Sigurdur Óli ran to the spot just in time to see the men jump into a car, driven by a fourth, and vanish round the corner. The man on the ground was groaning in agony, his face a mask of blood. It was Kristófer. He was lying on his back, his front teeth smashed in, his eyes swollen shut. Sigurdur Óli gingerly turned him onto his side and rang for an ambulance.
‘Who were they?’
‘I … don’t know,’ whispered Kristófer.
‘What happened?’
‘They … they were waiting. Behind the station …’
Sigurdur Óli burst into the station and strode along the corridor to Finnur’s office. Finnur was just leaving as Sigurdur Óli bore down on him, shoved him back into his office and slammed the door behind them.
‘What the hell?’ shouted Finnur, squaring up to him.
‘I’ve just put Kristófer in an ambulance,’ announced Sigurdur Óli.
‘Kristófer? What’s that got to do with me?’
‘Shouldn’t you ask what happened?’
‘Why the hell would I do that?’
‘I thought I’d warned you. If you don’t stop this, I’ll have to take it higher.’
‘I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Get out of here!’
‘I’m talking about the fact that you tip people off when you know these fuckers are leaving the station. Do you think you’re exacting some kind of justice? Is that the idea?’
Finnur backed away. ‘You’re out of your mind,’ he said, though less convincingly this time.
‘I know they don’t get the sentences they deserve, that they usually get off scot-free after being questioned. But this isn’t the solution.’
Finnur did not answer.
‘You’ve done this before — three years ago. That girl on Pósthússtraeti. I wasn’t the only one who knew. And now you’re at it again. Well, there are people here who won’t stand for it.’
‘People want justice,’ protested Finnur.
‘You want justice,’ corrected Sigurdur Óli.
‘A boy ended up unconscious in hospital after what your friend Kristófer did to him,’ said Finnur. ‘Completely unprovoked, just for kicks. For all we know, the boy may be a vegetable when he comes round, but we can be sure that your friend Kristófer will be having a laugh with his mates when that happens. So I told the boy’s father that if he had something he wanted to say to Kristófer, we’d be letting him go this evening, through the side alley.’
‘So he gathers his mates together and beats him to a pulp.’
‘People have had enough. They want justice. Kristófer didn’t show any mercy.’
‘You know the family’s blood is up immediately after an incident like this,’ said Sigurdur Óli. ‘They want revenge. Do you really think you should encourage them? Is it your job to use their anger just so that you can feel some kind of price has been paid?’
‘The girl on Pósthússtraeti didn’t do anything wrong either,’ said Finnur.
‘I know she’s family. That just makes it worse.’
‘They kicked her in the head. Two cretins having a laugh on a Saturday night. She’ll never recover. They got a few months, mostly suspended. They hadn’t been in much trouble before and their age and all that counted in their favour.’
‘So you had the shit kicked out of them,’ said Sigurdur Óli. ‘You had them followed from the station, attacked and knocked senseless.’
‘It would do more good than a few months inside and a suspended sentence, though I don’t know exactly what you’re talking about.’
‘You’ve got to stop,’ warned Sigurdur Óli.
‘It’s all a misunderstanding, Siggi, I’m not doing anything.’
‘You can’t carry on like this.’
‘Have you met my cousin’s daughter? Since she came out of hospital?’
‘No, but you’re not going to do it again. If you do, I’ll go to the top and I know you don’t want that to happen.’
‘These guys don’t get any sort of punishment. You see them again and again, involved in the same old shit. What are we supposed to do?’
‘Finnur, you’ve got to stop.’
‘Personally,’ said Finnur, opening the door for Sigurdur Óli, ‘I think they should shoot the bloody scum the moment they lay hands on them.’
49
Sverrir was sitting on the bed in his cell but jumped to his feet as the bolt was shot back and Sigurdur Óli came in. The door closed behind him. He was still in a black mood after the scene with Finnur.
‘Where did the money come from?’ he demanded, taking up position just inside the heavy steel door.
‘The money?’
‘Where did it come from?’
‘I don’t under-’
‘Knútur has told us everything that matters,’ interrupted Sigurdur Óli.
Sverrir stared at him. ‘I’m not supposed to talk to you without my lawyer present.’
‘All that formal shit will start tomorrow,’ said Sigurdur Óli. ‘I just wanted to hear what you had to say; ask you about a few minor points that we can go over in more detail later. Like where the money that you laundered for Alain Sörensen came from. I gather he couldn’t help telling you. Who is Sörensen involved with? Who’s he acting for?’
‘Sörensen?’ asked Sverrir innocently.
‘Yes, Sörensen.’
‘What has Knútur been telling you?’
‘All about Alain Sörensen and how you knew him; how you and Arnar met him in London and agreed to exploit the interest margin by taking a loan from him and using it to make a killing on the high rates here, before dividing up the profits. We’ll start straight away tomorrow morning by examining your assets, bank accounts, share holdings, and all that crap. I imagine a lot of interesting things are going to come to light. About shell companies and tax havens, for example.’
Sverrir sat down again.
‘As I said, he’s being very cooperative,’ continued Sigurdur Óli. ‘He said you and Arnar were going to send him out of the country. You regard him as a total pussy, don’t you? So why did you bring him in on the deal?’
Sverrir did not answer.
‘Thorfinnur knew, didn’t he?’ said Sigurdur Óli. ‘He knew where the money came from. And he wasn’t happy. Oh no, far from it: Knútur says he hit the roof.’
The blue plastic mattress on which Sverrir would sleep that night squeaked slightly whenever he moved.
‘Why did Thorfinnur go crazy?’
‘I want my lawyer present,’ said Sverrir. ‘Surely it’s my right?’
‘But why did you have to have Sigurlína attacked? Why did she matter?’
‘I don’t know any Sigurlína.’
‘What did she do to you? Don’t you remember her? She was with you on the glacier trip a year ago. When Alain Sörensen visited Iceland. She found out about your scheme. Who told her?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Which of you did she sleep with?’ persisted Sigurdur Óli.
‘I want a lawyer,’ said Sverrir. ‘I think it would be best if a lawyer were present for all of this.’
Arnar was sitting in another cell on an identical bed, which was cemented to the floor. He did not bother to rise from the blue plastic mattress when Sigurdur Óli asked the guard to let him in, barely lifting his head before continuing to stare at the wall. It was getting on for one in the morning and Arnar looked weary and dejected.
In an attempt to elicit a reaction, Sigurdur Óli asked him the same questions he had just put to Sverrir. He mentioned that Knútur was cooperating and asked about the money laundering and where Alain Sörensen’s funds had come from, about Lína and the scheme and why they had found it necessary to set a debt collector on her.
At the final question Arnar, who had been sitting in silence throughout, suddenly pulled himself together.