‘Lay off, will you?’ she snaps. ‘I was very clear about you staying in the car until I said otherwise. Instead, you shove a camera in Luna’s face, and mine, inside an ambulance. I don’t care, but to publish footage of her in that state can hardly be considered honouring our deal. Or the ethical guidelines of your profession either, for that matter.’

‘I’m glad we did it. At least we got something we could use.’

She gives up.

‘Can you get that thing fired up so we can get this done?’ she says with a sigh.

*

It doesn’t go well.

Just how badly won’t be clear to her until she watches the interview herself. They’ve gathered for a quick meeting: Viggo Haugen, Jounas Smeed, Johan Stolt, and two consultants from the hurriedly drafted PR company. Everyone except Karen has already seen the interview on the news.

Now, the male consultant loads up DTV’s website and the big screen at the end of the room fills with her hard face, complete with dark circles under the eyes, and the headline: POLICE DENY EARLY KNOWLEDGE.

The dark circles could be taken as a sign that this is a representative of the Doggerian police who has worked day and night to locate a missing person. The stiff facial expression could be taken as a sign that the Doggerian police took the situation exactly as seriously as it required. What no viewer could possibly miss, however, is the friction between the reporter and the interviewee. Increasingly confrontational questions, increasingly terse answers.

It started out OK.

‘Are you happy with how the police handled this case?’

She doesn’t smile. But she does make an effort to adopt a facial expression that conveys that the police take what has happened seriously, while also reassuring the public that everything went well. Every last muscle in her face feels like it’s seizing up with the effort.

‘Yes, I am. The victim is safe and the perpetrator is in custody. So everything turned out as well as it could, considering the circumstances.’

‘As well as it could, you say. Isn’t it true the police had indications Luna might be missing as early as two weeks ago and that you did nothing?’

Her eyes dart away from his. A tiny but revealing movement that signals both concern and irritation. She can see it herself. Everyone can see it. Whatever answer she gives after that will have zero credibility.

‘We learnt that she was being held captive last night,’ she says.

Somehow her answer sounds more like a question. She’d heard it herself before the last words were even out. Had felt she needed to expand on that a little. But how? What the fuck can I say now without making things worse? Who the fuck is leaking?

Watching herself on the screen, it’s clear her mind is racing, spinning like a centrifuge.