not there that fateful night.’
‘Actually, the head didn’t roll out,’ replied Markus, looking oddly affronted. ‘I was so shocked when I saw what was in the box that I dropped it. Then the head fell out and bounced to the spot where it is now. It didn’t roll. I actually think that I may have kicked it in my hurry to get out of there, but I’m not certain. Anyway, it stopped right next to the bodies and that’s when I noticed them. I hadn’t noticed them before, since it was dark down there.’
Thora interrupted Markus before he got any further with his description of the head’s travels around the floor of the basement. ‘Well, I think it’sbest that you read this over, Markus, despite this fine summary by Gudni, and then we’ve got to get going. The police have other things to take care of in the light of your statement. I assume that you’ll want to speak to this Alda, who appears to know more about the origins of the head than Markus does.’ She looked at the clock. If God and good fortune were with her there was still a chance that she’d catch the last flight home. It looked as if Markus would be cleared of all charges, even though the CID would probably want to speak to him later. She hoped Alda would verify his statement. If she didn’t, then his position would worsen considerably, both regarding the head and the three corpses. But Alda would surely confirm his story and explain about the head. Thora glanced at her watch out of the corner of her eye, and then at Markus. He was still working his way through the first page of the police report. She hoped her flight had been delayed.
Chapter Three
Some days in Thora’s life were slightly worse than others; on a bad day, for example, she would need to stop on her way to work to go back and turn off the coffee maker, or she’d get a call from the school asking her to fetch her daughter Soley, who had got a bloody nose at break time. Other days were even worse: bills were overdue and the cash machine was broken, petrol got pumped into the family car which ran on diesel, and so on. On those days nothing went as it should, neither at home nor at the office. It was not yet noon when it became clear to Thora that this was going to be one of those unfortunate days. It started with a long search for the car keys, which finally appeared in the mess in her son Gylfi’s room. The refrigerator turned out to be nearly empty, and the bread that Thora had planned to use for Soley’s lunch was mouldy. Thora had wanted to go shopping on the way home from the airport the night before, but the plane from the Islands landed so late that the shops were closed. Things were no better at the office, where everything was topsyturvy: the computer system was down because of ‘router upgrades’ by the internet service provider, and there was no phone connection because an overzealous electrician who had been making repairs on their floor had accidentally fiddled with a wire that he ought to have left untouched. So for the greater part of the morning they had no connection to the outside world apart from their mobile phones. This upset the secretary, Bella, who refused to use her mobile phone for office work since the office didn’t pay her phone bill. Bragi, Thora’s business partner, had lent her his mobile with desperation in his eyes. God only knew how the girl would treat callers, since she was not known for her amiable disposition.
As soon as the telephone connection was restored, Markus rang. After exchanging pleasantries, he got to the point.
Alda isn’t answering my calls,‘ he said. She could hear the anxiety in his voice.
‘You weren’t supposed to try to contact her until the police had finished questioning her, Markus. It could look as though you were trying to influence her testimony, and that’s the last thing we want.’ Thora knew full well that he wanted to make sure the woman would verify his story, but she doubted that a phone call from him would change Alda’s testimony. She would either tell the truth, or lie to save her own skin. And when the chips were down, most people chose self-preservation.
‘But it’s so strange,’ said Markus. ‘We’ve had quite a lot of contact recently and she’s almost always answered as soon as the phone rings. Even when she doesn’t answer right away, she generally calls me back pretty much immediately. She’s never ignored me like this.’ He hesitated for a moment before continuing: ‘Maybe she’s avoiding me because she doesn’t want to back up my story. What do you think?’
Thora was fairly certain he was right, but didn’t want to worry him even more. Of course there could be another explanation, but it seemed unlikely. ‘I think we should keep calm until we know something for sure.’ She looked at the clock. ‘I imagine that the police have already contacted her, although they probably haven’t questioned her yet. If she doesn’t substantiate your story then they’ll call you back in, and you have the right to have me there to support you. They will want to talk to you again, whether she verifies your statement or not, so you should just keep calm if they contact you.’
Markus took a deep breath. ‘Alda wouldn’t throw me to the lions.’
‘I’m sure you’re right,’ replied Thora, thinking that Androcles had probably said the same thing about the Romans in the old days, right before he was shoved out into the arena. ‘Of course, I could phone our friend Gudni and try to find out what’s going on. There’s no guarantee he’ll tell me anything, but in the light of his dislike for formal procedures, you never know- he might let me in on something.’
‘Do you think he’s still in charge of the case?’ asked Markus hopefully. ‘I could always phone him myself.’
‘No, absolutely not,’ Thora said quickly. ‘I don’t want you speaking to him on your own. God only knows how that would end. I’ll talk to him. Even though the police in Reykjavik are involved in the investigation, they’ll certainly keep him informed of any developments. It’s his home ground.’
‘Shouldn’t I keep trying to get hold of Alda in the meantime?’ said Markus.
‘You should forget about that,’replied Thora firmly. She thought for a moment, thenasked: ‘When did you last speak to her?’
‘I spoke to her briefly by phone the evening before last,’ answered Markus. ‘The night before we went to the Islands. I told her that I was finally going to be allowed into the house.’
‘I see,’ said Thora.‘One final question before I phone Inspector Leifsson: do you think that Alda knew about these three corpses, or played any part in their deaths or the death of whoever owned the head?’ Thora wasn’t sure she’d ever asked a more ridiculous question.
‘There’s no way,’ said Markus. ‘We’re the same age – making her fifteen in the year of the eruption. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. Neither then nor now. So she could hardly have expected that I’d stumble onto three corpses as well as the box in the basement. If she’d known about the bodies or been connected to them in any way I’m sure she would have pushed me even harder to have the excavation stopped. Warned me, at the very least.’
‘Yes, one would have thought so,’Thora said thoughtfully. ‘It’s just a bit of a coincidence that a box with a severed head and three corpses should be found in the same place.’
‘Well, stranger things have happened,’ said Markus, seemingly insulted.
‘Are you sure?’ Thora retorted. She could think of nothing even remotely as bizarre. They said goodbye and she went to get herself a cup of coffee. She could use a bit of refreshment before phoning Inspector Leifsson.
Gudni Leifsson turned off his torch as he went down into the basement. The lights that the Reykjavik CID had set up there were pointed at the area where the bodies had been found, but were strong enough to light the entire basement space. He went over to the man leading the investigation, a discomfortingly young man who had introduced himself as Stefan when the gang of police from Reykjavik had disembarked from the little plane late yesterday evening. It was obviously time to retire. It was happening far too frequently that he met colleagues who had still been in their mothers’ wombs when he himself had started his career. Gudni stared straight ahead. ‘What do you think?’ he asked calmly, without wasting words on pleasantries or even looking at his colleague.
Stefan turned around to see who had addressed him. His expression immediately
