Quentin Bates - Cold Steal

‘How long has it taken? Three months?’

‘That’s what comes of having an antique engine. He had to get the spares from a scrap yard in Denmark.’

He hauled himself to his feet and padded to the kitchen, returning with two bowls.

‘As you’ve been busy, I thought I’d do you a little treat.’

‘You wouldn’t be after something, would you, young man?’

Steini laughed. ‘Young. I like that. No, pure altruism on my part.’

‘Just the goodness of your heart? What a man,’ Gunna said, taking the bowl and a spoonful of the fruit salad with a generous lump of ice cream on it. ‘Not good for the waistline, though.’

‘We can’t have you wasting away, can we?’

‘There’s no danger of that,’ Gunna grunted, dropping her feet to the floor and sitting up straight. ‘Steini, you picked up Gísli the other day. What did he have to say?’

‘He’s on your mind, isn’t he?’

‘Rather more than the case I’m working on,’ Gunna admitted. ‘I’m his mother. I can’t not be worried about him.’

‘You think I hadn’t noticed?’

‘Touché, Sherlock.’

Steini nibbled at a wafer. ‘He’s worried, as you can imagine. He did ask about you and I told him the truth.’

‘Which is?’

‘Like you said, you’re his mum. You can be as pissed off as hell with him, but you’re still his mum.’

‘I see.’

‘It’s about time you two made peace, don’t you think? I know you’re as hard-headed as each other, but it’s affecting everyone else. Laufey’s walking on eggshells because she doesn’t want to say the wrong thing and upset you, Gísli’s lost his way because you’re hardly speaking to him and Drífa’s nervous around you as well.’

‘And you?’

‘You’re not as much fun as you used to be, but I’m older and a little more patient than the youngsters, so I can recognize that we’ll have the Gunna we know and love back soon enough.’

‘Ever the optimist. Keep up the treats and she’ll be back before you know it, especially if we catch this devious bastard before too long.’

‘Difficult case?’

‘Horrible. Some very unpleasant people, as well as mister über-chauvinist chief inspector Sævaldur Bogason, who is in the running to be the least pleasant of the lot. I’ll call Gísli in the morning and see if we can meet in town for a change, away from the various girlfriends and offspring.’

Orri rubbed his eyes as Gunna flipped the peephole cover to wink at him. The warder opened the door.

‘You don’t need to lock us in,’ Gunna said as the door swung to behind her. ‘Orri’s not going to do anything stupid.’

Orri sat up with the duvet wrapped around him and blinked.

‘Been in here before have you?’ Gunna asked. ‘Breakfast will be along in a minute.’

‘I’m going to Litla Hraun today, am I?’

‘I expect so. You’ve not been there before?’

Orri snorted through his nose and rubbed his eyes.

‘I have, actually. Visited both my parents there at one time or another. Not at the same time,’ he added. ‘But I’ve never been a prisoner, if that’s what you mean.’

‘You’ll be all right. Keep your nose clean and I don’t suppose you’ll be there long.’ Gunna sat down on the bunk next to him. ‘Now, before the lawyers turn up and before my colleagues get here, strictly between you and me,’ she said. ‘You have something to tell me.’

‘Yeah,’ Orri said slowly. ‘I’ve been thinking about it all night.’

‘And you still want to talk? It’s up to you.’

‘Will it help my case?’

‘I can’t say, and it depends what you want to tell me. But I don’t imagine it would do any harm.’

‘Right,’ Orri said and yawned. ‘Is there any coffee?’

‘On the way. You’re the notorious Reykjavík housebreaker, aren’t you?’

‘Could be.’

‘Come on. If you’re going to play hard to get, then I’m wasting my time.’

‘Yeah,’ Orri grunted. ‘That’s me. Been doing it about two years now.’

‘You’ve not done a bad job of it. No prints, no traces. You’ve been very careful, haven’t you? But you realize your career’s at an end now?’

Orri looked blank.

‘My colleague Sævaldur has been running around the city like a headless chicken for the last year trying to track you down. So you can bet your last penny that whenever there’s a burglary in the next ten years, he’ll be knocking on your door. You broke in at Kópavogsbakki fifty. What happened? Where did the blood come from?’

‘I was taken by surprise,’ Orri said slowly. ‘There was someone there with a gun. I was tied up and questioned. Honestly, I thought they were going to kill me.’

‘Was this one person?’

‘I think it was two. I can’t be sure. One of them did the talking, in English. Then I could hear them muttering to each other, so I guess there were two of them.’

‘Did you see either of them?’

‘No.’ Orri hesitated. ‘I just heard the voice, that’s all.’

‘Nothing that could identify these people?’

‘Just a voice in English, with an accent. He didn’t sound like he was English or American.’

‘Russian? Scandinavian? An Icelander, maybe?’

‘Could be. I couldn’t tell.’

‘And what was this questioning all about.’

‘They wanted me to work for them,’ he muttered.

‘Work for them? In what way?’

‘Breaking into places and planting bugging devices.’

‘Good grief? And they paid you for this?’

‘No, of course not,’ Orri lied. ‘But they told me they knew where I live, where Lísa lives and where my sister and her kids live, so I didn’t dare say no. Now I’ve told you, and if they find out we’re all going to need protection.’

‘Where did you plant bugs?’

‘There was an office in Kópavogur, near Hamraborg. I can’t remember what it’s called, but I could find it. There was a house in the Thingholt district and there was that bikers’ place in Gardabær.’

‘They wanted a bug in the Undertakers’ clubhouse? You’re kidding.’

Orri shrugged. ‘It’s there. It’s hidden in the electrical conduit in their boardroom.’

‘That’s all?’

‘No. There was a place up past Mosfellsbær, a farm of some kind. I don’t know what it is, but it’s out in the country.’

‘Vison?’

‘I don’t know. I put a bug in the office ceiling there. There were a whole lot of metal cages in the long room there.’

The door swung open and a warder walked in carrying a tray.

‘Breakfast,’ he announced, handing it to Orri, who placed it on his knees, still keeping the duvet wrapped around him like a cloak.

‘And definitely no idea who these guys are?’ Gunna asked as Orri sipped his coffee.

He shook his head. ‘Well,’ he said after a moment.

‘Well, what?’

‘I think I saw one of them, but I’m not sure, a day or two before.’

‘Where? At the same house?’

‘No, further up the street. The one where the dentist lives.’

‘How do you know it’s the dentist’s house?’ Gunna asked.

‘I do my homework carefully,’ Orri replied. ‘They live at Kópavogsbakki forty-two and own a couple more houses in the same street. I saw a man go in there who definitely wasn’t the dentist, and I was there again later and the same guy was screwing the dentist’s wife up against the wall.’

Gunna fumbled in her coat pocket and came up with the photograph of the hook-nosed man.

‘Him?’

‘That’s the guy,’ Orri said with the first hint of a smile on his morose face. ‘But listen, you didn’t hear any of this from me, and if you ask about it again, I’ll deny every word.’ He tapped the photograph with one finger. ‘Unless that guy’s locked up as well.’