Read Online Three Dog Night by Elsebeth Egholm - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elsebeth Egholm
Tags: Denmark
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the inflatable, her teeth chattering, drinking from a Thermos of hot coffee as they were taken back to shore. The others were wrapped up in one-piece diving suits and wearing caps and gloves. There was always water in the bottom of the rubber dinghy, but today it had almost frozen to ice. There was also a layer of ice over all the equipment. At the mouth of the harbour yet another fishing boat was on its way in. Allan lightly punched her shoulder.
âRemember the saying: a proper sailor is never cold â¦â
She couldnât even finish the saying, her teeth were chattering so much. Allan did it for her: â⦠he just turns blue and dies.â
They quickly reached the quay, and it was only now that she noticed several cars parked there. People were wandering around, some with TV cameras on their shoulders.
A couple of the cars had press logos on their sides: TV2 News was there,
Ekstra Bladet
as well. There was also a van from Private Eyes, another TV company. The cameramen followed them and filmed her and Niklas going ashore. They also shouted out questions.
âDid you find anything?â
âWhat will you do if you find her?â
She shook her head and held up a hand.
âDonât film my face,â she said to the TV2 News cameramen who had come up to her. âSpeak to my boss when he gets ashore. Allan Vraa. I canât comment.â
They were naval officers and sometimes they were deployed in anti-terror operations. Their faces were not allowed to appear in the media, and this was usually accepted and understood. It would be fatal if enemies â Danish as well as foreign â could identify and possibly attack them.
Before Kir had reached the warmth of the diving truck she caught a glimpse of a man with black, shoulder-length hair talking to a blonde. He raised his eyes and she felt them on her for a brief moment. Police, she thought. He exuded a kind of authority.
Niklas and Kir quickly helped unzip each other so they could get out of their drysuits. Her teeth were still chattering despite the oil heater in the truck. They hung up their suits in the drying cabinet and sat on the bench with another mug of coffee.
âIn a way I wish Iâd found her,â Niklas said. âThen at least I wouldâve known what it was like.â
She got up and put on her army trousers over her merino wool bodysuit.
âFinding a body isnât much fun. Itâs worse when the visibility is like it is here. When you practically swim into it,â she said.
He warmed his hands on the mug.
âBut if I had, then I wouldâve experienced the worst that can happen.â
âHave you been to the Morgue and seen the bodies there?â
He shook his head.
âYou should ask to go and visit it. It helps. Once youâve seen a dead child, nothing else is really that bad.â
Heâd been with them in Vejle when they found the body of a woman during a dive at night, but he wasnât in the water when it happened. He could blow up mines and defuse bombs. He could dive down a hundred metres into a shipwreck lying upside down and out again. And yet what scared him most was encountering a dead body.
âThey wonât hurt you. You need to tell yourself that when it happens. The dead canât hurt you.â
What she didnât tell him, however, was that they might haunt you for months. They could wreck your sleep and they could creep into your subconscious and lodge there like parasites.
In very bad cases, they could fill you with a black fear of everything beneath the surface of the water.
14
N EITHER A NNA B AGGER nor Mark Bille was anywhere to be found at Grenå Police Station, so Peter left a message at reception and asked one of them to call him. But he heard nothing for the rest of the day and concluded they probably had other things to think about. Never mind. At least he had shown willing. Driving home after work, he knew immediately that
âRemember the saying: a proper sailor is never cold â¦â
She couldnât even finish the saying, her teeth were chattering so much. Allan did it for her: â⦠he just turns blue and dies.â
They quickly reached the quay, and it was only now that she noticed several cars parked there. People were wandering around, some with TV cameras on their shoulders.
A couple of the cars had press logos on their sides: TV2 News was there,
Ekstra Bladet
as well. There was also a van from Private Eyes, another TV company. The cameramen followed them and filmed her and Niklas going ashore. They also shouted out questions.
âDid you find anything?â
âWhat will you do if you find her?â
She shook her head and held up a hand.
âDonât film my face,â she said to the TV2 News cameramen who had come up to her. âSpeak to my boss when he gets ashore. Allan Vraa. I canât comment.â
They were naval officers and sometimes they were deployed in anti-terror operations. Their faces were not allowed to appear in the media, and this was usually accepted and understood. It would be fatal if enemies â Danish as well as foreign â could identify and possibly attack them.
Before Kir had reached the warmth of the diving truck she caught a glimpse of a man with black, shoulder-length hair talking to a blonde. He raised his eyes and she felt them on her for a brief moment. Police, she thought. He exuded a kind of authority.
Niklas and Kir quickly helped unzip each other so they could get out of their drysuits. Her teeth were still chattering despite the oil heater in the truck. They hung up their suits in the drying cabinet and sat on the bench with another mug of coffee.
âIn a way I wish Iâd found her,â Niklas said. âThen at least I wouldâve known what it was like.â
She got up and put on her army trousers over her merino wool bodysuit.
âFinding a body isnât much fun. Itâs worse when the visibility is like it is here. When you practically swim into it,â she said.
He warmed his hands on the mug.
âBut if I had, then I wouldâve experienced the worst that can happen.â
âHave you been to the Morgue and seen the bodies there?â
He shook his head.
âYou should ask to go and visit it. It helps. Once youâve seen a dead child, nothing else is really that bad.â
Heâd been with them in Vejle when they found the body of a woman during a dive at night, but he wasnât in the water when it happened. He could blow up mines and defuse bombs. He could dive down a hundred metres into a shipwreck lying upside down and out again. And yet what scared him most was encountering a dead body.
âThey wonât hurt you. You need to tell yourself that when it happens. The dead canât hurt you.â
What she didnât tell him, however, was that they might haunt you for months. They could wreck your sleep and they could creep into your subconscious and lodge there like parasites.
In very bad cases, they could fill you with a black fear of everything beneath the surface of the water.
14
N EITHER A NNA B AGGER nor Mark Bille was anywhere to be found at Grenå Police Station, so Peter left a message at reception and asked one of them to call him. But he heard nothing for the rest of the day and concluded they probably had other things to think about. Never mind. At least he had shown willing. Driving home after work, he knew immediately that
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