Майкл Ридпат - The Wanderer

‘Really? Did she say what Carlotta was worried about?’

‘No. I changed the subject. Suzy was there and I didn’t want to stir things up. But you might want to go talk to her. To Anya.’

‘I might,’ said Magnus. Then a thought struck him. ‘Why were you so concerned about stirring things up?’

Eygló was silent for a while. The sun was setting over a mountain to the west, a golden streak glinting off the grey waters of the fjord.

‘I was scared. I’m still scared.’

‘Why?’

‘Isn’t it obvious? Carlotta. Then Rósa. Why not me?’

‘But if Einar killed Rósa because she killed Carlotta, and we have Einar in custody, then there is nothing to be scared of.’

‘Yeah, but I don’t believe Einar did kill Rósa. Which means someone else did. The same person who killed Carlotta.’

‘OK, I can see how you were scared of Rósa. But she’s not a threat any more. So who else is there?’

Eygló glanced at Magnus. She shrugged.

‘Tom?’ Magnus suggested.

Eygló’s eyes widened. ‘Tom?’ she said, with an attempt at innocence.

Magnus felt a flash of anger. At this point he expected honesty from Eygló.

Eygló seemed to understand. ‘Sorry. Yes, Tom. I’m afraid of Tom. How did you know?’

‘Ajay overheard him threatening you back in Iceland. Hinting that you might suffer the same fate as Carlotta. And I saw the way you looked at him at Brattahlíd earlier today.’

‘It was more than a hint.’

‘Do you think he was implying he killed Carlotta?’

‘I don’t know. I assume so.’

‘Could he just have been taking advantage of Carlotta’s death to scare you?’

‘Yes, I’ve thought of that; he could. But he’s such a creep. I thought his strong-silent-type act was almost cute, but now it weirds me out. I mean, it’s all very well being a loyal employee, but that’s loyalty bordering on obsession.’

‘So what exactly is Tom’s relationship with Suzy, do you think?’

‘I don’t know. They are clearly a good team and she respects him as a cameraman. I doubt they have a sexual relationship, if that’s what you mean. But he seems to idolize her. And there’s something creepy about him. Who knows what’s going on inside his head?’ Eygló shuddered. ‘Ugh.’

‘Was he definitely at Brattahlíd all day today?’

Eygló nodded. ‘Yes. We were filming, and he’s the guy with the camera, so nothing much happens without him. We had a break for lunch, and he went off by himself like he often does, but that was only half an hour, tops.’ She sighed. ‘Actually the filming today went pretty well, especially compared to yesterday. I was rubbish yesterday.’

‘So we know Tom couldn’t possibly have killed Rósa today,’ said Magnus. ‘On the other hand, Einar could.’

‘Einar didn’t kill her,’ said Eygló. ‘And I’m still scared. I don’t know what’s going on.’ She looked at Magnus with something close to pity. ‘And I’m not sure you do, either.’

She sighed. ‘It was too good to be true.’

‘What?’

‘These documentaries. My new life. You know, I thought I was good at it.’

‘You are good at it,’ said Magnus.

Eygló shook her head. ‘I’m just a talking head. A blonde talking head. A short blonde talking head.’

‘No. No!’ Magnus was surprised at the vehemence of his insistence. ‘You really get what it was like to be a Viking a thousand years ago. And you make it seem fascinating; and important. I was glued to Viking Queens .’

Eygló smiled. ‘Yeah. But you are a bit of a history nerd, aren’t you, Inspector Magnús?’

Magnus grinned. ‘OK, that’s true. But that means I know a bit about it. I’m your target audience. And you hooked me.’

Eygló looked as if she was about to make some barbed comment, but then she smiled shyly. ‘Thanks.’

‘So don’t give it up.’

‘I’ll have no choice. Suzy will go bankrupt. Everyone will know Einar and I fell for a hoax, and I’ll never get any job related to archaeology in Iceland again.’

‘Can’t you try your luck in Britain?’

‘After Brexit? They probably wouldn’t let me in. And the States won’t be any easier these days.’

‘Don’t give up, Eygló.’

Eygló sipped her wine. ‘At least I’ll still have Bjarki. And he will still have Liverpool Football Club.’

‘Is Bjarki your son?’

‘Yeah. He’s eleven. He’s a straightforward guy. You can rely on him.’

‘Lucky you,’ Magnus said.

‘Yeah. Do you have children, Magnús?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You don’t know!’ Eygló raised her eyebrows. ‘Do you know how bad that sounds?’

Magnus grinned sheepishly. ‘Doesn’t sound good, does it?’

‘So what is it? A kid in every port?’

‘Not quite. I saw my ex-girlfriend a few days ago. And she had this little boy with her. Ási.’

‘And she said he was yours?’

‘She hasn’t said anything. I didn’t ask. I didn’t even think about it, but afterwards my partner, Vigdís, said there was a similarity. And the age matches up.’

‘Not much of a detective, are you?’

‘Er. No,’ said Magnus. ‘But Vigdís is pretty good.’

‘So, are you going to talk to her? Your ex?’

‘Do you think I should?’

‘Of course you should! You might be a crap detective, but you’re a lucky man. Seriously, kids might be inconvenient, but when the world treats you like shit, sometimes that’s all you’ve got.’

‘Maybe you’re right. But I think you are underestimating my detection skills.’

‘I’ll rethink that as soon as you finally figure out that Einar didn’t kill Rósa.’

A police car drew up in front of the hotel and Paulsen jumped out. ‘Hey, Magnus, come on!’

‘Where are we going?’

‘Qaqortoq. Bring your bag. We are taking Einar into custody there. And I’d like you to talk to the prosecutor in the morning.’

It was a dramatic hop from Narsarsuaq to the town of Qaqortoq. The sun had set, but the three-quarters moon had already risen, bathing the rock, water and icebergs in an eerie grey-blue tinge. The great Greenland icecap ran out of steam a few miles north-east of Narsarsuaq, and from there fingers of fjords stretched twenty miles down to the Atlantic. Water and land became a tangle of grey, black and silver, except that everywhere there were shards of ice glinting in the water, some as big as ships. Magnus was fascinated by them.

Paulsen was sitting next to him on the left side of the helicopter facing outwards. Einar was in cuffs on the central seats at the back, wedged between two police officers. Magnus could feel how keyed up Paulsen was by the excitement of the investigation. Magnus was impressed: she seemed to be doing a good job of organizing resources in difficult circumstances. He had been involved in a number of cases in rural Iceland — Carlotta’s murder being a typical example — and they were tricky. Because of the sparseness of the population, and hence the tiny numbers of local police, expertise had to be drafted in from long distances. In Iceland, this often involved much driving; in Greenland it involved helicopters. Lots of them. Thelma would have hated the expense.

But despite Paulsen’s efficiency, or perhaps because of it, Magnus was feeling sidelined. That was fair enough when it came to Rósa’s murder, but not Carlotta’s nor Nancy Fishburn’s. It now looked likely that Rósa had murdered Carlotta in Glaumbaer, but that still had to be properly investigated and evidence gathered; it wasn’t good enough for Paulsen to assume it just because she needed to support her own theory about Rósa’s death.