Heloise looked at the clock. It was 1:27 p.m. She got up and fetched a bottle of white wine and a glass from the kitchen. She was just about to take the first sip when her phone rang. She pulled it out and looked at the caller ID.

Erik Schäfer.

They hadn’t talked to each other since they’d returned from Paris, and she was surprised at how happy she felt to see his name light up on her display.

“Hi.”

“Hey, Kaldan. What’s up?” His voice was deep and raspy but delightfully cheerful. “Are you writing any revealing articles? Bringing down any assholes?”

“Well, a couple here and there.”

“That’s the spirit,” he said. “And other than that? Everything all right?”

“Yes.” Heloise caught herself nodding. “I’m okay. How about you?”

“I’m great. I’ve been busy, but you know all about that. I can see from the paper that you’ve been following along from the sidelines. That’s actually one of the reasons I’m calling,” Schäfer said. “I have a follow-up story for you, if you want it.”

“Uh, yes please!” Heloise set down her wineglass and grabbed a pen. She clicked the top and was ready. “What’ve you got?”

“I just received a call from the police in East Jutland. That high school teacher, you know—our twelfth man?”

“Yeah, what about him?”

“A herring boat just hauled him up somewhere off of Aarhus this morning.”

“Is he dead?”

“Yes, otherwise this would be a new world record for free diving. The pathologist thinks he’s been in the water for almost two months.”

“So, since he disappeared?”

“Yup.”

“Could it have been an accidental drowning, do you think?”

“The body was tangled up in an iron chain.”

“Oh …” Heloise raised an eyebrow.

“Right. Oh!” Schäfer said. “The family has already been notified, and I thought it would be better if you ran with the story before the tabloids got wind of it.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.”

“Anything else? Any news about Anna?”

“No, nothing.”

“And Mossing?”

Schäfer sighed so heavily that Heloise could almost smell his tobacco breath over the phone. “Nothing.”

They were both quiet for a moment, and then Heloise said, “My father’s dead. He hung himself in his cell.”

“Yeah,” Schäfer said. “I know.”

Heloise blinked a couple of times, surprised. “How do you know that?”

“The police in Fresnes contacted me this morning.”

“Is that why you’re calling?”

Schäfer cleared his throat. “I, uh … I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

Heloise mulled that over for a moment. “I am,” she said then, and she meant it.

“Good,” he said. “Is there anyone who can be with you today?”

“Martin’s coming over tonight.”

“Okay, good … Good.”

Heloise could hear some kind of announcement echoing in the background, a woman’s voice over a staticky loudspeaker sound. “Where are you?”