‘Her sister, Erna Dan. You know, the hairdresser?’
‘OK, give me the gist of it.’
‘The call was an hour ago. It seems her sister hasn’t been seen since Friday night.’
‘But it’s only Tuesday now. We’re not talking about a child here.’
‘Yeah, I know, and it’s not as if the sister doesn’t have a history of vanishing for a few days now and again. I checked our system and she’s on that as well.’
‘What for?’
‘Drunk and disorderly, mostly. A few fights, just handbag waving, really. Always booze-related.’
‘Married? Kids?’
‘Two kids, separated. One child’s father lives in Grafarvogur, the other’s is in the US. Both kids with their fathers at the moment, due back to be with their mother in two weeks.’
‘And Sigurjóna?’ Gunna asked. ‘What’s her theory? Does she have a basis for believing her sister to be missing?’
‘So it seems. Says she went off with some foreign guy called Hardy and hasn’t been seen since, and now she’s not answering her mobile.’
‘Checked anywhere else?’
‘No answer at her home either.’
‘Ah. In that case I’d better have a word with the lady.’
‘Do you have an angle on this?’ Edda Sif asked curiously.
‘Bloody right. It’s Hårde I’m after.’
Sigurjóna’s tearful presence occupied the whole of the expensively furnished room. She sat on a leather sofa overshadowed by a huge abstract painting in blocks of primary colours, sniffing as a young policeman probed with gentle questions.
Gunna marched in and looked Sigurjóna directly in the face. She stared back with hostility in her eyes.
‘You? What are you doing here?’ she asked as anger and some colour began to seep back into her face, carefully made up in spite of her tearful demeanour. A tiny rivulet of mascara had begun to flow southwards from the corner of one eye.
‘Olli, isn’t it?’ Gunna asked the young policeman, perched with an open notebook on a corner of a deep armchair. The young man nodded.
‘All right. Leave me with this lady for ten minutes, would you? There must be a kitchen here somewhere, and I’m sure Sigurjóna won’t mind if you put some coffee on.’
At a loss at Gunna’s unexpected appearance, Sigurjóna nodded mutely.
Gunna perched on the edge of the deep chair that Olli had vacated to search for the kitchen.
‘Where the hell is Hårde?’ she demanded.
‘I don’t know,’ Sigurjóna wailed and dabbed at her eye with a tissue.
‘All right. Tell me what’s happened. Quickly, please.’
‘I don’t know. Erna was with us all at the awards party —’
‘Hårde as well?’
Sigurjóna nodded.
‘How come he was there at a party for PR people?’
‘I invited him,’ Sigurjóna admitted and hesitated.
‘Go on.’
‘He was dancing with Erna and they disappeared about the same time. Quite early. I think they may have gone home together.’
‘To Erna’s home?’
‘I expect so.’
‘Have you been there? Called her?’
‘I’ve tried to call, but just get her voicemail and she doesn’t call back.’
Gunna watched Sigurjóna carefully. As far as she could make out, the woman’s concern for her sister was genuine. ‘Where does she live?’
‘Skólagata twelve.’
‘Where’s that?’
‘Kópavogur. Up the hill from Smárinn.’
‘Olli!’ Gunna called and the young man came in from the kitchen with the aroma of coffee behind him.
‘Yes?’
‘Get on the radio. I want a squad car at Skólagata twelve in Kópavogur in five minutes flat. Tell them to check the place out quietly. Don’t knock, don’t be too obvious, don’t approach any men who might be on the property. I’ll be there in a minute, all right?’
Olli ducked back and they could hear him talking in the other room as his set buzzed.
‘Sigurjóna, I have every reason to believe that you have been rather economical with the truth so far. I believe that this man you think your sister has disappeared with is an extremely dangerous character. I believe he’s responsible for at least two murders here in Iceland and probably more elsewhere. Now, where’s he been living?’
‘It’s a guesthouse in Mjósundsvegur. Can’t remember the number. Right at the end near the old church.’
‘Do you have any phone numbers for this guy?’
Sigurjóna picked a mobile phone up from the black glass coffee table in front of her where Olli had just placed a mug of black coffee for Gunna.
‘They’re on their way,’ he reported quietly while Sigurjóna scrolled through her phone’s stored numbers.
Gunna nodded at him without her eyes leaving Sigurjóna.
‘Here it is,’ she said quietly, holding out the phone.
‘Write the number down, Olli. Get on to the phone company and find out every bit of information you possibly can, and whether it’s switched on, and if possible where it is. Bully them if you have to. This is on the National Commissioner’s authority if they quibble,’ she instructed as Olli retreated.
‘Sigurjóna, now. Your sister. Tell me about her. Has she done anything like this before?’
‘Plenty of times. She’s hopeless with guys. She finds one she likes and she’s like a little puppy and can’t keep her hands off him. Then after a week or two there’s a row and she hits the bottle. It’s happened time and again, and she always ends up here crying on my shoulder. I’ve always been able to reach her and she tells me everything. But this time I can’t get hold of her at all. It’s just not like her.’
‘When did you last speak to Hårde?’
‘Saturday.’
‘What?’
‘Right after you left the Gullfoss. I told him you were looking for him.’
‘You told him? Bloody hell,’ Gunna exploded and quickly contained her anger. ‘What else did you tell this psycho?’
‘Not much.’
‘So, what then?’
‘That you’re in charge of the investigation,’ Sigurjóna said.
In disbelief, Gunna sat back and thought in silence, ignoring the buzzing of the phone in her top pocket. She stood up suddenly, decision made, pulling the phone from her pocket to see who had called.
‘Edda! Olli! Here, now.’
The two young officers tumbled into the room from the kitchen.
‘Any luck?’ Gunna asked Olli.
‘Not yet. They’re on to it and are calling me back. They want to verify my status as well.’
‘You can do that at the station. This lady is going to Hverfisgata with you, right now.’
Sigurjóna half rose to her feet and began to protest. ‘Why? What is this for? I want my lawyer here right now, this instant—’ she crowed before Gunna cut her off.
‘You are going to Hverfisgata to be questioned properly about your role in assisting a wanted felon in evading custody, to begin with. Then there’s your role in the deaths of Egill Grímsson and Einar Eyjólfur Einarsson, and I’m sure there’re a few things to be found out there.’
‘I knew nothing about that,’ Sigurjóna snarled.
‘And then we can move on to the fact that you’ve knowingly hindered an investigation. From there we can go on to possession of a proscribed substance with intent to supply. How’s that?’
‘You fucking evil fat lesbian bitch,’ Sigurjóna hissed. ‘Arresting me, you’ll fucking suffer for this. You know who my husband is.’
‘Yeah. A soon-to-be ex-Minister. You’re not being arrested. You’re being taken into custody for your own protection. You’ve five minutes to put some clothes on.’
Edda and Olli took unsure steps forward.
‘Take her to Hverfisgata and let her sober up a bit before we start talking to her. Her lawyer can be called, but don’t hurry any more than you have to. If she kicks up, cuffs. All right? Get a move on then,’ she ordered, as Edda stepped forward and gripped Sigurjóna’s upper arm to bring her to her feet.