‘But your witness said she may have seen metal rods, isn’t that right?’
‘What she actually said was that she had seen an “aerial” but I think she might have meant some sort of brace, maybe metal, which was fixed to the man’s leg. He was wearing jogging trousers, with the leg open up to the knee.’
‘Was he wearing orthopaedic shoes? Was it that kind of limp?’
‘Possibly. We don’t know.’
‘If the person has a physical disability, I’m thinking it could perhaps be a club foot. Special shoe attachments are used for that. Another possibility is a degenerative disease leading the muscles to atrophy. Or he could have undergone surgery, possibly an arthrodesis.’
The last word meant nothing to Elínborg.
‘Perhaps you’re talking about a full-length leg brace?’ Hildigunnur suggested.
Elínborg looked at her. ‘Sounds about right,’ she said.
‘And of course it could just be a fracture,’ Hildigunnur pointed out, with a smile.
‘We’ve checked that angle,’ said Elínborg, ‘but we came up with nothing useful. We’ve examined reports of broken legs and other leg injuries going back several weeks, but no joy there.’
‘Well, let’s go on brainstorming. Leg deformities — caused by polio, for instance — are a known phenomenon here in Iceland. The brace was only on one leg, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, so far as we can tell.’
‘Do you know how old he is?’
‘Not exactly, unfortunately.’
‘The last polio epidemic here was in 1955 and an immunisation programme started the following year. After that the disease was eliminated.’
‘So if it does relate to polio, then he’s over fifty?’
‘Yes, but then there’s also the Akureyri Disease, as it’s called.’
‘Akureyri Disease?’
‘It was an infectious disease that had various polio-like symptoms. It was believed to be a variant of polio. The first case was diagnosed up north near Akureyri in 1948. If I remember correctly, about seven per cent of the population of the town fell ill, including some of the boarding students at Akureyri High School. But I don’t think it caused permanent physical handicaps. I may be wrong about that, though.’
‘Are there any files about patients who got polio, for instance?’
‘I’m sure there must be. A lot of them were sent to the Isolation Clinic in Reykjavík. You could get in touch with the Ministry of Health — they may still have records.’
Elínborg did not make it home for dinner. She rang Teddi to say she did not know when she would be back. He was used to these calls, and simply told her to take care. They spoke briefly. Elínborg asked him to make sure that Theodóra took her knitting to school in the morning. She was supposed to knit fifteen rows for the class, but Theodóra detested all handiwork lessons at school, whether needlework or carpentry. Her current project, a woolly hat, had largely been knitted by her mother.
Elínborg rang off and put her mobile in her pocket, then pressed the doorbell. She heard it ringing inside. A long time passed, and nothing happened. She rang again and heard a rustling before the door was finally opened by a dishevelled woman in a white dressing gown.
‘Good evening,’ said Elínborg. ‘Is Valur in?’
‘Who are you?’
‘I’m from the police. My name’s Elínborg, I spoke to him a couple of days ago.’
The woman looked Elínborg up and down, then called out to Valur that someone wanted to see him.
‘Does he sell from here?’ asked Elínborg bluntly.
The woman looked at her as if she did not understand the question.
Valur appeared. ‘You again?’ he remarked.
‘Would you mind coming for a short ride in the car with me?’ asked Elínborg.
‘Who is this?’ the woman asked.
‘It’s nothing,’ replied Valur. ‘Go inside — I’ll deal with it.’
‘Oh, yeah, you deal with everything!’ she sneered and went back into the flat, where a baby could be heard crying.
‘Why don’t you leave me alone?’ said Valur. ‘Are you on your own? Where’s that wanker who was with you before?’
‘This won’t take long,’ said Elínborg. She hoped she hadn’t woken the baby by ringing the doorbell. ‘Just a quick drive, that’s all.’
‘What drive? What’s this fucking bullshit?’
‘You’ll see. You could earn some brownie points. I expect someone like you needs them.’
‘I don’t work for you,’ said Valur.
‘Really? I’ve heard that you do, actually. I’m told you can be quite cooperative, despite giving me such a rude reception. My friend on the Drug Squad says you tell them all sorts about other dealers. He said if I mentioned it you might be less bloody-minded. Or I can go and get him, and all three of us can go together. But I’d rather not disturb him unless it’s absolutely necessary. He’s a family man, like you.’
Valur gave the matter some thought. ‘What do you want me to do?’ he said.
Elínborg waited for Valur in the car, and when at last he came out she drove him to Edvard’s small house. On the way she explained what was expected of him. It was an easy task — all that was required was that he should tell the truth. She did not want to summon Edvard down to the station and have him identified by Valur as the man who had bought Rohypnol, using Runólfur’s name. She did not want to tip Edvard off and make him anxious and agitated, but she did need confirmation that it was he who had bought the drug from Valur. She had had another talk with her friend on the Drug Squad, who admitted after a little persuasion that the Squad occasionally found that its interests coincided with Valur’s. Both he and Elínborg were eager to reduce the number of dealers on the streets of Reykjavík, although for different reasons. Elínborg’s colleague resolutely denied that the Squad was turning a blind eye to Valur’s little ways. That was out of the question.
‘But you know he’s selling date-rape drugs,’ Elínborg said.
‘That was news to us.’
‘Come on. You know all there is to know about this guy.’
‘He’s not selling any more, we know that. But he’s still well connected in the business. We have to weigh up the benefits. It’s not cut and dried — you should know that as well as I do.’
Elínborg pulled up near Edvard’s home and switched off the engine. Valur was in the passenger seat.
‘Have you been here before?’ she asked.
‘No,’ replied Valur. ‘Can we get this over with?’
‘The man who called himself Runólfur lives here. I need you to confirm that we’re talking about the same person. I’m going to get him to come to the door. It should be easy for you to see whether you recognise him.’
‘Then can we get the fuck out of here?’
Elínborg walked over to the house and knocked at the door. The glow of a television was visible through the threadbare curtains. She had noticed them when she had called on Edvard with Sigurdur Óli. They had once been white, no doubt, but now they were brown with years of accumulated filth. She knocked again, harder, and waited patiently for a response. Edvard’s wreck of a car was parked outside, as before.
Finally the door opened, revealing Edvard.
‘Hello again,’ said Elínborg. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you. I’m afraid I might have left my bag here when I was here yesterday. It’s a leather satchel, a sort of handbag, brown?’
‘Your bag?’ asked Edvard in astonishment.
‘I’ve either lost it or it’s been stolen. I just don’t understand. I’ve checked everywhere else I’ve been. I don’t suppose you’ve noticed it here?’
‘No, sorry,’ Edvard replied. ‘It’s not here.’
‘Are you absolutely sure?
‘Yes, quite sure. Your bag is not here.’
‘Would you … would you mind taking a look? I’ll wait here.’
Edvard eyed her sceptically. ‘There’s no need. It’s not here. Was there anything else?’