‘Frikki, you’ll never forget what happened,’ Harpa said. ‘But you are still young. You’re not a murderer, you didn’t mean to kill Gabriel Orn. You can still turn your life around. Focus on that.’
Frikki glanced at Magda. She closed her eyes and nodded. ‘OK,’ Frikki said. ‘OK.’
The moment Magnus saw Sindri he remembered where he recognized him from.
Oh, shit.
He wished he had brought Arni along, rather than Vigdis. This could get embarrassing, and Arni was an easier person to be embarrassed in front of.
But Sindri didn’t recognize him. He was full of indignation at being harassed by police in his own home. Magnus could tell that Sindri wasn’t surprised by the visit. On the other hand Sindri was probably used to unannounced visits by the police.
The flat was a dump, and smelled faintly of marijuana, stale tobacco and rotten food. Sindri reluctantly led them into the living room. There was a pile of dirty plates by the sink in the kitchen alcove. A computer in one corner was surrounded by paper on the desk and on the floor. Sindri was obviously working on something which involved a lot of pages.
Sindri sat down at the dining table and folded his arms. ‘All right, what do you want?’ he said. His deep voice was defiant, but there was something friendly about his puffy eyes that he couldn’t quite hide.
Magnus glanced up at the big painting on the wall by the table. ‘Did you do that?’ he asked.
‘I did.’
‘Is it Bjartur of Summerhouses?’
‘Amazing. A cop who reads.’
‘
‘It’s a great book. Everyone in Iceland should be forced to read it now. In fact they should have read it five years ago. If there were more Bjarturs around and fewer Olafur Tomassons, this country would be one of the great survivors of the credit crunch.’
‘There’s something in that,’ said Magnus.
Sindri grunted. He obviously didn’t like policemen agreeing with him.
‘We want to ask you about the protests over the winter,’ Magnus said.
‘Oh, yes? It’s a bit late to round up the usual suspects, isn’t it? But there will be more of them, you know,’ Sindri said. ‘The people won’t put up with this Icesave agreement. Why should our grandchildren and great- grandchildren have to repay debts that were incurred by a bunch of crooks we had no knowledge of?’
‘Why indeed?’ said Magnus.
Sindri was off. ‘The government are just bending over backwards for the British and the Dutch. What is all this crap? “The Icelandic nation will always stand by its obligations.” Why the fuck should we? That’s what I want to know. We should tell the British to get their money off the bankers themselves and leave the rest of us out of it.’
Sindri nodded, encouraging himself. ‘I knew this would happen. We have a socialist government now, but what’s the point? They are just like the last lot, but weaker. They haven’t actually
Magnus had heard of the raid, although it took place just before he arrived in Iceland. Drug-dealers, he had heard, and some of them dangerous at that. But he didn’t defend his colleagues.
‘I get it,’ said Sindri. ‘You’re trying to take me out before the new protests start.’
‘Actually, no,’ said Magnus. ‘We want to ask you about one protest in particular. Tuesday the twentieth of January. The day Parliament came back from its recess.’
‘Oh, I remember that one. Or at least the beginning of it. I missed some of the fun later on that night. Left too early. I went out the next day, the Wednesday, though.’
‘Do you know Harpa Einarsdottir and Bjorn Helgason?’ Vigdis asked.
‘No.’
‘You were seen with both of them at the demonstration that day. They stuck with you most of the afternoon.’
‘Have you been looking at your surveillance videos?’ Sindri asked. ‘I’ve often wondered what you did with them.’
‘You are seen with Harpa and Bjorn.’
‘And lots of other people,’ Sindri said. ‘I like to talk to people at these things. You’ve seen the video footage. You know.’
‘So you don’t remember these two?’ Magnus asked.
Sindri paused. ‘Wait a minute. I think I remember Harpa. Dark curly hair? Cute?’
‘That’s right. Have you seen her since then?’
‘No, unfortunately. And I’ve got no idea who this Bjorn guy is. I went to all the protests. They all merge into one after a while.’
‘Did you go anywhere with them afterwards?’ Magnus asked.
‘No. I was a bit pissed. I came back here, had a bit more to drink. Went to sleep. As I said, it was a shame. Things got a bit more exciting later on, apparently.’
‘Did you come back here alone?’
‘Quite alone.’
‘Harpa and Bjorn didn’t come with you?’
‘No.’
‘They were seen following you. Where did they leave you?’
‘I really can’t remember,’ said Sindri. He smiled.
A dead end. Sindri knew it. And Magnus knew it.
‘Have you been abroad recently?’ Magnus asked.
‘No,’ said Sindri. ‘Can’t afford it. No one can afford it these days. I went to Germany at the end of last year to publicize my book, but nothing since then.’
‘And where were you on last Tuesday evening?’
‘Um. Let me think.’ Sindri made a show of struggling to remember. But Magnus had the impression that he had an answer already prepared and he was just delaying for effect. That was interesting.
‘I was in a bookshop. Eymundsson’s. A friend of mine was launching his book there. They’ll remember. Why? What am I supposed to have done?’
‘What about yesterday?’
‘Did nothing. Went to the Grand Rokk at lunchtime. Spent most of the day there.’
‘The Grand Rokk?’ said Vigdis. ‘You mean the bar?’
‘Yes. It’s just around the corner.’ Then Sindri’s eyes widened. ‘Wait a minute!’ He jabbed a finger at Magnus. ‘That’s where I’ve seen you. The Grand Rokk.’
‘Possibly,’ said Magnus.
‘Not possibly. Certainly. You’re the guy who lived in America, aren’t you?’ He laughed. ‘Last time I saw you, you were pissed out of your head.’
Vigdis’s eyes darted to Magnus and then back at Sindri.
‘Did anyone see you there yesterday?’ she asked.
Sindri ignored her. ‘I thought you had a bit of an American accent.’ He smiled. ‘“Who loves ya baby?” Isn’t that what Kojak says?’ He raised his thumb and index finger in the sign of a revolver being cocked. ‘“Make my day.”’
Magnus leaped to his feet, kicking back his chair. With two strides he was on Sindri, grabbing him around the collar. Sindri was heavy but Magnus was strong. He wrenched the big man out of his chair and shoved him against the wall.
‘Listen, asshole,’ he said in English. ‘You know what happened to Oskar Gunnarsson and Gabriel Orn Bergsson. And probably Julian Lister as well. Now it seems to me you’ve got a choice to make. Whether you spend the rest of
