Fannar did not look particularly moved by this news. ‘Did anyone really believe that?’
Thóra shrugged; carefully, to avoid another shower. ‘Well, people tend to cling to hope for as long as they can. But now that two of the seven have turned up dead, it’s greatly reduced the chances that the others could have been saved – and time is passing.’ She kept quiet about the possibility that one or more of the people might have made it ashore. She had no intention of sharing with Fannar any details that were not in the public domain. The trick was to give the impression that she was revealing more than she should. ‘But you’ll keep that to yourself, won’t you?’
‘Absolutely. You can count on me.’ A gleam entered Fannar’s eyes. ‘Nothing we discuss here will go any further. That’s why I chose this room. Inevitably, everyone’s dying to know what’s happening because Ægir was one of us.’ He must think she was a complete idiot. Before she even reached her car he would have shared this new information with at least one or two of his colleagues. And by the time she got back to her office on Skólavördustígur, those one or two would doubtless have started spreading the gossip, and so it would snowball.
‘When I collected the papers from you, they included a page with Karítas’s name and phone number. Do you know why? I’ve been meaning to ask you but keep forgetting.’ She held out a copy of the page in question.
Fannar seemed surprised but was quick to assume a smile again. ‘Oh, that.’ He picked up a sugar-lump and popped it in his mouth. ‘That note was among the documents in Ægir’s file on the loan and the yacht repossession. I’ve no idea where he got the number or what he was intending to do with it, but I included it anyway.’
‘Was Ægir acquainted with Karítas at all?’
Fannar stopped sucking the sugar-lump for a moment. ‘No. I’m almost certain he wasn’t.’
‘Could he have needed to contact her for work reasons? To get her signature or notify her of the seizure of her property?’
‘It’s unlikely. The loan and the yacht were both in her husband’s name. There’d have been no reason to contact her, unless he meant to ask about her husband’s whereabouts.’
Thóra drank some more coffee and wondered what this could mean. The yacht-related documents that she had found in Ægir’s bedside table could indicate that he took his job seriously or that he had become obsessed with the case. Or something worse. ‘Do committee employees work outside the office at all? I mean, would you take your files home with you when there was a lot on?’
‘No, absolutely not. Naturally, we carry around information on our laptops but taking documents home is frowned on. Why do you ask?’
‘I was just wondering if there might be more paperwork relating to the case at Ægir’s house – if there’d be any point in going round to check.’ Again she decided it would be better not to reveal the whole story.
‘I wouldn’t have thought so. At least, I’d be very surprised. Ægir was highly professional – not the type to smuggle files home with him. Anything of substance should be here and we’ve already given you and the police copies of everything that isn’t subject to bank confidentiality. I can’t see how information relating to the former owner’s financial situation can be relevant to your case.’
Thóra smiled non-committally and finished her coffee. She longed for a refill but didn’t like to ask. ‘Would you be able to find out if Ægir rang Karítas’s number? I’m assuming he’d have called from the office since it’s work related.’
‘Um, I don’t know. We don’t usually keep track of phone calls but the bills are itemised and long, expensive calls are sometimes charged to a specific project. I can have it checked if you like. It rather depends on how busy the secretaries are, so it might not happen today.’ He held up the photocopy. ‘Can I keep this? Then I won’t have to hunt for the original.’
‘Sure.’ Thóra sincerely hoped no such call had been made. It would only complicate matters and they would probably never find out what it had entailed.
‘Right.’ Fannar darted a glance at the ostentatiously expensive watch on his wrist, which was half-hidden by a sleeve fastened, inevitably, by a flashy cufflink. ‘Oh. One more thing.’ He looked up quickly. ‘Had either of the bodies they found been shot?’
‘Shot?’ Thóra thought she must have misheard. ‘I’m pretty sure they hadn’t. Why do you ask?’
‘I’ve just sent the police some new paperwork that came in yesterday. They rang straight back, anxious to know if there had been a gun on board or if we’d had it removed before they embarked. I hadn’t a clue; it’s the first I’ve heard of any gun.’
It was the first Thóra had heard of it as well. ‘And they didn’t explain why they were asking?’
‘No. The guy rang off as soon as I’d answered his questions.’ He swallowed the rest of the sugar-lump. ‘But it occurred to me that it might be connected to the documentation I’d sent them, and I was right.’
‘What was the document?’ Thóra felt absurdly jealous at not having been entrusted with the same information.
‘It was a survey we had arranged in connection with the valuation of the yacht, which revealed that there was a revolver kept on the bridge. I asked around and apparently the captain has to be provided with one in case of a pirate attack. Can you imagine? Pirates!’
‘Apparently they still exist.’ She wondered if pirates could have boarded the yacht, killed the passengers and sailed away on the boat they came on, all without leaving a trace. ‘There was no mention of any gun in the inventory I received. Is this a different list?’
‘Yes, the list you have dates back to when the bank granted the owner a loan to purchase the yacht, so we couldn’t use it for the latest valuation. The new inventory only came through yesterday. We’d booked an overseas agent to do a survey on the boat a few days before she left Lisbon and the bastard took his time about compiling a report.’ He sighed. ‘Not that it’ll be much use to us now. The yacht’s damaged goods – not just the hull but her reputation too. Unless you can sort that out.’ He smiled.
Thóra returned his smile automatically, her mind on other things. ‘Could I get a copy of the new inventory?’
‘No problem. The police have requested a better version. I sent them a scan by e-mail but the quality wasn’t good enough so they want a hard copy. I’ll have another made for you at the same time.’
While Thóra was waiting in reception, a police officer arrived to collect the inventory. It was the man with the green eyes. If he found it odd to encounter her there, he didn’t show it. Too impatient to observe the formalities, she immediately asked him about the gun. At first he plainly had no intention of revealing anything but then he changed his mind. Apparently the gun listed in the most recent inventory was nowhere to be found on board. The original inspection of the yacht had turned up a small case of ammunition in the pilot house but this had been dismissed as insignificant since no gun was known to have been on board. The new inventory had changed all that. There was no forensic evidence that any shots had been fired on the yacht but six rounds were missing from the case. This indicated that the revolver had been used since the surveyor’s visit, because in his report the case had been full and the gun unloaded.
Thóra received her copy of the list and put it in her bag. Before she left, the detective asked her to drop by after lunch as he wanted to discuss a matter concerning one of her clients – Lára. Although he didn’t reveal any further details, Thóra could tell from his face that the news was bad.
So far the phone call had revolved around how tragic the whole affair was and how much Lára’s co-workers missed her. Thóra kept trying to guide the conversation back to the topic she had rung to discuss but without success; the woman was far too upset. While the resolution committee was directly linked to the circumstances of Ægir’s disappearance and therefore to the police inquiry, Lára’s colleagues were completely out of the loop and had received no news except via the media. Yet the woman was not motivated by nosiness; her questions revealed a genuine concern for the future of Lára’s little girl and the terrible grief her family must be suffering. Only after some considerable time did Thóra manage to get a word in edgeways: ‘The reason I’m calling is that I may need to ask one of Lára’s colleagues – someone who was well disposed towards her – to provide a character witness that would put an end to all speculation about her faking her own disappearance.’