curiosity got the better of her.
'So what did you find?'
'Harald's eyes.'
CHAPTER 31
Thora regarded Halldor silently. He was sitting directly opposite her with his head down on his chesthe had not spoken a single word since she entered the interrogation room. After glancing up when she sat down, he immediately resumed laser-beaming a hole in the floor with his eyes. 'Halldor,' Thora said with a hint of impatience. 'I can't stay very long. If you don't want to talk to me, I have other things to do with my time.'
He looked up. 'I want a cigarette.'
'You can't,' Thora said. 'Smoking's not allowed in here. You're ten years too late if you've come here to smoke.'
'That doesn't stop me wanting a cigarette.'
'Maybe the police will let you have one somewhere else afterward. You're not allowed to smoke in here, though, so let's get to the point. Agreed?' He nodded wearily. 'You know why you're in here, don't you?'
'Yes. More or less.'
'And presumably you realize that you're in trouble. Big trouble.'
'I didn't kill him,' Halldor said, looking her straight in the eye without flinching. When she ignored this he began fiddling with a hole on the knee of his jeanswhich was certainly there when he bought them and had doubled their price.
'Let's get one thing straight before we say anything else.' Thora waited for his full attention and did not continue until he looked up. 'I'm working for Harald's family. That means that your interests and theirs are not necessarily the same. Especially now. I advise you to get another lawyer immediately. Meeting you here right now is all I'm going to do. I can give you the names of some good people who can provide you with all the assistance you need.'
Halldor screwed up his eyes and thought for a moment. 'Don't go. I want to talk to you. None of those cops believe me.'
'Have you wondered whether that might be because you're lying to them?' Thora asked dryly.
'I'm not lying. Not about the main points.'
'And I assume it's up to you to decide which are the main points and the minor ones?'
Anger flashed across his face. 'You know perfectly well what I mean. The main point is that I didn't kill him.'
'And the minor points? What are they?' asked Thora.
'This and that,' he said, bowing his head.
'If I'm supposed to be of any use to you I want you to do one thing for me,' said Thora, leaning across the sturdy table separating them. 'Don't lie to me. I can tell when people are lying.' She hoped she had managed to convey the same conviction as the police officer.
Halldor nodded, his expression still peevish. 'Rightbut what I tell you is in confidence. Okay?'
'More or less,' Thora said. 'I've told you I won't act as your defense if you go to court, so you can tell me pretty much anythingexcept of course the crimes you're going to commit later in life. Don't mention those to me.' She smiled at him.
'I'm not going to commit any crimes,' he said gloomily. 'You promise nothing else goes further?'
'I promise it won't go to the policeeven though it can only improve your standing with them. You're already in the doghouse; it won't get much worse than this. But if it makes you feel better, we can agree that we're only speculating about extenuating circumstances. Happy with that? Then you get help without actually saying anything.'
'Okay,' he said, but with a hint of doubt in his voice. Then he added huffily: 'Ask me, then.'
'Harald's eyes were found in your flat. How can you explain that?'
Halldor's arms twitched. Nervously he scratched the back of his left hand. Thora waited calmly while he decided whether to tell her the truth or deny having anything to do with them. She was determined to walk out if he chose the latter option.
'II'
'We both know who you are,' Thora said impatiently. 'Answer me or I'm leaving.'
'I couldn't send them,' he suddenly blurted out. 'I didn't dare. The body had been found and I was afraid they'd be discovered in the mail. I was going to do that later when it had all died down. I used the blood to write the curse, and I put the letter in an envelope that Sunday. Then I dropped it in a box in town.' After his confession he took a deep breath, then squeezed his lips tightly together as if he intended to say nothing else.
'Was it because of the contract?' asked Thora. 'Were you really trying to honor that ridiculous contract about the revenge curse?'
Halldor glared at her, furious. 'Yes. I swore I'd do it and I wanted to keep my word for Harald. It meant so much to him,' he answered, red in the face. 'His mother was a total scumbag.'
'You realize that this is absolute madness?' Thora asked in amazement. 'How could you even entertain the idea?'
'I just did,' came the sheepish reply. 'But I didn't kill him.'
'Hang on, we haven't got that far yet,' said Thora. He was getting on her nerves. 'You removed his eyeshave I understood that correctly?'
Halldor nodded reluctantly.
'And you took them home?'
He nodded again.
'Where, if I may ask, did you keep them?'
'In the freezer. Inside a loaf of bread. I stuffed them inside the bread and put it in the freezer.'
Thora leaned back. 'Of course. Inside a loaf of bread. Where else?' With considerable effort she tried to erase the image from her mind. 'How could you do it? The operation itself, I mean.'
Halldor shrugged. 'It was no big deal. I used a teaspoon. Carving the symbol was harder. It didn't go too well. I was really stonedI had to keep going over to the window for fresh air.'
'No big deal,' echoed Thora, perplexed. 'Pardon me for doubting that.'
He glared at her. 'I've seen much more revolting things. And done much more revolting things. What do you think it's like, slicing your friend's tongue in half? Or watching surgical operations?'
Thora could not imagine, but she still doubted that it was as repulsive as plucking out someone's eyes with a teaspoon. From now on she would stir her coffee with a tablespoon. 'Be that as it may, it can't have been pleasant.'
'Of course not,' Halldor shouted. 'We were stoned out of our minds. I told you.'
'We?' Thora asked, startled. 'So you weren't alone?'
Halldor paused before answering. He picked at the hole in his jeans and started scratching the back of his hand again. Thora had to repeat her question before he answered. 'No, I wasn't alone. We were all there: me, Marta Mist, Briet, Andri, and Brjann. We were on our way back from town. We were going back to the partyMarta wanted some dope and Briet said Harald had some Es hidden away in the common room.'
'What about Hugi, wasn't he with you?'
'No. I didn't see Hugi that night. He left the party with Harald and we didn't see him again. Him or Harald. Alive, I mean.'
'So you went up to the faculty building?' Thora marveled. 'How did you get in? The security system didn't record any movements.'
'It was out of orderI think it always is. And do you really think somebody marches around the whole building making sure no one else is in there? Not likely.'
'Thorbjorn Olafsson, Harald's supervisor, insists that he switched the system on,' said Thora. 'He says that's definite.'
