Thora was sitting at Harald Guntlieb's desk, browsing through the pile of papers. She looked up, straightened her back, and turned to Matthew. He sat absorbed in the same task in an armchair in one corner of the study. They had decided to start by examining the documents the police took away when they searched the flat, which had just been returned. There were three large cardboard boxes full of papers of all descriptions and after almost an hour's reading Thora was beginning to lose sight of the point behind all this. The papers were a mixed bag, mostly documents connected with Harald's studies in one way or another along with statements from banks, credit card companies, and other official bodies. Many were in Icelandic so they were little help to Matthew, who had to put a large stack to one side for Thora to peruse later.
'What are we looking for, anyway?' she asked suddenly.
Matthew put his sheaf of papers on a small side table and rubbed his eyes wearily. 'Basically, we're looking for a lead, something the police overlooked. For example, an explanation of what happened to the money Harald had transferred here. We could also come across'
Thora interrupted him. 'That's no help. What I meant was that we should maybe try to establish who could possibly be connected with the murder or stand to benefit from it. I have absolutely no experience investigating murders and I'd like a better picture before I go through any more papers. I'm not particularly excited by the idea of having to do all this again if we have a bright idea later.'
'No, I understand that,' said Matthew. 'But I'm not quite sure what to say. We're not looking for anything specific we already know about, unfortunately. Maybe we're not looking for anything at all. We're really just trying to figure out what Harald's life was like before the murder so that we have some idea about the circumstances and events that led up to itif something crops up that points us toward the murderer, that's just a bonus. If it helps you narrow things down, you could say that the main motives for murder are jealousy, anger, financial gain, revenge, madness, self-defense, sexual perversion.'
Thora waited for more but Matthew had completed his tally. 'Nothing else?' she asked. 'There must be more motives.'
'I didn't claim to be an expert,' Matthew retorted. 'Sure, there are more motives, but that was all I could think of offhand.'
Thora thought before answering him. 'All right, let's say those are the main motives. Which of them could apply to Harald's murder? Was he involved with a woman, for example? Could it be a case of jealousy?'
Matthew shrugged. 'I think he was unattached. But jealousy could still play a part. Maybe someone loved him and it was unrequited.' He paused for a moment, then added: 'Actually I think women rarely murder by strangulation, so it's unlikely to have been a crime of passion.'
'No,' agreed Thora pensively. 'Unless it was a crime of passion committed by another man. Was Harald gay, perhaps?'
Matthew shrugged. 'No, he definitely wasn't.'
'How do you know?' she asked.
'I just know,' he replied. Seeing the dubious expression on Thora's face, he added: 'It's quite remarkable. I can usually tell straightaway if a man bats for the other side. I don't know how, but I'm very intuitive about it.'
Thora decided not to pursue the topic but knew from her own experience that there was an overwhelming probability Matthew was no better than anyone else at identifying people's sexuality. Her ex-husband had the same misconception and Thora had proved him wrong countless times. She changed the subject: 'It doesn't seem to have been rape and there were no signs of recent sexual activity, so we can rule that out.'
'So now there are fewer possible motives,' Matthew said with a wry grin. 'We'll get there soon.'
Thora ignored him. 'So why do
Matthew studied her for a moment before answering. 'It was probably something to do with money. But I still can't shake off the feeling that it was somehow connected with his studies of sorcery. What happened to his eyes and the symbol carved on the body clearly suggest that. I can't figure out the motive and that annoys me. Why commit a murder for sorcery or something that happened centuries ago?'
'Isn't that a bit far-fetched? The police found no link between the murder and black magic, in spite of what was done to the corpse. They must have investigated that possibility,' Thora said, hurriedly adding: 'And don't say that they're just stupid. That's far too simplistic.'
'Actually, you're right,' said Matthew. 'They checked if there was any link. I think they thought Harald's research was either madness or some kind of mumbo jumbo. They came here, saw what was hanging on the walls, and took Harald for some kind of weirdo. To them, these precious antiques are just plain disgusting, which isn't so different from your reaction.' Matthew waited, but when Thora made no response he went on. 'The presence of drugs in his blood didn't help. In the eyes of the police he was a crazy sadistic junkie who was last seen in the company of the same sort of crowd. His companion had no alibi and was stoned out of his mind for good measure. It's not such an unreasonable conclusion to draw but I'm not satisfied with it at all. Too many questions are left unanswered.'
'In other words you think Harald's studies of witchcraft and sorcery are linked with the murder?' asked Thora, hoping that he would say no. If they were irrelevant to the investigation, she could put more than half the papers to one side immediately.
'Well, I'm by no means certain,' said Matthew. 'But I've begun to have a strong suspicion that they are. Look at this, for example.' He flicked through the pile of papers in his lap and handed Thora a printout of an e-mail from Harald.
Thora read it. The heading showed that it had been sent by Harald to a certain [email protected] and was written in English, dated eight days before the murder.
When Thora had finished reading it she looked at Matthew. 'Do you think it's a clue?'
'Maybe,' said Matthew. 'Maybe not.'
'The police must have contacted this Malcolm. They would hardly have made do with just printing it out.'
'Maybe.' Matthew shrugged. 'Maybe not.'
'Well, at least we can contact him to learn what Harald found.'
'And whether he knows anything about the fucking idiot Harald mentioned.'
Thora put down the e-mail. 'Where's his computer? He must have had a computer.' She pointed to a mouse pad on the desk.
'The police still have it,' replied Matthew. 'Presumably they'll return it with Harald's other effects.'
'Maybe we'll find more e-mails,' Thora said hopefully.
'And maybe not,' responded Matthew, smiling. He stood and reached up to a bookshelf above the desk. 'Here, take this home to read. It's a good introduction to Harald's mental world.' He handed her a paperback of
Thora took the book and looked up at Matthew, in surprise. 'This is a new book. Is it really still in print?'
He nodded. 'It isbut I don't think many people buy it except out of curiosity these days. When you read it, though, bear in mind that it wasn't always that way.'
Thora put the book in her bag. She stood up and stretched. 'Is it okay to use the bathroom?'
Matthew smiled again. 'Maybe. Maybe not.' He hurried to add: 'Yes, I think that should be all right. If the police burst in to investigate it further, I'll hold them off until you've finished.'
'How sweet of you.' Thora went out into the corridor and walked over to the bathroom. She got sidetracked, though, because the walls were adorned with more pictures and antique relics that aroused her curiosity. Actually, they aroused more horror than curiosity. But there was no denying that they were quite fascinating. It was similar to how people slow down when they drive past the scene of an accident. The pictures must have been from the grandfather's collection because the theme was the same as in the living room and the bedroom: death and the Devil.
