‘The lab results from Jakob’s murder? Yes, I ran through them on my mobile on my way here.’
‘The Faroese guy didn’t kill Jakob,’ she went on. ‘There was no DNA match between him and the evidence we found.’
‘And that goes for vomit, hair and everything?’
‘Yes, there’s absolutely no evidence that Bárdur went to Jakob’s house…We’ve nothing on that man.’
‘Is he still here?’
‘No…We couldn’t keep him without any evidence.’
‘And there was nothing in the car? I mean, in Apollo’s car?’
‘No, nothing.’
‘Fuck it…It shouldn’t be this hard. I know it was him who knocked me unconscious and abducted me. If I hadn’t managed to escape, I guess I’d be dead now…Like Jakob…And Arnaq.’
‘We don’t know if Arnaq is dead,’ Ottesen interjected. ‘And, strictly speaking, all you know is that a very big guy knocked you unconscious and probably tried to abduct you.’
‘I don’t think Arnaq is dead, either,’ Rakel added. ‘But we’ve already talked about that.’
Matthew slumped in his seat. ‘Are there any new developments in Ittoqqortoormiit, since you’ve decided to go there?’
‘Yes and no,’ Ottesen said. ‘It’s mostly because of Nukannguaq and some other stuff I’ve been hearing. I’ve decided to take a look for myself.’
‘What are you looking for?’
‘Nukannguaq keeps going on about these pills he claims that they took, and he has tested positive for several banned but familiar substances, but the bag of pills he insists was lying on the table wasn’t there when our officer entered the house. He only found three dead bodies and Nukannguaq with his brains fried.’ Ottesen sighed and rubbed his face. ‘Nukannguaq says they stole the pills from someone they call the mask dancer…A Dane, as it happens.’
Matthew cleared his throat. ‘I think that might be my father.’
‘Your father?’ Rakel exclaimed, staring at Matthew. ‘I thought he was American?’
Ottesen exhaled heavily. ‘Normally I would be just as surprised as Rakel, but in this case anything is possible.’
‘Why do you think the pills belong to your father?’ Rakel said.
‘I received a letter in my father’s handwriting,’ Matthew said, closing his eyes for a moment. ‘All it said was that I needed to come to Ittoqqortoormiit because he wants to tell me about a tupilak, and then that Briggs guy started talking to me about some pills and an experiment in which my father is supposed to have killed two other people.’
‘Is there some way you can get hold of your father?’ Rakel wanted to know. ‘It might help us discover if the pills and the fatalities in Ittoqqortoormiit are as closely connected as they look.’
‘We haven’t been in touch for twenty-four years.’ Matthew paused. ‘Before that short note I didn’t even know if he was still alive.’
‘They could be connected,’ Ottesen said. He had straightened up fully in his chair. ‘If your father really is in Ittoqqortoormiit, then…’ He hesitated. ‘I didn’t know about any pills being involved in the US military investigation into your father back in 1990—’
‘No, and I’m sorry. I was about to tell you the day we discussed it, but then they rang…about Jakob…’
‘Are you sure about the pills and your father?’ Ottesen said.
‘Yes. Briggs has been after me as well. We had only just got back from Færingehavn. He’s very keen to get his hands on those pills.’
‘As are we,’ Rakel exclaimed, looking at Ottesen.
Ottesen mulled it over. ‘Very well. I’d better take the pills more seriously…I might be able to find your father when I’m over there. If he really is in Ittoqqortoormiit, that is.’
‘I don’t know if he is there,’ Matthew said. ‘Like I said, that note is the only thing I’ve heard from him since I was four years old.’
‘Quite,’ Ottesen said. ‘But I’ll keep an eye out and I’ll give you a call if I see him.’
Matthew nodded grimly. ‘And then he gets locked up for good, doesn’t he?’
‘There’s no way around that,’ Ottesen said. ‘Briggs made it very clear that the US military wants your father arrested.’
‘I don’t think he’s there,’ Matthew said. ‘Or wouldn’t your officer over there have just arrested him?’
‘That depends on how well your father has settled in,’ Rakel said with a grin.
‘Rakel is right,’ Ottesen said. ‘Ittoqqortoormiit has a population of around four hundred, and they all look out for each other, one way or another.’ He paused, and then said: ‘However, I’ll keep my eyes and ears peeled, and you carry on with the investigation here in Nuuk.’
‘Agreed,’ Rakel said, and got up. ‘We need to find Arnaq…And Abelsen.’
‘Yes, we do,’ Ottesen said. He raised his palms to cover his nose and mouth and exhaled heavily. ‘Please would you stay behind, Matthew? I want to have a word with you in private.’
38
Matthew watched Rakel as she left Ottesen’s office. Then he turned his attention to Ottesen.
‘I’ve started to have doubts about something,’ Ottesen said. ‘That’s the real reason I asked you to come over.’
‘Okay, what is it?’
‘It’s about Abelsen and Lyberth’s murder.’
Matthew nodded pensively. It was less than two months since he had discovered the body of the dethroned national treasure in Tupaarnaq’s empty flat. The old Inuit had been gutted from his groin to his chest and his intestines pulled out. He had been practically crucified on the floor.
‘Abelsen killing Lyberth just doesn’t sound right to me,’ Ottesen began.
‘What do you mean?’ Matthew said with a frown.
‘I don’t see it,’ Ottesen said. ‘Lyberth was Abelsen’s loyal ally for more than forty years. He would never kill him, and certainly not because of a little corruption scandal or an old child abuse story. We’re drowning in such cases and seriously, does anyone care about them?’
‘But didn’t Abelsen confess?’
‘Yes, in an outburst of rage when we found him in the house where you and Ulrik…well, you know. It just doesn’t add up. Ulrik lost his mind and went ballistic when he learned that Abelsen was his real father and that Tupaarnaq was the big sister he had hated ever since he was a boy because she wiped out their family, but Abelsen—he would never lose his cool like that and kill in a blood rush.’
‘So why did Abelsen admit to killing Lyberth?’
‘Perhaps because he was under pressure and scared?’
‘Scared? Who would he be scared of?’
‘I’m getting to that.’
Matthew looked down. He smoothed a fold in his jumper. ‘Are you saying Abelsen is innocent?’
‘No, not when you look at the big picture,’ Ottesen said. ‘We know that Abelsen was in Tupaarnaq’s flat on the day that Lyberth was killed, his mobile data proves that, but he wasn’t alone and Lyberth wasn’t murdered because of an old child abuse case.’
‘So who did kill Lyberth?’ Matthew said, twitching in his seat. ‘Who was with him in Tupaarnaq’s flat?’
‘I don’t know,’ Ottesen said. ‘But I intend to find out.’ He hesitated. ‘This whole business surrounding Lyberth’s death and…It’s as if the killing was also a warning to others with the same agenda as Lyberth.’
Matthew frowned. ‘I don’t follow?’
‘I know,’ Ottesen said. ‘I’ve been keeping it to myself until now.’
‘So Abelsen didn’t kill Lyberth, but he was there? And there’s someone behind him masterminding everything…and if you’re right, then you and I went ahead and did precisely what they expected us to do?’
‘Pretty much, but there’s no point in brooding over that now; we need to move on. I’ve asked myself what Abelsen fears the most.’
Matthew closed his eyes and thought about it. What could make Abelsen sacrifice everything without any hope of
ever getting it back? What was Abelsen’s most treasured project? He was known as the King of Greenland and although it was spoken in jest, it contained a strong element of truth.
‘Independence,’ Matthew exclaimed, and opened his eyes.
‘Bingo,’ Ottesen said.
Matthew got goosebumps.
‘Total Greenlandic independence from Denmark would smash Abelsen’s world for good,’ Ottesen explained. ‘There can be few CEOs or civil servants up here who don’t realise the high cost of it. If Greenland were to become independent, anyone with knowledge, initiative or skill would be on the first plane out of here. It’s something that’s rarely mentioned when we debate independence from Denmark, but if Greenland loses the Danish block grant and NATO Arctic Command, and has to take over the administration of thirty government portfolios currently being run from Denmark as well, then it will go bankrupt before the ink on the independence treaty has dried. There will be no salvation and no rebuilding plan, because there’ll be no money. After such a collapse, Greenland won’t be able to generate even a fraction of the income needed to run the country as we do now. There’ll be no wages for public-sector workers; everything will shut down. Town halls. Schools. Hospitals. Pretty much anyone with a halfway decent education will head for Denmark, Norway or Iceland before the door slams shut, and while every Greenlandic citizen can still exercise their rights and privileges as Danish nationals.’
‘Yes, I’ve heard those arguments before and I think that you’re right,’ Matthew said. ‘And Abelsen’s deepest fear must be losing his kingdom, but who would back him to such an extent that Lyberth ends up getting killed?’
‘That’s what I want to talk to you about,’ Ottesen said. ‘I just wanted to give you the big picture first.’
‘I still don’t see how any of this clears Abelsen,’ Matthew said. ‘Surely it just gives him an even stronger motive—given that Lyberth wanted independence at any cost, while Abelsen wanted to avoid it, also at any cost? Lyberth was one of the strongest voices when it came to hating everything Danish, and from Abelsen’s point of view, Lyberth must have been one of the most dangerous men in Greenland.’
Ottesen held up a USB stick. ‘The most rabid of Lyberth’s fellow Siumut Party members had this chucked into their postboxes yesterday.’
‘What’s on it?’
‘I printed it out,’ Ottesen said, sliding a slim stack of papers across the desk.
Matthew picked it up, glanced quickly at the top sheet and then looked up at Ottesen.
‘Keep going.’
Matthew started flicking through the sheets. Every single one contained a picture of Lyberth lying on the floor in Tupaarnaq’s flat. Matthew shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Lyberth was alive in the first few pictures. He was nailed to the floor, but he was alive. His eyes were filled with terror. His jumper had been cut off. His eyes were screaming into the lens. The killer had stopped to take pictures as he cut open the stomach of the living man. There was blood everywhere. Any hope of survival was gone from Lyberth’s eyes, and yet he still didn’t die. Not until his intestines were cut free and pulled out. Across each picture the words ‘First warning—who’s next?’ were written in the kind of font you could add with a photo-shop app.
‘Are you okay?’
Matthew shook his head. ‘This…This is insane. Who the hell…’ He had seen Lyberth’s dead body on the floor in the flat himself, but this was much, much worse. ‘Who sent it?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ Ottesen said. ‘But I struggle to see Abelsen doing this. This was done by professionals, experienced killers…hitmen, possibly.’
‘I can see where you’re coming from now,’ Matthew said, putting the sheets back on the desk. His hands were shaking. ‘What about the USB stick? Can you trace anything?’
‘Nope…These people know what they’re doing. They know how quickly a human being dies from loss of blood and pain, and they know how you delete their IT footprints. We have nothing on them, but at least we now know that they exist, because Abelsen didn’t do this. He doesn’t have the contacts.’
A shiver went down Matthew’s spine. ‘So who do you think they are?’
‘That’s where I hit a wall, Matt. I just don’t know that yet, but I was hoping that you could bear it in mind and keep your ears and eyes open. Now that you know as much as I do, perhaps you might think of something…But it stays between us, agreed?’
‘Yes, of course.’ Matthew’s thoughts circled around Abelsen and the dead Lyberth. Who could execute something like that so cleanly? Who would think of it and get away with it? A business cartel? A political party? The Danish intelligence service? The state? The US military? No matter who it was, they were gambling with very high stakes, and Lyberth was unlikely to be the first or the last casualty.
Matthew took out his mobile to see if he could access anything which might help, but the battery had run down. ‘I’ll just charge it, if you don’t mind.’
‘Of course, go ahead…Anyway, it’s time I went home to pack. Now, don’t forget, this is strictly between the two of us, all right?’
‘Else has tried to call me,’ Matthew said, looking up at Ottesen. ‘Twelve times…and that’s her again now.’ The mobile buzzed in his hand.
39
FÆRINGEHAVN, WEST GREENLAND, 25 OCTOBER 2014
The red AS 350 helicopter flew low across the mountains south of Nuuk. The rock faces were speckled with white and grey. The snow came and went, and the sleet that had drifted across them had enclosed them in a thick layer of glossy ice.
Matthew looked down at the sea. Even the trip to the airport had been a challenge, as Rakel had struggled to clear the snow off the car for several minutes while the heating was on high inside it. Matthew had been very distracted. Arnaq had got through to Else’s mobile, but the signal had been poor and Arnaq had only managed to say a few words. At the same time, he was trying to make sense of the killing of Lyberth, Abelsen’s role in it all, and the prospect of Greenlandic independence.
‘Phew, I’m glad it stopped raining,’ Malik said. ‘We would never have got off the ground in that sleet.’
Matthew looked at Malik. He was sitting opposite him with his camera resting on his thighs. Next to him was a small black bag of camera lenses.
‘So why do you want to go to Færingehavn?’ Rakel wanted to know.
‘We need fresh footage,’ Malik said. ‘So I tagged along with Viktor when he got the call to fly. He was over at my place.’
‘Good to have you here,’ Matthew said, craning his neck in order to look out through the windscreen in front of the pilot. It wouldn’t take them long to get to Færingehavn by air.
‘Just watch it,’ Rakel said, nodding at the camera. ‘If we find something bad, don’t even think of pointing that thing at it—do I make myself clear?’
‘Sure, sure,’ Malik said. ‘Take it easy, sister sunshine.’
‘Sometimes you’re too much,’ Rakel said with a smile.
‘Having three of us might turn out to be to our advantage,’ Matthew said.
‘Four,’ Malik interjected quickly. ‘We’ve got Viktor as well.’
‘I’m staying with my baby,’ the pilot said. ‘I’m not running around that dump.’
‘Do the three of you think you could man up,’ Rakel said in a reproachful voice. ‘We’re flying down there to look for Matthew’s sister.’ She looked at Matthew. ‘I told you she was alive, didn’t I?’
‘Yes. But she was in a bad way. She could barely speak, Else said, and then it sounded as if someone smashed the mobile.’
‘We’ll find her.’ Rakel placed her hand on Matthew’s thigh and patted it a few times. ‘We’ll find her, Matt.’
‘And Tupaarnaq,’ Matthew added. ‘I bet she’s there as well.’
Rakel withdrew her hand. ‘What was up with her?’
‘No one could get hold of me or knew where I was, and then she suddenly left. She told Else that she was going hunting.’
> ‘We can’t be sure that she has gone to Færingehavn,’ Rakel said.
Matthew shrugged. ‘She seemed convinced that Arnaq and her friends were still there somewhere.’
‘I’m guessing she nicked your boat,’ Malik grinned.
‘Five minutes,’ Viktor called out from the cockpit, ‘and we’ll be there. Where do you want me to land?’
‘Circle the town a few times,’ Matthew said. ‘If there’s nothing to see, we need to land by the bunker point on the other side of the fjord.’
Malik hummed to himself while he changed the camera lens.
‘Let’s have a look at the town,’ Viktor said, steering the helicopter to the left and flying across the shore.
The helicopter flew so close across the houses that they could see snow whirling up from the roofs.
‘There’s no sleet here,’ Viktor said.
Malik got up and squeezed himself down next to Viktor. The camera clicked between his fingers, the lens zooming in and out. ‘Fly low across the warehouses as well, would you?’ Malik said.
‘It’ll cost you,’ Viktor said.
‘There’s a truffle in it for you…Hey…’ Malik glanced over his shoulder at them. ‘That’s your boat, isn’t it, Matt?’
‘What?’ Matthew shifted in his seat and leaned across to the window on the opposite side. ‘Yes, it is…That means Tupaarnaq is down there somewhere.’ He pressed his face against the glass.
‘Fly low across the ground,’ Rakel said. ‘Perhaps she’s waiting for us.’
‘Tupaarnaq?’ Matthew said. ‘She never waits for anyone.’
Rakel leaned back. ‘You do know she’s a killer, don’t you?’
Matthew continued to focus on the boat.
‘For real,’ Rakel went on. ‘She killed her family in cold blood.’
‘No,’ Matthew said. ‘She stopped a man who had wrecked her life and who had murdered her sisters.’
‘I’m not so sure…After all, she didn’t appeal.’
‘Well.’ Matthew looked at Rakel. ‘Perhaps it was better than going home.’
‘But she doesn’t have a home here in Greenland anymore.’
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