My Soul to Take: A Novel of Iceland (15 page)
"Yes, Grimur from Kreppa was Bjarni's brother." Magnus grimaced. "Grimur qualified as a doctor. He was older than Bjarni. A terrible tragedy, the whole business with those two. But fate and fortune do not always go hand in hand, as the sagas say."
"Really?" Thora was curious. She'd had a bad feeling about the photographs at the time, but she'd assumed that was because everyone in them had died and been forgotten. It had made her uncomfortable to have evidence in black-and-white of how quickly lives pass into oblivion, but perhaps something else lay behind her uneasy feeling. "How come?"
Magnus groaned. "Their father was one of the main operators of fishing schooners out here on the peninsula. He also ran two fishing stations with rowing boats and became very wealthy. Maybe nothing like cod traders or bankers these days, but by the standards of the time he was very well-off. I can't remember how many schooners he owned, but it was quite a few. He was based in Stykkisholmur."
"Did the brothers run the business with him?" asked Thora.
"No," replied the old man. "Before they came of age, he'd got rid of the fishing operation and invested the money in land. He bought a large proportion of the farming land on the southern side of the peninsula. It was a very smart move, because the fisheries took a dive soon afterward. The trawlers took over and most, if not all, of the old schooner companies went bankrupt."
"So did he know that was about to happen?"
"No, he wasn't psychic, if that's what you mean. He just didn't want his sons to go to sea. He'd seen too many young men drowned or injured to want his sons to go the same way. He sent them to Reykjavik to be educated when they were still young. Grimur was a brilliant scholar and became a doctor, as I said, but Bjarni was less bookish. He was always good fun, sociable, a bit of a practical joker. Nowhere near as serious as his elder brother. It would be hard to find two more different brothers. You should bear in mind that this isn't a first
-
hand account; I heard it from my father, but he was a truthful man and not given to embellishing his stories."
"So was Grimur the local doctor here?" Thora asked.
"Yes, he moved back and had the farm called Kreppa built. He did some farming alongside his medical duties, because he couldn't earn a living as a doctor here. He tried to make farming his main occupation, but he wasn't very successful. When Bjarni devoted himself to farming, on the other hand, he flourished. Later he made a lot of money from investments."
"So where's the tragedy?" pressed Thora. It all sounded pretty positive so far.
"Tragedy, ah, yes," Magnus said gravely. "Love was to blame, as is often the case. Bjarni was married very young, to an exceptionally fine woman. Her name was Adalheidur." The old man's expression was almost wistful. "I was just a lad, but I'll never forget her. She stood out from everyone around her. She was the most beautiful woman in the area, and friendly too. She worked hard. Bjarni met her in Reykjavik, and when they moved here, she knew absolutely nothing about farming. She always dressed as if she were on her way to a party, you know the type. Understandably, the locals didn't have much faith in her as a farmer's wife, but she proved them wrong. Made an effort to learn how it all worked. It took a lot of grit and hard work, but she soon silenced her detractors, I can tell you.
"Kristrun, Grimur's wife, was completely different. She was from these parts, hardworking like Adalheidur but not in the same way. She slogged away very reliably, but Adalheidur always had a smile on her face and laughed if anything went wrong. They were good matches for their husbands, that's for sure. Bjarni was very jolly, but Grimur always had a face like thunder."
"Did Adalheidur die young?" asked Thora suddenly, remembering the woman's disappearance from the photographs.
"Yes." Magnus sighed. "They had a child, a little girl called Gudny. A beautiful girl, the spitting image of her mother. Not long before, Grimur and his wife had had a daughter too. Her name was Edda, but she died around the time Gudny was born and that caused friction between the two women. Grimur's wife accused Adalheidur of poisoning her daughter, which was preposterous, but the woman was beside herself with grief and probably not in her right mind when she said it.
The brothers' friendship cooled, so much so that they weren't on speaking terms any longer by the time disaster struck." "Disaster?" echoed Thora.
"Yes, Adalheidur died of blood poisoning and they say Grimur's wife went crazy. Nobody saw her for years, so the two brothers were left behind: one a young widower with a baby daughter, and the other with a mentally ill wife but no children. Their pride prevented them from rebuilding their friendship, so each of them battled his private demons alone. Then Grimur and Kristrun had another daughter much later. Her name was Malfridur; she was born just before the war. The wife supposedly died in childbirth, although there was a rumor that she committed suicide and Grimur fiddled the death certificate. He wrote it himself. But I don't think there are any grounds for believing that: by that time Kristrun was getting on a bit, and childbirth is more difficult for a woman as she gets older, as you know."
"Oh, yes," agreed Thora. "And were the brothers never reconciled?"
"No, but there was a little contact between the two households when Bjarni fell ill."
"Wasn't it tuberculosis?" Thora asked, remembering what young Soldis had told her.
"Yes," replied Magnus. "He shut himself away and refused to go to a sanatarium in Reykjavik. He died a few years later." He took a deep breath. "But not before he'd infected Gudny, his daughter, who was taking care of him. It wasn't long before she went too. His brother kept the farm going while they were ill, but it would have turned out differently if Bjarni had just gone to Reykjavik to be looked after." Magnus shook his gray head sorrowfully. "Shortly after that, Grimur moved to Reykjavik with his daughter, Malfridur. He inherited his brother's whole estate, so he didn't need to sell the farms or other property here on the peninsula. He didn't live long either, though—in fact, he died about ten years after they moved away. He had serious mental problems, a bit like his wife."
"And what about Kristin?" asked Thora. "Who was she?" Magnus stiffened. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then shut it again. "Was there anyone by the name of Kristin at either of the farms?"
Magnus's face was stony. "No. There was no Kristin here." He coughed. "I think that will do."
"One last thing—do you know anyone who could have been connected with a Nazi organization in this area?" she asked quickly, before he could show them the door.
"I have nothing more to say," said Magnus, standing up. He swayed a little and Thora feared for a moment that he might faint, but he regained his balance and gestured at the door. "Goodbye."
Thora saw that it was futile to grill the man any further. But what did Nazis have to do with the fate of the farm? Or Kristin? And who was she, anyway?
“
I ADVISE YOU
to clear your schedule for the next few days," said Thorolfur, the detective, solemnly. He was phoning from Reykjavik. "That is, if you intend to act as your client's counsel."
Thora sighed. "I don't know if I can. I need to get back to Reykjavik today."
"Well, you do what you must," he replied. "I just wanted to let you know that we'll be there over the next few days taking statements, mainly from tourists whom we can't be sure of getting hold of later. We fully expect to spend some time talking to Jonas. You've declared yourself as his lawyer, so we just wanted to keep you informed. Of course, you are free to do as you see fit."
"Oh, am I?" she said bitterly. Thora hated to be patronized, but she had to stay on good terms with the police for Jonas's sake, so she softened her voice. "Thank you for notifying me. I'll see if I can sort something out."
They rang off and Thora dialed Jonas, who was borrowing Vigdis's phone while the police still had his. He had found Thora an antiquated mobile the size of a brick, into which she'd put her own SIM card. After what had happened before, Thora doubted the police were in any hurry to return her phone.
Jonas picked up after a few rings. From the sound of it, he was in a car. She told him the police would want to talk to him the following week while taking statements from the hotel guests.
"They want to talk to
me?"
Jonas sounded genuinely surprised.
"Yes, of course," replied Thora. "Have you forgotten that text message? Naturally you're a suspect."
"But I didn't send it. I told you that." Jonas sounded almost hurt.
"I know what you told me. That doesn't alter the fact that it makes you look suspicious, to put it mildly." Thora heard a car beep in the background at his end. "Do you want me to be present when you give your statement, or can you manage it by yourself?"
"I can't do it alone," said Jonas fearfully. "I don't know how to handle it. You have to help me." Then he seemed to perk up slightly, adding, "It would be best for me if you could find the murderer so they stop suspecting me. I'll pay you."
Thora couldn't help laughing. "The police will find the murderer, Jonas. Don't worry. If you're innocent, you'll go free."
"I'm not so sure," Jonas said dubiously. "I want you there when I'm questioned."
"Fine," said Thora. "So I'll have to make arrangements for prolonging my stay. Is there a room free at the hotel?"
"There are bound to be. It's not fully booked until July."
"Then I'll stay on here, as long as I can find someone to look after the kids," said Thora. "It was their father's weekend to have them, but it's Sunday now and they're supposed to come home afterward."
"No problem—just have them sent up here!" suggested Jonas cheerily. "Children love nature and they'll find plenty to occupy themselves down on the beach."
Thora smiled to herself. Gylfi would be happy pottering around on the beach as long as it had a computer and an Internet connection. "Hopefully that won't be necessary," she said. "I'll let you know." They exchanged farewells and Thora groaned as she turned to Matthew.
"What?" he asked, curious. "That's not a very happy noise."
"No, it isn't." Thora frowned, fidgeting with her heavy telephone. "Jonas has asked me to be present for his police interrogation."
Matthew grinned broadly. "That's great, isn't it? I'm in no hurry to leave."
Thora smiled wanly in response. "Sure. It would be great if it weren't for the children. They're with their father now and I was meant to pick them up later."
"Ah," he said understandingly, although he clearly couldn't identify with her situation. "Can't you phone and ask for them to stay there a bit longer?"
"Yes, I have no choice," Thora said grumpily. She hated having to ask Hannes for favors because she knew how he enjoyed making her jump through hoops before agreeing—only because she behaved exactly the same toward him whenever possible.
After a lot of wrangling by telephone, Thora and Hannes reached an agreement that the children would stay an extra night with him, but no longer. Hannes had to go to the gym and run various errands he had been forced to postpone because of the time he had spent with his children. Thora sweetly told him that she understood, and that she'd been wondering if he'd put on weight recently. Then she hung up, praying he'd rupture something on the treadmill. She even gave in to the urge to poke out her tongue at the phone before putting it down.
"Nice to see how mature you are about your divorce," Matthew said. "Not all men have such understanding ex-wives."
Thora pulled a face at him too. "Are you speaking from experience?" she said, then added, "The children can only stay there one extra night, so I'll have to make other arrangements or go home."
"I'm not divorced. I've just had trouble finding the right woman," Matthew said. "Although things have been looking up a little lately." Seeing Thora's disapproving look, he clapped his hands and changed the subject. "Well, since there isn't much time, we ought to use it wisely. I think we've done enough walking. What do you fancy doing?"
"One thing I'm sure about is the more I know, the better equipped I'll be to help Jonas at the interrogation," Thora said, then thought for a moment. "We ought to try to meet more guests or locate Eirikur, the aura reader, who's the originator of the ghost stories. Jonas said he was expected back yesterday."
Matthew looked crestfallen. "That wasn't exactly what I meant, and I wasn't planning on involving the other guests, or an aura reader."
Thora blushed, but pretended not to understand. "Come on, let's get a move on. As you said, I have to make the most of the time I've got."
Eirikfur stared at the tarot cards he’d laid out. King of
Pentacles—good. Death—bad. He ran his index finger along the edge of the card showing Death and let his mind wander. Exactly the same cards had turned up twice, and although he was no expert in the tarot, he knew that the probability of this was extremely slight. What were the cards telling him? He wondered whether to find someone who knew more about the tarot, but decided that was too much trouble. He would have to go into the hotel and leave the cozy staff cottage, and he simply couldn't be bothered. There was no landline, and he knew what the mobile reception here was like. Besides, Eirikur never used a mobile. As an aura reader, he knew that the waves they emitted could have a bad effect, to put it mildly. He would rather walk to the nearest land-line than babble into a mobile, knowing that his aura grew dimmer with every word. No, he must surely be able to interpret this himself. He lowered his forehead onto his palm and stared at the cards, concentrating. King of Pentacles. Death.
Eirikur sat up. Might Death not represent his own death at all, or even that of someone close to him, but simply the death of the architect? He nodded to himself. Of course. It foretold that her death would have a great impact on his life. That was why the card appeared repeatedly. But what about the King of Pentacles? Eirikur had a little knowledge of the tarot and seemed to recall that the King of Pentacles signified money. How was that connected? Could he be about to grow wealthy by her death? He had warned her. Her aura had been black as a thundercloud, which never boded well. Might he be able to somehow use this prophecy to advertise his service? Damn shame he hadn't told anyone but her about it beforehand. Now he was the only one left to tell the tale and people would think he was making it up.
Eirikur groaned as he tried to suppress the urge for a cigarette. Jonas frowned upon smoking among his staff and Eirikur couldn't stand having to sneak around like a teenager. He was too old for that. Huddling up behind a wall, hoping no one would see. It was pathetic. Perhaps it made sense to ban the nutritionist and personal trainer from smoking, but what guest in their right mind would complain about an aura reader lighting up a cigarette? None, of course. Eirikur gave a start—his reflections on smoking had stirred something in the back of his mind. What was it that Vigdis had said? The body had been found on Friday, and no one had seen Birna since Thursday evening—the evening he'd slipped out of the seance to have a sneaky cigarette. Suddenly he understood what he hadn't realized at the time—what that person had been up to. Of course—he had seen the murderer. And they say no good can come of smoking, he thought smugly to himself.
Eirikur gathered up the cards and smiled. Now he realized how the King of Pentacles was connected with the murder, as represented by Death. The money was for him, because where there was muck, there was brass, as the proverb went. The amount would need to be negotiated— surely confidentiality was priceless? But he was a fair man, and was not overly concerned about the small print. He just needed to nip over to the hotel to use the telephone, and he also had a few choice words to say to his employer, Jonas. It would be fun to talk to him without having to make nice to keep his job. Long-awaited financial independence was in sight, and there was no need to suck up to the boss anymore.
He put the cards back in the pack, stood up and went outside. There was no time to lose; he needed to begin negotiations. He was in such a hurry that for once he didn't stop to admire himself in the little mirror hanging beside the coat rack by the door. If he had, he would have seen that his aura was heavy and dark. Almost black.
Thora sighed “ So everyone’s out?”
Vigdis regarded her dispassionately. "Well, I wouldn't say that, but most people do some sightseeing or other activity while they're here. We have very few guests who check in and then just hang around in their rooms waiting to meet
you."
Matthew flashed a sweet smile at Vigdis, not having understood a word she said. "Lovely day," he interjected in English.
"Very nice," agreed Vigdis. "That may be why there are so few people inside." She turned back to Thora. "I'm not being rude, but I just can't help you. People start getting back around dinnertime. New guests come earlier to check in, of course, but I don't think anyone has arrived yet today."
"Damn," said Thora. "And there are no free staff who wouldn't mind a quick chat?"
Vigdis shook her head. "There aren't many staff in, and they're all very busy. It calms down for them after dinner." She eyed them suspiciously. "What are you after, anyway?"
"Nothing special," Thora said. "We just wanted to find out a bit more about Birna—what she did, who she hung out with. Someone may have information that explains her death."
"Her murder, you mean," Vigdis corrected her. "If you're completely stuck, you could always go up to the church. I know Birna went there sometimes, because I lent her the key."
"Church?" asked Thora. "What church?"
"The little church near here. It isn't part of this estate, actually, but we keep the keys. Coaches come there sightseeing sometimes. Foreigners think it's charming." Vigdis reached under the reception desk and handed over an old key. "You have to shove the door a bit when you turn the key."
Matthew took the key and Vigdis gave them directions. "Although the church dates from 1864, it still serves the local farms, so don't make a mess." Vigdis yawned. "I remember Birna was terribly excited about the cemetery. I think she was looking for a gravestone."
HE'D TURNED THE ROOM UPSIDE DOWN. HE'D TORN EVERYTHING
apart but found nothing. What had the stupid woman done with it? He sighed, frustrated, but made sure to keep very quiet. If he could just find it, this whole sorry story would finally end. He put an ear to the door and listened. All seemed to be quiet out in the corridor. He turned back to the room. Should he go on searching, or accept that it wasn't here? Further investigation seemed futile. He went to the door leading into the garden and peeked cautiously through the curtains. No one about. He carefully opened the door and crept outside into the fresh air. Then he pushed the door to and left, slipping off his gloves and putting them in his pocket. So where was it?