Yrsa Sigurdardottir - Someone to Watch Over Me

Thóra switched off the monitor and went to reception for a cup of coffee. She didn’t hurry, since it was only instant. Her eyes were dry after poring over the court documents and other files from Jósteinn’s case for far too long the night before. Eventually she’d stopped reading and gone to spend time with her family, including helping Sóley with an essay in English, which was supposed to be light-hearted and autobiographical. Her daughter was obviously extremely happy that they were currently all living together, because her list of family members and her descriptions of them filled several lines. Thóra also noted with interest that the cat had been named first. Sóley had then added that she had a dad every other weekend, but he now had a new wife, who was younger than her mum. Thóra decided to allow Sóley to write what she wanted, even though she was desperately tempted to convince her that the word ‘uglier’ meant younger in English. The essay continued in the same vein until the requisite two pages were filled. By that time, any interest Thóra might have had in perusing the verdict in Jósteinn’s case had dissolved, and for the remainder of the evening she allowed herself the luxury of not thinking for a single moment about either him or Jakob.

‘Isn’t there any coffee?’ Thóra stood by the kettle, with an empty cup and an equally empty Nescafé jar. ‘What am I supposed to do, drink tea? You could have let one of us know; I could have dropped into the shop this morning or last night.’

‘The coffee didn’t run out yesterday evening. I finished it this morning.’ Bella continued to stare at her monitor and the sound coming from the computer suggested that she was watching a video on YouTube. It was the monitor itself that made Thóra stop for a moment and bite her tongue. It was exactly like her old one, and the same age. Pleased with herself, she walked silently down the office hallway with her cup still in her hand, determined to replace her screen with her secretary’s after Bella had gone home. She was still smiling when she walked past the open door to Bragi’s office.

‘Plenty to do, I see.’ She nodded at the stacks of papers lying on either side of him. He was incredibly thorough about making copies and collecting files and could never be persuaded to throw anything away. Thóra’s suggestions about getting Bella to scan old documents and store them electronically so they wouldn’t need to worry about limited storage space always received the same response: he would consider it – but Thóra never found out what conclusion he’d come to. She never pestered him about it; the overwhelming likelihood that Bella would mess up the scanning made it difficult to insist on the idea.

‘It’s crazy busy in the divorce business. The crash has shaken more than the financial sector.’ He finished writing something before looking up. ‘But how’s your case going? I peeked into your office yesterday and found it empty.’

‘Oh.’ Thóra walked in and took a seat. ‘I was probably at the National Hospital. I had a very useful conversation there with both Jakob and a girl who lived at the residence for a while. I’ve even started a bit on the petition to reopen the case. It’s all coming together, slowly.’

‘How do you think it will go?’

‘Well, hopefully. I only need one last push to be able to demonstrate unequivocally that the evidence wasn’t dealt with correctly. I’m uncovering more and more information that was never taken into account. I really don’t understand why the case was rushed through court so fast. The defence was beyond pitiful – and not just because of the lawyer’s poor performance. But it’s all mounting up and it’s important that I don’t ruin things by putting too much in the report.’ She put her cup down on the desk. ‘I’d actually be much further along if I hadn’t started examining the case of the man who’s funding the bid for the petition. It turns out that the idiot who defended Jakob was also Jósteinn’s lawyer, and I suspect Jósteinn has a score to settle. And there’s more. It transpires that this lawyer is also related to one of the men who was killed in the fire. I’m sure he didn’t let Jakob know about that, much less the judge, although he claims he did. I sent an enquiry to the Supreme Court and they’ve assured me it never came up, either there or in the District Court. Jakob’s mother doesn’t recall it having been discussed with her either, as it should have been with his legal guardian.’

‘What luck.’ Then Bragi reached for Thóra’s cup and peered into it. ‘I was hoping you’d conjured up some coffee.’

Thóra shook her head. ‘Sorry. I’ll pick some up later; I’ve got to stop at the shops on the way home anyway.’ She got up to leave. ‘I was wondering whether you could do me one small favour.’

‘Certainly.’ Bragi spread out his arms to indicate that she should fire away. ‘What is it?’

‘I was wondering whether you know the person who prosecuted Jósteinn’s case; I remember he was about your age.’ She told Bragi his name and he said he knew the man well. ‘I wonder whether you’d be willing to call him and have a chat about it.’

‘That should be fine. About what aspects, specifically?’

‘The files don’t state clearly enough how the police got hold of the photographs that Jósteinn’s conviction seems largely to be based on. As I understand it, the police received an anonymous tip-off about where to find them while Jósteinn was in custody. His apartment had been searched before that but no photos had been found. I think it’s likely that the police or prosecutor knew or suspected who the source was, although nothing was said about it during the trial or the verdict. Jósteinn’s a real loner, which makes it unlikely that he had an accomplice or a friend who knew about them.’

‘So who do you think tipped them off?’

‘I have no idea, but I’m curious about how little attention Ari, Jósteinn’s lawyer, paid to this detail of the case; he could at least have mentioned the doubt that must have existed about whether the photographs were actually Jósteinn’s. Jósteinn isn’t in any of the pictures, although his fingerprints were found on several of them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying he’s not guilty, I’m simply wondering whether this flaw in the defence is the reason Jósteinn’s got it in for his former lawyer – who also ended up as his supervisor, in fact.’ She started towards the door. ‘It’s not a crucial detail; I’d just feel happier knowing what the man’s up to.’

‘No problem. I’ll see whether I can find anything out.’ Bragi pulled a telephone book from one of his desk drawers, but it was stuffed in so tightly that he had huge difficulty getting it out.

‘Have you never thought of using ja.is?’ asked Thóra from the doorway. He shook his head and opened the thick, battered book.

The report was now four pages long and although Thóra could easily have added more information, it would be counterproductive to make it too comprehensive or include too many minor details. That would draw attention away from the main points of the case, which were that the defence lawyer had omitted to mention that he was related to one of the victims, and that a sex crime had been committed at the residence, which the perpetrator had had every reason to hide. It was also important to clearly convey how many people had regularly visited the place, most of them in the middle of the night – the same time of day the fire had been started – and some of them in an intoxicated state. These facts were relevant to the original investigation and therefore should have been taken into consideration; if they had been, they might very well have persuaded the judge to reach a different conclusion concerning who started the fire, or even to send the case back for further investigation. The only thing Thóra needed before submitting the petition was the full name of the person who had raped Lísa.