Quentin Bates - Cold Steal

‘Never heard the name. Should I have?’

‘Bruno Kovalchuk, assuming that’s his real name, is the man who presumably drugged you at the Sólfell offices and dumped you miles up country, where I imagine you were expected to die of hunger or exposure. You’ll also be interested to know that we arrested him and your wife earlier today, and we weren’t quick enough to save the life of the young man they had apparently drugged and abducted. Both of them are going to be in custody for a long time while we try and get to the bottom of all this. So if you can tell me anything that would make it easier to unravel this mess, I’d appreciate it.’

Jóhann’s son and daughter-in-law discreetly left the conservatory, the door closing silently behind them.

‘I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,’ he said, staring into the distance behind Gunna’s head.

‘Did you have any idea of what was going on at Vison?’

‘It’s a fur farm. Vilhelm put us in touch with Boris Vadluga as he wanted to invest in fur in Iceland. Boris runs a car-rental empire, which is where his money comes from, but he has other businesses, including logistics and fur. He has owned a large share in a mink farm in Denmark for many years.’

‘Did you have any inkling of what was going on in the background?’

‘What do you mean?’ Jóhann looked first confused, and then irritated. ‘I’m not interested in playing games.’

‘All right. That suits me. It appears that Bruno Kovalchuk may have been working for Boris Vadluga, although I’m not sure in what capacity. They were running a small amphetamine factory in the basement of the house they rented from you. As business was doing well, they wanted to expand. So the Vison fur farm was the camouflage for a speed factory, with a transport link through another company owned by Vadluga to shift the goods to Europe. You’re with me so far?’

This time Jóhann nodded wide-eyed. His mouth opened, and then quickly shut as he floundered for something to say.

‘It’s plain to me that your wife and Bruno Kovalchuk were the ones behind the scheme. So what I’m fishing for is how much you and Boris Vadluga knew about all this? Were you and Vadluga also partners in this, or were you unwitting dupes? And why was Vilhelm got rid of?’

Jóhann sat open-mouthed for a long moment. ‘I. . I’m at a loss. I had no idea,’ he gasped at last. ‘I should have known that anything that came through that soulless little bastard Vilhelm couldn’t be honest.’

‘They’re pretty ruthless people,’ Gunna said. ‘Vilhelm was shot, and my guess was that he wanted a slice of the pie, although we’ll probably never know exactly what went on there. They also disposed of two other people.’

Jóhann seemed to be having trouble breathing. Gunna poured water from a jug into a glass and handed it to him. He took it gratefully, holding the glass in both hands as he gulped the water down.

‘And they wanted to get rid of me as well?’ he whispered.

‘So it seems. It appears you were surplus to requirements. How come?’

Jóhann looked into the glass in his hands before putting it on the table. His fingers trembled.

‘You were aware of your wife and Bruno’s relationship?’

‘I knew there had been one or two,’ he said eventually. ‘I didn’t know about this one in particular.’

‘But had you any idea of the direction their business was going in?’

‘None whatever,’ Jóhann said, finally with a little fire in his voice. ‘And if I had, then no, I certainly wouldn’t have gone along with it for a moment.’ He sighed and his shoulders slumped. ‘I hope you have grounds to back all this up, officer, and that you’re not just spinning me a lot of hearsay.’

‘That’ll all come out in court, although it might take a while and your wife’s lover is steadfastly saying nothing.’

‘And Sunna María? What has she said? Has she admitted all this?’

‘In a roundabout route,’ Gunna said. ‘She’s blaming Bruno for everything, although it’ll be interesting for both of them when they find out that you’re still in one piece.’

She killed the engine and sat in the car, looking at the front door for a minute, listening to the engine tick and wondering where the Passat in the street opposite had come from. Gunna closed her eyes and felt the tension of the last two days drain away. She thought about Sunna María, flustered and distraught, while Jóhann’s world had collapsed around him over a few long days of hardship and Bruno Kovalchuk sat silent with his arms folded in the interview room chair, refusing to say anything other than to confirm his name.

Finally Gunna stepped out of the car and her key scraped in the lock of her house. She listened for a moment with the door open a crack and was relieved that there was no sound of voices or small children, although the lack of any cooking smells was a disappointment.

‘Hæ, Mum,’ Gísli said awkwardly from the end of the sofa where Steini normally sat. The book Steini was reading was still open, face-down on the arm of the sofa.

‘Gísli, I didn’t expect to see you here,’ Gunna said. ‘It isn’t that I’m not pleased to see you,’ she added. ‘It’s just a surprise, that’s all. Been to see Drífa and Kjartan, have you?’

‘Well, no.’

He shuffled awkwardly. ‘Laufey’s over there with Drífa at the moment, and I wanted to catch you without anyone else about.’

Gunna’s eyes narrowed. ‘Problem?’

‘No.’ He coughed. ‘Not exactly.’ He gestured to the chair at the far end of the room and Gunna saw a young woman with blonde hair in plaited and beaded cornrows sending her a bright smile.

‘Hi, you’re Gísli’s mum? I’ve heard so much about you.’

Gunna shook the girl’s hand in bemusement.

‘Mum, this is Naomi. She’s from New Zealand.’ He coughed again. ‘I’m thinking of moving there to live with her.’