haul her over the coals, just as she found it hard to take his rapid rise through the ranks seriously.
‘Well, in that case—’
‘And just so that you know, your prominent figure had just finished screaming blue murder at some unlucky dogsbody as I got there, and she reeks of vodka at two in the afternoon.’
‘In that case—’
‘In that case, I should have informed traffic, just in case the bloody woman decided to drive herself home.’
‘Gunnhildur, listen, I don’t want any trouble arising from this, you understand? We don’t need a repeat of, you know, what happened before.’
‘Just following procedure, Vilhjalmur, going by the rule book.’
Well, mind you do. Do you understand? We can’t have that sort of person causing a fuss because a regional officer oversteps the mark.’
He stressed ‘regional’, and Gunna found herself resisting the temptation to snap back. She jammed her phone against one shoulder while opening the fridge and peering inside.
‘What do you mean by overstepping the mark?’ she asked angrily. ‘Since when has trying to find out why someone died in suspicious circumstances been overstepping the mark?’
‘Progress briefing tomorrow. Don’t forget.’ The phone went dead in her hand.
‘You can just go to hell, chief inspector,’ she muttered, tossing the phone back on to the worktop where it spun in circles before coming to rest behind the toaster. Laufey looked at her mother with wide eyes.
‘All right, Mum?’
‘Yes. It’s just something you need to learn as you go through life, my love.’
‘What’s that?’
‘That most of the people in charge are idiots.’
‘You have to find these — these — these
Sigurjona Huldudottir’s composure had disappeared entirely. Her shoulders shook and her voice trembled in fury.
‘There’s nothing more I can do, Sigurjona,’ Bjarni Jon Bjarnason said in a voice he hoped sounded soothing, while bracing himself for the storm. ‘The computer crime squad have been investigating this for weeks without getting anywhere and I’ve badgered the Minister of Foreign Affairs to put pressure on countries that host these websites, but it’s not as if Iceland has so much weight that we can bully other governments,’ he added bitterly.
‘But it’s just disgusting,’ she spat. ‘Absolutely revolting. How do they find these things out? Have you seen this?’
‘No, I haven’t,’ he lied.
‘Just look at it. Go on, read it. Look what this scumbag is saying.’ She wrenched the laptop around on the table.
‘Who?’
‘Just read the bloody thing!’
Bjarni Jon read. He recognized every one of the blogger’s targets easily enough, and anyone with more than a passing acquaintance with any of the gossip magazines would be able to do the same.
Sigurjona stood up and paced the living room from end to end, smoking furiously, and spun back so that the parquet floor squealed under her heel.
‘Have you read it? Well, have you?’
‘Yes, I have now.’
‘And?’
‘And what?’
She gathered her breath. ‘And what the hell are you going to do about it?’ she shrieked, while Bjarni Jon quailed at the onslaught.
‘Look, Jona. We’ve had this bloody site closed down already a couple of times, and it just pops up somewhere else. The blog’s hosted in some former Soviet state where all that counts is money and they don’t reply to official communications if they don’t feel like it.’
Sigurjona threw herself into a chair, looked around briefly for an ashtray and ground out her cigarette clumsily on a saucer that still had a cup in it, spilling cup and cold coffee on to the table. Anger was something she did well and she knew it.
‘How does this bastard know all these things?’ she hissed.
‘Like what things?’ Bjarni Jon asked.
‘Like how Inga Katrin had a nose job at the same time as she had her boobs fixed?’
‘How should I know?’
‘And how does this shitbag know about . . . Sugarplum?’
Bjarni Jon winced. This one was painful.
‘Well, how do they know?’ she yelled, bringing her fury to the whirling climax that Bjarni Jon had known was coming. ‘That’s our name! Nobody else’s! Unless you’ve been whispering something in your secretary’s ear!’
‘Jona, please. Calm down.’
‘Why the hell should I?’
Bjarni Jon summoned his scattered courage and tried to keep his head high. ‘Look, Jona, I wouldn’t touch Birna even if it was on offer. She’s as cold as a dead fish.’
‘And how do you know? Tried it on, have you?’
In spite of herself, Sigurjona was starting to enjoy herself. Occasionally she revelled in letting her temper and tongue have free rein and, however much Bjarni Jon was tempted to yell back, his self-control was never allowed to slip that far.
‘Listen. Birna is completely frigid. I have it on good authority. She’s not been involved with a man since she left university. She gets off on her career, nothing else.’
‘All right, then.’
Bjarni Jon stifled a sigh of relief as Sigurjona’s temper suddenly cooled, but he knew at the same time that his wife’s icy side could be just as unpleasant.
‘Are you going to do something about this Skandalblogging arsehole?’ she demanded quietly.
‘Jona, my love, I’ve already done everything I can.’
Sigurjona sniffed and tapped another cigarette from its packet. ‘If you don’t, I will.’
‘What?’
‘You heard me.’
‘How?’
‘Maybe I’ll ask Mr Hardy to keep his eyes open for me.’
Bjarni Jon caught his breath. ‘Jona, I’m warning you. These aren’t nice people and they aren’t the sort you want to owe too many favours.’
‘I don’t care. I have to stop this. I can’t stand it any more. And if you don’t do something, I’ll find someone who will.’
4
Friday, 29 August
Haddi and Snorri were already at the station when Gunna arrived, out of breath, irritable and late.
‘Afternoon,’ Haddi said.
‘Hell. Sorry, Haddi. Laufey desperately needed a lift to the stables this morning and she didn’t bother to tell me until two minutes before I was ready to leave. Children, nothing but trouble from day one,’ she grumbled.
‘Never had a moment’s trouble with mine,’ Haddi said with the satisfied look of a proud parent on his face.
