‘Tattoo?’ Thóra frowned. How could something like that be relevant to all this?
Chapter Thirteen
Thóra was pleased with Bella. The young woman stood at her side, her arms crossed over her chest and a thunderous look on her face that was making even Inspector Leifsson squirm in his seat.‘It absolutely beggars belief that one should hear of developments in a police investigation out on the street,’ continued Thóra.‘Since you’re in charge of the station, and since the information must originally have come from here, I have no choice but to hold you responsible for the leak.’ The thundercloud next to her nodded its head emphatically.
Gudni was completely silent for a moment, as was his wont. He rocked back and forth in his chair and then leaned forwards, placing his elbows on the desk. ‘I haven’t leaked anything,’he said calmly. ‘Six police officers work here in addition to me, not to mention the receptionist and the cleaner. Any one of them could have blurted something out without me having had anything to do with it. So you’d better think twice before you start accusing me of a breach of confidence.’
‘Accusing you?’ snapped Thóra. ‘I’m not accusing you of anything. I’ve come here to demand a copy of the autopsy report, which I understand you have. I wish to inform myself of its contents first-hand rather than relying on street gossip.’
‘I understand,’ said Gudni quietly. He was clearly unhappy about this new development, but trying not to show it. Thóra noticed some small muscles twitching around his mouth.
‘I don’t have any objection to you seeing the documents. Should I check and see what the book says about such things?’
‘Kindly do so,’ she replied, knowing he wouldn’t have the first idea where to look for the laws regulating access to files in a criminal case. She actually doubted that a copy of the relevant regulations existed in Gudni’s office, and he probably wouldn’t even know where to find them on the Internet.
‘But I don’t see what purpose it will serve,’ said Gudni, as he stood up. He picked up some papers stapled together in one corner and waved them at her. ‘No doubt you’ll get hold of this soon enough, because I have trouble believing that Markus won’t be arrested very soon. The autopsy does not look good for him.’
‘How do you mean?’ asked Thóra. She longed to tear the report from the man’s hands and start reading it.
‘I mean that it provides, for the first time, clear evidence that these men were murdered. In other words, this is now a murder investigation. In addition, the report contains indications of the men’s nationality. They are probably British, and contact has already been made with the British police, asking them to investigate who these men might have been. So no doubt this case will soon be all over the British newspapers, and when that happens I can promise you that the police department will be a hive of activity, and the demand for answers will ensure that Markus will be taken into custody. He is the only suspect we have at this stage.’ Gudni stared straight at Thóra. ‘The autopsy does not implicate Alda.’
‘No, we didn’t expect it to,’ said Thóra. Although she was disappointed, Gudni did have a point. She sighed deeply. The only people who could have explained things and cleared Markus’s name were either dead or demented.
‘It doesn’t help that these British men were murdered during the Cod War,’said Gudni. ‘Certain individuals in particular social groups still harbour a grudge over that dispute, both here and in Britain. The British press are sure to play up that angle.’
‘Do you think that these men were murdered because of fish?’ cried Bella. ‘Because of cod?’‘
Gudni gave her a reproachful look. ‘The codfish is money with fins and gills. You shouldn’t underestimate its importance.’
Bella was about to defend herself so Thóra hurried to interrupt her. ‘Were they fishermen, then?’
‘That is not stated directly, but you can read this at your leisure and draw your own conclusions,’ replied Gudni. ‘It’s best that I go and make a copy of it.’ He walked past them without another word.
Bella scowled at him, thenlooked around the little office. ‘Fucking idiot,’ she said, seemingly more to herself than to Thóra. She went over to Gudni’s desk and ran her eyes over the things lying on it.
‘For God’s sake don’t start looking at anything,’ Thóra hissed exasperatedly.
‘He wouldn’t have left us alone if there was anything here he didn’t want us to see,’ said Bella as she bent towards the desk. She turned one of the pieces of paper on the table face up. ‘When did the volcano erupt, again?’ she asked.
Thóra moved closer. ‘January 1973. The eruption started on the night of the twenty-third. Why?’
‘This is an old report,’ said Bella. ‘It’s dated the twentieth of January 1973. Don’t you find it a bit odd that he’s got such an old report on his table?’
‘What does it say?’ asked Thóra anxiously. She looked over at the doorway but there was no one to be seen. How long did it take to photocopy ten pages? ‘Quickly!’she whispered.
‘Wait,’ said Bella, as she picked up the page to get a better look. ‘It’s a report about signs of a fight or injury at the pier. The police were called out by the harbour-master, who found a lot of blood on the pier on the morning of Saturday the twentieth of January. He couldn’t think of any natural explanation for it and called the police, thinking that a crime might have been committed. He said the harbour had been unsupervised from midnight on Friday evening until he turned up for his next shift, at eight o’clock on Saturday morning.’ Bella ran her finger down the page. ‘The police officer examined the evidence, which was compelling, and asked the harbour-master what ships had been moored there. It turned out that no boat had been moored there for several days. The police also checked whether anyone had gone to the hospital with injuries that night, but no one had been admitted after midnight except a married couple with a sick baby.’ Bella looked up at Thóra. ‘Couldn’t this be linked to the bodies?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know,’Thóra half whispered. ‘Quickly, keep reading.’ She glanced at the door out of the corner of her eye, but all was quiet. ‘The police interviewed several people in the wake of this, and two witnesses reported seeing Dadi Karlsson up and about early in the morning. One of them said that he’d been docking in a dinghy, and the other that he’d been at the place where the blood was found. The police officer spoke to Dadi but he denied this and said he hadn’t been there. He claimed he’d been at home sleeping and said his wife could verify that, which she did. The officer then boarded the trawler that Dadi piloted but found nothing unusual there. The case was considered unsolved, but plans were made to investigate whether the blood could conceivably have come from an animal or an illegal catch that had been landed under the cover of night.’ Bella looked up from the report.‘That’s all there is.’
‘Which police officer wrote the report?’ Thóra asked hurriedly, and waved her hand to indicate that their time was running out. Footsteps could be heard approaching in the corridor.
‘Gudni Leifsson,’ said Bella, and hurried to put the paper back in its place. No sooner had she done so than they heard Gudni walking through the door behind them.
Thóra turned to him, trying to look innocent. She couldn’t be certain, but if this report wasn’t connected to the case, why would he be looking at such an old document? She also had a feeling that Gudni was not investigating a cold case in cooperation with his colleagues from Reykjavik, but working on it alone. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing for Markus, she’d have to wait and see.‘Well,’ she said, and walked up to Gudni. He handed her a copy of the medical examiner’s report and looked inquisitively at Bella, who was still standing very close to the desk.