‘Damn!’
‘Did you hear they think they’ve found Hakon’s body?’ the constable said.
‘Yeah, I’ve seen it, at the bottom of Hjalparfoss. He’s dead, there’s not much doubt about that. But I’m worried about Ingileif. I think whoever killed the pastor is after her.’
‘I’ll radio in if I see her.’
‘Can you call me on my cell?’ Magnus said, giving the constable his number.
‘You could ask those guys back there.’
Magnus turned. A car was parked by the side of the road over-looking the church and the rectory.
‘Who are they?’
‘Three men. One Icelander and two foreigners. I asked them what they were doing, they didn’t have an answer, or not one that made any sense.’
Feldman and Jubb, Magnus thought. ‘They’re waiting for you to leave so they can search the church,’ he said. ‘But thank you, I’ll go speak with them.’
He drove up to the car. There was a small Icelander in the driver’s seat, with Jubb next to him and Feldman in the back. They looked distinctly uncomfortable to see Magnus.
Magnus got out of his own vehicle and approached theirs. The Icelander wound down his window.
‘Hello, Lawrence, Steve,’ Magnus said in English, nodding to the two foreigners.
‘Afternoon, officer,’ said Lawrence from the back seat.
‘And you are?’ Magnus asked the Icelander.
‘Axel Bjarnason. I’m a private investigator. I’m working for Mr Feldman.’
‘To do what?’
Axel shrugged.
‘He’s helping us with some research,’ Feldman said.
Magnus was about to tell them they were wasting their time, the church had been thoroughly searched and there was no ring there, when he thought better of it. Let them spend all day on this godforsaken heath in the mist.
‘Have any of you seen Ingileif Asgrimsdottir?’ he asked.
Axel’s expression of patient disinterest didn’t change. But he didn’t answer the question. Jubb frowned.
‘No, officer, we haven’t,’ Feldman said. ‘At least not today. We tried to speak with her yesterday, but she wasn’t real excited to see us.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ said Magnus. ‘If you do see her, let me know.’ He scribbled his number on to a piece of paper torn from his note-book and gave it to Feldman. ‘The pastor has just been found. Murdered. I’m pretty sure the guy who did it is after Ingileif right now.’
Feldman took the card. ‘We’ll be sure to call you,’ he said.
Magnus turned to look at the church, squatting beneath the crags in the mist. A raven descended out of the cloud and landed by the side of the road a few feet ahead. It strutted along, eyeing the two cars.
‘Enjoy your day,’ Magnus said, and jumped back into his vehicle. He sped off down the hill back to the main road.
He must have missed her coming the other way. Reykjavik. His best bet was Reykjavik.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Steve Jubb watched the cop’s car disappear over the hill. ‘You know this isn’t right.’
‘What isn’t right, Gimli?’ Feldman said.
‘For a start, my name isn’t Gimli, it’s Steve.’
‘We discussed this before. We should use our nicknames.’
‘No, Lawrence. My name isn’t Gimli, it’s Steve. Your name isn’t Isildur, it’s Lawrence. This isn’t Middle Earth, it’s Iceland. Lord of the Rings isn’t real, it’s a story. A bloody good story, but a story none the less.’
‘But Gimli, the ring could be in that church! The ring from the Volsung Saga. The ring that Tolkien wrote about. Don’t you realise how cool that is!’
‘Frankly, I don’t give a toss. That professor I spoke to only a week ago is dead. A vicar is dead. There’s a nutter running around somewhere out there who’s looking to kill a girl. A real live person, Lawrence, don’t you get that?’
‘Hey, look, it’s got nothing to do with us,’ said Feldman. He looked at Jubb suspiciously. ‘Or does it?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, did you kill the professor?’ said Feldman.
‘Don’t be daft. Course I bloody didn’t.’
‘You say that, but I have no way of knowing whether you are telling the truth.’
‘Look. That copper out there is looking for Ingileif. We know where she is. We should tell him.’ Jubb took out his mobile phone. ‘Give me his number.’
‘No, Gimli. No.’
‘Jesus Christ!’ exclaimed Jubb. He jumped out of the car, flung open the door to the back and hauled Feldman out. The little man tried to cling on to the seatbelt but Jubb broke his grip. Jubb clenched his fist. ‘Give me that number or I’ll smash yer face in.’
Feldman cowered on the ground and handed the big Yorkshireman the scrap of paper bearing Magnus’s number.
Jubb went round to the driver’s side. ‘Are you with me?’ he asked Axel.
‘The problem is, Steve, that bugging the girl’s car wasn’t strictly legal.’
Jubb didn’t wait to argue. He leaned in, grabbed the private investigator, and flung him into the road. He jumped into the driver’s seat and started up the engine. With Feldman and Axel hammering on the side of the car, he executed a quick three-point turn and sped off after the copper, striking Feldman a glancing blow on the legs with his bumper as he did so.
Magnus slowed as he reached the junction of the main road just south of Fludir. His cell phone chirped.
‘Hello?’
‘This is Steve Jubb. Just wait where you are! I’m right behind you.’
‘All right,’ said Magnus. He knew Feldman and Jubb had known more than they were saying, although he was surprised that they had decided to tell him what. ‘I’ll be waiting.’
Magnus pulled over to the side. Within two minutes he saw the private investigator’s car fly down the road towards him. It pulled in behind him, and Steve Jubb jumped out, carrying a laptop under his arm. Alone.
He climbed into the passenger seat next to Magnus.
‘Hang on,’ he said, switching on the laptop, and a receiver attached to it. ‘This will tell us where Ingileif is.’
‘Excellent,’ said Magnus. He put the car into gear and turned left, towards Reykjavik. That was by far the most likely direction and he wanted to catch her up. ‘Where are your friends?’
‘Tossers,’ muttered Jubb as he fiddled with the computer.
Magnus wasn’t exactly sure what a tosser was, but he was prepared to take Jubb’s word for it. ‘Thanks for coming to get me.’
‘I should have said something back there,’ Jubb said. ‘Should have told you everything back when you arrested me.’ He clicked a couple of keys. ‘Come on…’ he muttered.
‘So you bugged her car?’
Jubb just grunted and carried on tapping at the keyboard. ‘Here we are. She’s north of here. Way north of here. Turn around.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Course I’m bloody sure. Take a look.’
Magnus slowed and peered at the computer screen on Jubb’s lap. It displayed a map of south-west Iceland, and it showed a round circle moving north along a road on the other side of Fludir.
‘Where the hell is she going?’ Magnus asked. ‘There’s nothing up there, is there? Take a look at the map.
