Thora half expected the sofa to break beneath hers and Matthew’s combined weight. That would have been the icing on the cake as far as their visit was concerned; Thora still hadn’t regained her composure at the reception they’d been given. The man had completely lost it when he heard the name “Usinna” and had shouted himself hoarse. The only thing that seemed to prevent him from lashing out at her with his fists was Matthew standing next to her. Although the man appeared to be in decent shape, he was a head shorter than the German. Instead he vented his anger on the door and doorframe and continued pouring abuse over them. Naturally, Thora did not understand any of what he said, but it was clear that he was calling them some rather unpleasant names and was not overjoyed at their arrival. He turned several times to shout back into the house, probably to share his joy with the poor woman living there. In the end Matthew had enough, and he shouted back, ordering the Greenlander to shut his mouth for a moment. In German. At that the man abruptly shut up and stormed back in. He left the door open and although Thora wanted more than anything to run to the car, she forced herself to peek in through the doorway and ask courteously whether they could make a phone call. No reply. Thora tried calling the name Usinna, which she now believed to be the name of the woman there, and in a flash the young woman came running to the door. She waved her hands to silence Thora and her worried look convinced Thora not to dare say anything else.
The woman’s face was swollen and blood oozed from the corner of her mouth. Her lower lip was twice as large as when they had last met and when she got to the door she cradled one of her upper arms in the other hand. She was wearing faded old sweatpants and a tatty polyester jumper, so well-worn that the pattern was nearly gone. When Thora repeated her request to be allowed to make a phone call the woman refused to let them in and said it was a bad time. However, barely had she uttered the words before a door could be heard slamming somewhere in the house. At that the woman’s attitude changed abruptly and she invited them in. She explained that her housemate had left by the back door, so they could call if they did it quickly. She then showed them into the sitting room, where they took seats on the shabby sofa. There was a phone on a little side-table next to it.
‘What happened to you?’ Thora asked the woman, who sat opposite her on a plastic folding chair. This had also seen better days. ‘Did that man hurt you?’
‘It just happens. I’ll get over it.’ The woman pressed her bare toes into the fur of the polar bear pelt on the floor in front of her.
‘What is your name, can I ask?’ Thora had left it to Matthew to try to reach the police. They would certainly speak English, and he could not hold a conversation with the woman in Danish.
‘Oqqapia.’ The woman released her grip on her injured arm and straightened up. It was as if she suddenly realized what an abject picture she presented and wanted to put on a better face.
Thora introduced herself and Matthew and thanked her again for letting them in. ‘I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t helped us. We’ve brought money to pay you for your assistance.’
‘No thank you.’ The woman seemed serious. ‘I don’t want the money. It just makes matters worse.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Thora didn’t know what she could offer the woman instead and felt slightly embarrassed. She decided to start with something harmless and asked the woman about the little girl she’d seen outside on the snowmobile.
‘She’s special.’ Oqqapia rubbed her hands together and appeared very nervous about their presence in her sitting room. ‘She was injured, which is why she looks that way. She adores that snowmobile and her father always has to take her with him if he goes somewhere on it. Still, she’s an incredibly good girl even though she’s mutilated, the poor little thing.’ She said the last bit with enormous affection and appeared to be regaining her composure.
Thora seized the opportunity and changed the subject.
‘What does Usinna mean? Isn’t it a name?’ Judging by the reaction of the house’s inhabitants it was most likely a profanity or some sort of term of abuse. Perhaps Oddny Hildur had written it in her notebook to remind herself never to say it.
Oqqapia looked over her shoulder once more as if she expected the man to sneak up behind her. ‘It
Thora had at least been right about that. ‘Why was the man who came to the door so angry when I used it? I thought it might have been your name.’
The pink tip of the woman’s tongue appeared at the bloody corner of her mouth and she ran it over her swollen lip. ‘You shouldn’t have mentioned her by name. Naruana is very sensitive about her and besides that he was already angry. You’ve come at the worst possible time.’
‘Is this Naruana your husband?’ Thora hoped that he wasn’t. ‘He looks to me like a rather unsuitable life partner,’ she added hesitantly.
The woman smiled flatly, just enough for the light to catch her white front teeth. Between them were dark streaks of blood. ‘We’re not married. He just lives here.’ She thrust out her jaw and moved it from side to side as if to check whether it was broken at all. ‘He doesn’t usually act like that. As I said, you two came at a bad time.’ Thora decided not to make any objection to this. She knew neither this woman nor her circumstances and would most likely never see her again. Who was she to think she could judge her and give her advice? Did she intend to give her a helping hand if she needed one? No, she was an adult and it was unnecessary for Thora to point out to her that this was perhaps not the most desirable relationship in the world. ‘You might consider getting away from him,’ was all she said before changing the subject. ‘Why does the name Usinna make him so upset?’
The woman was silent for a moment as she stared awkwardly into Thora’s eyes. Then she began to speak, rather determinedly, although her voice trembled slightly. ‘His sister was named Usinna. She died several years ago and he took it very badly.’
‘I understand.’ What on earth was the name of the dead woman doing in Oddny Hildur’s notebook? Out of the corner of her eye Thora watched Matthew try for the fourth time to dial what he thought was the phone number of the police. He still hadn’t managed to reach anyone. ‘When did she die?’
‘It was almost five years ago.’
‘And he still hasn’t come to terms with it?’ Thora found this rather odd. She didn’t know any siblings who were so close that one would take years and years to get over the death of the other. ‘Did she die very young?’ There was no way to determine the age of the man who had met them at the door. He could be anywhere from twenty- five to fifty. ‘No, she was older than him. She died when she was twenty-something. Almost thirty.’
Matthew hung up and handed Thora the slip of paper. ‘Are you able to ask her whether there’s something wrong with this number? I can’t reach anyone.’ Thora asked and the woman checked the number. She handed it back to Thora, saying that as far as she could tell there was nothing wrong with it. However, it was sometimes difficult to get a good connection and he should just keep trying. Matthew then asked Thora to ask whether it were conceivable that the phone had been disconnected. The woman reddened a little at this question but then said that the authorities paid a fixed telephone service fee and that the phone was fine. Matthew continued trying.
Thora turned back to what they had been discussing before Matthew interrupted. ‘How did this woman die? Did she need blood, or did she have a blood disease?’ It crossed Thora’s mind that the words ‘blood test’ in Oddny Hildur’s notebook were perhaps connected to Usinna. Perhaps she had needed blood tests, but transportation problems had prevented her from being treated in time. With this in mind, it was possible that Naruana blamed foreigners for his sister’s death, although Thora found that difficult to believe.
Oqqapia frowned, bewildered, and the facial movement appeared to cause her pain. She grabbed her jaw and stroked her swollen skin. ‘She didn’t die because of anything to do with blood. She just went missing.’
Thora thought for a moment. ‘Where did she go missing?’
‘In your area. She went there despite being warned not to. I would never go there.’
‘And then what? She went and just didn’t come back? Did no one search for her?’
‘She left in the morning and when she didn’t return in the evening it was clear that there was no hope of her returning the next day. It was pointless to look for her although Naruana and his father did try. She was gone.’
‘Doesn’t anyone find it odd that people keep disappearing around here?’ Thora was dumbfounded. What was going on? She didn’t know enough about the environment in these parts to imagine the main dangers people
