Yrsa Sigurdardottir - Ashes To Dust

‘Albums?’ repeated Thóra, blankly.

‘Tattoo parlours have books or folders with drawings of the tattoos that they offer,’ said Bella, casually.‘When I got mine done I had a look at the selection, but I don’t remember one saying Love Sex.’

The young couple at the next table giggled.‘Definitely check on it if you feel like it,’ said Thóra, as she tried to ignore them. ‘I doubt it will make any difference, but you never know.’ She looked at her watch and stood up. ‘We should get going,’ she said, grabbing her bag from where it hung on the back of her chair. ‘Now let’s see whether we can’t score a hit with Gudni.’

Bella snorted. ‘Good luck with that,’ she said, apparently far from optimistic.

‘So you thought you’d left your wallet in the basement when you went down there with Markus?’ asked Gudni, clearly not believing a word of what Thóra was saying. He leaned back and glowered at her. He had agreed to meet them at the police station when Thóra called him just after eight in the morning, and she had heard in his voice that she’d woken him up.

‘Yes,’ said Thóra peevishly. ‘Does it matter?’ She pointed at the salmon priest on Gudni’s desk. Next to it lay the knife that had been in the same box. ‘Here you have the possible murder weapons in an unsolved case with four corpses, so I think you should be thanking me for stepping in, rather than questioning my story.’

‘I just think it’s best that we have everything clear,’ said Gudni calmly. ‘You and this…lady…’ he pointed at Bella.

‘Lady?’ snarled Bella. Thóra remembered how strange she’d felt the first time someone had called her a lady rather than a girl or young woman, but this was neither the time nor the place to share that experience with her secretary.

Gudni raised an eyebrow at Bella, but continued. ‘You travel all the way to the Islands, then instead of coming to me or the archaeologists to check if your lost wallet might be in the basement, you wait until the evening then go to the house yourself?’

‘I’m sorry,’ interrupted Thóra. ‘But we didn’t see any signs saying that it was still a closed crime scene, so we wanted to save you the trouble and just go down there ourselves. I hope you’re not saying the house is still under your jurisdiction?’

‘No, actually it isn’t,’replied Gudni. ‘We finished up yesterday, but that doesn’t alter the fact that there’s a large notice at the end of the access road stating clearly that people walking through have to remain outside the boundary tape.’

‘Oh, is there?’ said Thóra, smiling innocently at him. ‘We completely missed that.’ She pointed again at the objects on the table. ‘In any case, I have handed over evidence from a serious murder case, but all that seems to matter to you is our little mix-up.’ Thóra wasn’t entirely sure if the warning sign was legally enforceable, but suspected not. ‘I would like to know whether you consider this a significant discovery or not, and I would also like the mallet and the knife to be taken into consideration if you are thinking of requesting an extension of Markus’s custody period. The weapons are not his, and I’m certain that a forensic examination will show he’s never touched them.’ Thóra had contacted Markus and told him about the weapons before going to the police station. Stunned, he had denied ever having laid a finger on them, let alone hidden them in the storeroom.

‘You would have to speak to my colleagues in Reykjavik about his detention. They handle these matters,’replied Gudni, with sarcastic emphasis on the word Reykjavik. ‘I don’t know what their plans are for Markus.’

Thóra had hoped Gudni might have been kept abreast of developments in the case and would therefore be able to tell her – or at least give her a hint about – what the police were planning for tomorrow, when Markus’s custody period expired. She tried to act unconcerned. Gudni annoyed her just as much every time she met him, and she seemed to irritate him, so she wouldn’t give him the pleasure of witnessing her disappointment. She smiled. ‘But as far as these weapons are concerned…’ she said.

Gudni laughed dryly. ‘Weapons?’he said. ‘These are work tools.’

She paused a moment before continuing,‘It may surprise you to learn that tools have been used before for acts of violence. I can assure you such a thing is not unheard of.’

Gudni stared at her, poker-faced. He leaned forward and glanced at the tools on the desk. ‘I don’t know how you can be so sure these are linked to the bodies.’

‘It’s not natural to keep dangerous tools stored among baby clothes, especially not a christening gown,’ she replied. ‘What’s more, I suspect there’s blood on both of them. I’m fairly certain these items were put there in an attempt to conceal evidence.’

‘That would be a stroke of genius,’ said Gudni, smiling mirthlessly. ‘Hiding the murder weapons in a box but putting the bodies on display in the middle of the room.’ He frowned and shook his head. ‘Do you think the murderer was a raving idiot?’

Thóra turned bright red, but kept her emotions in check. ‘Now is not the time to conjure up theories about exactly how it happened. First it must be determined whether this is blood, and if so, whether it’s from those men. At the same time, it would no doubt be wise to check these items for fingerprints.’

‘You probably haven’t had much call to use tools like these,’ said Gudni patronizingly, as if no one could call himself a real man unless he went around with a mallet in one hand and a knife in the other. ‘You do realize there is a natural explanation for why there might be blood on these tools?’

‘That may be, but the amount makes me doubt it came from a fisherman knocking out fish – that wouldn’t leave so much blood behind on the priest. Wouldn’t you agree?’

Gudni narrowed his eyes and his lips thinned.‘What are you hoping to get out of this?’ he asked, leaning forward on his elbows.

Thóra knew he wasn’t talking about her fee. ‘I thought we were hoping for the same thing,’ she replied. ‘To find the murderer. The real murderer.’

Gudni chose not to reply. He continued to stare into Thóra’s eyes, but then he had to blink. He said,‘Oh, we’ll find him. Without your help.’

‘Oh, you think so?’ muttered Thóra, but decided not to squabble with him. She changed the subject.‘What can you tell me about an old case involving smuggled spirits, one that came up here just before the eruption?’

Gudni seemed startled by the unexpected new topic. ‘What does that have to do with this case?’ he asked. Thóra said nothing. ‘I think you’re really clutching at straws if you want to drag that old incident into this.’ He leaned back and clasped his hands over his chest. ‘Are you withholding information from us?’

‘No, not at all. I’ve just heard it mentioned twice in my conversations with locals and I wanted to find out more about it, even if only to rule out any links to the current case.’

‘I see,’ he said.‘It’s hardly a secret, I just thought most people would have forgotten that case. It surprises me that anyone brought it up after all these years.’ He unclenched his fingers and started cracking his knuckles, one after another. ‘It wouldn’t be thought remarkable today, in comparison with all the big drug cases. It became evident that an unusual quantity of grain alcohol was in circulation on the Islands, and all the signs pointed at two residents. The investigation hadn’t yet concluded when the eruption occurred, but it was a long way along. Then it was dropped in light of the circumstances.’

‘Who were the men involved?’asked Thóra. ‘I know about Kjartan at the harbour-master’s office, but who was the other man?’