put her to bed. They read books and Lily’s eyelids were heavy and drooping, but still she refused to go to sleep when Anna put her in her cot and switched off the light.
    ‘Nooooooo,’ she wailed and pulled herself to standing. Eventually Anna was forced to pin Lily to the mattress and after a bout of kicking and screaming, she fell asleep at last.
    Anna stood in the dark kitchen, leaning against the table. She could see the lights in the other flats across the road, cosy homes filled with life and warmth by the looks of it.
    The telephone rang. She went through to answer it. It was Cecilie. She wanted to know if everything had gone all right,how Lily was, had she been in a good mood, and had she discovered that she had left her teddy behind?
    ‘Why did you have her ears pierced?’ Anna asked.
    Silence the other end.
    ‘You had her ears pierced without asking me first,’ Anna said. A little louder this time.
    ‘Yes, sorry about that,’ Cecilie said sincerely. ‘I didn’t think you would mind. I thought we had talked about it? I thought you had said that you quite liked it. That it looked nice on little girls.’
    ‘You could have asked me, Mum,’ Anna said.
    ‘Yes, you’re right. Sorry, darling. No, I mean it. I’m really sorry.’
    ‘Piercings are prone to infections, aren’t they?’ Anna asked.
    ‘They were a little infected on the first day, but it passed quickly. I put chlorhexidine on them.’
    ‘Good night, Mum,’ Anna said and hung up. It was 8.30 p.m. and her blood was boiling.
    Fifteen minutes later, Anna knocked on the door of the flat below hers. Her downstairs neighbours had a daughter the same age as Lily. Lene answered. No, it was no problem, she said. They didn’t mind listening to the baby monitor. Anna explained she wanted to go for a run and added, casually, ‘I’ll just stop by the university on my way back. I’m working from home tomorrow and I forgot an important book. Is that okay? I’m taking my mobile, so just ring if there’s anything.’ It was her only chance to meet with Dr Tybjerg.
    Anna ran faster than ever. It took her only twenty-five minutes to cover the Four Lakes. The sky over Copenhagen glowedorange, as if the universe itself were on fire. She ran up Tagensvej and accessed Building 12 by swiping her keycard through the magnetised lock. It was black and silent inside. She went to her study, turned on her computer and wiped the sweat off her neck and stomach with a tea towel. She glanced at Johannes’s dark computer. He hadn’t called back and when she checked her e-mails, she saw that he hadn’t replied to that, either. A sense of unease started to fill her. What if he didn’t want to be friends any more? She had yelled at him, she had crossed a line. Troels and Thomas had both left her because she had crossed a line. But Johannes was different, she reminded herself. He wouldn’t just drop her. He was bound to ring eventually.
    She found a jumper in one of her drawers and put it on. Then she went down the corridor.
    She regretted her decision as soon as she let herself into the museum. The likelihood of Dr Tybjerg still being at work was less than zero. He must have given up waiting for her and gone home. The building felt deserted. She switched on the light and started walking. She had a constant feeling of doors opening behind her, of hearing footsteps; after all, it was a distinct possibility, she told herself. There might be students around, busy with exam preparations, dissertations or essays.
    She was relieved when she reached the Vertebrate Collection. He was there. Or rather: he had to be there. At the entrance to the collection, a solitary lamp was lit on his usual desk, there was a pencil, a pile of books and, when she looked more closely, she saw the box with
Rhea Americana
. He would never have left it out if he had gone home. Shepulled out a chair and sat down. It was very quiet; only a fan hummed in the distance.
    After less than five minutes, she grew impatient. Perhaps he was somewhere inside the collection, looking for more boxes and had been distracted by something? She put the lid on
Rhea