Jon Oddur had not recovered from his ordeal outside. The office lights weren’t doing him any favours, she noticed. The man’s skin looked blotchy and there were bags under his eyes.
‘Tell me about the party,’ Gunna prompted.
‘What about it?’
‘Who was there. What went on.’
He groaned and slouched back in his chair. ‘All right. It was the PR Practitioners’ Awards night. Sigurjona was slated for an award, so we needed a presence.’
‘So this is a PR company, right?’ Bara asked. ‘How come Spearpoint is involved in managing a construction site?’
‘It basically evolved into a project management operation. Sigurjona had been doing PR work for a long time and when she got involved with InterAlu, she was asked to lay on fixers and interpreters. It all snowballed from there and the company has been growing really fast over the last year and a half.’
‘All work with InterAlu?’
‘Yeah, and ESC, and more foreign companies are coming to us all the time now.’
‘ESC and Spearpoint aren’t the same thing?’
‘The offices of both are here. But Spearpoint is privately owned and ESC is a limited company.’
‘Owned by?’ Bara asked.
‘Sigurjona, her husband, a few other people, and InterAlu.’
‘And if InterAlu pull out, Spearpoint loses its biggest customer?’ Bara asked and Jon Oddur nodded again.
‘And ESC becomes worthless. Worse than worthless, actually,’ he said, squirming in his seat.
‘Look,’ he groaned finally. ‘You didn’t hear this from me, but you’ll hear it soon enough anyway. On Friday Glitnir Bank will inform the Central Bank that it’s unable to service its debts. It’s not ESC’s bank, but that one isn’t in any better position. It’s just a case of when.’
Startled, Gunna wondered what to say, but settled for glaring into Jon Oddur’s face.
‘They probably won’t announce it until after the weekend, but just wait and see. Everyone knows something big’s about to happen after the currency’s been on the slide for months. It’s only a few of us know what’s really happening.’
‘And this affects ESC?’
‘Of course it does!’ Jon Oddur yelped. ‘It affects every business in the country! But ESC is due to be financed for the big phase of the Hvalvik Lagoon project by the bank, and some of us know that the bank doesn’t have anything left to lend.’
Gunna drew a deep breath. ‘Well, young man. I hope you’re wrong.’
‘So do I. But this isn’t just happening in Iceland. This is all over the world. I tell you, Iceland is looking at unemployment and inflation, big time,’ he added gloomily.
‘In that case, I’m sure that the police force will be able to fill a few vacancies,’ Gunna said tartly, shocked at Jon Oddur’s prediction and forcing herself to keep her mind on the job. ‘Now, the awards night.’
Jon Oddur deflated and slumped in the chair. ‘OK. There were half a dozen of us from here went to the ceremony. We booked rooms at the hotel and there was a party afterwards in Sigurjona’s suite.’
‘Who attended?’
‘Er, me, Sigurjona. Osk was there but she left early. Sigurjona’s sister was there as well and a few other guests,’ he gabbled as Bara scribbled down names in her folder.
‘And the one you haven’t mentioned?’ Gunna said gently.
Jon Oddur was suddenly on the defensive. ‘Who’s that?’
‘This guy.’
Gunna placed the printout of the pages from
‘Oh, him. Yeah, he was there as well. Sigurjona invited him. This is . . . where did you get it from?’
‘You didn’t mention him. Why?’ Gunna demanded, ignoring Jon Oddur’s question.
‘I don’t know. Just forgot. We don’t normally have anything to do with him anyway.’
‘Tell me about this man. Do you know where he lives?’ Gunna probed.
‘No. We don’t know anything about him, really. I know he’s one of the InterAlu people but he reports direct to the boss.’
‘Hverfisgata? Above Sindra Foto?’
‘Oh. That place. Look, I pay the guy every month and he keeps the flat free for whoever we need to put in there. I suppose Sigurjona must have told him to stay there,’ he said quickly.
‘I don’t believe you. I think you knew very well that he was staying there. What happened at this ceremony? Where did he go afterwards?’
‘Why? What’s he wanted for?’
‘Can’t discuss it. All I can say is that it’s a major investigation.’
‘I’m not sure where he went. Erna was all over him and I think they disappeared about the same time. They were both there at the awards but I don’t remember seeing either of them at the party in the suite upstairs.’
‘What time did the party begin?’
Jon Oddur hung his head and twisted his fingers in circles. ‘I don’t know. I was quite wrecked, just like everyone else there. Two, maybe. Something like that. Look, haven’t I told you enough yet?’
‘Not until you’ve told us everything,’ Gunna said sharply.
Jon Oddur rested the back of his head in his hands as he looked up at the ceiling. ‘All right. The awards were OK, just what everyone expected. Sigurjona got her award, made a speech, blah, blah, got her glass thing and that was that. More awards, lots of speeches. So, by midnight everyone’s pretty fucked up. Sigurjona dropped her glass award and she was furious, accused me and then Osk of breaking it. Anyway, it calmed down and there was some crappy seventies band on that only the old people wanted to dance to. Then we all went up to the suite and we had a little party there, about ten people, something like that. It’s a bit hazy,’ he admitted with a nervous smile.
‘All people from Spearpoint?’
‘Yeah. No, well, mostly I think. There were some women there I didn’t recognize. Foreign. And there were quite a few people who came and went.’
‘Then what?’
‘Hell, I don’t know. I woke up in my room at about six in the morning next to Sigurjona. I still had my tux on. She’d lost her dress somewhere, though. I don’t remember anything between the party and waking up. That’s it. Then you banging on the door’s the next thing I knew.’
Gunna tapped the picture on the table in front of her. ‘When was the last time you saw him?’
Jon Oddur’s brow furrowed as he fought to remember. ‘It’s all really hazy, y’know. I reckon at the end of the dance in the ballroom. The last I saw of him was at the table, I suppose. I don’t think he drinks. But Erna can really put it away and she’d draped herself all over the poor guy.’
‘Are you saying that they might have left together?’
‘Could have. Don’t know.’
‘All right, Jon Oddur. That’ll do. Now, where’s Sigurjona today?’
Jon Oddur shrugged. ‘She’s not here today, which is fine with all of us. We get a lot more work done when she’s out of the office.’ ‘So she’s where?’ ‘No idea. At home, maybe? Osk always knows where she is.’
‘Where’s Sigurjona?’ Gunna growled.
Osk began to rise to her feet but stopped halfway at the sight of the expression on Gunna’s face. ‘She’s not here today.’
‘Phone number? Address?’
‘I’m not at liberty to divulge that,’ she repeated angrily. Gunna could see the blood rising across her neck and into her face.
‘You will be if I come back with a warrant.’
‘If you do, our legal team will be waiting for you.’
‘Look, I won’t come back with a search warrant, it’ll be a bloody arrest warrant.’
