“No, you know what I mean, people who lived ordinary lives outwardly—schoolteachers, lawyers, people who worked in retail, doctors, those kinds of people. They weren’t hoboes or mass murderers. They were people you would normally feel safe running into on the street.”

“And where did you meet these people?”

“In a building in Nordhavnen Harbor, an empty warehouse somewhere not far from where the cruise ships dock today.”

“How did you find out about that place?”

“I had an acquaintance who recommended that I become a member …”

“A member?” Heloise asked. “How did one become a member?”

“You had to be interviewed. It was a … a club. The Lullaby Club, we called it. A sort of a secret society. You couldn’t just show up and knock on the door. You had to know someone who knew that you … shared their … weaknesses.”

“Was there any sexual activity at this … club?”

“Sometimes, yes.”

“With minors?”

He nodded.

“So the members of the club were all pedophiles?”

“To varying degrees.”

“It’s a yes-or-no question. Was it a club for pedophiles?”

“Yes.”

“And where did the children come from?”

“I … uh, I don’t know …” He shrugged vaguely.

“How old were they?”

“It varied.” He shook his head uncomfortably.

“Ten, twelve—what?”

“Yes.”

“Younger?”

“Sometimes.”

Heloise stood up so quickly that her chair tipped over behind her and she spat in his face.

“You’re disgusting!” she yelled. “I hate you! I fucking hate you, do you know that?”

The door at the far end of the room opened, and a guard stepped in.

Heloise composed herself.

She looked over at the guard and gestured that there wasn’t any problem, that he could step out again.

Once the door was closed again, she picked up the chair and sat down again while her father wiped his face with his hands. He started sobbing, and they sat across from each other for a long time without talking, without looking at each other.

Then Heloise picked up where they had left off.

“Did you meet Anna Kiel at one of those events?”

“Couldn’t we just not talk about—”

She raised her voice. “Did you meet Anna Kiel at one of those events?”

He nodded.

“Once? More than once? What?”

“I … I can’t remember that. I was only there occasionally, but Anna says that she was there several times, that she saw me there more than once.”

“Did you hurt her?”

“No.”

“You didn’t touch her?”

“No.” He shook his head.

“Did other people?”

“Some did, yes.” He nodded grimly.

“How old was she at the time?”

“I … don’t know—”

“But she was raped?”

He nodded.

Heloise shook her head in disgust. “How do you know that?”

“I … I saw it happen.”

“You watched?”

“Yes. But I only watched, though. I never touched her.”