Her father’s voice: “Morning, Officers. What can I do for you?”
Selina freezes. Officers? What the fuck? The police are here!? She immediately feels guilty. Had Jonas been drinking when he drove them home last night? Were there any drugs in the car?
“Morning, sir,” a man’s voice says. “We’re from the local police.”
“I figured as much,” her dad says. “Is something wrong?”
Selina quickly finishes up and goes to the window. From up here, she can see her father and two uniformed police officers. One of them is older and has a grey beard. The other one is pretty young, maybe mid-twenties, and pretty handsome. The younger officer appears to be rather nervous, as he keeps darting glances around the courtyard.
“My name is Soren, and this is Allan,” the older officer says.
“Torben,” Selina’s dad says, shaking hands with the older officer. He also offers his hand to the younger officer, but he doesn’t notice it.
“Allan?” the older officer asks.
Allan turns his head, smiles apologetically and briefly shakes Dad’s hand, before going back to searching the surroundings with his eyes.
Why is he so paranoid?
“We’re looking for a young girl who went missing last night,” Soren explains, taking out a phone. “Her name is Jennie Nygaard. If I could ask you to take a look at her photo …”
Dad studies the screen for a moment, before shaking his head. “Sorry, I haven’t seen her. Is she from around here? My daughter and I just moved here last month, you see, so we don’t really know—”
He’s interrupted by a scream from the backyard. Soren raises his grey eyebrows, and Allan’s hand goes instinctively to his belt, even though Selina can’t see any gun there.
“We’re having a kid’s birthday party,” Dad explains. “That’s just the girls playing.”
“Could we have a word with you inside?” Soren asks.
“Sure, come on in. My wife is out shopping, but she’ll be back in ten minutes or so. Maybe she knows the girl.”
The officers follow Dad inside the house. Just before they disappear out of sight, Selina notices Allan throwing one last look over his shoulder. Then the front door closes.
Selina is so curious she has completely forgotten about her headache. She runs to her room, gets dressed and puts in new contacts. Just as she’s about to leave her room, see notices something outside the window.
It’s the figure in the field again. This time, she’s sure it really is a person, because they’re a lot closer. She can tell it’s a girl around Selina’s own age. She’s heading straight for the garden, where the kids are playing. Only a row of rosehips separates the lawn from the surrounding fields.
But something seems odd about the girl, Selina notices. She’s staggering along in a precarious fashion, almost like a sleepwalker. Her arms are outstretched in front of her, like she’s grabbing for something. Her hair is messy and covers most of her face.
Could that be the girl the police are looking for? I’d better tell the officers …
Selina runs downstairs.
TWO
On her way down the staircase, she’s met by a pack of girls laughing loudly.
“Heey!” one of them shouts. “Are you Louisa’s big sister?”
Selina doesn’t bother to answer, but rushes past them. She finds her dad with the officers in the kitchen.
Allan turns immediately as she steps into the room. His eyes are surprisingly dark and handsome, but also nervous, almost scared.
“Do you suspect something happened to the girl?” Dad asks. He’s pouring coffee and hasn’t noticed her.
“We can’t discuss the case,” Soren says, taking the mug with a grateful nod. “But you’ll hear about it in the media before the day is over, I can pretty much guarantee it.”
Selina suddenly feels awkward. Allan is still the only one to have noticed her presence, and he’s doing nothing but silently staring at her, which is making her uncomfortable. She clears her throat.
Dad turns around. “Good morning, missy. How’s the head?”
“It’s fine,” Selina mutters.
“This is my daughter, Selina.”
“Morning,” Soren mumbles through a sip of coffee as he eyes her thoughtfully. “How old are you, Selina?”
“Uhm … sixteen.”
“Do you happen to know Jennie Nygaard? She’s a year older than you.”
“I don’t know her, but I think—”
She’s interrupted as three girls come barging into the kitchen. Louisa is one of them. “Torben! Can I open my presents now? Hey, who’re these guys?”
“These are officers from the police,” Dad explains.
“Wow!” Louisa gasps, eyeing the men. “Are you like real policemen?”
“We sure are,” Soren says, smiling. “And how old are you, my girl?”
“Seven!” Louisa exclaims proudly, holding up the same number of fingers.
“Louisa!” One of the other girls pulls her sleeve. “Where’s your dog?”
“Yeah, you said we could see it,” the third girl chimes in.
Louisa’s expression turns sad. “It’s gone.”
“Louisa’s dog unfortunately ran away a few days ago,” Dad explains. “But we put up posters, and I’m sure someone will find it. Go show your friends your room, Louisa.”
The girls leave the kitchen and run upstairs.
“Please, sit down,” Dad says to the officers. “My wife will be here any minute.”
Soren sits down, but Allan walks past the table and instead stands in front of the window to the back garden, where the kids are still running around playing.
Selina takes a breath. “I think I might have seen the girl you’re looking for.”
Everyone’s attention turns to her at once. Even Allan turns away from the window to stare at her.
“I see,” Soren says evenly. “And when was that?”
“Right now. Just a minute ago. I saw—” At that moment, Selina sees something through the window.
The girl from the field comes crashing through the rosehips. The thorns are tugging at her clothes and leaving bloody scratches on her arms, yet the girl doesn’t seem to pay notice. She just stumbles out onto the lawn with stiff, staggering steps.
The face of the girl leaves Selina speechless. Her messy hair can’t hide the greenish hue dominating the skin nor the milky white eyes which belong to a dead fish
