Arctic Chill de-7

by Arnaldur Indridason

  “Can this bloody mess get any worse?” he hissed through clenched teeth and rushed out of the room.

  The police officer had second thoughts on his way back to the block of flats. The interpreter had popped out in her car but on the way she had asked him to fetch some bread and milk for the Thai woman and her son, who were alone in the flat. He had been in the force for two years and didn’t find this job worse than any other. He had been caught up in the downtown melees when the weekend celebrations reached their peak. He had been called out to terrible road accidents. None of them affected him much. They described him as promising. He aimed for promotion within the police. Now he had been given the job of standing guard at the home of the Thai woman and her son. All morning, a series of experts from various agencies had trooped up the stairs to her flat, and he had stood there, asking their names, occupations and business. He let them all in. They all came straight back down. The Thai woman wanted to be left alone with her child. He could understand that. What a tragedy she had suffered.

  Then the interpreter came hurrying downstairs, handed him some money and a small shopping list and asked him to buy the items for the mother and son upstairs. He refused politely, shaking his head with a smile and saying he was not allowed to leave. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t. He was a policeman. Not an errand boy.

  “It’ll only take five minutes,” the interpreter said. “I’d do it myself but I’m in a rush.”

  Then she ran over to her car and drove off.

  He was left standing there with the shopping list and the banknote and a conscience that he struggled with, but only for a moment. Then he hurried off too. He wasn’t long at all, as he told that Erlendur bloke who tore him off such a strip that he almost burst into tears. Perhaps he should have called for assistance. Perhaps he should not have gone on that ridiculous errand, which reminded him of when he was a child and his mother was always sending him out to the shop. Perhaps that was the point: he had acted instinctively and forgot himself for a moment. He had flicked through a trashy magazine containing stories of celebrity divorces, but did not dare to tell the inspector about that part of his journey. The old man was so worked up that he thought he would knock him senseless. Sigurdur Oli, whom he knew slightly, had to step in to restrain the inspector.

  When he came back from the shop he ran up the stairs and rang the bell. Then he knocked on the door but there was no reply. Eventually he opened it and called in, “Hello!” The door was not locked. No one answered him. He walked around the flat, calling out in all directions. He received no reply. The flat was empty.

  He stood like an idiot with a plastic shopping bag in his hand and could hardly muster the courage to inform the station that Sunee and her boy had gone missing.

  13

  Erlendur did not blame the officer for Sunee and Niran’s disappearance although the man had showed incredible and incomprehensible neglect in the course of duty. He was convinced that the interpreter, who was the last to leave the mother and her son, had helped them to go into hiding. She had persuaded the officer to leave for a moment and then drove them off to a place that she would not name. After grilling the officer Erlendur sent for the interpreter. In the meantime the police looked for clues as to where Sunee could have taken her son. Her telephone did not have a caller ID, but Elinborg applied to the District Court to be given a list of Sunee’s incoming and outgoing calls during the previous month.

  Elinborg called Erlendur and told him about her conversation with the teacher from Elias’s old school.

  “Don’t you think she’s trying to protect him by running away?” she asked Erlendur when he told her that the mother and son had gone missing.

  “The explanation is obviously something like that,” Erlendur said. “The question is who she thinks she’s protecting him from.”

  “Maybe he’s told her something.”

  Erlendur had just finished talking to Elinborg when his mobile rang again. The head of narcotics told him that they had located a girl at the school who had been trying to sell drugs in the playground. She had not been involved with the narcotics squad before but her older sister was well known to the police, a hardened addict with a string of arrests for drug offences. The two sisters had an elder brother who was in prison for manslaughter; he had attacked a passer-by in the centre of Reykjavik, inflicting wounds that led to his death.

  “A classy family, then,” Erlendur said.

  “The creme de la creme,” the head of narcotics said. “Do you want to talk to the girls?”

  “Yes, bring them in,” Erlendur said.

  At that moment Gudny appeared in the flat. Erlendur cut off his call and put his mobile in the pocket of his overcoat.

  “Where are they?” he said in a determined voice, walking over to Gudny. “Why did they run away and where did you take them?”

  Are you seriously blaming me for this?” she said.

  “You deceived a police officer,” Erlendur said, “then came back to collect them. We want to know what you’ve done with them. I could lock you up for obstructing the police in the execution of their duty. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it.”

  “I had nothing to do with this,” Gudny said. “I didn’t come back to collect them. And don’t you go threatening me. If you want to “lock me up”, then go right ahead.”

  “We need answers from you,” Sigurdur Oli said, walking in from the corridor to the bedrooms after hearing the conversation. “You were the last person to talk to them. Why have they disappeared?”

  “I have no idea,” Gudny said with a sigh. “I was as shocked as you when the police contacted me. When I left them about, what -‘ she said with a look at her watch “- three-quarters of an hour ago, there was nothing to suggest that Sunee was planning to do a disappearing act. She said she needed some shopping. I was late for a meeting. The officer was so kind as to help them. I didn’t suspect that she was plotting something. She told me nothing about that. I don’t care whether you believe me or not. I knew nothing about it.”

  “Do you know where they could have gone?” Sigurdur Oli asked.

  “No, I don’t have the faintest idea. I don’t even know if they are hiding. She might come straight back. Maybe she just popped out somewhere. Maybe she’s not hiding at all. Have you considered that?”

  “Did she contact anyone this morning?” Sigurdur Oli asked.

  Gudny told them that she had visited Sunee early that morning. There had been a police officer at the door and a patrol car with another two policemen in it in the car park in front of the block. Then the patrol car was called away. Sunee had told her straight away that she wanted to be left alone with Niran. He was in a very difficult state. She had not managed to make him talk to her, and if she could not do so, then neither could a police officer or an expert of any kind. What she needed was time alone with Niran to draw him back out of himself. His brother’s death had clearly been a great shock to him and she was trying to help him as best she could. That was her number-one priority under the circumstances. Gudny had sat down with them and offered her assistance, but when Sunee found out that she had to go to a meeting, she started talking about some things she needed from the shop.

  “Did she know then that the police car had gone?” Erlendur asked.

  “Yes, she saw it leave.”

  “What happened to that bloody car?” Erlendur asked Sigurdur Oli, who had a ready answer. The car had been called out to a serious accident on a busy junction a few streets away. It was the nearest patrol car. They had not foreseen any problem in sending it on a quick call-out.

  Erlendur shook his head in resignation.

  “Who is Sunee’s boyfriend?” he asked Gudny.

  “I’ve told you I know nothing about any boyfriend,” Gudny said warily.

  “Could she have gone to him?” Erlendur said.

  “She doesn’t seem to have many places to go,” Sigurdur Oli said.

  “Who is this man?” Erlendur said with an angry look at Sigurdur
Oli. He had a habit of interrupting, which got on Erlendur’s nerves.

  “I don’t know about any boyfriend,” Gudny repeated. “She might be with her mother-in-law. Have you checked that? Or her brother?”

  “That’s the first place we’ll look,” Erlendur said.

  At that point Elinborg arrived.

  “How can they be missing?” she asked. “Weren’t they under supervision?”

  “She’s scared,” Gudny said. “Who wouldn’t be scared in her position? If she’s run off, it’s to protect her only surviving son. That’s all she can think of at the moment. She doesn’t trust you. That’s obvious. She trusts herself. She always has.”

  “Why shouldn’t she trust us?” Elinborg said. “Has she any reason not to?”

  Gudny looked at her.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t have answers to all your questions.”

  “Who is her boyfriend?” Erlendur asked. “What kind of relationship do he and Sunee have? When did they meet? Was he the reason Sunee and her husband divorced? Did he know the boys well? How did he get along with them?”

  Gudny looked at each of them in turn.

  “She met a man recently,” she said at last.

  “Yes, and… ?” Erlendur said impatiently.

  “I don’t think she’s with him. I don’t know anything about Sunee’s divorce from Odinn. I don’t know exactly when this man entered the picture.”

  “And who is he?”

  “Sunee’s friend.”

  “What kind of friend?” Erlendur asked.

  Gudny looked over at Elinborg, then at Sigurdur Oli and finally back at Erlendur, and shrugged.

  “Does he work? Do you know where he lives?”

  “Sunee has never talked about him. I don’t even know his name.”

  “Why don’t you think she’s gone to him? You said she wouldn’t go to him, why do you think that?”

  “That’s just my feeling,” Gudny said.

  Erlendur recalled the words of Sunee’s ex-husband, who had said that she had a boyfriend but he knew little about him. Virote knew about him. Gudny had finally acknowledged his existence. Emilia, Elias’s former teacher, thought he was Icelandic.

  “Is he an Icelander?” Erlendur asked.

  “Yes,” Gudny said.

  “And has this relationship been going on for long?”

  “I don’t know exactly.”

  “There’s another thing, since you mentioned trust,” Erlendur said. “I know you don’t have answers to all our questions. But there’s one question we can’t ignore, however much we would like to, and that’s the question of Niran. Now that Sunee’s fled with him, that question has become all the more pressing.”

  “What are you talking about?” the interpreter asked.

  Sigurdur Oli and Elinborg exchanged glances as if they had no idea what Erlendur was driving at.

  “Why did she run off with Niran?” Erlendur asked, lowering his voice.

  “I don’t know,” Gudny said.

  “Could she be trying to get him out of the country?”

  “Out of the country?”

  “Why not?”

  “I think she’s trying to protect him, not that I know anything about it. No, I don’t think she’s trying to get him out of the country. In the first place, I don’t think she’d have a clue how to go about it”

  “She might know someone.”

  “That’s absurd!”

  “I agree that she’s trying to protect Niran,” Erlendur said. “I think she’s gone into hiding because he’s told her something at last. He knows what happened.”

  “I can’t believe you’re claiming he was involved in murdering his own brother!” Gudny said, outraged.

  “We have to examine all the possibilities and Sunee disappearing with the boy doesn’t help. She may well want to protect him by doing so but she may also know something that we don’t. I expect he told her something important.”

  “If Niran has done something wrong, Sunee would tell us. I know her. She wouldn’t cover up for the boy.”

  “We have to keep all our options open.”

  “But it’s out of the question!” the interpreter shouted.

  “Don’t tell me what’s out of the question and what isn’t,” Erlendur said.

  “You can’t keep them imprisoned here at least,” Gudny said. “You can’t lock them up in this flat! They must be free to go where they please.”

  “I don’t want anything else to happen to them,” Erlendur said. “They need to let us know where they’re going.”

  “That’s crap,’Gudny said.

  “There she is!”

  Sigurdur Oli stared out through the door into the corridor where Sunee was standing. Her brother was with her, but there was no sign of Niran.

  Gudny went over to them and said something in Thai. Virote answered her. Sunee looked apprehensively at Erlendur.

  “Niran not do nothing,” she said.

  “Where is he?” Erlendur asked.

  Sunee spoke to Gudny for a long while.

  “She’s not certain that she can look after him,” Gudny said. “He’s safe where he is. Sunee knows you want to question him, but says it’s unnecessary. He hasn’t done anything and doesn’t know anything. He came home by himself yesterday and saw the police and his brother and went into a state of shock. He hid and couldn’t speak to his mother until this morning. He assured Sunee that he has no idea what happened to his brother. He had no part in it himself and didn’t see or meet Elias that day. He was scared.”

  “Scared of what?”

  “That the same thing would happen to him,” Gudny said.

  “Will you tell Sunee that it’s not right to conceal the boy. It’s suspicious behaviour and even dangerous as long as we don’t know any more about the case. We don’t know what happened to Elias and if she thinks Niran’s in danger she’ll have to trust us to look after him. She’s just making things worse.”

  Gudny translated Erlendur’s words as he spoke but Sunee started shaking her head before she managed to finish.

  “Niran not do nothing,” she said again, glaring at Erlendur.

  “Please ask her to tell us where her son is,” Erlendur asked.

  “She says you needn’t worry about him,” Gudny said. “She asks you to find Elias’s murderer instead. Are there any new developments on that front?”

  “No,” Erlendur said, trying to imagine what he himself would do in Sunee’s shoes. Perhaps she was doing the right thing. He could not tell.

  “We hear you’ve met a man — an Icelander,” Erlendur said. “I haven’t had the opportunity to ask you about him yet.”

  Gudny interpreted between them.

  “He’s nothing to do with this,” Sunee said.

  “Who is this man?” Sigurdur Oli asked. “What can you tell us about him?”

  “Nothing,” Sunee said.

  “Do you know where we can reach him?”

  “No,” Sunee replied.

  “Is he at work? Do you know where he works?”

  “He’s none of your business,” Sunee said.

  “What kind of relationship do you have?” Erlendur asked.

  “He’s my friend.”

  “What kind of friend?”

  “I don’t understand the question.”

  “Is he more than just a friend?”

  “No, nothing more.”

  “Do you think this man was involved in the murder of your son?” Sigurdur Oli asked.

  “No,” Sunee said.

  “Isn’t that enough for now?” Gudny asked.

  Erlendur nodded.

  “We’ll talk to her again later today. And try to make her understand that she’s not helping at all by hiding Niran.”

  “Except helping to save his life perhaps,” Gudny said. “Try to put yourself in her position. Try to understand what she’s going through.”

  They walked downstairs and got into Erlendur’s car.

  “
Who is this woman who’s such a good interpreter?” Erlendur asked, taking out a pack of cigarettes.

  “Are you going to smoke?” said Sigurdur Oli, who was sitting in the back seat.

  “Gudny?” Elinborg said. “She lived in Thailand for years. Goes there regularly, worships the place and the people, and works as a tourist guide during the summer. I think she’s done a great job under difficult circumstances. I like her.”

  “She can’t stand you,” Sigurdur Oli said to Erlendur.

  Erlendur lit his cigarette and tried to blow the smoke into the back seat.

  “Did you get anything else out of Andres?” he asked.

  Sigurdur Oli had stayed behind in the interview room when Erlendur had leaped to his feet and run out. He told him how he had tried to get Andres to name the man who had recently moved to the neighbourhood, but to no avail. Sigurdur described the interview to Elinborg; he thought Andres was spinning a cock-and-bull story to shift the attention away from himself. It was a tired old ruse.

  “He refused to describe the man to me,” Sigurdur Oli said, “or to provide any details about him.”

  “If he harmed Andres when he was a child, then at least he must be quite a bit older,” Erlendur said. “I don’t know, he might be in his sixties by now. Actually, I don’t think it was a paedophile. They’re not murderers. Not in the literal sense anyway”

  The investigation was into its second day and they still lacked sufficient information to be able to draw any conclusions. No one had come forward who had seen Elias’s movements that day. At the place where he was stabbed — the substation — there was an open path that narrowed to accommodate garages on one side. The scene was overlooked by the top flats of the nearby blocks but none of the residents had seen anything unusual or suspicious. Very few people were home at the time of day when Elias was attacked.

  Erlendur’s interest focused on the school. Elinborg told them how, at the boys” previous school, Niran had been a member of a gang of immigrant children who were involved in fights. She wondered if he had imported the influences that he came under there to the new school. Erlendur pointed out that he was a member of a gang which, one pupil had told him, hung around the local chemist’s shop and sometimes clashed with other pupils from the school.