Chapter 9
Eyjolfur agreed with Thora’s theory about the photos that appeared to be missing from the folder. However, he couldn’t tell whether the images had been deleted from the camera or the computer system. That actually didn’t matter, since the images were gone and there was no way of knowing what was in them, although it was safe to assume they showed the same ice-bound hand and perhaps other body parts belonging to this unfortunate person. He turned to Thora and Matthew. ‘Of course I could go over the backup files to check whether the images are in there. If they were deleted the day after they were uploaded it’s possible that they are.’ He smiled resignedly. ‘If in fact the photos made it onto the system.’
Matthew agreed to Eyjolfur’s plan and Eyjolfur went off to find the tapes. As he left he said that this work would be time-consuming, although there was little else for him to do for the time being; at least he wouldn’t be climbing up on the roof to fix the satellite dishes in this weather. ‘We could go and visit this place,’ said Thora after he’d gone. ‘The journal described it quite oddly, and I’m sure Fri?rikka will know what it means.’ Before they could go anywhere, however, the weather would have to improve.
Matthew pointed at the image on the screen. ‘Do you think that’s the owner of the bones lying here in all the drawers?’
‘I doubt it,’ said Thora. ‘It looks like there’s flesh on this hand and the photos are only just over a week old. Besides, there aren’t any bones in the desk drawers of the drillers, who are probably the ones who took the photos.’
Bella stuck her head through the doorway. ‘It’s twelve thirty now and I’m ravenous. Is there anything to eat here, or did the trip include both starving and freezing to death?’ Thora did not reply, but her own stomach was starting to rumble.
‘Yes, I guess it’s best to round everyone up and go over to the cafeteria,’ said Matthew. ‘Since the weather is so bad we ought to stick together.’ They went and found the others: Eyjolfur was working on the Internet servers, Fri?rikka sat absorbed at a computer in one of the geologists’ offices, and the doctor was busily marking little plastic cups half full of water in the coffee room. They found Alvar in the security guard’s office, bent over a pile of ropes. Alvar saw the surprise on Eyjolfur’s face and his cheeks grew even redder as he muttered something about making a line between the houses that they could follow during blizzards. They put on their outerwear and walked in single file over to the cafeteria, without the safety line. Naturally, the wind had turned and it blew in their faces.
‘It looks to me as if everything fell apart after I quit,’ said Fri?rikka, putting down her fork. They were sitting in the cafeteria, having just munched their way through grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. It was certainly no feast, but the sandwiches were quick and easy to prepare and left little to wash up afterwards. ‘I went over a chart they used to keep track of the progress of the project and that they sent weekly to Arctic Mining, but little seems to have happened. The work schedule is completely messed up and I totally understand why the mining company got worried. They were very insistent that we follow it.’
‘Do you know what caused the disruption?’ asked Thora, considering whether she should have a third sandwich. There was only one left, and Bella was quicker to grab it.
‘I went over some of the journals and it looked to me as if there were a lot of possibilities.’ Fri?rikka became a bit bashful when all eyes focused on her and she appeared to regret having said anything. ‘It seems as though they experienced significant mechanical failures, besides the havoc wreaked by the weather. This winter was much more severe than last year’s, when I was here.’
‘Didn’t those bastard Greenlanders just sabotage the equipment?’ asked Eyjolfur immediately. ‘They’d certainly be capable of it.’
‘What the hell are you talking about, boy?’ snapped the doctor. ‘Why would they want to sabotage anything here? I’m certain I know more about the natives in this country than you do, and I can tell you for sure that they’re the kindest of people and wish no one ill.’
‘Except for their women,’ interrupted Fri?rikka. ‘They’re not particularly kind to
The doctor harrumphed, then said. ‘The way that a particular people or race handles alcohol says nothing about its disposition. Alcohol doesn’t really bring out the best in Icelanders either. What if we were deprived of our sustenance, like these people have been because of bleeding-heart liberal Westerners banning the hunting they depend upon?’ He paused for a moment. ‘These people are innately good but they have suffered badly. I also think that conditions here on the east coast are the worst of anywhere in Greenland. The society on the west coast is more like what we’re used to.’
Finally Thora joined in. ‘Why do you think that the natives had something to do with the machinery?’ she asked Eyjolfur. ‘Were you here when any of this happened? That kind of thing could matter as far as the insurance is concerned.’
Eyjolfur seemed to have calmed down a bit. ‘Yeah, I’m not making it up; I know a bit about what happened,’ he answered, happy to have the opportunity to defend himself. ‘I’m not prejudiced or anything.’ No one bothered to contest this feeble excuse. ‘But I was here once when the drilling rig failed, and the drillers said someone had contaminated its fuel, poured sugar into it or something. It took them a long time to fix it and I can promise you that none of our people would have done such a thing. We all knew what was at stake.’
‘Is it possible that this Oddny Hildur, the one who disappeared, might have been involved?’ asked Matthew. ‘Maybe she was mentally unbalanced, and upset with the workplace or with Berg Technology.’
Fri?rikka cleared her throat, her face red with anger. ‘The equipment failed after she disappeared. And besides, the very idea is ridiculous. Oddny Hildur was my friend; she was quiet and reserved by nature and I can guarantee you that she didn’t sabotage the equipment or anything else. And I won’t listen to this nonsense about her mental condition; she simply died of exposure, it was an accident and any talk about anything else is fucking bullshit. I was here when she vanished and there was nothing wrong with her. I found the insinuations that she committed suicide tasteless, and they were only made to cover the fact that those who were supposed to be taking care of us did not deal with the matter appropriately.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Thora. ‘I read through the journals and it looked to me as if your security guard, Gisli, was completely on the case. Are they not to be trusted?’ She had already decided to go back over his data, making note of the time period when the vandalism to the drilling rig had taken place, in order to get a clearer view of the bigger picture. If the man had been making things up in his journals, she might not need to spend much time on them.
‘I don’t know,’ replied Fri?rikka. ‘Gisli tried a bit but he called off the search too early, and he could have done more in my opinion. And there were others who could also have done better as far as the search is concerned. The owner of the company seemed not to take her disappearance particularly badly and didn’t even make the trip out here. The same goes for the police in Greenland; they never came. Oddny Hildur might even have still been alive somewhere, maybe with a broken leg, and unable to make it back to camp. If we had searched better, we might have been able to save her.’ She looked close to tears.
‘What are you on about?’ said Eyjolfur angrily. ‘I was here too. We did everything we could. You’d do better to take a good look at yourself. Fat lot of use you were, with all your hysterics. You were little better than that ponce Arnar. Oddny Hildur would never have survived in the kind of blizzard we experienced that week, with or without a broken leg. Things could have gone badly wrong if we had kept looking. You and Arnar were the ones who messed up in the search, if memory serves.’ At this, Fri?rikka’s face turned so red that Alvar looked pale in comparison.
‘Who is this Arnar?’ asked Matthew. ‘Did he work here?’ Thora recognized the name from the organizational chart but didn’t recall what the man’s job was.
‘He’s an engineer. I think he’s still working for the company.’ It was Fri?rikka who answered. ‘It’s not fair to compare me to him as far as the search for Oddny Hildur is concerned. I put just as much effort into it as the others, even though I was chosen to investigate the area closest to camp so I wasn’t out all over the place. I highly
