“Um, well… If a person discovered something about a child—an eleven-year-old girl—which her mother would be furious to learn about, and would seriously chew the child out if she knew, should this person tell the mother or not?”

Esther was silent. He was just about to backpedal when she cleared her throat and said, “Is it important to you that the child trusts you?”

Jeppe thought about that. He was surprised to realize how unequivocal he felt.

“Yes, it’s very important to me that she trusts me.”

“Then the answer is obvious. Unless—”

“Unless what?”

“Unless the secret puts her in danger.”

CHAPTER 20

The clouds hung low over the water, ominous and dark, as Mads Teigen moored Stærkodder in front of Prøvestenen sea fortress. Anette knew better than to try to help him with the routine tasks and hopped onto the concrete dock. The harbor was completely empty apart from the two of them, not a single boat or person in sight. In front of them the fortress loomed low, with the smokestacks and silos of Petroleum Island rising up behind it, gray and forlorn. Crumbling rock, an antenna, a tipped-over trash can. It looked like some sort of cross between a North Atlantic island and a sci-fi movie.

A good place to go missing, she thought, and realized that Mads was standing right beside her.

“Are you okay?” He put his broad hand on her shoulder and let it stay there. His touch sent an electric jolt through Anette, and she didn’t dare respond, for fear that doing so would divulge the effect he had on her. She pulled away and looked out at the horizon.

“A-okay, just a little tired. How about you?”

“I’m doing well.” He smiled. “Better than in a long time, actually.”

Anette returned his broad smile and regretted it right away. Why couldn’t she just relax?

“Do you want to have a quick cup of coffee before we get going?” He pointed with his thumb to a thermos that sat on the deck. “Have you had lunch? I brought a little along in case you’re hungry.”

“That was nice of you, but I’m not hungry. Let’s just get started, if that’s all right with you.”

He nodded in the direction of the fort in a sort of ladies first gesture. Anette felt his eyes on her back, and her heart started pounding in her chest. The fort’s facade was worn and weather-beaten. She touched a crumbling window frame and watched her finger go right through it. The place seemed totally abandoned.

“It’s probably easier to get in from the back.”