Thora was surprised that this young man had chosen to join the army, given his splendid academic record. Although Germany had national service, it was simple to avoid, especially for the son of such rich parents. They could easily have had him relieved of that duty.
Thora flicked through to another part of the folder, marked 'Military Service.' It was a slender chapter, only a couple of pages. The first contained a photocopy of Harald Guntlieb's induction into the Bundeswehr in 1999. Apparently he enlisted for
Like the chapter on military service, this one opened with a photocopy. It was his enrollment letter from the University of Munich. Thora noticed that it was dated only one month after his discharge from the army. So Harald appeared to have recovered quite quickly after leaving the army, if illness was indeed the reason his duty ended. Next came several pages that Thora could not completely understand. One was a photocopy of the founding agenda of a historical society named Malleus Maleficarum. Another was a reference from a certain Professor Chamiel, singing Harald's praises, and others seemed to be descriptions of courses in fifteenth-, sixteenth-, and seventeenth-century history. Thora was not entirely sure what she would gain from this information.
At the end of this section were clippings from German newspapers describing the deaths of several young men as a result of peculiar sex acts. Reading them, Thora gathered that the acts involved constricting the breathing with a noose during masturbation. This must have been the erotic asphyxiation Matthew had mentioned. If the article was anything to go by, this was not an uncommon practice among people who have trouble achieving orgasm due to drug abuse, alcohol, and the like. There was no explanatory note linking the story to Harald, apart from the fact that one of the young men had studied at the same university. The student was not named, nor was any date given. However, there must have been some connection since this article was included in the folder.
Thora flicked back to Harald's graduation photograph at the end of the first section. Scrutinizing it, she thought she could see a red mark on his neck above the shirt. She removed the photograph from its sheath to take a better look. It was slightly sharper outside the plastic, but not clear enough for Thora to be certain that the mark was a bruise. She made a mental note to ask Matthew about this matter as well.
The last page of this peculiar collage from Harald's undergraduate years in Munich was the title page of his dissertation. Its topic was witch hunts in Germany, focusing on the execution of children suspected of sorcery. A shiver ran down Thora's spine. Of course she had heard about witch hunts in history lessons at school, but did not recall any mention of children. That would hardly have escaped her attention, even though history bored her stiff at that time. Since there was nothing apart from the title page, Thora tried to console herself by hoping that the essay included no evidence of children being burned at the stake. Deep down inside, however, she knew otherwise. She started reading the section on the University of Iceland.
It contained a letter stating that Harald's application for admission to a master's course in history had been approved and welcoming him to the university in autumn 2004. Next came a printout of Harald's grades in the courses he had completed. From the date on the paper, Thora saw that the printout was made after his death. Presumably Matthew had obtained it. Although Harald had not managed to complete many courses in the year or so that he was a student, the grades were all very high. Thora suspected that he must have been allowed to take his examinations in English, since as far as she knew he did not speak Icelandic. It appeared he had ten credits left to take, as well as the completion of his master's dissertation.
On the next page was a list of five names. They were all Icelanders and after each name came an academic discipline and what could have been a date of birth. Since nothing else was mentioned, Thora assumed they were Harald's friends; most were of a similar age. The names were: Marta Mist Eyjolfsdottir, Gender Studies, b. 1981; Brjann Karlsson, History, b. 1981; Halldor Kristinsson, Medicine, b. 1982; Andri Thorsson, Chemistry, b. 1979; and Briet Einarsdottir, History, b. 1983. Thora read on in the hope of finding more information about the students, but in vain because the next page was a printout of the campus and its main buildings. Circles had been drawn around the history department and Manuscript Institute, as well as the main building. Once again Thora had to assume that this was an addition from Matthew. It was followed by another printout from the university's Web site. Thora glanced through the text, which was in English and described the history department. This was followed by a similar page on study for international students. She could glean nothing from that.
The last document in the section was a printed-out e-mail sent from hguntlieb@hi. is, obviously Harald's address at the university. It was to his father, dated shortly after he began his studies in autumn 2004. Reading the e-mail, Thora was struck by how cold it was for a letter from a son to his father. Essentially it said how happy Harald was in Iceland, that he had secured a place to live, and so forth. Harald ended by saying that he had found a professor to supervise his dissertation: Professor Thorbjorn Olafsson.
According to the e-mail, his dissertation would compare the burning of witches in Iceland and Germany, stemming from the fact that most convicted sorcerers in Iceland had been males, whereas in Germany females had been in the majority. It ended formally, but Thora noticed a PS under Harald's name: 'If you care to make contact, you have my e-mail address now.' This did not imply much affection. Perhaps his discharge from the army was in some way connected with their poor relationship. Judging from the photographs, his father did not seem to be the most understanding of people, and he was bound to be unhappy about a child who failed to live up to expectations.
On the next page was a curt reply from his father, also an e-mail. It said: 'Dear Harald, I suggest that you stay clear of that essay topic. It is illchosen and not conducive to building character. Take care of your money. Regards,' followed by an automatic e-mail signature with his father's full name, position, and address.
The final document in this section was a printout from the university listing student societies and student publications in various departments. Scanning the list, Thora noticed nothing interesting until the bottom of the page: 'Malleus MaleficarumHistory and Folklore Society.' Thora looked up from the folder. This was the same name that was on the photocopy of the agenda from the founding meeting during Harald's student days in Munich. She flicked back through the pages to check. Beneath the name of the society on the Icelandic list was written in pencil:
This was a thick pile of statements from a foreign bank account. Harald Guntlieb was listed as the holder and his turnover looked enormous at first glance, although little was left in the account at the end of the last period. Several entries had been highlighted with a marker pen: pink for large withdrawals and yellow for large deposits. Thora quickly noticed that the yellow entries were always the same amount, deposited at the beginning of each month. It was a hefty sum, more than she made in half a yeareven a busy one. These must be payments from the trust Matthew said Harald had inherited from his grandfather. It was likely that the inheritance was allocated as regular payments to Harald rather than as a lump sum. This was the most common arrangement for young heirs until a certain age was reached, depending on their reliability. Harald Guntlieb had clearly not been considered very responsible, since, according to Thora's calculations, he was twenty-seven when he died but still had not been entrusted with the principal. However, considerable sums had accumulated in the account, and Harald's basic living expenses were obviously way below his monthly allowance.
The highlighted withdrawals were a completely different matter. They varied in amount and were made at irregular intervals as far as Thora could see. Notes had been written beside most of them, and since there were not so many, Thora browsed them all. She understood some of the remarks immediately, such as 'BMW' beside a large withdrawal in the beginning of August 2004, when she assumed he had bought a car in Iceland. Others she
