Anette made eye contact with Svend. They had been through this so many times before that he knew instantly what the look meant. The family picnic was going to happen without her. He shrugged and gave her a smile of encouragement, before he hid behind his newspaper again and then suddenly popped his head out, causing Gudrun to burst out laughing.

“Was he kidnapped?” Anette asked.

“We don’t know for sure,” PC sighed. “But the family is… shall way say, prominent? They own that auction house, Nordhjem. And they have received threats before. We’ve had them on our radar for several years.”

Anette heard her daughter’s laughter fill the kitchen.

“I’m on my way.”

CHAPTER 2

Behind Langelinie Pier’s steady stream of cruise ships and the world-famous Little Mermaid sculpture, a small pleasure-boat marina, Søndre Frihavn, was tucked between warehouses and the sort of modern apartment buildings where the stainless steel–clad refrigerators are always empty because their owners are in Hong Kong.

Jeppe Kørner scowled at the pier, past the restaurant with the outdoor seating underneath dark green sun umbrellas, toward the red and gray concrete buildings, where the Oslo ferry docked at the end. This area might be considered desirable, fashionable even, but Lord knows it certainly wasn’t pretty.

Dampfærgevej, PC had said. The Dreyer-Hoff family lived at number 24B. Anette Werner would meet him on the street out front at eleven.

He walked along the water, glancing at the small gathering of Folkboats, yawls, and yachts made of fiberglass and wood that were moored in the little marina. Their rocking and sloshing in the breeze brought an echo of life to the desolate area.

A hundred yards farther down the pier he spotted Anette in front of a modern brick building. She was standing near the breakwater, inspecting an older wooden boat that was wrapped up in tarps and looked like it was being overhauled. Jeppe contemplated her with a smile. He never thought he would be saying this about his partner, but she looked good. Still as big as a shed, and yet even so, she seemed longer now and with a slenderness around the hips, which made her broad shoulders look sporty. But it wasn’t just that she had lost weight. Anette had a new twinkle in her eye lately, a depth that changed her rather ordinary facial features and made her—well, beautiful. Maybe it had something to do with her becoming a mother, or maybe she was just one of those women who got prettier with age. Jeppe was fairly confident that she would punch him if he remarked on the change.

“What, are you checking out my ass while you’ve got the chance?” Anette asked him, her back still to him.

“Would be foolish not to.”

“I agree.” She turned around and winked at him.