‘Yes,’ replied Stefán, gruffly. ‘Everything that was available at that moment.’
‘You also still need to speak to Alda’s co-workers at the A &E because I didn’t see any statements taken from them. Of course you’ve had a lot to do,’Thóra said, standing up. ‘I believe something came up there that might be connected to the case.’
At that moment a secretary entered the office with some papers and handed them to Stefán. He sorted out the originals and handed Thóra the copies. ‘Here’s the report. It’s got the phone calls to and from Markus’s mobile, as well as to Alda’s home phone and mobile. I circled the phone calls that are within the time frame that we’re focusing on, Sunday evening, the eighth of July.’
Thóra sat back down and looked through the photocopied pages. ‘Here’s the phone call from Alda to Markus,’ she said, then flipped to the page with information about his phone. ‘And here is the same phone call received on Markus’s mobile,’ she said, unable to suppress her smile. And here is another call made to him at around the same time,‘ she continued cheerfully. ’You hadn’t mentioned that one to me.‘She looked up from the papers and stared at Stefán. ’You know what this means, of course?‘ she said.
‘We would if we knew who called,’said Stefán, his expression far from happy. ‘As you can see, the number is unknown. It could be an unlisted number, or a call from a foreign mobile system that doesn’t have an agreement for number sharing with Iceland. It might be possible to dig it up, but that takes time.’ He sat up straighter in his chair. ‘While we still don’t know who phoned, we’ve got to assume that it was the accomplice I suggested before.’
‘What rubbish!’ Thóra said, now very irritated. If it were possible to find the second person who phoned, and that person could confirm that Markus had answered, his alibi would be watertight. ‘Have you made any attempt to ask my client if he remembers who phoned him?’
‘Yes, as a matter of fact I have,’ said Stefán. ‘It was the first thing I did when I saw this. I made a call to Litla-Hraun
Prison and spoke to Markus. He says he doesn’t remember who phoned him, which is highly suspicious.‘
‘Could you call to mind exactly who phoned you over a week ago?’ asked Thóra. ‘Of course not.’ She had had enough. ‘In fact, it would be more suspicious if Markus bad been able to remember who phoned him on the evening in question.’ She stood up. Before she left the office she wondered for a moment whether to mention the autopsy report on Markus’s neighbour, but decided not to. In the light of how everything seemed to be turning against Markus, it made more sense to check this out in more detail before Stefán and his colleagues got their hands on the report. She would meet Markus later, then she could twist his arm in the faint hope that he knew more about ‘Horseshoe Two’ than his brother did.
Chapter Twenty-one
‘Markus, sometimes this is just the way it goes,’ said Thóra encouragingly. ‘It doesn’t necessarily mean that the judges consider you guilty; far from it. I got a strong feeling that they doubted the police’s logic and that they were extremely interested when I ran through all the ways in which not only did things not add up, but they actually worked in your favour. I’m convinced that if they had been asked to rule on your guilt or innocence, you would not be here. That decision was not made purely because the police justified keeping you incarcerated during the investigation. It was also because the case is a serious one: it’s not every day five people are found murdered. That four of them appear to be foreign citizens doesn’t help much, either.’ Thóra was not exaggerating. She had had a good feeling about the case during the hearing and had been certain of coming out victorious, not least when one of the judges had hesitated over the photo of the feminine-looking man and asked whether it was usual to include both sexes in a photo line-up.
‘Well, that makes me feel much better,’ said Markus drily. He looked at Thóra, his anger evident.‘I sit here, locked up, an innocent man, and find myself wondering if I shouldn’t just get myself another lawyer. When I hired you I didn’t expect to end up sitting in prison, suspected of murder. Much less serial murder.’
Thóra did not look away, but answered him frankly. ‘If you want to find another lawyer it’s no skin off my nose. I can even give you the names of several colleagues who have more experience in penal cases than I do. It’s your life and your decision.’ She refrained from adding that she was convinced a change of lawyer would have had no effect on the High Court’s ruling.
Markus nodded, rubbing his face distractedly. He had clearly expected to be released. ‘It’s not really all that long to be locked up,’ he said, more subdued. ‘I don’t doubt that you’ve worked your hardest. I’m just going out of my mind over this; I don’t know what’s what any more. I don’t want to change lawyers.’ He started rubbing his jaw. ‘What did my son say?’ he asked anxiously.
‘Naturally he was horrified, but he seems to be a smart kid so I wouldn’t worry too much about him. He understands the circumstances, and I put a lot of emphasis on this incarceration being exclusively during the investigation, and told him it wasn’t the same as a prison sentence,’ said Thóra. ‘Don’t worry about him.’
‘Maybe you can phone him again for me?’ he asked, and Thóra nodded. ‘Why didn’t they accept that phone call as valid evidence?’ he asked suddenly. ‘I thought it would be enough to show that I was far away from Alda’s home at that precise time? You said it was obvious that the phone was somewhere on the road between Hella and Hvolsvöllur.’
‘The police insist you didn’t have your phone with you,’ said Thóra. ‘They think you had an accomplice, who had your phone with him to provide you with an alibi.’
Markus’s face turned crimson.‘How can they say that?’
‘They’re grasping at straws,’ said Thóra. ‘Shortly before
Alda called you, an unknown person also did. He or she unfortunately has an unlisted number, so it will take more time to find them, if that even proves to be possible. Stefán said you don’t remember who it was. Is that still the case?‘
‘Yes,’ said Markus. ‘But I don’t know what that would change. Isn’t it enough that Alda called me?’
‘It would change everything,’said Thóra. ‘If we could prove it was you that answered your phone, it would be clear that you were the one on the road to your summerhouse, rather than this imaginary accomplice.’
‘I understand,’ said Markus, now rubbing the skin around his eyes. ‘But no.’ He closed his eyes.‘I just can’t remember. Damn it – it was over a week ago.’
‘Try as hard as you can,’ said Thóra. ‘If nothing else, you could give me the names of people who might generally phone you and I could contact them as a last resort. It would take some ammunition away from the police department.’ She was quiet for a moment. ‘It would look better for you if we could pinpoint the person in question while you’re locked up here. Then no one could claim that you influenced a witness.’
‘I’ll try,’ said Markus.‘For example, it’s possible that my brother Leifur called, but he doesn’t have an unlisted number as far as I know. I know that I spoke to him some time that day. He wanted me to drop by, since I was coming to the Islands.’
‘Of course it would be great if it was him,’said Thóra. ‘It would be even better, however, if it was someone a little less connected to you.’ She couldn’t make it any plainer.‘Markus,’ she said softly, ‘you do understand, don’t you, how serious this case is?’ She didn’t wait for a reply but instead continued: ‘I think it’s extremely likely that the four men who were in the basement were connected to your father in one way or another. I’m not necessarily saying he killed them, just that he’s involved in the case. Anything else would be too hard to swallow.’ She saw that Markus was about to protest, so she held up a hand to stall him. ‘Just imagine, the bodies are put in your house at the same time as your father is struggling to save his own family. There must have been better hiding places in the Islands, if your father wasn’t involved. It crossed my mind that he might even have hidden the bodies for one of his friends. Alda’s father, Dadi, or even Kjartan. Even though it’s clear to me that Alda is involved in this somehow, it’s not possible that she killed all these men.’