Thin Ice: An Inspector Gunna Mystery (Gunnhildur Mystery Book 5)

by Quentin Bates

‘Not really. She got a lift home with her brother, so nothing to panic over. I should have remembered, but we were in something of a hurry to get up here.’

  Tinna Lind’s voice echoed among the empty stalls.

  ‘Where are you?’

  She checked every one, pushing open the doors and finding nothing. Sighing, she made use of one of them herself, flushed and was washing her hands when she started.

  ‘Tinna Lind!’

  ‘What? Where are you?’

  Erna stood behind her, eyes full of doubt and distrust. ‘Are you coming with me?’

  ‘Where to?’

  ‘Anywhere. Out of here. Home.’

  Tinna Lind dried her hands. ‘No. I’m going with Magni.’

  ‘Why? What for?’

  ‘Do I need to tell you?’

  Erna’s blank gaze illustrated her disbelief. ‘You’re really going with these lowlifes?’

  ‘Össur’s a lowlife, I’ll grant you that, but Magni is a good guy.’

  ‘For God’s sake, girl. He’s a criminal,’ Erna hissed.

  ‘All right, he’s been down on his luck. But he’s no more of a criminal than I am. He’s a far more decent guy than any of those braindead cockblankets in cheap suits that you keep trying to pair me off with.’

  ‘Don’t you speak to me like that.’

  ‘Are you coming back out there with me?’

  ‘No, no. Tell them I’ve escaped. Tell them I crawled out through a window, or something. I don’t care. I can just imagine what your poor father’s going through. I can’t stand this any longer, Tinna Lind. I tell you that horrible man is going to drive me to distraction and one of us is going to kill the other.’

  ‘And he’s the one with the gun, for the moment.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Nothing,’ Tinna Lind said, looking around. ‘There isn’t a window in here. Look, come with me, before Össur comes in here looking for us. Mum, if anything happens, you want it to be in front of witnesses, not hidden away in here. Listen, I’m going with them and don’t try to persuade me not to. But I’ll be back soon. Can you at least give me and Magni a headstart? I promise we’ll dump Össur in the deepest shit we can find. All right?’

  ‘No, it’s not all right. You should come with me.’

  ‘Sorry. Mind’s made up,’ Tinna Lind said, moving awkwardly towards Erna and extending her arms. ‘Are you going to give me a hug before I tell the boys we need to get out of here quick?’

  Össur glared as Erna and Tinna Lind returned, sensing that something had changed as they sat down. Erna’s lips were pursed.

  ‘You took your time.’

  ‘Girl talk,’ Tinna Lind said. ‘Listen, boys. We have to go, and my mum’s not coming with us.’

  ‘What the fuck?’

  ‘Shut up, will you, Össi?’ Magni snapped. ‘We have company.’

  ‘What’s going on?’ Össur grated, staring at Erna, who met his eyes without flinching. ‘What’s all this about.’

  ‘I’m staying here,’ Erna said. ‘Try and force me, and I’ll howl the place down. There’s a police station round the corner so you won’t get far.’

  Össur’s eyes flashed from Erna to Tinna Lind and back to Magni. ‘What does the hired help reckon? You cooked this up between you, did you?’

  ‘Not at all,’ Magni told him. ‘We were going to drop the lady off somewhere safe anyway.’

  ‘She’s not going to call the law the moment our backs are turned?’

  ‘Not while I’m with you,’ Tinna Lind said. ‘We have a head start.’

  ‘When you’re out of here, I’m going to have another cup of coffee,’ Erna said, ignoring Össur and addressing Tinna Lind. ‘Then I’ll get someone to call your father and ask him to come and get me. Tomorrow morning I’ll ask him to call the police and let them know I’m safe. I just wish you weren’t going with these—’ Her voice cracked. ‘With these lowlifes.’

  Tinna Lind squeezed Erna’s hand. ‘I’ll be fine, Mum. Don’t you worry.’ She pushed her chair back. ‘Come on, boys. It’s late and we’d better go.’

  The forensic team had done its work and returned to Reykjavík, leaving Gunna and her team with Ívar Laxdal at the hotel. Two uniformed officers from the Selfoss force remained outside with their cars and had gently fended off a number of interested visitors from the surrounding countryside who had found reasons to be passing. Lárus Erlendsson had gone back to Selfoss with his other officers and a hearse had braved the long drive to collect Brandur Geirsson’s remains to be taken to the National Hospital in Reykjavík.

  ‘We have a ton of prints everywhere,’ Gunna said, yawning. ‘There are Össur’s, Erna’s and Tinna Lind’s prints all over the place, plus the mystery man who doesn’t have a record, and a few more that are presumably staff, which we’ll have to eliminate. We’ll get a lot more from forensics tomorrow, I hope, once they’ve started going through everything properly, but it seems that Össur was living in the bridal suite upstairs and it’s a proper pigsty, with roach ends everywhere and I don’t know what. Helgi, did you get hold of the owner?’

  ‘Yep, Ársæll Jónasson. He’s in Spain and I gather it was a bit of a shock to get a call from the police. He said he’d get the next flight back, although that might not be until tomorrow or the next day. He also said that they closed on the twentieth of October, and he was going to be up here next week to finish cleaning the place up before it’s mothballed for the winter. Around the beginning of March they start getting things ready for the summer and they open in April.’

  ‘In that case, this was a perfect refuge. The question is, did these people know about this place or did they end up here by chance?’

  ‘Ársæll said there are a few people with keys, including Grímur, the old boy who came to the station this morning, and the dead fire alarm guy.’

  ‘Who probably came out here to check something and was just unlucky, do you think?’ Ívar Laxdal asked.

  ‘I would guess so. Eiríkur, did you get hold of any next of kin?’

  ‘I did. Brandur Geirsson had a sister and one of the Akranes officers has gone to see her. I reckon she’d be the best candidate to identify him.’

  ‘We know it’s him. That can wait until Miss Cruz has done her stuff.’

  Now Helgi was yawning as well.

  ‘It’s been a long day and there’s not much more we can do here tonight,’ Gunna decided. ‘Tomorrow, gentlemen. Start with Alli the Cornershop, early for preference. I want him thoroughly shaken down. Be as heavy as you like – within the rules, of course – if you think that’s going to frighten the shit out of him, although he’s an old lag and he’s probably seen more police interview rooms than the rest of us put together.’

  ‘I remember seeing Alli the Cornershop in a cell in the old Múlin station, and that’s been gone a good few years,’ Ívar Laxdal mused. ‘It was a pleasure to lock up someone like that, even if his lawyer had him out first thing the next morning.’

  ‘Happy days, and long before our time.’

  ‘Only just, Gunnhildur. Only just.’

  ‘I take it there won’t be any overtime problems while this case lasts, Ívar?’

  ‘No, just get on with it. But all of you go home now. Who needs a lift back to town?’

  ‘Don’t hurry. You’ll attract attention.’

  They walked across the car park, expecting to hear a call or see a blue flashing light come around the corner at any moment. Magni started the engine and drove carefully out of the car park and back onto the road, turning towards the little town.

  ‘Which way are we going?’ Össur sat in the back, hunched in his coat. Magni could hear the nervous clicking of the Baikal’s safety catch in Össur’s pocket and hoped that when he finally fired the thing, Össur’s only casualty would be himself.

  ‘North, at least for the moment,’ Magni decided. ‘If she gets to the police, we want to be out of here before they start asking her questions.’

  ‘Are you sure,
guys?’ Tinna Lind said as the Skoda left the town behind and headed into the night.

  ‘Why? What do you mean?’ Össur said, leaning forward.

  ‘What I mean is that you won’t be able to get a flight out of the country from Akureyri.’

  ‘Sure you can,’ Össur insisted. ‘There are flights all the time.’

  ‘No. That’s where you’re wrong. There are flights only in the summer. June to September.’

  ‘You’re sure?’ Magni asked, glancing sideways at her.

  ‘Absolutely. I used to work for a travel agent. Believe me, there are flights from Akureyri, but they all connect at Keflavík.’

  ‘Shit.’

  ‘Why the fuck didn’t you say so before?’ Össur yelled, the Baikal out of his pocket.

  ‘Why the hell should I?’ Tinna Lind yelled back. ‘You kidnap me and my mother on the street and keep us locked up in some miserable hole in the countryside for a week. Why should I help you?’

  Össur’s head was between the seats and the Baikal was under Tinna Lind’s neck.

  ‘You watch your fucking mouth or I’ll give you something to think about, you and your boyfriend.’

  The menace was clear in Össur’s voice and drops of spittle had gathered on his lips. Magni brought the car to a skidding halt by the side of the road.

  ‘Put that pop gun away, Össi,’ he said in a low voice.

  ‘You mind your fucking mouth as well. I should have known better than to trust the bastard hired help.’

  ‘Yeah. The hired help who got you this far. Without us you’d be in a cell by now, or else Alli and his meatheads would be giving you a hiding you’d never forget. Or get over,’ he added.

  ‘Fucking pack it in! Shut up!’

  Magni switched off the engine and the car was silent. ‘Have it your own way,’ he said, winding down the window and taking the key out of the ignition. ‘I’ve had enough. Put that pistol away or I’m going to chuck the key away and we can just sit here until the police come and find us.’

  He could hear Össur’s breathing behind him coming in heavy gasps.

  ‘Now, Össi. I’m not joking.’ Magni’s voice dropped to a growl. ‘Put that thing away.’

  The answer was a long time coming and Tinna Lind held her breath, listening to the blood pounding at the back of her head.

  ‘All right.’ The Baikal clicked once and Össur settled back in the seat. ‘Go on, then. Move.’

  7

  Wednesday

  ‘Good morning, Alli.’

  Gunna breezed into the interview room and sat down facing him with a smile that she forced onto her face. Alli the Cornershop scowled back at her.

  ‘What the fuck am I doing here?’

  Gunna sat in silence and took her time leafing through the folder she had brought with her. Eiríkur sat impassive at the end of the table.

  ‘You’re an old friend, aren’t you?’

  ‘I choose my friends carefully,’ Alli retorted.

  Of course you do. Like this gentleman.’ She slapped the postmortem picture of Árni Sigurvinsson on the table in front of him. ‘Now. Tell me what you know.’ Alli avoided looking at the print where Gunna held it, her finger pinning it to the table in front of him, forcing him to look up and meet her gaze. His eyes were dark pools of anger glaring back at her. ‘Árni Sigurvinsson was a good friend of yours and now he’s dead.’

  ‘I’ll send his old woman some flowers.’

  ‘Let’s start with Friday morning, shall we? What did you do on Friday? Talk me through every single moment of your day.’

  Alli stared at her and wrinkled his nose. ‘I got up about ten and went out for breakfast.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘The coffee shop in the mall. Ask them. They’ll remember me.’

  ‘I’m sure they will. Who was with you?’

  ‘Baldvin.’

  ‘Ah, Baldvin Ásgeirsson? He’s talking to my colleague in the next room and I hope for your sake he’s telling the same tale.’

  A moment of uncertainty could be seen in Alli’s eyes. ‘Baldvin’s not bright, you know?’

  ‘We’ll find out, won’t we? Now let’s wind the tape back, shall we? When did you last see Árni?’

  ‘I don’t know. Wednesday or Thursday.’

  ‘You didn’t make a note in the famous little black book?’

  ‘There never was a book.’ Alli leaned forward and tapped his temple with a forefinger. ‘It’s all in here. Sharp as a knife.’

  ‘So was it Wednesday or Thursday?’

  ‘Thursday, I reckon,’ Alli said. ‘Thursday afternoon. He stopped by for a coffee and a chat.’

  ‘A friendly chat, was it?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘And how long did he stay?’

  ‘Half an hour. Something like that. He had some job on that he was going to do.’

  ‘And after Árni left, what did you do?’

  ‘Stayed in. Watched a movie. Had a couple of cans. Went to bed.’

  ‘Before midnight, with a mug of cocoa and an improving book?’

  ‘You took the words right out of my mouth.’

  ‘So you slept right through from midnight to ten the next morning?’

  Alli scratched his head and sat back in his chair. ‘Absolutely. Didn’t even wake up for a piss.’

  ‘And who’s going to confirm that? Live alone these days, don’t you, Alli?’

  ‘Baldvin was there. He slept on the couch downstairs.’

  ‘Would you like to tell me how Baldvin managed to get his teeth punched out? Or did he fall down the stairs on Thursday afternoon?’

  Magni prised his eyes open. He saw the pale wood planks of the ceiling and wondered where he was. He lifted his head and looked to one side. He smiled to himself at seeing the top of Tinna Lind’s head nestled under his arm.

  ‘Hey,’ he murmured. ‘You awake, sweetheart?’

  ‘Hmmm. Yeah. I just don’t want to move yet.’

  Tinna Lind mumbled and wrapped the borrowed duvet around herself as Magni slipped from under it and padded to the chalet’s bathroom. The smile on his face was replaced with disappointment when he saw the top of Össur’s head protruding from under another duvet on the couch.

  He did what he needed to and went quietly back to bed without waking Össur up, gently closing the door behind him. Slipping back under the duvet, he wrapped his arms around Tinna Lind and whispered in her ear.

  ‘Hey. It’s daytime. And we need to be out of here before someone notices us.’

  ‘I know. Don’t remind me.’ She stretched and snaked an arm under Magni’s ribs, pulling him on top of her. ‘Did you wake Össur up?’

  ‘No, he’s snoring.’

  ‘Good. We don’t know what’s going to happen today, do we?’

  Magni nuzzled Tinna Lind’s neck. ‘Not yet. Talk about it later.’

  She shivered as he took an earlobe between his teeth. ‘It’s like living on the edge, isn’t it?’

  ‘How do you mean?’ Magni asked absently, his knee gently parting her legs.

  Tinna Lind buried a hand in the thick hair at the back of his neck and hauled his head back until she could look into his eyes.

  ‘I mean we don’t know where we’ll be in a few hours, or tonight, or tomorrow.’

  ‘Yeah.’ He grinned. ‘There’s a sort of excitement to it, isn’t there?’

  She ran her fingers down his face, lingering in the red beard that had thickened during the past week.

  ‘It’s exciting and scary. It’s like we have to make the most of every second,’ she whispered. ‘Any minute could be our last moment together.’

  * * *

  ‘I’d like you to tell me what happened to your face,’ Helgi suggested.

  ‘Nothing much.’

  Helgi grunted and, like Gunna in the next interview room, he had spent long enough looking through the file to make his interviewee impatient.

  ‘Baldvin Ásgeirsson,’ he said finally. ‘You’re aware that
you have a current suspended sentence?’

  ‘Yeah. I haven’t done anything wrong,’ Baldvin mumbled. His jaw still ached.

  ‘I didn’t say you had. But you have a decent enough track record of being handy with your fists. So who knocked your teeth out?’

  ‘Fell over,’ Baldvin mumbled eventually. ‘Pissed,’ he added after a pause and bridled at Helgi’s dubious expression.

  ‘Right. If you say so, but we’ll come back to that. You know we don’t get many murders in Iceland. One a year, give or take. Some years there are none. But right now we have two. It’s unheard of to get two such serious crimes within a day or two of each other.’

  ‘Murder? Who’s that, then?’

  Helgi pushed a copy of the same print that Gunna had shown to Alli across the table and Baldvin stared at it.

  ‘Árni,’ he said at last.

  ‘Well done, go to the top of the class. Murdered.’

  ‘That was an accident, wasn’t it?’ Baldvin asked, his forehead creased in confusion.

  ‘What would you know about that?’

  Baldvin shrugged. ‘That’s what the word is.’

  ‘And where did you hear that?’

  ‘Just heard it about.’

  ‘We’ll start with Thursday. The day you lost your teeth. Talk me through what you did and where you were.’

  ‘Is this going to take long?’

  Helgi clasped his hands together and put them under his chin, elbows planted on the table. ‘It’ll take as long as it needs.’

  There was a tap on the door and Eiríkur opened it.

  ‘Helgi, we’re needed for a minute,’ he said.

  There wasn’t much for breakfast, just a couple of packets of biscuits and a bag of apples and bananas they’d picked up at a late-night kiosk the previous evening, and tea made with tea bags that had been in the chalet’s cupboard for a long time. The place was cold. There was no heating, and although there was an iron stove and wood to burn, there was no question of them advertising their presence and waiting for visitors to show up.

  Össur was still swaddled in a duvet, hands clasped around a mug of tea. He looked dazed after the exertions of the day before and Magni could see his hands trembling.