out here in Vogar and it’s a pain getting into town, because he said he didn’t want to own a car.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘He said that the combustion engine is destroying the earth and he didn’t want to contribute to it. But all that meant was that I drove us everywhere instead.’
‘A man of principle?’
‘When it suited him.’
‘But you were still close at the time he disappeared?’
‘We were.’
‘And when did you last see him?’ Gunna asked.
‘The day before he was found. He stayed here all weekend and had to meet some people on the Monday, so he went to town with me on Monday morning and went to his place and I went to work as usual. I thought I’d see him the next day, but he didn’t come in to work. Then you called on Wednesday to talk to Osk.’
‘And you answered the phone?’
‘Yeah. And I knew right away something was wrong.’
‘Did he say anything about the people he was meeting?’
‘Not really. But he didn’t get off on drinking and always complained about having to take clients around the nightlife.’
Gunna nodded. ‘Was there anything you noticed in the time up to his disappearance that was different? Changes in his behaviour or habits? Sigurjona says that there was nothing she noticed in his work that was any different.’
Disa shook her head. ‘Sigurjona’s a strange woman. Some things just completely pass her by and other things she watches like a hawk. If he hadn’t been doing his work, she would have noticed straight away.’
‘But there was nothing you noticed?’
‘There was something and I didn’t want to say anything about it at the office. Y’know, there wasn’t time and, it’s, like, work.’
‘Go on.’
‘This is what I thought you ought to know about. It was in the spring. There was this friend of Einar Eyjolfur’s who was killed in a road accident. I’d never met the guy, but it really shook him up.’
‘Do you remember the man’s name? Or where the accident occurred?’
‘No. Sorry. I keep saying sorry, don’t I? I think he was a teacher or something, and the accident happened right outside his house, so he said, up in Grafarvogur.’
‘And you never met this man?’
‘No. Just heard them talking a lot through the computer. On Skype.’
Gunna made a few notes on her pad, angling it on the edge of the table so that it couldn’t be seen. She wrote ‘Computer — talk? How? Ask Snorri.’
‘If this man’s death upset him so much, do you know if they were related, or old friends, or anything like that?’
‘No, nothing like that. They talked mostly about all this ecological stuff, dams and power and electricity, that kind of thing. I think they were working on some sort of website together, something to do with Clean Iceland.’
‘The environmental group?’
‘Sigurjona doesn’t like them.’
‘And if Sigurjona had known that Einar Eyjolfur had something to do with Clean Iceland, would that have caused a problem at work?’
‘Shit, yeah.’
Gunna looked at Disa in silence, hoping that the silence would prompt her to continue.
‘Actually he was more than upset. He was scared, I thought, but he didn’t say anything about it. I saw him watching the street outside in the evenings and checking to see if we were being followed if we were out somewhere, and I told him not to be silly.’
‘And he never mentioned what he might be anxious about?’
‘No, he’d just change the subject if I asked him, but I could see he was uncomfortable with it.’
‘Do you think this was anything to do with his friend’s accident?’
Disa nodded in silence and looked down at her hands.
‘And do you believe that there might be some connection to his work?’
She nodded again.
‘Do you believe that you are in any danger?’
‘No, I don’t think so,’ she replied in a small voice.
‘All right. Thank you for all your help, and I assure you it is a help,’ Gunna said, rising to her feet. ‘But I expect I will want to come and ask you a few more questions later. By the way, I know it’s not pleasant, but it seems Einar Eyjolfur had no next of kin. Would you be prepared to identify him formally?’
Disa gulped and turned pale. ‘I’ve never seen a dead person before.’
‘He’ll look as if he’s asleep.’
‘OK. I’ll do it.’
‘Tomorrow?’
Disa looked doubtful. ‘I will if you’ll come with me,’ she finally said in a small voice.
‘Of course,’ Gunna said, trying to sound reassuring. ‘I’ll pick you up as well if you like.’
‘Please. I’ll take the day off. Sigurjona won’t mind if she knows why.’
‘Fine. I’ll go over to the hospital with you. You’re going to be all right tonight, aren’t you?’ she asked, the front door open in front of her.
The sun was low in the sky and it was still warm after a hot day, but a stiff breeze was blowing uphill from the sea, whipping dust from the street to fill the air with grit.
‘Disa, you’re not on your own here, are you?’
‘It’s all right. My uncle’s family is upstairs and Mum is down the street.’
Gunna pulled her cap lower and prepared to trot over the road to her car.
‘The guy’s name, I remember it now.’
‘And?’
‘Egill. Egill Grimsson.’
***
The phone buzzed on the kitchen worktop and Gunna debated with herself whether or not to answer the ‘unknown number’ call. After all, she was off duty. Laufey looked up from the homework she had decided to spread across the kitchen table.
‘Phone, Mum.’
‘I know, sweetheart.’ Gunna picked it up. ‘Gunnhildur.’
Vilhjalmur Traustason’s voice was an octave above its usual pitch, and for once he didn’t even bother to introduce himself.
‘Why on earth were you in Reykjavik?’ he demanded.
‘You keep telling me what a wonderful city it is and how you can’t understand me living in a backwater like Hvalvik.’
‘Don’t play games, Gunnhildur. I’ve had a complaint from a very senior level that you have been harassing a prominent figure in the business community.
‘And who is that supposed to be?’
Vilhjalmur’s voice rose slightly further and Gunna toyed with the idea that if it were to go up any more, then only dogs and dolphins would be able to hear the chief inspector’s tantrums.
‘You know perfectly well and I’m instructing you to be careful. This is a very influential lady and I can’t see how she could be connected in any way to anything suspicious.’
‘Look, our dead guy worked for her. This was a perfectly ordinary interview, nothing heavy, simply to try and find out what his movements had been before we found him dead a hundred kilometres from Reykjavik. Is that OK?’
She could hear the chief inspector taking deep breaths to calm his nerves. She knew he found it difficult to
