Yrsa Sigurdardottir - Ashes To Dust

This time the lawyer’s husband answered, and sighed heavily before he called her name. A thud indicated that the receiver had been dropped carelessly.

After a short pause Thóra heard the receiver being picked up again. ‘Svala speaking.’The woman sounded out of breath.

‘Hi, Svala, it’s Thóra,’ she said. She added, ‘From the law department?’

‘Oh, hi,’ said the woman, cheerful now. ‘Great to hear from you. How long has it been?’

‘God,’ said Thóra, trying unsuccessfully to recall. ‘Far too long.’They exchanged stories of what had happened in their lives, thenThóra got to the point. ‘Anyway, I have an ulterior motive,’ said Thóra. I’m sorry to be out of touch for so long then call on official business. I’m working on an unusual case, and the name of your client has come up.‘

‘Oh?’ said Svala. ‘Which one? I have plenty, let me tell you.’

‘Adolf Dadason,’ replied Thóra. ‘It’s a strange connection, like everything else in this case, and among other things it concerns a tattoo on a young woman by the name of Halldora Dogg Einarsdottir. She nearly threw a fit when I called her just a while ago, because she was convinced I was working for Adolf.’

‘What case is it actually that you’re working on?’ asked Svala quickly. ‘Not the one about the nurse?’

Thóra concurred. ‘My client is sitting in custody because of her murder, along with the discovery of some bodies on the Westmann Islands. The nurse, Alda, appears to have had some interest in Adolf and this particular tattoo. That led me to this girl, Halldora Dogg. Is there any chance you could explain this to me? I’m in quite a fix with this case and I’m starting to fear it won’t be solved, which would be inconvenient for my client.’

Svala clicked her tongue. ‘I don’t know anything about the tattoo,’ she said. ‘However, I do know a few things about this nurse and Halldora Dogg.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Halldora pressed charges against Adolf for rape. He maintains he didn’t do it, and even though I’ve met a lot of arseholes in cases like this, who always protest their innocence, I have a feeling he’s telling the truth. Don’t get me wrong, he’s no angel; far from it. He’s a nasty piece of work, in fact, but that doesn’t mean he’s broken the law. Still, everything points towards a guilty verdict, since the girl is so bloody convincing. On top of that, it seems she was drugged with contraceptive pills to prevent pregnancy, and a witness has come forward who says he bought these drugs for Adolf, and not for the first time either. It’ll be difficult to get the judge to believe the purchase was made with good intentions – the man is single.’

‘But how does Alda fit into this?’ asked Thóra. ‘Did she give him the drugs?’

‘No, no,’ said Svala. ‘She and Adolf didn’t know each other. She treated Halldora when she finally checked into the hospital. This Alda was a kind of therapist to her, providing her with trauma counselling among other things. Alda’s testimony looks very bad for Adolf. It deflates our argument that the girl’s credibility is questionable since so much time passed between the alleged rape and her reporting it. Alda actually gave the police a statement in which she emphasized how common it was for a rape victim not to come forward immediately. In other words, she wasn’t the witness I most looked forward to seeing on the stand.’

‘You got lucky,’ said Thóra. ‘She won’t be testifying in this case.’

‘No, that’s the problem. She actually changed her mind suddenly. She got in touch and asked to meet me, saying she had information that could clear Adolf of the charges.’

‘And what information was that?’

‘I’ll never know,’ said Svala sadly. ‘She died, or to be precise was murdered, before we were able to talk. She didn’t want to tell me on the phone, so we’d set up a meeting for the next day. She was being very mysterious and I didn’t get much sense out of her, I’m afraid.’

‘What did you ask her?’

‘I was so dumbstruck when she called that I actually didn’t know how to respond. At first I thought she’d lost her mind, and I wasn’t even sure if I should speak to her. Naturally, I tried to get the information out of her, and when that didn’t work I tried to find out the reason for her change of heart. It was a complete about-face, because the woman was really quite merciless about Adolf in her original police statement. Ruthless, even.’

‘She knew his parents,’ said Thóra. ‘Maybe she changed her opinion after she realized the rape suspect was her friends’ son. She even knew him as a child.’

‘If that’s the case, then the memory of Alda has completely disappeared from Adolf’s mind. He says he’s never heard of this woman, and would prefer to hear as little as possible about her.’

‘But he must have been disappointed that her testimony would never be heard,’ Thóra said. ‘There was a lot at stake for him.’

‘No,’ said Svala.‘It’s very strange – he simply shuts down if I try to talk about Alda or her testimony. I understood from Alda that she had tried repeatedly to speak to him, but hadn’t been able to persuade him to see her. He didn’t turn up when they arranged a meeting, and that’s why she contacted me. That same evening, she was dead.’

Thóra couldn’t work this out.‘But you’re convinced he didn’t know her? Could it be that the reason he’s being so stubborn has something to do with an old issue between them?’

‘No, I’m sure,’ replied Svala. ‘Maybe his parents knew her, but he didn’t. They’re both dead, so it’s too late to ask them about it.’

‘Here’s another strange thing,’ said Thóra. ‘Alda had a copy of the autopsy report on Adolf’s mother. I don’t know why; I wouldn’t have thought anyone would be that interested in that kind of information about their friends or relatives. I understand the woman died because of some kind of medical malpractice.’

‘What?’ gasped Svala.‘She had the autopsy report?’

‘Yes, in her desk at work. The doctors she worked for had no idea why. At least, she hadn’t discussed the report with them, even though they could have explained its contents to her. It’s not easy to understand at all. I had to get help figuring it out.’

‘You’re telling me,’ said Svala. ‘Listen: the report is actually the basis of another case that I’m working on for Adolf. He’s in litigation with the hospital where his mother died, and among other things, I’ve had to go through that same report. It was a medical error, as you said. The woman was given penicillin, but she had a severe allergy. The staff on duty didn’t realize it when she was admitted.’ Svala thought for a moment before continuing: ‘But I have to confess, I’m really confused. Why was this woman so obsessed with Adolf and his business?’

‘I don’t know,’ admitted Thóra. ‘But I’m starting to think it’s linked to her murder.’

‘Oh God, no,’ sighed Svala.‘It’s more than enough having to get involved in two cases for this man. For God’s sake, don’t add murder.’

Thóra smiled. ‘But what about this Halldora?’ she asked. ‘Could it be that she knew or had ties to Alda?’

‘That I don’t know,’ said Svala. ‘I think she’s a little cow, actually; not all that bright, and not good-looking at all.

So she’s got very little going for her. You know, she’s one of those girls who goesaround with a bare midriff even though she’s not exactly a supermodel. She doesn’t want to talk to me at all – I’ve tried to reach her but she always hangs up.‘

‘She hung up on me, too,’ said Thóra. ‘When I mentioned the tattoo, she ended the conversation.’