Farewell to Freedom by Sara Blædel Read Free Book Online

about having her own son suddenly in the public eye like this, but of course at the same time she could see that it would be hypocritical to insist that he be kept out of it since she spent most of her time trying to get eyewitnesses to talk.
    â€œI’ll start with writing about how they found her and then we’ll see what the police have to say about the towel she was wrapped in.”
    After Høyer left, Camilla took out her cell phone and looked at the pictures she’d managed to snap of the newborn. She hadn’t told anyone she had them, nor was she planning to. She could still feel the baby’s tiny body against her chest and was trying to remember what the mood in the pastor’s kitchen was like when she arrived. Markus described how the baby cried and cried, and Pastor Holm described how the cries went straight to his heart.
    Well, she couldn’t have been crying like that all night , Camilla thought as she browsed through the pictures she’d taken. Such a tiny baby wouldn’t have the energy for that.
    She closed the photo app and dialed Rasmus Hem at the Bellahøj precinct, whom she had met at the pastor’s residence that morning.
    â€œHave you determined the time of birth?” Camilla asked after explaining that she was Markus’s mother and that they had met that morning.
    â€œI don’t recall you mentioning you are a reporter,” he said frostily.
    â€œWell, I really didn’t think it was the right time to get into that. The only reason I was at the pastor’s residence this morning was because my son was upset about what he had just seen. If I had been planning to exploit the situation, I would have been pressing you for details this morning. I held that little girl in my arms and I would really like to help reunite her with her mother.”
    The officer sighed and grumbled a little before finally continuing.
    â€œAs I believe I also told you this morning, I have no idea if being reunited with a mother who abandoned her would be the best thing for her. Perhaps it would be better for the baby to be adopted as soon as possible, so she can get a fresh start on life,” he said, adding after a brief pause that the last part was off the record.
    â€œOf course,” Camilla said. For a second she agreed with him, but then she admitted to herself that despite a rough start, she still thought it was best for a child to be with the woman who gave birth to her. After all, she thought, the child should have a sense of being rooted in her identity later in life.
    â€œNonsense!” Officer Hem hissed tersely. “Most women can give birth to a child, but that is absolutely not the same thing as knowing how to be a mother.”
    Camilla didn’t touch that, but she did jot the expression down in her notebook. She repeated her question about the time of birth, and she wasn’t surprised when he said the doctors estimated it to be late last night or early that same morning.
    â€œDid it happen in the church?”
    â€œToo soon to say.”
    â€œDo you have anything on the towel?” she continued.
    â€œAfraid not. It’s from one of the big national chain stores, Føtex, we think. They sell hundreds of them every year, so it’ll be impossible to find the buyer.”
    â€œBut you are going to have it analyzed to possibly ID the mother?”
    â€œOf course, but obviously the technicians need a little time, and then they’ll have to run whatever DNA they find on it. We won’t get the results back until next week at the earliest.”
    â€œHow is she doing?” Camilla finally asked.
    The officer’s voice perked up. “I just came from the hospital, and she’s spending most of her time sleeping like most newborns, so I’m guessing she’s doing quite well,” he said, and then added that the little girl had gotten something to eat and been cleaned up.
    Camilla thanked him and gave him her