Yrsa Sigurdardottir - Last Rituals

What's up, man ? I'm getting mail from someone pretending to be the Icelandic police and some scumbag lawyer [Thora could not help being riled by thisdespite having been called much worse in her legal career] . Those jerks reckon you're deadas if, eh ? Drop me a line, anywayit's all a bit weird.

Bye

Mal

"Quick, quick," Matthew said. "Answer while he's still at his computer."

Thora rushed to click "Reply." "What should I say?" she asked as she typed in the customary: "Dear Mal."

"Just anything," Matthew snapped. Very helpful.

Thora decided to write:

Unfortunately it is true about Harald's death. He was murdered and won't be replying. I'm the "scumbag lawyer" who tried to contact you the other day; Harald's computer is in my safekeeping. I'm working for the Guntliebsthey are desperate to find the killer. A young man is in custody who is probably innocent of this awful deed and I suspect you may have information that could help us. Do you know what it was that Harald claimed to have found and who the "fucking idiot" is he refers to in his last e-mail to you ? Please send me a phone number where I can contact you.

Regards

Thora

Matthew read as she typed and as soon as she had finishedin record timehe gestured impatiently and muttered: "Send it, send it."

Thora sent the message and they waited in silence for a few minutes. At long last a pop-up announced a new message. Excitedly they looked at each other before Thora opened it. And they were both equally disappointed.

Scumbag lawyerfuck off. Take the Guntliebs with you. You all suck. I'd rather die than help you.

All my hate

Mal

Thora slowly breathed out. No mixed messages there. She looked at Matthew. "Could he be joking?"

Matthew caught her eye but could not tell whether she was joking too. He presumed she was. "SureI bet he'll send another mail with smileys bouncing all over the screen saying how much he loves the Guntliebs." He groaned. "Screw it. Harald obviously didn't speak highly of his parents to his friends. I think we can forget this guy."

Thora sighed. "Aren't we wasting our time, then? We could go down to Kaffibrennslan, for instance, and talk to the waiter who gave Halldor his alibi, if he's on duty. I do agree it's a pretty weak testimony. If he isn't working now we can just have a coffee."

Delighted, Matthew stood up. Thora quickly removed the memory stick, slipped it into her handbag, and switched off the computer.

There were few customers at Kaffibrennslan, so Thora and Matthew had a choice of seats. They sat at a table close to the bar on the lower floor. While Thora was struggling to hang her coat over the back of her chair, Matthew tried to catch the attention of the young waitress. Then Matthew turned to Thora. "Why didn't you wear the coat you were in this morning?" he asked, goggling at the huge padded coat spread out on either side of her chairthe arms were so stuffed with goose down that they almost stood out at ninety degrees.

"I was cold," Thora said, as surprised by his question as he seemed to be by her coat. "I keep it at the officeI wore the other coat there this morning and I wear this home in the evenings. Don't you think it's nice?"

Matthew's expression spoke volumes about his opinion of the coat. "Lovelyif you were taking core samples from an Antarctic glacier."

Thora rolled her eyes. "God, you're so uptight," she said, smiling at the waitress who had appeared at their side.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked, returning her smile. She had a short black apron tied around her slender waist and was holding a small notepad, ready to take their order.

"Yes, please," Thora replied. "I'll have a double espresso." She turned to Matthew. "Don't you just want tea in a china cup?"

"Ha-ha. Very funny," he said, then turned to the waitress and ordered the same as Thora.

"Okay," she said without writing the order down. "Anything else?"

"Yes and no," Thora said. "We were wondering if Bjorn Jonsson is here now. We wanted to have a word with him."

"Bjossi?" said the girl, startled. "Yes, he just got in." She looked at the clock on the wall. "His shift starts now. Should I get him for you?" Thora thanked her, and the girl went off to fetch Bjossi and their coffee.

Matthew smiled sweetly at Thora. "Your coat is great. I mean it. It's just sohuge."

"You didn't let that stop you flirting with Bella. She's huge tooso huge that she has her own center of gravity. The paper clips at the office go into orbit around her. Maybe you should get yourself one of these coats. They're incredibly comfortable."

"I can't," Matthew said, smiling back at her. "Then you'd have to sit in the back of the car. That wouldn't work. There's no way to fit two of those in the front seat."

Further discussion of coats was put on hold when the waitress arrived with their coffee. A young man was with her. He was good-looking in a slightly feminine wayhis dark hair unusually well cut and groomed, and not the faintest hint of a shadow on his cheeks. "Hi, you wanted to talk to me?" he asked in a singsong voice.

"Yes, are you Bjorn?" said Thora, taking one of the cups of coffee. The young man said he was and she explained who she and Matthew were. She felt it unnecessary to confuse him by speaking English, and stuck to Icelandic. Matthew said nothing and just sat there sipping his coffee. "We wanted to ask you about the night of the murder, and about Halldor Kristinsson."

Bjossi nodded gravely. "Sure, no problemI'm allowed to talk to you, aren't I? It's not against the rules?" When Thora assured him it wasn't, he continued. "I was working here, with some others actually." He looked around the half-empty bar. "It's not like this on weekends. It gets packed."

"But you remember him in particular?" Thora asked, taking care not to sound as if she doubted his words.

"Dori? You bet," Bjossi said, a little self-importantly. "I was starting to recognize himif you know what I mean. Him and that friend of histhe foreign guy who was killedthey came here often and you couldn't help noticing them. That foreigner really stood out. Always called me 'Bear,' like my name means. Dori came by himself sometimes, too, and I'd chat with him at the bar."

"Did he talk to you that night?"

"No, it wasn't like that. It was crazy in here and I was all over the place. But I said hello to him and we exchanged a few words. He was quite gloomy actually so I didn't hang around."

"Do you know exactly when he arrived?" pressed Thora. "Given what you've said, you hardly had time to notice that detailyou had no reason to."

"Oh, that," Bjossi said. "He put the bill on a tab so he didn't have to pay every time he ordered another drink. We always make a note of when a customer starts paying on a tab and when he stops and actually pays." Bjossi flashed Thora a conspiratorial smile. "He did right to pay on a tab that night, because he sure was knocking them back. His credit card would have melted from all the swipes."

"I see," said Thora. "But are you sure he sat here drinking constantly until his friends arrived around two? Couldn't he have popped out without your noticing?"

Bjossi paused to think before answering. "Well, of course I can't swear he was here the whole time. I was pretty sure and told the police that, but in retrospect I could have been judging from what he ordered from the barand of course, I didn't serve him every time. He might have let someone else put a drink on his tabI don't know." He waved his hands in the air. "But it's not such a big place, and seriously, I would have noticed if he'd left. I reckon so, anyway. I think."

Thora was stumped. What else could she ask about that night? The waiter didn't seem that sure of himself and her confidence in Halldor's alibi had been severely shaken. After thanking Bjossi she gave him her card in case he remembered anything more, though this seemed unlikely. She turned to Matthew and her now tepid coffee and told him, between sips, what the waiter had said. They finished their coffee and Thora noticed that it was time to go home, so they paid and left.