‘The boat arrived at Narsarsuaq and we all got off, and I didn’t get a chance to speak to her alone before I left them later that afternoon to catch a helicopter flight here. Except as I was saying goodbye, Rósa whispered: “You will do as I asked, won’t you?” And I said yes. And that’s the last I saw of her.’
‘So that’s why you have come to see us now?’ Paulsen asked.
‘Of course.’
Paulsen glanced at Magnus. They both knew what Rósa was talking about. Magnus raised his eyebrows and Paulsen gave a tiny nod of assent for Magnus to ask a question.
‘What do you think she meant?’
‘Then or now?’ Beccari said.
‘Both.’
‘When she said it, I had absolutely no idea. But afterwards, as you can imagine, I thought about it quite hard.’
‘And what did you think?’
‘Well, at first I thought it must have something to do with Einar and Eygló: the little ménage à trois or whatever it is they have going on. Rósa had done something that she needed to apologize to one of them for, but she couldn’t face doing it herself. But yesterday I took a trip to Hvalsey — you know, the old Viking church there — and I was just sitting there thinking about it. And it seemed to me that when Rósa said “if something happens” she meant something more permanent. And then I thought about Carlotta’s death. And, well, I wondered whether she had had anything to do with it.’
‘Which is why you thought I had come here?’ said Magnus.
Beccari nodded.
‘So who do you think you need to tell that Rósa was sorry?’
‘Carlotta’s parents, I assume. Don’t you think? I mean, once I heard from Eygló that Rósa had been murdered, it all made sense. Or have I got it completely wrong?’
‘I think you may have got it right,’ said Paulsen.
‘Why do you think she told you?’ said Magnus.
‘If you mean why me, I think it’s because I am an outsider and I have a certain authority, if you know what I mean. I guess I’m Italian so I can talk to Carlotta’s parents. Although I am not sure that they would find it particularly comforting to hear that their daughter’s murderer was sorry.
‘And if you mean why did she tell anyone, I have no idea. Guilt, maybe? Your guess is as good as mine. Better probably.’
Magnus shrugged.
‘So you reckon Rósa killed Carlotta?’ Beccari asked.
Paulsen nodded. ‘It’s looking that way.’
Beccari shook his head. ‘I would never have believed it. And now she wants me to tell the parents she’s sorry.’
‘You don’t have to do that,’ said Magnus.
‘I don’t know,’ said Beccari. ‘She seemed so upset when she asked me and I promised. But if she was a murderer, then I don’t really owe her anything, do I?’
‘I’d say not.’ A thought occurred to Magnus. ‘Before you knew she had been killed, yesterday, when you were at Hvalsey and you had figured out she murdered Carlotta: were you going to tell us?’
‘Hah!’ Beccari said. ‘I was afraid you would ask me that question. I really didn’t know what to do. It was just guesswork on my part — I could easily have been wrong. And I had promised her to keep quiet. The truth is I was going to mull it over. But then when I heard she was dead, my mind was made up.’
‘Thank you for coming in,’ said Paulsen. ‘When are you leaving Greenland?’
‘I’ve a flight booked back to Reykjavík later today, and from Keflavík on to New York tomorrow,’ said Beccari. ‘Can you let me know how the investigation goes, inspector?’ he said to Magnus. ‘Especially when you have decided whether Rósa did kill Carlotta. I will need to figure out what to do about her parents.’
‘OK,’ said Magnus. As Beccari stood up, Magnus hesitated. ‘I do have some bad news about the theory that Gudrid and Co. landed in Nantucket.’
Beccari looked at him sharply. ‘Oh yes?’
‘Yeah. It’s all a hoax. The wampum.’ Beccari’s face showed a mixture of horror and anger. ‘And the Columbus letter.’
‘I don’t know about the wampum,’ he said. ‘But I do know the Columbus letter is genuine.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Magnus. ‘I spoke with an old lady who lived in Nantucket who planted them. Or she planted the wampum; her friend planted the letter in the Vatican. It’s a fake.’
‘No! Are you sure? I don’t believe it! Who is this old lady? How do you know she’s telling the truth?’
All thoughts of Rósa and Carlotta had obviously left Professor Beccari’s mind as he contemplated the threat to his reputation.
‘I’m sure. Look, I can’t give you the details because it is related to an ongoing investigation, but I wanted to warn you.’
‘I think you are mistaken,’ said Professor Beccari, haughtiness having taken over from horror. ‘And I warn you that you and this old woman, whoever she is, must be careful about questioning my judgement, unless you are both on very solid ground.’
‘All right,’ said Magnus, all sympathy for the professor disappearing. ‘But I don’t think the old lady will care very much about your threats.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because she was murdered. On Friday morning in Reykjavík.’
Beccari seemed to realize he had gone too far. ‘Oh. That’s... that’s terrible. OK, look, I’m sorry. I’m sure you told me this in good faith. But that letter is authentic — I’m certain of it.’
‘Her name was Nancy Fishburn, ‘ Magnus said. ‘Did you know her?’
‘No. Wait — did she write a book on Gudrid?’
‘Yes, that’s her.’
‘I glanced at her book in the library. But I have never met her, no.’
Paulsen let Beccari go. ‘We’ll be in touch.
‘Sounds as if Rósa knew what was going to happen to her,’ she said once the professor had left.
‘I guess so,’ said Magnus. ‘Unless she was referring to her cancer? Eygló said Rósa told her it was killing her.’
‘That doesn’t sound right to me,’ said Paulsen. ‘It sounds to me as if she was expecting something more sudden.’
It sounded like that to Magnus too.
‘Einar must have threatened her,’ she said. ‘Perhaps there was a history of this? Maybe Einar had tried to kill her before. Or beaten her. Does that seem possible to you?’
‘Unlikely from what I’ve seen of their relationship.’
‘I don’t know about Iceland, but in this country you can never tell.’
‘No, that’s true of Iceland. And America.’ And pretty much anywhere else, Magnus suspected. You couldn’t tell what went on in anyone’s marriage, but you did know that there was more abuse than ever came to light. ‘But I’d have thought if he did threaten to kill her, it would be over something specific.’
‘Like he had just discovered she had murdered Carlotta? Or she had confessed it to him?’
Magnus nodded. ‘Maybe.’ He thought a moment. ‘I wonder if Professor Beccari would ever have mentioned it if Rósa had not been killed?’
‘I don’t know, but I’m glad he did,’ said Paulsen. ‘Now, let’s get to the prosecutor’s office.’
Forty-Five
Back in Iceland, Róbert was arranging the warrant to search Rósa’s home and office and seize her computers. While Vigdís was waiting, she decided to take the opportunity to drive out to Akranes and see Emil.
He actually lived on a farm twenty kilometres to the east of the town. For a property owned by a retired policeman, Vigdís was surprised at how prosperous it looked: a new barn, dozens of horses grazing in paddocks bordered by smart wooden fences, a yard that was almost gleaming. The farmhouse itself — stained white concrete walls and a red metal roof — was noticeably tattier than its yard.