‘Now, it’s not that simple,’ said Leifur to his wife. ‘You know that.’ He turned to Thóra. ‘Even though our children have followed other paths in life, one never knows whether things might change. And Hjalti, Markus’s son, is very keen on the sea and the company. He’s with us more or less every summer and a lot of weekends during the winter. He would be very disappointed if the company changed hands.’ Once again it appeared as though the conversation were heading in the direction of the couple’s unresolved conflict.
Thóra heard Bella sigh softly. She must be tired of the conversation, although it could just as easily have been the egg that still lay half eaten on the plate in front of her. ‘Do you remember anything about the eruption?’ she asked Leifur in a desperate attempt to relieve the tension.
‘Of course, my dear,’ replied Leifur, pushing his plate away. ‘It’s hard to forget.’
‘Did you go to Reykjavik on the same boat as Markus?’ asked Thóra. ‘I’m trying to find someone who could verify that Markus and Alda spoke to each other during that journey.’
‘I was on board,’ replied Leifur, thoughtfully. ‘I must admit I don’t particularly remember Alda being on the same boat, but that doesn’t mean much. Alda was the same age as Markus, two years younger than me. At that age I didn’t pay much attention to kids.’ He took a sip of wine. ‘However, I can assure you that if Alda was there, Markus wasn’t far behind.’ He put down his glass. ‘I don’t think he ever actually got over his crush on her, not even as a grown man.’
‘That’s certainly my understanding,’ said Thóra, as she tried to push the egg down into its shell so that it would look as though she had finished it. She put down her spoon and wiped her mouth with a napkin to complete the illusion. ‘Is there anyone else who might possibly remember these interactions? What about your mother?’
Leifur shook his head. ‘Not Mum. She was very seasick and had enough to worry about. I doubt she even noticed Markus.’ He twirled his glass on the table. ‘Let me think about this a bit. Maybe I can remember some other people who were there. It would mostly have been Markus’s childhood friends who would have noticed anything; the whole class had a crush on Alda so maybe they can remember something.’
Thóra reached into her handbag, which was hanging on the back of her chair, and took out a photocopy of the report that Bella had found in the archive. ‘Here’s a list of the people who came to the mainland on that boat. Maybe you’ll recognize the names on it.’ She handed it to Leifur.
Leifur looked over the list, which was handwritten and totalled four pages. Suddenly his face brightened.‘Jóhanna, Alda’s younger sister. She still lives in the Islands and works at the bank where I do business. Maybe she can help, although she might not remember the evacuation. I’ll talk to her tomorrow if you think it might help.’
Thóra thanked him. She saw Bella give up on her egg and place her napkin over it with an uncharacteristically dainty hand movement. ‘Thank you,’ she said quietly, pushing the plate away slightly. ‘Very unique flavour,’ she added, without looking up from the tablecloth in front of her. Maria smiled at them, but only with her mouth. She stood up and started clearing the table. Then she went, arms full, to the kitchen, where they could hear her preparing the main course. Thóra crossed her fingers in the hope that no more special dishes would be served, but genuinely feared that the woman was about to appear with a platter of grilled starfish. ‘Haven’t the police come round to take statements from you?’ she asked Leifur, setting aside her concerns about the menu. ‘Or your parents?’
‘I received a phone call the other day from Reykjavik and I told them I knew nothing about it,’ he replied.‘I doubt they’ll let it go that easily because the man I spoke to asked a lot of questions about my future travel plans, as well as about Mum and Dad. He also told me they’d be back in touch, and that we’d be subpoenaed. I pointed out to him that it wasn’t possible to question my father, and described his illness. This was on Friday, as I recall, but I haven’t heard any more from them.’ Leifur shrugged, almost dismissively, although Thóra couldn’t tell if his lack of interest was genuine. ‘They’ll come when they come. We’ve got nothing to hide.’
‘You have nothing to worry about,’ Thóra reassured him. ‘But what explanation do you have for the bodies in the basement? You must have given it some thought.’
Leifur gestured non-committally. ‘Of course I have,’ he replied. ‘I wish I could say I was able to come up with an explanation. I have no idea who these people were or how they ended up there, of all places. It does seem pretty obvious to me that they were foreigners, though. Four Icelanders could never have disappeared in the eruption without anyone noticing it.’
‘And were there any foreigners here at that time?’ asked Thóra. ‘And by “that time” I mean during the eruption, as well as before it started.’
‘Hmm,’ he mused. ‘Before the eruption there were always foreigners around, though not as many as now. They were mostly sailors and people working in the fishing industry, not tourists like they are these days.’ He smiled apologetically at Thóra. ‘I have to admit I don’t know whether any foreigners were here during the eruption itself. I suppose there were some who helped out during the rescue operation. Soldiers from the base, maybe.’
Thóra, who hadn’t thought of this, made a mental note to ask about disappearances from the Keflavik Naval Air Station at the time. She hoped that all the information hadn’t been spirited away on the departure of the Defence Force.
‘Would there be any way for me to speak to your father?’ she asked cautiously. ‘Maybe he still remembers this, even though the old days might be slipping from his memory?’
Leifur looked forlorn. ‘I’m afraid there wouldn’t be much point. Even though Dad has good days it’s been a long time since it was possible to have a decent conversation with him. He talks, but the words he strings together are usually meaningless and unrelated. Mum, on the other hand, is sharp as a tack.’ He regarded Thóra closely. ‘What are you getting at? Do you think my father had something to do with this?’
To Thóra’s relief Leifur did not appear to be angry, just curious. ‘No, not necessarily.I was hoping he could give me some information about people’s visits to your house, or hazard a guess at who the bodies belonged to,’ she said. ‘It’s reasonable to suppose he would have paid closer attention to his own house. The other rescue workers no doubt had less interest in it.’
‘That’s a good point,’ said Leifur. ‘But he won’t be able to help you. It’s a shame. Mum won’t be much help either, since she wasn’t here doing salvage work. However, she may remember something about any foreigners in the area just before the eruption.’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t know what else she might know. It may be that she doesn’t remember a single thing about any of it. It’s been decades. I can only remember bits and pieces myself.’
A faint smell of smoke drifted in, and Bella wriggled in her seat. ‘Can I smoke here?’ she asked hopefully.
‘Maria smokes in the kitchen,’ he replied, and waved Bella to the kitchen door. ‘Please. She’ll be delighted to have company.’ Bella did not need to be told twice.
‘Did you not know Alda at all?’Thóra asked after Bella had left. ‘She appears to be a key player in all of this if your brother’s story about where he got the severed head holds up. My instinct tells me that the corpses and the head are two branches of the same story. Anything else would be too much of a coincidence.’