Ashes to Dust (9 page)

Despite her disappointment Thóra
continued reading,
then
found an article that
reawakened her hope. It concerned the huge number of foreign reporters that had
come to Iceland to cover the eruption. Of course there was nothing in the
article about any of them disappearing, much less four of them. Although it was
unlikely that any full-time journalists or reporters had failed to return from
Iceland without it ending up in the news, it was possible that things might
have been different for freelancers. Some of these reporters might have
travelled to Iceland without letting anyone know of their plans. They would
perhaps not have been searched for here when their disappearance was discovered
later in their homelands.

Little else had occurred in the first part of
the year that could shed any light on the identity of the corpses. The Cod War
raged, but Thóra could find no indication anywhere that anyone had
disappeared or been considered lost at sea in connection with the conflict
between the British and the Icelanders over the extension of Iceland’s
territorial waters from twelve miles to fifty. Several other articles
mentioned deaths or disappearances, but they were never groups of people,
always isolated individuals. Thóra thought it too unlikely that the
corpses were a collection of people that had all disappeared or died under
different circumstances at different times, so she didn’t read these
latter articles in any detail.

She also thumbed through 1972, since there
was a possibility that the bodies had been in the basement before the
eruption started. That year, however, turned out to be as lacking in
significant detail for her purposes as 1973. A photo of a sinking ship raised
an eyebrow, but the accompanying article said it was a trawler that was thought
to have hit a mine. However, further investigation of the sinking revealed that
the ship’s owners had exploded dynamite in its hold in the hope of an
insurance pay-off. No one appeared to have died or disappeared in connection
with the incident.

Another headline to draw Thóra’s
attention stated that eighty British trawlers were speeding towards the
Icelandic fishing grounds. The article was dated at the end of August 1972, which
was a bit early; however, this case involved a huge number of men, making it
possible that four of them might have disappeared without being noticed. In
fact nothing was mentioned about the disappearance of any of them, but the
article succeeded in capturing the tone of relations between the two nations
during the
Cod
War. The end of the article quoted a
British trawler captain, who stated that if the Icelanders tried to board a
British ship within fifty miles and outside twelve, they would be met with
boiling water and sacks of pepper. Thóra found the mention of the pepper
quite amusing, the boiling water less so, but the statement indicated that
those involved had been prepared for anything - even physical injury.

After her reading Thóra was little closer
to discovering anything than she had been before, except for her feeling that
the bodies might be connected to the Cod War in some very vague way. After all,
to Thóra’s mind the word ‘war’ meant devastation and
death.

She slammed the book shut and hurried to
pack for her trip the next morning.

Sunday 15 July
2007

Thóra took her seat next to Bella in
the plane. She thanked God that the flight would take only half an hour - she
had a terrible fear of having to keep up a conversation with the girl in such
close quarters. In the end Bella chattered the entire trip without pause, the
gist of her monologue being her desire for Thóra to bring a lawsuit
against the state for the ban on smoking in public places. Thóra smiled
uncomfortably but didn’t dare interject. She even nodded
non-committally when her secretary said that after smoking was prohibited in
aeroplanes the majority of passengers had started to get sick after long-haul
flights because the air on board was changed much less frequently. Instead of
breathing smoke the passengers breathed germs and bacteria from people who came
from all over the world and who therefore, according to Bella, could have the
Ebola virus or bird flu. Thóra doubted that people who had contracted
these diseases travelled much to the Westmann Islands, but nevertheless tried
to breathe less than usual. When they landed she gulped down fresh air at the
door of the plane and enjoyed the feeling of the warm breeze playing about her
face. Bella hurried past Thóra and out of the airport to have a smoke.

‘Well,’ said Thóra as she
dragged their suitcases over to Bella, who stood by the ash bin, enjoying her
cigarette, ‘shouldn’t we try calling a cab?’ She looked
around but there was no taxi to be seen. She felt worse when she saw that some
of their fellow travellers appeared to be getting ready to walk into town.
Maybe there weren’t any taxis in the Islands? Just as she was on the
verge of going back into the airport to ask about this, a new Range Rover jeep
pulled up. Thóra had recently been told how much these cars cost, but
the figure was so high that she still thought it must have been a
misunderstanding. The dark window-pane slid down into its slot and a
middle-aged man stretched out through the open window and called to them.

‘Are you Thóra?’ he said,
looking at Bella. His voice was deep.

‘No, that’s me,’
Thóra called back quickly, rather displeased that her secretary should
be mistaken for her. Although Thóra did not consider
herself
a great beauty, the difference between their appearances and clothing was like
night and day. Thóra always tried to dress smartly: in tasteful jeans
and a sporty outdoor jacket that had cost far, far too much, while her
secretary looked more as if she were on her way to the stage to act in a play
about the Baader-Meinhof terrorist gang. To make matters worse, the
girl’s make-up made her look like a vampire. Thóra stepped closer
to the car.

‘Hello,’ said the man, and
reached over to open the passenger door. ‘My name is Leifur, I’m
Markus’s brother. He called me and said that you were on your way, so I
thought I’d come and pick you up.’

‘Thanks,’ replied Thóra
immediately. ‘My secretary is here with me, is that all right?’

‘Yes, of course,’ replied Leifur,
as he stepped out of the car and put their suitcases in the back.
‘You’re staying at Thórshamar Hotel, I expect?’ he
said, after they’d all piled in.

‘Yes,’ replied Thóra, and
she took the opportunity to examine the man better. She could see a distinct
resemblance between the brothers, and thought they must both have been very
handsome in their younger years. Leifur was slightly older than Markus,
probably in his fifties. He carried his age well, like his brother, and had the
air of someone who is used to being in charge and getting his own way. She
wasn’t attracted
to
much older men, but she
could see that the brothers were good-looking. Leifur’s smart clothing
suggested he was a man who appreciated good quality, and this fitted with his
choice of car, although Thóra knew that clothing did not tell the whole
story. Bella, for example, was neither a terrorist nor a fat vampire, although
people might be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

‘The hotel is in an excellent
location,’ said Leifur as they drove off.
‘In the
centre of town, not far from the harbour.’

‘That’s good to hear,’ said
Thóra, and wondered what she should say next. She had no idea how much
he knew about the case, and wanted to avoid telling him anything he
didn’t already know. It wouldn’t look good if he started quoting
her at police interrogations. She glanced around in search of something to talk
about. ‘Great weather,’ she said, and then reproached herself for
the cliche. ‘Is it always so nice here?’

Leifur turned towards her and smiled.
‘Sure, I guess so.’

Much to Thóra’s regret, no
lively discussion of the weather ensued. No one said anything for a few moments
and she used the time to look around. There was little or no traffic on the
roads, just like last time she had been here. The landscape was just as
magnificent, and she was about to mention this when Leifur started speaking
again, now less upbeat than before: ‘It’s terrible, this thing with
the bodies,’ he said, glancing over at Thóra. ‘I presume
it’s
okay to talk about it in front of your
secretary?’

‘Of course,’ said Thóra.
‘Nonetheless, I’m unable to discuss details of the case with you.
At least, details that you don’t know about already.’

‘No, I’m not going to try to get
anything out of you,’ replied the man. ‘That’s not what I
meant. I was just so shocked that they were found in our house. My family has
enough to deal with right now.’

Thóra’s ears pricked up.
‘Oh?’ She looked around the jeep and recalled how Markus also
seemed to have quite enough to get by on. Financial concerns could hardly be
overburdening the family.

‘Ah, well,’ replied Leifur,
sounding dejected. ‘It’s a lot of little things combined with a few
larger problems. Dad’s illness is the biggest.’

‘Yes, Markus told me about it,’
said Thóra. She always found it difficult to speak to strangers about
illness or death. ‘You have my sympathies. It’s a terrible
disease.’

‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘No, you
needn’t worry about me. Markus told me his side of the story and I have
to admit that although it might sound improbable, I trust him. It was a bit odd
how he chased after Alda all those years ago. She stood head and shoulders
above the rest of the girls in those days, but still. He would have done
anything for her — actually, he did enough stupid things even
without her.’

‘Yes, it’s all very
peculiar,’ Thóra said. ‘I was hoping I could find something
that would shed light on the subject while I’m here, but perhaps
that’s unrealistic. Too much time has passed.’

‘Yes and no,’
mused
Leifur. ‘The eruption, and the time that followed, are still fresh in the
memories of those who experienced it. It was a terrible ordeal.’

‘I can only imagine,’ said
Thóra. She pointed at the stone arch over the entrance to the cemetery.
‘Isn’t this the gate that was in the famous photo?’ She was
referring to a picture taken during the eruption. In it the cemetery was
completely covered in ash and the only thing standing out from the pitch- black
blanket was the arch, with the Biblical inscription I live and you will live.
In the background a column of fire stretched up into the sky. It was a very
stirring image, and the photographer had managed to tell an incredible
story. ‘I didn’t realize the cemetery had been dug out.’

‘A lot of things were dug out of the
ash after the eruption. For a while they were removing nearly ten thousand
cubic metres of ash from the town every day. Landa Church was partly
buried,’ said Leifur, pointing in the direction of the imposing but
unostentatious chapel standing next to the cemetery. ‘A few houses
were dug up, next to the ones where the current excavation is taking
place.’ It was clear to Thóra that she had to learn more about the
eruption if she didn’t want to waste all her time uncovering facts that
were already common knowledge. She had brought the book Gylfi got from the
library, and could start reading it in her hotel room that evening. Leifur
continued: ‘I actually don’t know why the houses on our street
weren’t uncovered then. I’m sure there was
a
logic
to it, as with anything else. They’d doubtless been
considered ruined, and quite rightly. I can’t imagine anyone bothering to
try to make the ruins they’ve already dug up inhabitable again.’

‘I know I couldn’t be persuaded
to live in any of those houses,’ said Thóra. ‘My trip the
other day was enough, even without what was found in the basement.’

‘My wife and I were thinking of
inviting you to dinner tomorrow night,’ said Leifur as they pulled up at
the hotel entrance. ‘Both of you, I mean,’ he added when he
realized that he’d forgotten Bella.
‘Nothing
fancy, but easier than you having to trek off to a restaurant.
There
actually aren’t many places to eat in town, so I expect you’ll be
glad of the change.’

Thóra looked back at Bella, who
shrugged indifferently. She turned again to Leifur. ‘That would be
lovely,’ she replied. ‘What time?’

When everything was settled regarding dinner,
Thóra and Bella said goodbye, but Leifur insisted on carrying their suitcases
into the hotel and took his leave only after each of them had received the keys
to their separate rooms. ‘Don’t hesitate to get in touch if I
can help in any way,’ he said. ‘I know this place like the back of
my hand and I can help you out if you need it. As you can imagine, I want to do
everything I can for my brother.’ He handed Thóra his mobile
number, turned and walked away.

‘There’s something strange about
that man,’ said Bella, as she and Thóra stood by the large window
in the hotel foyer and watched him get into his car.

‘Why do you say that?’ asked
Thóra in surprise. She had found him extremely pleasant, if a little
distant.

‘There’s just something spooky
about him,’ said Bella, and walked towards the stairs without any further
explanation.