The Forgotten Girls Read Online Free

Tonight’s bridge night and I’m in charge of the cheese platter, so I won’t be able to make it back after my meeting.”
    Louise followed him out but paused by the door. Eik Nordstrøm was standing in the front office, chatting with Hanne, who was nodding and smiling at every word he said.
    “So how about we figure out the identity of our Jane Doe?” Louise asked. “If you’re not too busy?”
    She marched through the front office, well aware of the sour tone in her voice. She heard Eik whisper something in Hanne’s ear that made her giggle before he tore himself away to catch up with Louise in the hallway.
    “You want a cup of coffee?” he asked, turning to walk into the kitchen.
    “No thanks, I drink tea.” Louise stopped in surprise by the door to the Rathole. The office was transformed. It suddenly looked like someone had moved in. Maybe those music postersin snap frames weren’t exactly to her taste, but at least it looked inhabited.
    “Well, I’ll be…” she exclaimed.
    “I can chuck it all back if it bothers you,” she heard from behind her where Eik was watching her, a cup of coffee and two cheese sandwiches in hand.
    “No, it’s fine,” she answered quickly. Truth be told, she was happy to leave the decorating to someone else. It was nice to have some things in the room, but she had no personal interest in the details.
    She walked over to her desk, put her stuff down, and dropped into her chair.

4
    I PUT A black marker on the case so the woman is now categorized as deceased in Interpol’s register,” Louise said. She looked at Eik, who was digging into his second sandwich. “But before we release the photo to the media, maybe we should send it to the police districts and to Interpol?”
    She waited, unsure of the proper procedure. The case had been transferred to the Search Department once it became apparent to the Holbæk police that they were unable to identify the woman on their own.
    “Not that it’ll do the other districts much good when we don’t have a name to put on it,” she added.
    He shook his head while he quickly finished chewing. “We’ll only be wasting time if we sit around and wait for someone to recognize her by chance. When it comes to unidentified bodies, we usually start by focusing on the area where they were found.”
    “All right,” Louise said. “It was a forest worker who foundher on Thursday morning by Avnsø Lake on central Zealand. Does that ring a bell with you?” He shook his head as she rattled off locations: “Hvalsø, Skov Hastrup, Særløse, Ny Tolstrup. There’s a refugee center out there.”
    “Is it down by Køge?” he asked, shaking the crumbs off his black T-shirt.
    “No, it’s not near Køge.” She sighed. “It’s between Roskilde and Holbæk. The forest worker was cleaning up along the lakeside when he spotted her. He doesn’t know anything about the deceased and hasn’t noticed any signs of anyone living in the woods.”
    She recounted information from the autopsy but fell silent when he held up his hand to stop her. “I need a refill.” He picked up his mug and left. On his return, he asked, “Do we know if the local police searched the area around the slope where she fell?”
    “The report from the police department in Holbæk says there were clear skid marks in the wet soil at the top,” Louise confirmed. “There had been light rain overnight but they didn’t find any footprints apart from hers.”
    “Maybe she lived in the woods,” he suggested. “Could she be homeless?”
    Louise put down the brief police report as someone knocked on the door. Hanne poked her head in; the corners of her mouth turned down, and reminded Louise that she still had not put her name on her cubbyhole. “It’d be nice if things didn’t end up on my desk. They’re piling up!”
    “Did something arrive for me?” Louise asked. It could be mail forwarded from the Homicide Department. The head of the Negotiation Group had agreed Louise