Thóra had been given a book like this as a gift when her son Gylfi was born and she had managed to write things in it during the first three months of his life. The book had then been forgotten and never used again. The box also contained various items such as plates for children, silverware and a large old-fashioned baby’s bottle.‘I just have baby stuff,’ she told Bella. ‘Did you find anything besides locks of hair?’
‘An old bathing suit,’ said Bella. ‘I think it’s mouldy. It smells bad.’
Thóra was removing the last few things from the box, when she noticed the baby’s bottle was unusually heavy. She pointed the torch at it and saw there was something inside.
‘What’s this?’ she asked herself, unscrewing the top.
‘What?’ asked Bella, looking up from the bathing suit.
A small mallet dropped out of the bottle with a heavy thud. ‘Who would keep a salmon priest in a baby bottle?’asked Thóra, grimacing.
‘A priest?’ said Bella.
‘Yes, a salmon priest. It’s the hammer a fisherman uses to stun the fish, after he’s caught it.’
‘What fucked-up religion do you belong to?’ said Bella, coming and looking over Thóra’s shoulder.‘And what are those marks on it?’ The light was stronger now that there were two torches. It was a keen observation on Bella’s part: the copper mallet was covered with black spots.
‘It could very well be blood,’ mused Thóra. Was this the weapon the unidentified men in the basement had got to know first-hand? She put it to one side and picked up a little shoebox that contained several tiny pairs of shoes,and underneath them an ornate knife. ‘Look at this,’ she said.
Bella moved closer to her to get a better look, and when Thóra’s phone rang she gave a screech that cut through the oppressive silence. Thóra was equally startled, though she managed to suppress the scream that nearly burst out of her. She fumbled for the phone and answered it. ‘Thóra speaking,’ she said, affecting nonchalance. She hoped this wasn’t someone from the Islands, asking what she was up to.
‘Hi, this is Dís at the plastic surgery clinic,’ said the voice on the other end. ‘I have a small problem related to your investigation into Alda’s death.’
‘Really?’ asked Thóra, surprised and a little relieved not to have to make up an excuse for where she was.
‘Yes. I was hoping you could help me. I need a lawyer.’
Chapter Thirty
Thóra stared at the paper in front of her. It was not yet eight o’clock. She wasn’t usually up and about this early, but tourists eager for a full day’s adventures had woken her with their clatter in the corridor at around seven, and she hadn’t been able to get back to sleep. She had jumped into the shower and sat down at the little desk in her room in the hope of working out the facts of the case. This was easier said than done, and Dís’s phone call the night before hadn’t done anything to make it easier. Dís hadn’t wanted to say anything except that she had information that needed to be shared with the police. However, her own interests compelled her to speak to a lawyer first; she’d had only Thóra’s number, so had called her. Thóra explained to Dís that she couldn’t help her since she was Markus’s lawyer and he was the only suspect in the case. She asked if Dís would like to speak to Bragi and Dís had taken Bragi’s number. When Thóra spoke to him later in the evening, Bragi had told her to prepare herself for new information to appear in Markus’s case very soon. He did not say what this information was, and Thóra knew better than to interrogate him about it. He was obligated to protect his client’s confidentiality. Thóra had to ask him one thing, though – whether the information in question was likely to be positive or negative for Markus. Bragi had thought it over for a long time but replied that he hadn’t actually worked that out yet. If forced to choose, he would say more positive than negative.
Thóra turned back to the paper in front of her and pushed Dís and her mysterious information from her mind. There was no point wondering about that now; all would become clear after the weekend. She lifted her pen. Of everything that she had dug up, how much of it was connected to the case? She lined up the events chronologically in the hope of being able to piece it all together, and then ran down the scribbles on the page one more time.
A damaged fishing smack comes to the Islands 19 January, anchors at the pier, moves berths and then leaves during the night. Paddi the Hook watches it sail away.
Teenagers, among them Alda and Markus, get drunk at a school dance that same night. Magnus, Markus’s father, goes to fetch him. Alda probably walks home. Something bad happens to Alda, which she describes indirectly in her diary.
Magnus and Dadi ‘Horseshoe’ are seen down at the harbour that night. A lot of blood is found on the pier the following morning, where the smack was originally moored.
Detective Gudni is called to the scene. He is told of Dadi’s presence at the harbour, but not that Magnus was with him.
Dadi denies having been involved in anything illegal and states that he knows nothing about any blood.
Four men, most likely British, are beaten to death – unclear exactly when.
Leifur returns to the Islands to scold his brother for his drinking.
Alda gives Markus the box, and asks him to store it for her. She is in a frantic state.
Eruption during the night.
The residents flee to the mainland, some of them on fishing vessels, and Alda asks Markus what he did with the box. He tells her.
Magnus and his partner Thórgeir, Alda’s father, return to the Islands to salvage their possessions. Magnus mostly empties his family home, although not the basement.
Alda, her mother and her sister move to the Westfjords, where she supposedly attends Isafjördur Junior College – suddenly one year ahead of her previous school year. However, no one at the school has a record of her attendance there.
Markus’s mother and her children move to Reykjavik.
Valgerdur and Dadi move west, settle in the vicinity of Holmavik. There they finally have a child. She wants little to do with the child – perhaps she suffers from post-partum depression?
Some time during the first two weeks of the eruption, the bodies are moved to the basement.
Magnus buys up Thórgeir’s shares in the fishing company and continues to run the business alone. He acquires a processing plant for peanuts and lands his catch in the Islands, despite the continuing eruption.
Markus attends Reykjavik Junior College.
Alda is registered at the same school, but for home attendance until after the new year. Markus meets her again for the first time since the eruption and they do not discuss the box.
Alda studies nursing.
Markus marries and divorces, has one son. Markus does not work for his father’s company. Maintains his friendship with Alda.
Leifur, Markus’s brother, takes over the family business when their father becomes ill. He has worked there since completing his studies in business.
When plans are made to excavate Markus’s parents’ house, Alda asks Markus to prevent it, but keeps this secret from her sister.
Alda takes a leave of absence from the A &E.
Alda familiarizes herself with Valgerdur’s autopsy report.
Alda for some reason keeps a picture of a tattoo bearing the words ‘Love Sex’, as well as a picture of an unidentified young man.
Alda has links to pornographic websites on her computer and is seeing a sex therapist.