found something on the body that pointed to the killer? Maybe one of these things is a clue to the identity of the murderer.’
‘Bloody nonsense.’ The doctor turned to Matthew. ‘This is ludicrous, completely fantastical. We don’t even know for certain that a body was there, still less the body of this particular woman.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Bella sarcastically. ‘That would make the case
Thora cleared her throat. As if it weren’t bad enough having to continually try to make peace between Fri?rikka and Eyjolfur. ‘This case certainly isn’t simple. Don’t forget the bones in the desk drawers. They’re yet another unexplained phenomenon in this peculiar place.’ She forced out a smile that was supposed to be encouraging. ‘But hopefully we’ll find an explanation for all of it. As things stand, I can’t say that we’re on the right track but you never know, things might become clear later.’
‘That’s right.’ Matthew tried to smile along with Thora, but his smile came out even less convincing than hers. ‘Let’s not waste time arguing about this; it’s of little use.’ He unwrapped the scarf from the little drilled bone. It was still moist from the ice that had melted off it. Then he lifted the idol gently. Tupilak. It stared back at them with its teeth bared; the figurine may not have been very big, but it was impressively hideous. ‘I think we should go down to the village and find someone who can help us sort this out. Maybe this little statue has a rational meaning? Maybe the villagers knew about the drillers and can explain the jacket and snowshoes, as well as the bone?’ He abruptly changed gears. ‘But it may well be that these things have no connection with the body in the ice. In any case, our only hope at the moment is that the villagers can explain some of it. We should visit them straight away.’
‘They’ll never help you,’ muttered Fri?rikka. ‘The villagers turned their backs on us when we went to them for assistance after Oddny Hildur’s disappearance. They won’t tell us anything.’
‘We’ll just have to see about that,’ said Thora. ‘We have to try.’ She recalled the empty streets and the baleful stares of the girls they had seen from a distance. She felt goosebumps on her forearms but did not know whether they were caused by the cooling temperature or the thought of a hostile reception in a village at the end of earth. She thought of the girls’ piercing black eyes again and realized that she was afraid to go to the village. The trip, however, could not be avoided.
Chapter 12
The village turned out to be just as Thora had been expecting – gloomy and hostile. It was as if the inhabitants were not of this world and feared coming out into the open air. The streets were still nearly deserted and a thin fog contributed to the unreal atmosphere. They had watched the fog cover the colourful village as they drove down the hill that separated it from the work site. It seemed as though the residents had ordered it to block the sight of these outsiders – with the assistance of nature, they were concealing what strangers were only intended to see hazily. The light was also peculiar: even though the sun hung in the sky it only gave off a dim glow, and was already preparing itself to sink back down into slumber. Three of them had come on this trip: Thora, Matthew and Dr Finnbogi. Eyjolfur had decided to try to repair the satellite dishes in the hope of re- establishing a connection with the outside world, and Alvar had offered to help him. Bella had been asked to put her handwritten inventory of the camp’s technical equipment onto the computer and Fri?rikka continued to assess the status of the project. They all appeared to be happy not to have to go down to the village, and Thora felt that Fri?rikka and Eyjolfur in particular were breathing more easily as a result. This did nothing to diminish Thora’s conviction that things were not quite right in the village; the only ones in the group who were familiar with it did not want to go back there.
The doctor turned and looked at Thora. ‘Where should we start?’ He had stopped the car on the slope while they silently watched the fog cover the area. ‘No one place seems better than another.’
Matthew pointed out of the front window. ‘There were two or three people down at the pier. Should we take the chance that they’re still there?’ A thick fog bank now covered both the pier and the foreshore.
They drove through the village to the little harbour, seeing not a single soul along the way. ‘I don’t know whether they’re avoiding us or whether the villagers generally remain indoors, but I find this very odd.’ The doctor drove slowly, thereby allowing himself the leisure to lean over the steering wheel and have a good look around. ‘I’ve been to lots of villages like this in Greenland and generally people are very friendly and sociable. If everything were as it should be, they would all be coming out to meet us instead of avoiding us.’ Neither Thora nor Matthew said anything, contenting themselves with looking at the lonely street as it passed slowly by. Colourful curtains were drawn across all the windows. All the doors were shut.
‘Maybe they start the day very early and then take a kind of siesta,’ said Thora, more to herself than to her colleagues in the car.
‘I’ve never heard of that.’ The doctor sped up a bit after they’d driven past the last house. ‘They’re not about to waste what little daylight they have at this time of year by napping.’ He suddenly slowed down as the fog became denser. ‘I don’t want to drive into the sea,’ he muttered. ‘You can’t see more than two metres in front of the car.’ When they caught sight of the pier’s woodwork at the end of the gravel path he parked off to the side. The slamming of the car doors broke the silence, then the only sound was the low lapping of the waves and a thump now and then when a loose ice floe bumped against a pier pillar. They looked at each other as if they were all waiting for one of them to take the initiative and lead them out onto the pier. ‘Just so it’s clear, I’ve never heard of Greenlanders attacking tourists,’ said Finnbogi, looking down the pier, which vanished before them in the fog. ‘We’ll just talk as we go so that we don’t catch anyone off-guard.’
‘If they’re still there.’ Matthew listened carefully and announced that he thought he heard some activity in the fog. ‘We got lucky,’ he said, but Thora couldn’t tell if he was being ironic or serious. He walked out onto the pier and Thora and Finnbogi followed him closely.
There was barely enough room for them to walk side by side down the jetty. It was built straight out into the sea, making it possible to dock on both sides. The villagers’ fleet appeared neither large nor elegant; it included three small, unsightly motorized fishing boats and several open motorboats tied to dock rings. There was not a kayak in sight. It was unclear how far the structure extended, because they did not need to walk far before they saw the indistinct shapes of two men. Both of them had stopped what they were doing and stood motionless, watching the party approach. Their expressions revealed neither anger nor enmity; they only appeared surprised at the visit and neither of them answered Finnbogi’s greeting. The man in the boat put down a battered knife that was covered in blood and his companion on the pier raised a gloved hand to his forehead and stroked back the hair from his eyes.
‘Good day,’ said Finnbogi in Danish with a strong Icelandic accent, bowing his head curtly. ‘Are you from here?’ Thora had to make an effort not to burst out laughing at this absurd question. The men were dressed in sealskin clothing, had dark skin, black hair, and slanted eyes – they were as Greenlandic as could be. There was even a dead seal, its belly cut open, lying on the pier, just to complete the picture. The men said nothing and just stared, as silent as before. The smile inside Thora withered as quickly as it had bloomed. Perhaps the men were offended by such a ridiculous question. She stared at the large knife held by the man in front of them. He was covered in blood from working on the seal. The doctor tried again. ‘We are visiting the work site to the north and we’re in a bit of trouble.’ The doctor’s Danish was decent, in Thora’s opinion, but that wasn’t saying much as she had never been very good at it herself. She still had enough high-school Danish to be able to follow the conversation – if the Greenlanders wanted to converse with them. On the other hand, Matthew understood nothing; he had enough trouble comprehending Icelandic without having to compound his difficulties by tackling another language. However, no language skills were necessary to understand that the hunters weren’t happy to see them. Yet Finnbogi was unperturbed and kept on as if the men had happily acquiesced to his request for help. ‘We’re missing two men who were at the work camp just over a week ago, and we wanted to check whether you knew anything about them.’ He paused for a moment, but then continued when their only response was to stare at him. ‘Have you seen these men at all? They could possibly have come here in the hope of finding transportation by land or sea.’
