jewellery for nothing. She placed her hands on her knees and prepared to stand up. ‘Can you tell me whether you’re going to request a custody extension? If you are, I need time to get ready.’
Stefan turned to his colleague and asked him, ‘Shouldn’t we speak privately?’ He looked back at Thora. ‘I think we’ve got all the information you could provide,’ he said, smiling at her. ‘This shouldn’t take long. You can have a cup of coffee outside.’
The healing power of the coffee left much to be desired. Thora had swilled down two strong cups without her pain decreasing. She looked at the clock; just after one. Markus would be on his way into town from Litla-Hraun Prison in the company of the Prison Affairs Transport Officer, so it was not a good time to phone him. But she ought to let Markus’s son know that his father might be released without the need for a court ruling. That would save the boy a trip to the district court.
Her conversation with him did not have the effect Thora was hoping for. He was so beside himself at the news and chattered at her so frantically that it almost made her dizzy. She finally resorted to telling him that someone needed her urgently and she had to hang up. She could no longer endure his noise. If everything went for the best, hopefully Markus would be there for him very shortly. She promised to let him know as soon as it became clear.
Twenty minutes later Stefan came out of his office. He leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms.
‘We’ve made our decision,’he said.
‘And?’ said Thora, crossing her fingers. The last thing she needed was to go to court.‘What’s your conclusion?’
‘We’re not going to ask for an extension of Markus’s detention period, but we will request a travel ban,’ said Stefan. He wouldn’t look her in the eye.
‘A travel ban?’ asked Thora calmly. Of two evils, a travel ban was a thousand times better than custody, but at the same time the judge was much more likely to approve it. There was something underhand about their plan. Release Markus, yet detain him at the same time. She stood up. ‘I’d better go and get changed,’ she said, forcing out a smile. ‘See you later.’
How much could she find out about travel bans in a quarter of an hour?
‘I don’t give a shit about this travel ban, Thora, they don’t even have to discuss it,’ said Markus triumphantly. ‘I’m not much of a globe-trotter and even if I was I’m not planning to leave the country any time soon. I’m just thrilled to be out of prison. That’s enough for me.’ He put a hand on her shoulder. ‘A thousand thanks, and forgive me for any disrespect I showed you. I wasn’t myself.’
Thora smiled back at him. Her headache was gone and she felt rather well, even though she’d lost her appeal against the restrictions on her client’s movements. She attributed that more to Markus, who had made it clear that it didn’t bother him – he had even used the same silly phrase in court as he had to her just now: he wasn’t much of a globe-trotter. ‘If you’re happy, Markus, then I suppose I am too. Now we just have to hope that the police find the guilty party, so you can move on to other things.’
‘Yes, of course, bless your heart,’ he said happily. ‘They’ll work it out soon enough. If not – then what will be, will be.’ He took a deep breath; it had stopped raining and the air was clear after the morning’s showers. They walked in the direction of Thora’s office on Skolavordustigur Street, where his son was waiting. Thora had ended up telling the boy to meet them there, since she didn’t want him at the courthouse if something went wrong. Even though she trusted Stefan and the lawyer, she wouldn’t have fainted with surprise if they had changed their minds and turned up in court demanding an extension of custody.
‘This is a great day,’ said Markus, apparently directing his remark as much at passers-by as at Thora. He had apparently stopped bemoaning the fate of his father, especially since she had told him the old man’s condition rendered him unfit to stand trial. It was likely to be hardest for his mother, although she was pretty tough and would survive. Thora had also been keen to stress that people would not judge the men very harshly, considering they had been exacting revenge for rape. Alda was barely past childhood when this had taken place, and any time sexual assault had been the topic of conversation, she’d heard parents say that if anyone did that to their child, they would kill them. People would find it difficult to condemn them, even though three innocent men had suffered the same fate as the rapist.
‘A really great day,’ repeated Markus loudly.
Thora was about to agree with him when she saw Alda’s mother and Johannawalking away from the church.
The funeral had been allowed to go ahead, though the police had set a time limit on the ceremony since they needed to take Alda’s body back. Thora supposed the young man in the blue shirt, following the mother and daughter at a discreet distance, must be the plain-clothes policeman charged with keeping an eye on them.
After Thora had described the sequence of events to the police, it had turned out that Alda’s uterus had been removed during the autopsy, and they had simply forgotten to check whether there were any scars from a Caesarean section. At the end of the examination the uterus had been placed back in the abdominal cavity and the body sewn up. This meant that the Criminal Investigation Department needed to have the body back before the burial took place, and as quickly as possible. The shorter the time the body was out of refrigeration, the better.
Johanna had a supportive arm around her mother’s shoulders. Thora hurried to prevent them from seeing Markus, but he seemed not to notice anything unusual when she grabbed him by the arm to chivvy him along. At Laskjarbrekka Restaurant the pair dropped out of sight, and Thora relaxed her grip. She heard a beep from her mobile and looked at the screen.
‘If there is anything I can ever do for you, Thora, then promise me you’ll let me know,’ Markus was saying as Thora read her text message.
It was Gylfi, reminding her to check on accommodation in the Islands for the festival. Thora looked up at Markus, who stood there beaming. ‘There is actually one thing that would please me no end,’ she said, returning his smile.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Thora held Soley’s hand so tightly that her daughter winced. She relaxed her grip, but not enough for the girl’s little palm to slip from her grasp. The crowd was so dense that Thora feared if they were separated for just a second she would never find Soley again. Naturally, she should not have agreed to join the queue at the booth selling festival souvenirs, but it was difficult to say no to Soley. The girl had been staring enthralled at all the people with flashing sunglasses, masks, hats, necklaces, flags or everything at once, so when she set eyes on the blessed booth Soley thought she’d hit the jackpot. Thora adjusted Orri on her hip. He was holding just as tightly to his grandmother as she was to Soley, and Thora reassured herself it would take at least four determined festival-goers to tear the three of them apart.
‘I want a rubber nose,’ said Soley, as she stood on tiptoe to see what was for sale. ‘And one of those flashing hairbands.’
After purchasing these essential festival accoutrements they pushed their way back past the queue. Thora had grown tired of carrying Orri, who was just over a year old and large for his age. She headed towards an empty space below the Islanders’ white party tents, standing side by side at one end of the festival grounds, away from the campsite provided for visitors. They took a seat on a little grassy slope, where Soley removed the decorations from their wrappings and put them on. ‘Do I look good?’ she said, smiling broadly. Thora smiled back and nodded while Orri stretched a chubby finger in the direction of the red clown’s nose. Soley darted away nimbly and started teasing Orri by pushing the nose towards him, then pulling her face back when he tried to touch it.
The weather was glorious, and Thora still hadn’t seen anyone who looked drunk. The festival had really surprised her and she could only assume that everyone was having too good a time to spoil
