Fire & Ice 02.5 - Edge of Nowhere

by Michael Ridpath

  Magnus felt the rage boiling up in him and he struggled to control it. ‘No, more lies, Rós! You’d better snap out of your fantasy world and into the real one pretty quick. Because that’s where Gústi died – in the real world. And that’s where I live and where the judge at your trial lives. Now, tell the truth for once in your life!’

  Tears appeared in Rós’s eyes. ‘I don’t know anything. I promise you I don’t know anything.’

  Magnus knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere just screaming at the woman. ‘Come on, Tómas,’ he said.

  Tómas mumbled some words into the tape recorder and followed Magnus out of the room.

  Magnus took a couple of deep breaths. ‘I don’t know how you stand it here, Tómas.’

  ‘You had her rattled.’

  ‘No, she had me rattled. OK. This is what we do. This is now a murder investigation. I’ll call my boss in Reykjavík and then we’ll call the Chief Superintendent in Ísafjördur. We’ll need reinforcements. We’ll get a forensic team up from Reykjavík and a the forensic pathologist to redo the autopsy, if it has even been done yet. Then I want you to go back in there and get all the details you can on where she was yesterday morning. We need warrants for her house and car.’

  ‘Should we focus on the murder or the criminal damage to the machinery?’

  ‘Both. We have better evidence for the criminal damage; we should be able to use that to get permission from the judge to hold her for more than twenty-four hours. Then we’ll build up the murder case.’

  ‘Are we sure she committed the murder?’

  ‘Not absolutely certain,’ said Magnus. ‘She’s looking good for it, but we need to keep an open mind. And she might have been working with someone else to sabotage the construction equipment as well. Now, we need to make some phone calls.’

  It was a busy day. The Chief Superintendent came over from Ísafjördur, with four men to help out. Two of Magnus’s colleagues from Reykjavík, Vigdís and Árni, got on an aeroplane to Ísafjördur to join him, together with a couple of officers from the Forensics team. Magnus wondered what the good citizens of Bolungarvík would make of Vigdís, Reykjavík’s only black detective. They would probably find it easier talking to an elf. But he was sure that Vigdís could cope with it, she had developed a thick skin. But it was Árni, Magnus was more worried about. He had a fertile imagination, and all the talk of hidden people might set him off in all kinds of strange directions.

  He was pleased to see them when they arrived at the police station in Bolungarvík.

  ‘Hey, Magnús. I hear you caught the elf that did it,’ said Vigdís. ‘How did you manage that?’

  ‘It’s these ultra-modern FBI forensic techniques he’s always telling us about,’ said Árni. ‘They work for invisible people too.’

  ‘Alibis must be difficult to check out. I mean, when witnesses can’t see the suspects.’

  ‘Do you want us to do rock-to-rock interviews?’

  ‘You could start up an Elf Squad when we get back to Reykjavík.’

  ‘Very funny,’ said Magnus. ‘I was looking forward to some sanity from you two.’

  ‘From Árni? You must be in big trouble,’ said Vigdís. But the two detectives got down to work with brisk efficiency.

  Magnus was less pleased to hear that there were two journalists on the plane with them, one from RÚV, the national TV station, and one from Morgunbladid, the biggest newspaper in the country. Boy, would they love this story.

  A full murder investigation was underway, with Magnus in charge. Statements were taken, premises searched. Tómas interviewed Rós again, with Magnus watching quietly, to get her whereabouts the previous morning. She claimed she hadn’t woken until nine o’clock, and since she lived alone that would be hard to verify. They left her in one of the two cells; Magnus decided to postpone interviewing her further until they had collected more evidence.

  The doctor in Ísafjördur had done an autopsy in which he determined that Gústi had been killed by blows to the head and chest from falling rocks. But a specialist forensic pathologist from Reykjavík was on his way to give a second opinion.

  Information was flowing into the small crowded police station, but as yet, there was nothing that either confirmed or ruled out Rós as Gústi’s murderer. Magnus knew the value of patience; the more information he had to work with the more likely a connection would be made. He decided to step outside to clear his head.

  It was early evening, about six o’clock, and it had been dark for a couple of hours. The wind had let up a bit and the sky was clear. Moonlight shimmered yellow and blue on the snow and rock of the great mountain that loomed over the village. Did hidden people live up there as well, Magnus wondered. It would be a great place to look down on their human cousins below and lob a rockfall or two when they saw things that displeased them.

  Normally, Magnus would have been happy to be in charge of an investigation, but this one struck him as particularly dangerous. He was reporting to two bosses, the Chief Superintendent in Ísafjördur and Baldur in Reykjavík. That was always bad. But it was the damned hidden people that would be his undoing.

  The police hadn’t told the press anything apart from the fact that a woman was helping them with their inquiries. It wouldn’t be long before the two journalists discovered the elf angle, if they hadn’t already. That would bring the case to the top of the national news. It might even get coverage internationally. Everyone would be looking to Magnus to screw up. If the press could get anyone in authority to say anything at all about elves, it would be plastered all over the front page.

  That damn woman.

  Magnus took a deep breath. Forget the hidden people for a moment, and go back to basics. Although Magnus was at least ninety-percent sure that Rós or an accomplice had been responsible for the sabotage, there was a chance that she hadn’t murdered Gústi. Indeed an accident couldn’t be entirely ruled out, if someone else had left the stuffed polar bear and the money as a gift for the elves rather than as bait for Gústi.

  Magnus didn’t really know much about Gústi, apart from what Tómas had told him. Know your victim, or ‘victimology’ as it was sometimes called, was often the key to solving a crime. Magnus remembered the new webcam next to the old computer in Gústi’s bedroom.

  He went back into the police station and got the key to Gústi’s house. It took him ten minutes to walk there. He unlocked the door and walked in, wearing forensic gloves as he switched on the light. He would get the forensics guys in there as soon as they had finished with Rós’s house. The room looked much as it had done before, although something was beginning to smell. Old food.

  He went through to the bedroom and turned on the computer. It took an age to boot up. No Skype, so that couldn’t be what the webcam was for. Which didn’t surprise Magnus; after all, who would Gústi need to Skype?

  But he shouldn’t make assumptions about Gústi’s life. He should keep an open mind.

  There wasn’t much on Gústi’s computer. A few old video games. He had an Internet connection. There were a couple of soccer-related sites, and porn. Lots and lots of porn.

  But still nothing that he would need a webcam for.

  Magnus searched the directory and then found it. A video file, dated two weeks before. The file name was hvalreki.mpg. Hvalreki literally meant ‘beached whale’ in Icelandic, but it was an expression that was still used to mean an unexpected piece of luck. Historically, there was nothing better that could happen to an Icelander than to have a whale wash up on the beach outside his house.

  Magnus opened the file and clicked play. The video lasted four minutes and twenty-three seconds. When it was finished, Magnus clicked play again.

  6

  Magnus was deep in thought as he walked back through the lamp-lit streets of Bolungarvík to the police station. A Land Rover Freelander drove gently through the gloom towards him and slowed.

  The window slid down. ‘Hi, Magnús! I was looking for you.’

  The Mayor of Bo
lungarvík looked radiant, with her blond curls falling on her warm, white jacket. She smiled broadly at him.

  ‘And now you’ve found me.’

  ‘I expect you’re busy, but do you want to come to dinner again tonight?’

  Magnus was taken aback. ‘Are you sure that’s a good idea?’

  ‘Quite sure. In fact Davíd wanted me to ask you.’

  ‘Really.’

  ‘Yes, really. Jump in and I’ll explain.’

  It was true that Magnus had a lot to do back at the station. But he shrugged and climbed in to the Land Rover beside Eyrún. ‘What happened?’

  ‘I was really angry last night,’ Eyrún said. ‘About what Davíd said to you. We had a major row. It went on for hours, it was really horrible. Then we went to bed. And then in the middle of the night, Davíd started talking. He said he was sorry. He said his jealousy was unreasonable. He said he just hadn’t come to terms with losing his job, with having nothing to do here and me having all the status of being Mayor.’

  Eyrún smiled to herself. ‘I never realized he thought that. He said he knew he had been behaving badly, but he couldn’t help himself. It was, well, it was such a relief. Oh, I know he’s not cured yet, but it was a step forward. A huge step forward.’

  ‘And you are sure I won’t ruin it all?’ said Magnus.

  ‘I really don’t think so. He wants to see you again to apologize. To show himself and me that he can behave normally. At least that’s what he said, and I believe him.’

  ‘OK,’ said Magnus. ‘I’m game. But let me just call the station.’

  Vigdís answered. ‘Where are you, Magnús?’ she said.

  ‘I’ll just be a couple of hours,’ Magnus said. ‘I’m having dinner with the Mayor.’

  ‘We need you back here,’ said Vigdís. ‘The press are asking questions about the hidden people.’

  ‘Don’t answer them,’ said Magnus. ‘Tell them we’ll give them a full press conference at eight a.m. tomorrow?’

  ‘Are you sure? Who knows what they’ll publish?’

  ‘That’s their problem,’ said Magnus. ‘See you later.’ He hung up.

  ‘The press?’ Eyrún asked.

  ‘Yes. They’ve got the hidden people angle. It was inevitable.’

  ‘One of them collared me earlier. The RÚV woman.’

  ‘What did you say?’

  ‘I said I had no idea about the investigation. But I had to tell them about the little ceremony on Sunday.’

  ‘Had they figured out we had Rós in custody?’

  ‘They knew you were questioning a woman, but they hadn’t worked out who. It won’t take them long, though. And then they’ll have a field day. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to them now?’

  ‘Let them make fools of themselves,’ said Magnus. ‘We’ll straighten them out tomorrow.’

  They pulled up outside Eyrún’s house. Magnus noted that the lights were on in Arnór’s house over the street, and through a gap in the curtains he thought he caught sight of a family around a dining table.

  Eyrún opened the door. There was a similar scampering of children and dogs as the evening before, and then Davíd appeared from the kitchen. He had shaved. His brow was still twisted in a question mark, but he smiled stiffly at Magnus and held out his hand. ‘Welcome,’ he said. ‘And thank you for coming. I’m sorry about my behaviour yesterday.’

  Eyrún opened a bottle of wine, and she and Davíd both had glasses. Magnus excused himself, saying he still had work to do that evening. Eyrún’s cheeks glowed as she watched her husband take the fish stew out of the oven. Davíd did his best to talk, asking Magnus polite questions about the case and where he lived in Reykjavík. But he was struggling, and by the time the kids were called to dinner he had lapsed into silence.

  Lára, the four-year-old girl, showed up with a panda and plonked it on the table beside her.

  ‘Take that down, darling,’ said Eyrún. ‘Put it on the floor.’

  ‘OK,’ said Lára, doing what she was told.

  ‘What’s his name?’ Magnus asked the girl.

  ‘He’s called Panda.’

  ‘Nice name,’ said Magnus. ‘Does he have any friends?’

  ‘Yes. There’s an elephant called Nellie, and an old teddy that used to belong to my Mum.’

  ‘I see,’ said Magnus. ‘And no polar bear?’

  ‘I used to have a polar bear, but I didn’t like him and then he ran away.’

  ‘Lára, the policeman doesn’t want to know about your toys,’ said Eyrún sharply.

  Magnus glanced at her. Her cheeks were reddening.

  ‘That’s OK,’ said Magnus. ‘Maybe we can find him. When did he run away?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Lára. ‘But I don’t mind. Panda didn’t like him.’

  Eyrún opened her mouth to scold her child, but then closed it. It was too late.

  Magnus watched the Mayor closely. After a moment, he spoke. ‘Would you excuse me while I check in with the station?’

  He got up from the table and went out into the hallway, where Eyrún and her husband could hear him, but not the person he was speaking to. He dialled Vigdís.

  ‘Hi, Magnús?’

  ‘Anything going on, Vigdís?’

  ‘The journalists are still pestering us.’

  ‘OK. I’ll be there in a moment. And I’ll bring the Mayor with me.’

  ‘Excellent. See you soon.’

  Magnus returned to the kitchen. There was silence as the family stared at their food, waiting for Magnus to return before they started. Eyrún glanced at Magnus anxiously, her face bright red. Davíd stared at both of them, his expression a mixture of puzzlement, anger and fear.

  He knew something was wrong, but he didn’t know what.

  ‘Eyrún, can you come with me to the police station? We really need to talk to the press and I’d like to have you with me.’

  Eyrún hesitated. Glanced at her children and her husband.

  Magnus waited.

  Eventually she stood up and hugged each child. Then she kissed her husband on the lips. ‘See you later,’ she said.

  ‘What is it, Eyrún?’ he asked.

  But she left her family and led Magnus out of the house.

  ‘I suppose I should give you a lift?’ she said, as soon as they were outside.

  ‘Please,’ said Magnus. ‘Or I could get a police car to come out.’

  ‘Don’t worry.’ She opened the door of the Land Rover.

  Magnus waited until the car had driven to the end of the street. ‘Just stop here a moment, Eyrún.’

  Eyrún pulled over in the yellow pool of one of the street lights. Dead ahead of them the rock wall of the mountain rose up towards the night sky, so high that they couldn’t see the summit without craning their necks.

  ‘Was it blackmail?’ Magnus asked.

  Eyrún nodded. ‘How did you know?’

  ‘I’ve just been to Gústi’s house,’ Magnus said. ‘He had a video. Of you and him together.’

  ‘Oh, God, no,’ said Eyrún.

  ‘That was you, wasn’t it?’ Magnus asked.

  Eyrún nodded.

  In truth the woman in the video had been impossible to identify. Gústi hadn’t set up the camera very well. There was a lot of him, prancing around naked and talking, but very little of the woman. Just an ankle, a leg. The only sound apart from Gústi’s grunting was a female groan of disgust rather than excitement. Technicians would probably have figured out who it was eventually, but it was good to have confirmation without all that hassle.

  ‘He made you do it?’

  Eyrún nodded again. ‘Twice,’ she said. ‘But then I refused.’

  ‘And he didn’t like that?’

  ‘No he didn’t.’

  ‘So what was he threatening to do?’

  Eyrún bit her thumbnail. ‘Tell Davíd.’

  ‘Tell Davíd what?’

  Eyrún took a deep breath. ‘About my affair. He saw me and another man, right after I
had arrived in Bolungarvík. While Davíd was still in Reykjavík.’ She turned to Magnus. ‘It was a stupid thing to do, but it was such a relief to get away from Davíd that I just took the opportunity. I stopped as soon as Davíd brought the kids up here. But it was too late. Gústi had seen us.’

  Her eyes were desperate, pleading for Magnus’s understanding. ‘You saw Davíd. He was jealous enough already. If he knew that I was having an affair, it would have tipped him over the edge. It would have finished us. It would have finished him. And the children. It would have been disastrous.’

  ‘Who was the affair with?’

  Eyrún shook her head. ‘I can’t say. It wouldn’t be fair.’

  ‘Wouldn’t be fair?’ Magnus said. ‘Murdering someone is hardly fair, no matter what they have done to you. Even if they have blackmailed you.’

  ‘And forced you to have sex with them?’ There were tears in Eyrún’s eyes. ‘He said unless I had sex with him, he would tell Davíd. I was an idiot to go along with it. It just made me feel worse. That man deserved to die. No I meant it wouldn’t be fair on the other man.’

  ‘We’ll talk about it at the station,’ Magnus said. ‘You are under arrest. Shall I call out a car?’

  ‘No. I’ll drive there.’

  She pulled away from the kerb. ‘Does Davíd need to know? About Gústi? And the other man?’

  ‘He’s going to find out at the trial.’

  ‘What if I plead guilty? Do you have to tell him?’

  ‘We do,’ said Magnus. ‘We’ll have to ask him questions. I’m sorry. For him. Not for you.’

  They drove to the station in silence. Tómas, Vigdís and Árni were waiting for them. Fortunately, there were no journalists about.

  ‘I’ve arrested Eyrún for the murder of Ágúst Sigurdsson,’ Magnus said. ‘Tómas can you take her to the interview room? We’ll take a statement in a few minutes.’

  Tómas flinched, but stood motionless.

  ‘Tómas?’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ he said, held out his hand to take Eyrún by the arm and then withdrew it. Eyrún avoided his eyes or Magnus’s and stared at the ground.

  At that moment, Magnus knew whom Gústi had seen her with.