Arnar resigned himself to answering and started to recount the events surrounding his colleague’s death. His account was consistent with the statements given by Sverrir and Knútur. Arnar confirmed that Sverrir had been the last to see Thorfinnur alive.
‘Were you good friends?’ asked Sigurdur Óli. ‘What sort of relationship did you have?’
‘I have to ask why you’re questioning me about this now.’
‘So the others haven’t talked to you?’
‘Knútur has; he’s completely in the dark about what’s going on.’
‘Yes, well, maybe things will become clearer in due course. Were the four of you good friends?’
‘Friends? I wouldn’t really say that. More like associates.’
‘Colleagues?’
‘Colleagues, of course, as we all work here. What exactly are you driving at?’
Sigurdur Óli took a folded piece of paper from his coat pocket.
‘Can you tell me who these people are?’ he asked, handing Arnar the list of those who had accompanied Lína and Ebbi on the glacier tour.
Arnar took the list and scanned it briefly before passing it back.
‘No, except for the people who invited us, the people from the accountancy firm.’
‘You don’t know any of the foreigners, the foreign names?’
‘No,’ said Arnar.
‘Did you know Lína, or Sigurlína Thorgrímsdóttir, from the accountant’s? Apart from meeting her on the tour?’
‘No. Was she the one who organised it?’
‘That’s right. Did any of you know her?’
‘I don’t think so.’
‘None of you?’
‘No, unless Thorfinnur did,’ said Arnar, apparently feeling compelled to add: ‘He was single.’
‘I don’t suppose that would have mattered to her,’ said Sigurdur Óli. ‘How did he know Lína?’
‘All I mean is, if I’ve got the right woman, I have a vague memory of her flirting with him a bit, teasing him and that sort of thing. Thorfinnur was very shy around women, a bit awkward in their company, if you know what I mean. Was there anything else? I don’t want to be rude but I’m afraid I’m really pushed for time.’
‘So, did anything happen between them?’
‘No,’ said Arnar, ‘not that I know of.’
‘What about between her and Sverrir or Knútur?’
‘I don’t know what you’re implying.’
‘Lína was the type,’ Sigurdur Óli said. ‘If you get my drift.’
‘Well, you’ll have to ask them.’
On his way out of the bank, Sigurdur Óli looked in on both Sverrir and Knútur to show them the list and ask them the same questions that he had put to Arnar, including whether they recognised any of the names. He had delayed showing it to them in the hope of catching them off guard and leaving them unsure of exactly how much he knew. Sverrir hardly read the list, merely handed it back saying he had known nobody on the trip. Knútur took more time to assess the names. He was less self-assured in Sigurdur Óli’s presence than the others but gave the same answer, that he had not been acquainted with anyone except his colleagues.
‘Are you sure?’ asked Sigurdur Óli.
‘Yes,’ replied Knútur. ‘Absolutely positive.’
Sigurdur Óli was walking out of the building when he heard someone call his name and, turning, saw his old school friend Steinunn coming towards him with a smile on her face. He had not seen her since the reunion, when she had mentioned her new job at the bank and advised him that he was not her type.
‘What are you doing here — after a loan?’ she asked, looking hotter than ever with her blonde hair, dark eyebrows and tight black trousers.
‘No, I …’
‘Did you come to see Guffi?’ Steinunn asked. ‘He’s on holiday; he’s gone to Florida.’
‘No, I had a meeting on the first floor,’ Sigurdur Óli explained. ‘How are you doing?’
‘Fine, thanks. I enjoy working here, not like the tax office. You lot must have more than enough on your plate with two murders. It’s a bit excessive, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, I’m investigating the woman who was battered to death.’
‘It sounded horrific. Was it debt collectors? You hear rumours.’
‘We’ll get to the bottom of it,’ Sigurdur Óli replied non-committally, relieved that Steinunn did not appear to have heard about Patrekur being called in for interview.
‘It’s unbelievable what those debt collectors get away with,’ Steinunn said.
‘Yeah.’
‘Now, who was it who was talking about guys like that?’ she added, as if to herself.
‘About debt collectors?’
‘Yes, something about bullying at school. God, my mind’s a blank. Anyway, he soon put a stop to it.’
‘Who was it?’
‘The debt collector? No idea.’
‘No, the person who told you.’
‘Oh, I can’t remember where I heard it. I’ll let you know when it comes back to me. I have a feeling it was someone we both know, unless I’m getting confused. Or maybe I heard it at the tax office.’
‘Call me,’ said Sigurdur Óli.
‘It was good to see you. Say hi to Bergthóra, or is it all over?’
‘See you,’ said Sigurdur Óli and hurried out.
44
Kolfinna, Lína’s friend who had given Sigurdur Óli the guest lists for the company’s glacier tours, recognised him immediately when he went back to see her. She was dashing about in preparation for some meeting and he had to follow her down the corridors before he could persuade her to slow down enough to hand her back the lists of names.
‘Could you run through who these people are for me?’ he asked.
‘I’m sorry but I’m in a terrible hurry.’
‘Is there any more you can tell me about Lína?’
‘Are these people connected to her in some way?’ asked Kolfinna, running an eye down the list. ‘Christ, I’ve missed the meeting!’ she exclaimed, looking at her watch.
‘I don’t know,’ Sigurdur Óli said. ‘But I know this man,’ he added, pointing at Patrekur’s name. ‘This one too,’ indicating Hermann. ‘And I know who these four are.’ He pointed to the four bankers. ‘And of course I know Lína and Ebeneser, but there are lots of others left. Three foreigners, for example. They are foreigners, aren’t they? These ones here.’
‘It looks like it from the names. Are you wondering whether they might be resident in Iceland?’
‘Can you fill in any of the gaps?’
‘These two, Snorri and Einar, work here with us. I think this guy, Gudmundur, is a VIP client of theirs, and this one here, Ísak, is a big client too. I don’t know the foreigners. Maybe you should talk to Snorri; he might know more.’
‘Snorri?’
‘He deals with our parent company overseas. Maybe he knows who these foreigners are. Sorry, got to dash. Nice to see you again.’
Snorri was no less pressed than Kolfinna and Sigurdur Óli had to resign himself to waiting outside his office for twenty minutes before the door finally opened and he was ushered in. During their conversation the phone rang incessantly and Snorri answered some of the calls while ignoring the rest.
Sigurdur Óli explained the situation and the reason he needed information about the foreigners who had been on the corporate excursion. He did not mention the attack on Lína or Thorfinnur’s death, only that the police were investigating links between individuals in the corporate world. Snorri, a lean, agile man who obviously spent a good deal of time at the gym, answered quickly and concisely. He studied the list.
‘These two came to Iceland as our guests,’ he said, pointing to two of the foreign names. ‘We’re only a subsidiary of an international accountancy firm, as our name suggests. These men look after relations between us and their other subsidiaries in Scandinavia. They visit Iceland regularly, so we decided to send them on this tour. I gather they had a great time too.’
‘What about this one?’ asked Sigurdur Óli, pointing to the third foreign name.