They came toward her, and now she heard the woman speak to the boy.
“Hi, Benjamin,” she said in a trembling voice. A voice that wasn’t supposed to be there. A voice Eva wanted to go away. “It’s Mummy. Do you remember Mummy?”
“Mummy,” said Benjamin. He seemed anxious and clung to Eva.
“Mummy,” he said again, and hugged her tighter. “No.”
The room fell silent. For a moment, Eva heard only the boy’s breathing. The breathing of a child she loved more dearly than her own life.
And then the breathing of another. As heavy and as frightened as Benjamin’s own. She listened and felt her hands begin to shake as she clutched the boy to her chest.
She heard the breathing of another person, and then she heard her own.
Three people, all breathing heavily. In shock, and in fear of the moment that was to follow.
She held the child tightly in her arms. Held her breath so as not to weep. Held him so tightly they were almost as one.
And then she relaxed. She took his little hand and held it in her own. For a moment, she fought back her tears. Then she reached out her hand with the little boy’s inside it and heard her voice as if from afar.
“Mia. Was that your name?”
She heard the trembling reply: “Yes.”
“Come here, Mia. Come over here, so we can feel who you are.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A warm thanks to Hanne Adler-Olsen for daily inspiration, encouragement, and clever, insightful contributions. Thanks also to Elsebeth Wæhrens, Freddy Milton, Eddie Kiran, Hanne Petersen, Micha Schmalstieg, and Karlo Andersen for indispensable and painstaking comments, and to Anne C. Andersen for her keen eye and boundless energy. Thanks to Henrik Gregersen, Lokalavisen/Frederikssund. Thanks to Gitte and Peter Q. Rannes and the Danish Center for Writers and Translators at Hald Hovedgaard, as well as Steve Schein, for their generous hospitality at times of need. Thanks to Bo Thisted Simonsen, deputy director of the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen. Thanks to Police Superintendent Leif Christensen for generously sharing his experience and for corrections concerning police matters and procedure. Thanks to Maintenance Supervisor Jan Andersen and Chief Inspector Knud V. Nielsen of the Burial Club of the Copenhagen Police for their warmth and hospitality.
Thanks to all you fantastic readers who have visited my website, www.jussiadlerolsen.com, and voiced your encouragement at jussi@dbmail.dk.
Jussi Adler-Olsen
Carl Valdemar Jussi Henry Adler-Olsen is a Danish author who, after following several different courses of study and engaging in various professions, embarked on his literary career with two books about Groucho Marx in 1984. His bestsellers include the thriller Alfabethuset (Alphabet House) (1997) and, most recently, Journal 64 (2010).
