Lost in Blue

Epilogue: Wer solche Freunde hat, braucht keine Feinde

After a few weeks, things had calmed down. The media no longer reported about the mysterious case of the strange woman, her disappearance or N's breakout of the hospital. Instead, the agencies – SPIEGEL, BILD, WELT and the like – as well as 'Tagesschau' jumped at the chance to report that a certain Schrödinger was responsible for the false leaks, the murder of the unknown blonde woman as well as a little boy and the incident of Elena Dorn nine years ago. Oh, and the sudden weather change was a big topic in the end part of the news.

With Loreley officially declared dead, Eckert had found N to be the perfect scapegoat to keep the truth under wraps and arranged all evidence to point to the latter as the perpetrator. As convenient as it was, sometimes Dorn didn't know whether he should be amazed or frightened when it concerned his superior's shrewd capabilities to give the authorities the run-around.

Gessler used his writing skills to defend the police department, cleared their name and honored their efforts instead, followed along by a few of his journalist colleagues. In the end, this article helped him gain the fame he had yearned for, as ironic as it was.

Outsiders like Kühn, Arzt and Schneider were ordered to remain quiet about the things they had seen. In exchange for their silence, compensation was arranged and all of them pursued working in their field of work, which meant Dorn was still cursed with having to cross paths with Melanie from time to time. Needless to say, his coffee consumption doubled from that day on.

And the policeman himself? Of course, Dorn was a man who kept his promises. After her divorce, Nele Geier's husband was put before the courts for fraud. His rival's company got the justice they deserved.

Last he had heard Miss Geier lived happily in the suburbs with her half of the riches, so him bailing Gessler out of their deal had been no problem. After all, she never had a personal grudge against him, but her cheating husband.

Concerning the little boy in the coffin – after six long months, Dorn had finally arranged for him to be buried near his family grave where Elena rested. Technically, he was one of his kind, a family member of the Dorns, albeit a distant one. With the child's burial, he had fulfilled his promise to Loreley.

Under normal circumstances, the whole deal would have been solved, so the policeman could move on and continue his daily life. If only things were that easy.

He still had to meet up with a certain person.

Dorn had decided to spend his free day in a small café with a certain accomplice at his side. He still had to return that guy's red vest and while he was at it, it needed to be a place that provided enough caffeine for his nerves to remain calm around the journalist.

At the small table, he handed him the burgundy fabric.

"Thanks," Gessler, dressed in a different shade of red than usual, took it and stowed it away in the briefcase to his right. Dorn wondered if his whole wardrobe consisted of only red clothing, judging by his attire. Somehow that thought didn't seem too far-off.

Henning kept quiet and brought the cup of dark liquid to his lips. At the moment, he didn't really want to talk about everything they had gone through and he had the feeling the journalist was nice enough to not address that delicate topic.

"So, you like fish, huh?" Gessler asked, taking a sip of his cup of tea.

As usual, Henning was terribly mistaken when it came to a journalist's audacity.

Dorn choked on his coffee and below the table, he kicked his opposite's shin. A few droplets spilled onto his coat.

"Gessler!" the policeman glared, wiping away the liquid with a tissue.