Thóra switched off her phone and put it into her handbag. ‘If it’s true that Alda never came back here, that’s a pretty good indication that something happened,’ she said.
‘Such as what?’ asked Bella indifferently. ‘What happens to make someone end up carrying round a head in a box?’
‘Good question,’ said Thóra. There was certainly something to what Bella said. What sequence of events had to take place for a teenage girl to come into possession of a human head? ‘In any case, I still find it very unlikely that she murdered someone at such a young age.’
‘Why?’ asked Bella. ‘I’ve never been more likely to kill someone than during my teenage years.’ She stared at Thóra. ‘I could probably have done it quite easily.’
Thóra smiled reluctantly.‘Hardly,’ was all she said, although in her heart she did not agree. She was in no doubt that Bella was capable of such an act, both then and now. Thóra had no time to consider this any further, because someone tapped on her shoulder. Behind her stood a woman of around forty. She was dressed in a blue trouser suit, and the name tag on her lapel read JóhannaThórgeirsdóttir. This must be Alda’s sister. Leifur had certainly stood by his word from the night before.
‘Hello, are you Thóra Gudmundsdóttir?’ said the woman in a low voice. Her eyes were reddened and her face haggard. ‘The woman on reception pointed you out to me.’
Thóra stood up and shook the woman’s hand warmly, but the expression in the eyes that met hers was anything but friendly. ‘Yes, hello. You must be Alda’s sister.’ She squeezed I he woman’s hand. ‘My condolences for the loss of your sister.’She released her hand, since the woman only held it limply. I didn’t expect you to come and see me, and I hope that Leifur didn’t press it on you.‘
The expression on the woman’s face tightened another notch. ‘I didn’t speak to Leifur. He spoke to the branch director, who sent me here. Leifur’s a close acquaintance of his, and close acquaintances get good service. As I understand it, he’s not to be offended.’
Thóra swallowed her irritation at Leifur. She had understood his words to mean that he knew Alda’s sister, and that he himself would speak to her. She hadn’t expected a woman who had recently lost her sister to be sent to her like a pizza delivery boy.
‘I am sincerely sorry,’ was all she could say as her anger subsided. She paused a moment. This degraded woman standing before her deserved better. ‘You don’t have to speak to me if you don’t want to. I understand that you’re suffering and I don’t wish to take advantage of Leifur’s insensitivity or that of the man you work for. They don’t run my errands.’
The woman looked up and squared her jaw.‘The branch manager is actually a woman.’ She looked around.‘And actually I’d be happy to sit down for a moment. Two of the four clerks called in sick this morning, but the bank’s work regulations stipulate that there must always be two cashiers out front. I’m one of the two who came to work today.’ She pointed at the sofa in front of the reception desk. ‘Let’s sit down there. Then my manager can decide whether she or the cleaning lady will fill in for me.’
Thóra smiled approvingly at Alda’s sister. ‘Good idea,’ she said. ‘But can I suggest that we sit in the cafeteria instead? It’s quieter and we’ve got a better chance of getting coffee there.’ She sent Bella away and they sat down over cups of coffee at a little wooden table in the farthest corner of the cafeteria.
‘First of all, I should warn you that I still haven’t recovered from the news about Alda,’ said Jóhanna as she took her seat.‘Although there were eight years between us, we were very good friends. We weren’t in daily contact, but we were close nevertheless.’ She took a sip of coffee, placed the cup back awkwardly on its saucer and adjusted it carefully. ‘I don’t believe she committed suicide. She would never do that. It must have been an accident, or something worse.’ She looked up. ‘I expect everyone who experiences a relative killing himself or herself thinks that way, but it’s not like that. Alda wasn’t the kind of person to commit suicide.’
Thóra realized that the woman didn’t know why she’d asked to meet her. I didn’t ask to see you to discuss Alda’s tragic death.‘ She took a deep breath. ’I’m afraid I don’t know the circumstances so I can’t comment on it. I’m working for Markus, Leifur’s younger brother. He’s in a rather difficult position, you might say, because three bodies were found in the basement of his childhood home. Alda’s name came up in the investigation and I was hoping that you could either tell me something that might help Markus or point me towards someone who can.‘ Thóra stopped and waited for the woman’s reaction. She thought it highly likely that she would thank her abruptly and say goodbye.
Jóhanna looked at Thóra, apparently quite surprised. ‘Of course I’ve read the news and heard people talking about the bodies. It’s a hot topic here in town, understandably.’ She seemed slightly embarrassed as she continued.‘They said Markus was involved, but I thought it was just gossip since he hasn’t been mentioned in the papers. I’ve never heard Alda’s name mentioned, I’ve only heard that they were British people who had probably been murdered before the eruption.’
‘British?’ exclaimed Thóra. ‘Do you know where that story came from?’ Could her hypothesis about the Cod War have been correct?
‘I haven’t really tried to find out,’ replied the woman. ‘I’ve had other things to think about. But I seem to recall the autopsy uncovered that.’
Thóra stiffened. Was it possible that the majority of the town’s residents had heard about developments in the investigation before those involved had been given the information? She tried not to display any emotion, but she was itching to rush down to the police station and give Inspector Leifsson an earful. ‘I haven’t heard that so I don’t know if it’s correct,’ she said.‘Whether it’s true or not, the case is in the hands of the police and the investigation is still in its initial stages. As it is, I only have knowledge pertaining to my client, and Alda’s death was a hard blow for him to bear. She was privy to information that could have kept the investigation afloat and shed light on his innocence.’
Jóhanna shifted in her seat, breathing quickly, her pupils dilated. ‘Do you think that someone murdered her to keep her quiet?’ she asked breathlessly. ‘That must be the explanation.’ She placed one hand on her chin. ‘Could the man responsible for the deaths of the people in the basement have killed Alda?’
‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,’ said Thóra calmly. ‘As I said, I’m not sure how Alda’s death is connected to the case, if at all. I’m trying to figure that out.’ She didn’t want to say that this case might explain Alda’s suicide – if indeed she had committed suicide. Similar things had happened, when someone didn’t trust himself to stare his own misdeeds in the face, and instead chose the unknown. ‘It’s entirely possible that there is a connection. At the very least, it’s a strange coincidence.’