‘I imagine there’s a harbour there?’
‘Yes, as a matter of fact there is, but I still don’t think this has anything to do with the Mafia,’ said Thora confidently. She had seen photos of the Westmann Islands taken around the time of the disaster, and cigar-wielding Mafiosi in suits would have fitted into them about as naturally as astronauts in full spacesuits.‘True, the Cod War between Iceland and Britain was in full swing at the time, but it wasn’t a war in the usual sense, so this is unlikely to be related to any battle.’
‘I think this type of treatment also occurs in hate crimes, when people are killed because of their race, religion or sexual preference. Would that fit?’
‘I don’t know, damn it,’replied Thora. ‘The bodies haven’t been identified, which makes the case impossible. Hopefully that will be resolved soon, since I’m sort of stranded here until I know more.’
‘I know this much, Thora,’sighed Matthew, ‘what this person has done displays enormous hatred, spite and cruelty. If whoever did it is still alive, I don’t like the look of this. They won’t be too happy about people digging around in the past.’
Thora tried to lighten the mood.‘Ah, bless you. The culprit is either six feet under or a senior citizen. I don’t think I’m in any danger.’
Matthew was silent for a moment. ‘You can’t grow out of hatred. Not that kind of hatred, Thora. You should watch your step.’
After the phone call she sat for a moment, staring into nothing. She tried to imagine herself cutting off a man’s penis and putting it in his mouth, but she couldn’t. She realized that there was a lot of truth in what Matthew had said. This crime showed unbelievable hatred; the kind of hatred only possible in someone who no longer held company with civilized men. But what could cause that?
Chapter Fifteen
There was no one in reception when Thora came to return the keys. Bella was nowhere to be seen, so she sent her a text message telling her she ought to hurry if they wanted to catch the plane. Thora had no interest in missing the morning flight and having to wait until evening for another, since there was so much waiting for her at home and at work. She threw her key forcefully onto the table in the hope that the receptionist would hear her, but in vain. Spying an old-fashioned bell, she rang it loudly. It didn’t take long for the young woman who seemed to be on duty at the reception desk round the clock to appear with a smile on her lips and check Thora out. However, there was still no sign of Bella. Had she perhaps gone out again last night, and was still asleep next to some random sailor? Looking at her watch Thora saw that there was no reason to panic yet, so she plonked herself down in an easy chair and grabbed some newspapers. They turned out to be from the day before, but that was good enough for her.
After a while Alda’s sister Johanna walked into the hotel lobby and came over. Thora quickly put down the paper she was reading and greeted her.
‘Oh, good,’ said Johanna as she shook Thora’s hand loosely, trying to catch her breath. ‘I was so sure I’d missed you. You’re taking the morning flight, aren’t you?’
‘Yes,’ replied Thora, looking over at the clock again. ‘The girl who’s with me is a bit late. Luckily, because otherwise I’d be at the airport.’ She smiled at Johanna.‘Did you want to talk about something in particular?’
‘I found something last night. After talking to you I started to think about Alda and what you said about the bodies in the basement. If my sister was murdered then I want to help in any way I can.’ She lifted a plastic bag that she’d brought with her and held it out towards Thora. ‘That’s why I went looking for these. I want you to see them.’
Thora looked down at the bag, surprised. She took it from Johanna.‘What are they?’
Johanna looked apologetic and rubbed at her chin. ‘Alda always kept diaries and I knew they were kept in storage, with other things, at Mother and Father’s. Our house was one of those that wasn’t buried completely and was dug up later. After Father died, Mother put the house up for sale, but no one was interested. I helped her go through stuff and throw some of it out, so the house could be shown without her feeling ashamed of all the junk in the basement and the garage. I found these among some of Alda’s things that she left behind in the evacuation. I was going to bring the diaries to our meeting last weekend.’ She smiled apologetically. ‘Mother is in Reykjavik because of Alda’s death, and she doesn’t know I took them. I’m not sure she’d remember them, in all honesty.’
Thora could have kissed the woman, but restrained herself. It was clear to her that she shouldn’t accept the diaries, which could be used as evidence in the police investigation, but equally she knew that if she turned them over she wouldn’t get to see them again any time soon, and even then she’d probably never get to read every word. However, as a lawyer she had an obligation to do the right thing. ‘The most proper course of action would be for these diaries to go to the police,’ she said, holding the bag out to Johanna. ‘It’s possible that the diaries contain information they have the right to receive.’
Johanna’s expression hardened and she stopped rubbing her jaw. ‘I won’t give these to Gudni and his colleagues. It’s out of the question. These are my sister’s private thoughts from her sensitive teenage years, and I don’t want them being made public for strangers to rip them apart.’
‘Have you read them?’ asked Thora, still holding out the bag.
‘No,’ said Johanna, shaking her head. ‘I can’t bring myself to do it. At the time these diaries were the holiest things that Alda owned and she wouldn’t let me near them, even before I could read. I don’t want to know her secrets, no matter how trivial they might seem today.’ She looked imploringly at Thora. ‘I trust you, although I don’t know you at all. You know how it is to be a young girl, and besides, you will be able to judge whether there’s anything relevant to the bodies and to Alda’s murder.’
‘It’s not definite that Alda was murdered,’ said Thora, mainly as a formality. Johanna had clearly fixed the idea in her head and right now nothing Thora could say or do would change that. ‘And even if the diaries shed some light on the case, that doesn’t mean they’ll explain her death.’
‘I understand that,’ replied Johanna, although her expression said otherwise. ‘Maybe there’s absolutely nothing there. But there might be something. We’ll just have to see.’ She took Thora’s hand. ‘Could I ask you to read through them for me? If there’s nothing in them of interest to the police, then I could have them back and no one would need to know anything.’ She paused for a moment. ‘If you do find something, then I suppose that particular diary would go to the police, and that would be fine with me. I just can’t disrespect my sister by handing these over to the police if there’s no need for it.’
Thora looked at the woman standing before her. She was, as before, wearing the plain uniform of a bank clerk, and the green blouse she’d chosen to go with her blue suit didn’t match at all. There was a white spot of toothpaste at one corner of her mouth. Fashion and grooming are naturally not uppermost in one’s mind during times of grieving, and Thora couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.‘I’ll read these, but I’ll have to hand over everything that I think pertains to the case.’ She looked at the bag. ‘It would, of course, be best if you read them yourself.’
Johanna shook her head briskly and her hairstyle, if you could call it that, went completely askew. ‘No. I don’t want to. You might think me silly or cowardly but it’s more than loyalty to my sister that stops me reading what’s in them.’She inhaled through her nose and exhaled slowly. ‘Something went wrong between Alda and Father. I don’t remember them ever speaking, or meeting up. I’m too scared to find out what caused it, in case Father did something unforgivable to her. I want to remember them both as they were, and it’s too late to change anything. They’re both dead.’
Thora nodded. She got the picture. Incest cases were reported far too often, so of course Johanna was afraid this was the case. She said: ‘I understand. You can rest assured I won’t hand over anything that’s not directly related to the case. And I’ll get in touch with you before I give them anything.’
