He was already regretting not choosing the easier route that would have taken them through the tunnel. By now they would have been close to Borgarnes, and he reminded himself that soon they would have to get fuel and eat, and sooner or later they would need a place to sleep. He wondered where they could safely leave Erna without her being able to raise the alarm immediately.
The Skoda growled through the evening darkness at a steady speed, its radio burbling beside him. Every time there was a news report, Tinna Lind turned the volume up, but so far there had been nothing they needed to worry about. On the north side of the long fjord, Magni found a lay-by off the road; he pulled up and switched off the engine as he pushed open the driver’s door.
‘Break, everyone,’ he said.
He walked a few steps from the car and found that his feet were numb and his shoulders ached. The hours of concentration had taken their toll and his bladder was set to burst as, with relief, he found a tree to pee behind, wondering as he did so why he’d bothered finding privacy. Tinna Lind squatted in the bushes not far away while Erna had gone, with nervous distaste, deeper into the dark undergrowth. Össur was still in the car, lounging in the seat with the door open, his eyes half closed and a cigarette hanging from his lips.
‘We have to ditch the bitch,’ Össur said. ‘Leave her here.’
‘You must be out of your fucking mind.’
‘She can walk.’
‘She’ll die of exposure.’
‘It’s not that far, is it?’
‘When did you last go anywhere further north than Grafarholt? It’s a good hour’s drive from here to Borgarnes. Leave her here and she’ll be dead in a few hours. D’you want another death on your conscience?’ Magni asked, and then reflected that Össur probably didn’t have a conscience to trouble him.
Össur laughed a dry cackle that descended into a hacking cough. ‘You think I care?’
‘She stays in the car,’ Magni said and walked away to end the argument. He rolled his shoulders and winced at the tension in them.
Tinna Lind appeared from the silent blackness of the clump of trees surrounding the lay-by and put an arm around him.
‘Tired?’
‘A bit.’
‘How far to go?’
‘To where?’ Magni asked. ‘Borgarnes is another hour at least. Akureyri five or six hours, depending on the state of the roads.’
‘Where do we stop tonight?’
‘I’ve no idea. But we ought to get going.’
‘Listen,’ Tinna Lind said. ‘What do you plan to do with my mother?’
‘Össur wanted to dump her here.’
‘We couldn’t do that, surely?’
‘That’s what I said. She has to go all the way, or at least as far as Borgarnes with us. Look, we’re going to have to stop and fuel up and eat somewhere. That’s what worries me about your mum. Is she going to start shouting and yelling as soon as we get to somewhere there are people about?’
‘There aren’t any more lying about anywhere are there?’ asked the bemused forensic technician, called from the hotel itself to examine the body under the snow. As the man’s wallet was in his pocket, it was a mere minute’s work to decide that the corpse under the snow pile was the missing Brandur Geirsson.
‘This is just carnage,’ Gunna said, shaking her head. She put her phone back in her pocket, having walked to the far end of the yard to get a signal and demand that more equipment and the force’s forensic pathologist be dispatched from Reykjavík. The few available lights were rigged up over the scene in the yard and a makeshift shelter had been erected by two officers from the Selfoss force over Brandur Geirsson’s body.
‘We need a search,’ Ívar Laxdal decided. ‘Checkpoints, roadblocks.’
‘Agreed,’ Gunna said. ‘Össur Óskarsson, Erna Björg Brandsen and Tinna Lind Bogadóttir, plus one mystery man in a grey Skoda. But where? Which way did they go? My guess is they’re headed back to town.’
‘You’re probably right, and wherever they’ve gone they have at least two, three hours’ start, I’d reckon, maybe more.’
‘If they’ve headed for Reykjavík, then they’ll be there by now, although I notice I haven’t had a notification from communications to let me know that either of the phone numbers we’re tracking has popped up, which should have happened very quickly after leaving here. So were their phones left behind, or dumped somewhere? Or just switched off?’
‘Do they have any cash?’ Ívar Laxdal mused.
‘Probably not. Both times the man who definitely isn’t Össur Óskarsson bought fuel, Erna Björg Brandsen’s debit card was used. We asked Bogi Sveinsson and the bank not to cancel her cards to that we could at least see what they are buying and where.’
Ívar Laxdal shaded his eyes from the glare of the lights that had been switched on by the shelter over Brandur Geirsson’s body.
‘They’re here,’ he said, looking down the track leading to the road. ‘Come on, we’d better welcome them.’
‘But . . .’ Gunna said, eyes on the hotel.
‘Come on, Gunnhildur. Sometimes the public relations stuff has to take precedence, and the building is off-limits until forensics have finished anyway. Now we need to head the gentlemen of the press off before they get too close to the dead guy in the yard. Ready?’
Magni could feel the exhaustion in his bones. He knew that he would have to take a break some time soon if they were to avoid having an accident. He was taking care to drive at a sensible speed, knowing there were traffic cameras along the road approaching Borgarnes.
‘Listen,’ he eventually called to the others in the dark. ‘We’ll be in Borgarnes in a little while. We’ll fuel up and we all need to eat, right?’
Erna sat silent in the back, and in the mirror Magni could see the glint of the dashboard lights reflected in her eyes.
Össur yawned. ‘Suits me.’
The reflective road markers flashed past them, the headlights hitting three or four at a time on the straight sections of road, and before long the lights of Borgarnes could be seen in the distance. Magni pondered simply going straight to the motel that sat by itself on the southern side of the fjord opposite the town, but decided against it. It had to be food and fuel.
He stopped the Skoda by the furthest pump at the least busy filling station and took Erna’s card from his pocket. He turned around in the seat and looked behind with the card between his fingers.
‘This is going to work, right?’
Erna stared back at him. ‘How should I know? For all I know my husband has had the card cancelled by now.’
‘Try it,’ Össur said.
‘You’re sure? The police might be able to track the card when it gets used. That was all right in Reykjavík, but this is going to point a finger right at us in Borgarnes, isn’t it? Does anyone have any cash? Erna?’
‘I don’t carry cash.’
Magni grinned. ‘Like the Queen of England, I guess. OK, card it’ll have to be, I suppose. If it doesn’t work, then we’re fucked.’ He pulled his hat down low over his eyes and turned his collar up. ‘Faces away from the windows, please, people. There are bound to be cameras everywhere.’
He thought fast. His own card, or Erna’s? Should he place himself at Borgarnes or leave a trail for the police to follow? He slotted his own card into the self-service machine and punched in numbers. Lights flashed and Magni pumped fuel, carefully replaced the nozzle and twisted the filler cap shut, thankful that there had been enough credit on his card to fill the tank.
‘Easy. Now, where do we eat?’
‘Up to you.’
He eased the car off the filling station’s forecourt and a short distance back the way they had come to pull up between a handful of other cars outside a cafeteria-style eaterie.
‘We go in like one big happy family, right?’ he said, twisting round to look at the pair in the back. ‘That goes for you as well, Össi. Best behaviour. No arguments, nothing offensive, nothing that’s going to
attract any attention. Understood?’ Össur grunted his unwilling agreement. ‘Erna? I’m not saying this as a threat, but you know what Össur has in his pocket and he’s a desperate man. As long as nobody moves or shouts out of turn, then we’ll all be out of here safe and sound with a meal inside us.’
Erna scowled and nodded, her eyes narrowed with anger in the half-light.
‘So. We go in. We get a table and we eat. Like I said, one big happy family, and I’m fucking starving.’
As Ívar Laxdal spoke easily to the camera, Gunna envied his confidence and wished there had at least been a chance to brush her hair.
‘We are naturally devoting every available resource to this,’ she heard him say in urbane, measured tones. ‘This is certainly a complex investigation that’s going to require a great deal of manpower to ensure that we reach the right conclusions and apprehend those responsible,’ he said and paused. ‘Will that do?’
‘Perfectly, thanks,’ replied the sharp-faced television presenter wearing a skirt and heels that were as far from practical for the terrain as could be imagined, and turned to Gunna. ‘You’re next. I’ll do a quick piece to camera and then ask a couple of questions. OK? You want to mention a suspect, right?’
‘That was the whole point of dragging you up here,’ Gunna said. ‘The man’s armed and it’s important that people know about him.’
‘Good, good,’ the presenter said absently, touching up her lipstick and checking her face in a compact. She looked at the cameraman, swathed in a bulky parka. ‘Ready?’
‘Ready when you are,’ he said, head cocked on one side as he looked down at the camera’s screen and gave her a thumbs up.
Gunna noticed that a few yards away Ívar Laxdal was giving a second, virtually identical interview to a rival TV station’s cameras.
‘I’m standing in front of Hotel Hraun, a well-known name for the lavish parties, weddings and music events held here over the years, but today this household name for wholesome enjoyment has been tarnished by a series of brutal crimes that have taken place here while the hotel was closed for the winter,’ she said as the cameraman panned away from the presenter to the building in the distance, with the line of police vehicles parked outside.
‘I’m speaking to detective chief inspector Gunnhildur Gísladóttir who is in charge of the investigation here today,’ she said, and Gunna wondered whether or not to correct the presenter, before deciding that she liked the promotion, even if it was a fictional one. ‘Can you confirm that the incident you’re investigating here today is linked to the disappearance last week of Erna Björg Brandsen and Tinna Lind Bogadóttir?’
‘I can confirm that there are links between their disappearance and what has happened here,’ Gunna said stiffly.
‘And that a body has been found here? Have you found Erna Björg Brandsen?’
‘All I can say is that the body of an adult has been located. I can’t confirm anything about the person’s identity or the cause of death until the forensic investigation has been completed and relatives have been informed.’
‘Was this person the victim of a crime?’
‘As I said, I can’t comment at this point and this part of the investigation is at a very sensitive stage. However, we are anxious to trace a particular individual in connection with the investigation. He is Össur Óskarsson, forty-six years of age, one seventy-four in height, short greying hair, slim build. We ask members of the public to report any sightings of him on four-four-four-one-thousand, and not to approach or challenge him. We believe he may have a firearm in his possession.’
‘Gunnhildur Gísladóttir, thank you. This is Arna Perla Arnarsdóttir reporting from Hotel Hraun,’ she finished.
‘Can you get that out on tonight’s news?’ Gunna asked.
‘Yep, should be able to, the presenter said. ‘If we get back in time we might make the seven o’clock news, otherwise definitely the bulletin at ten, and the radio news desk will get it as well.’ She jerked her head to the other news team at work not far away. ‘A shame they had to be here as well.’
‘Maybe, but we need to reach as many people as possible with this. D’you need a mugshot of Össur Óskarsson?’
‘We could use one, I suppose.’
‘This guy has a gun in his pocket. Believe me, people have a right to know what he looks like. If you call the station as soon as you’re in phone range, ask for the duty inspector at communications. Tell him I asked you to call and he’ll email you our bad guy’s mugshot. All right?’ Gunna said, looking impatiently at the scene in the hotel yard. ‘I’m sorry, but I have to go.’
Erna ate with her knife held in her hand like a pen and stacked everything on the back of her fork. She was still only halfway through her steak when Magni pushed his plate away with satisfaction and belched. Tinna Lind smiled at him fondly and dug him in the ribs with her elbow.
‘I thought you said not to attract attention,’ she said.
They sat close together on one side of the table while Össur and Erna sat opposite them and as far away from each other as possible.
‘Shit,’ Magni said, looking over the top of Erna’s head.
‘What?’
‘Look at the TV.’
They craned their necks to see the screen high on the wall and a woman wearing a police uniform and a grim expression talking to the camera with Hotel Hraun in the background behind her. Magni strained to hear what was being said but the sound was just a low mutter that he couldn’t make out. A police mugshot appeared suddenly on the screen and Össur jerked his head as if someone had hit him. He looked around the room and was relieved to see that none of the few diners appeared to be taking any notice of it. Only a bored young man at the counter appeared to be watching the TV in between checking his phone.
‘That’s you, man,’ Magni said as the picture of a younger, slimmer and meaner-looking Össur left the screen to be replaced by a young woman holding a microphone in her hand and saying something serious – if the expression on her face were anything to go by – before a phone number flashed up across the bottom edge of the screen.
‘Fucking hell,’ Össur said savagely. ‘Fucking bastard hell.’
‘It’s getting on for eight o’clock now,’ Magni said. ‘It was still just about daylight in that interview, so they must have got there before four. It looks like we moved out just in time.’
‘There’ll be cops everywhere now.’
‘I’m not so sure. I reckon they expect us to have gone to Reykjavík, not up here.’
‘Yeah. But they’ll still be checking. What now?’ Össur asked. He looked despondent, while Erna had the most cheerful expression Magni had yet seen on her face; not quite a smile, he decided, but close.
‘We have enough fuel now to get pretty much all the way to Akureyri, I reckon.’
‘So we go all the way now?’
Magni glanced at Erna, and Össur quickly shut his mouth. ‘I don’t think so. I think our best option’s to hunker down somewhere for the night and get moving early when things are quiet.’
‘Where?’
‘No idea yet, but at this time of year there must be plenty of empty summerhouses and chalets. It shouldn’t be hard to borrow one for the night, and it’ll probably be months before anyone notices we’ve been there.’
Erna’s slightly more cheerful expression vanished. ‘I need the bathroom,’ she said, her voice flat.
Magni and Össur looked at each other.
‘Go on,’ Magni said, nodding at the door. ‘Don’t be long.’
‘We need to get out of here,’ Össur said, fretting and looking around, imagining people recognizing him from the few seconds that his picture had been on the screen. He pushed away his plate, his burger only half-eaten and his appetite gone.
‘Sit still, will you?’ Magni told him. ‘Nobody’s looking at you. Nobody’s noticed you. Anyway, I’m going to get a coffee.’
He took his time, poured himself a coffee at the counter and picked up a news
paper discarded on another table. He sat down and sipped his coffee, the newspaper open in front of him.
‘Good likeness. Very smart,’ he said, finding a page with a picture of Erna looking glamorous. ‘“Missing women still unaccounted for,”’ he read out. ‘“Erna Björg Brandsen and Tinna Lind Bogadóttir were last seen leaving the Smáralind car park on Thursday last week. In spite of an intensive search, there has been no sign of them. A search has been carried out in an area where their mobile phones are believed to last have been identified. Police have confirmed that Erna Björg Brandsen’s white Ford Explorer has been located and they are seeking several individuals in connection with the disappearance.” That’s us, I suppose. Or rather, that’s you, Össi.’
Össur looked up from his fingernails and glared at the toilet door. ‘If she doesn’t get back in here quick, I’m going to go and get her,’ he rasped.
Tinna Lind stood up. ‘I’ll go,’ she said, and was gone before Össur had a chance to say anything.
Gunna remembered that her phone had buzzed in her pocket while she’d been trying to look serious and authoritative for the TV camera, and she squinted at its screen. The forensic team had finished sweeping the ground floor of the hotel, so she and Eiríkur gingerly made their way through the kitchen and lounge to the restaurant.
‘That’s why nobody saw a car from the air,’ Eiríkur said, waving at the tyre tracks across the restaurant floor. ‘They’ve made a proper mess of the place.’
‘Shit, hell and damnation,’ Gunna cursed and Eiríkur looked over at her in surprise.
‘Anything the matter?’
‘No, just that I forgot to let Laufey know I wouldn’t be able to pick her up.’
She read the message on her phone a second time.
‘Hæ, Mum. Saw you on the TV so I guess you must be busy. Got a ride home with Gísli. PS. You really should go and see him. xL’
‘Anything serious?’ Eiríkur asked.
Thin Ice: An Inspector Gunna Mystery (Gunnhildur Mystery Book 5) Page 19