Anette crossed the threshold into the workshop. It had a workbench in the middle and shelves lining the walls. He followed her in, closed the door, and locked it. Stayed by the door, watching her.

She intuitively sensed that he wanted her to look around, look at the birds. So she stepped over to one of the shelves and inspected the outstretched wings and the swelling feathery splendor of the specimens displayed. She didn’t recognize them as anything other than big or small birds, felt unsure of how to react and uncomfortable with their piercing, dead eyes following her around the room.

“Wow! Did you… do all of these?”

“Every single one. All of them within the last year.”

She nodded appreciatively.

“You’ve been busy. Is stuffing them difficult?”

Anette could see disappointment in his eyes and realized that she wasn’t reacting the way he had hoped. She hesitantly moved closer to a black bird with a white chest and long tail feathers. It had silvery blue contrast feathers on its wings and a little black beak.

“We have these in our yard. Svend always scares them away.…”

He looked down at the floor as if she had slapped him and she realized she had probably never mentioned Svend’s name to him before. Obviously doing so was a mistake. She reached for the bird and accidentally knocked it off the shelf.

“Oh no, I’m sorry! Nothing happened, I think.”

She gathered up the bird and put it back on the shelf. When she turned around, he was standing right behind her.

“Fuck!” She laughed nervously. “Okay, I didn’t see you there.”

He watched her intently. A deep wrinkle divided his brows, and the look in his eyes was determined. Her mouth went dry. She tried to swallow but couldn’t.

Mads grabbed her hand. This time he held it so tightly that there was no doubt of his physical advantage.

CHAPTER 31

Sara Saidani turned the heat down under the pot on the burner and set the egg timer, then put a rye bread out on the kitchen counter and lined up the lunch plates. Jeppe hadn’t tried to get in touch with her since Tuesday night, but that was just as well. Her focus needed to be on getting Amina back on her feet and back to school. The episode had rattled her daughter in an unexpected way, unraveling insecurities Amina normally kept hidden. Now that she finally needed her mother again, Sara wanted to be there for her. At all costs.