and at all the water that was now splashing out of it onto the ground. Up until now, it had all been like an odd dream, like a freakish nightmare, but seeing my ex-husband's car in front of me suddenly made it all seem very real. I gasped for air and felt Morten's hand on my shoulder.
"It's okay, Emma," he whispered. "She wasn't in it, remember. She’s still out there somewhere. She’s still alive. Don't lose hope. Without hope you'll never be able to find her."
I caught my breath and bent over slightly in order to breathe better. I watched as forensics experts attacked the car and started securing evidence. I heard the sound of a camera clicking behind me and turned to see Rebekka Franck and that photographer of hers. They had somehow managed to get past the police barricade as well. She saw me and came closer. I sighed and turned my head away. I really didn't want to speak to her right now.
"Emma Frost?" she asked. I could hear her footsteps approaching. I didn't turn to look, but knew she was right behind me. "Oh my God, Emma, how are you feeling?" she asked.
Startled by her compassion, I turned to look at her.
"It must be awful for you," she said.
"Well…Wait. Is this for your paper?" I asked, suddenly afraid of making the front cover with some dramatic headline.
"No. No. Of course not. I mean, we're going to mention that the car was found and pulled out of the water, but I'm not going to mention a word about you. I see no reason to."
I felt relief. Maybe she wasn't as hungry for sensation as I had first taken her to be. "Well, good. ‘Cause this is kind of private."
"I know. Oh my God, no. I don't do that kind of journalism. I was just thinking about you. I have two kids of my own. I can't imagine what you must be going through."
"I don't think most people would want to," I said. I felt the tears pressing behind my eyes, but refused to let them go.
"At least there was no one in the car," Rebekka said. "Gives you hope that she is still alive, right?"
I nodded. I didn't feel like talking anymore. This was simply too hard. I knew if I opened my mouth, I would burst into tears. I heard someone shout and turned to look in the direction of the car. A guy in a blue bodysuit had found something and was holding it in the air.
I gasped and grabbed hold of Morten's shirt.
"What is it?" Rebekka asked. "What did they find? It looks like a necklace of some sort."
"It's Maya's necklace." I said and looked at the golden chain with the heart hanging from it. The heart with the four small diamonds in it that I had seen so many times when looking at my daughter.
10
April 2012
T HE BARTENDER FOLLOWED HER into the bathroom in the bar. They passed Mads on the way and Signe gave him a flirtatious look.
"Signe, goddammit," he said, but she danced past him like she hadn't heard him, like it was the most natural thing in the world for her to walk to the restroom with a strange man.
Signe opened the door and signaled the bartender to follow her. Just as she closed it, her eyes met Mads' and she could have sworn his eyes turned black. It amused her. She liked seeing him like this. It wasn't that she cared about the bartender. No, she was indifferent about him. No, what aroused her was the tension, the excitement of knowing she had made her husband green and flaming with jealousy.
She pulled the bartender closer and let him kiss her neck. She moaned purposely loud to make sure Mads could hear them. The bartender smelled like sweat and he had bad breath when he kissed her. She felt his hand up under her skirt and his fingers finding their way underneath her panties.
"Oh yes, bad boy," she moaned. "Take me. Touch me right there. I want to feel you inside of me. I want to feel your big cock inside of me now. I bet you have a huge cock, don't you?"
The bartender smiled and opened his pants and let it out. Signe was disappointed. It was small, probably the smallest she had ever seen. It made her angry with him. The