Last Rituals

CHAPTER 22

Matthew showed the students to the door. Meanwhile, Thora and Dori sat in the modern living room with the horrors of the past all around them. Thora felt sorry for the young man, who obviously wished he was somewhere else. In a way the circumstances reminded her of her own sona young man locked in a mysterious inner struggle.

"You know we're just looking for the truth, don't you? We're not wondering about anything stupid you may have been up to," she said to break the silence and lighten the oppressive atmosphere. "Really, we agree with you on the basics of the casethat Hugi is innocent, or at least facing more serious charges than he deserves."

Dori avoided looking at her. "I don't believe Hugi killed him," he said in a low voice. "It's a load of bullshit."

"You're fond of your friend, I can tell," said Thora. "If you want to help him, by far the best course is not to conceal anything from us. Remember that your friend can't expect help from anyone except us."

Dori grunted, without indicating whether or not he would help them.

Matthew came back and threw himself down in the chair. He watched Dori thoughtfully for a while. "A strange circle of friends you've got. The girls didn't exactly look like they'd fall into each other's arms on the way out."

Dori shrugged. "They're all kind of down at the moment."

"I see. Well, shouldn't we get down to business?" asked Matthew.

"I don't mind," Dori replied. "Just ask and I'll try to answer." When he reached out for a cigarette, Thora noticed his hands were shaking.

"Okay, buddy," said Matthew, sounding almost paternal. "We're interested in a number of points you can surely help us with. One is the money that Harald spent and another is the historical research you worked on with him. Let's begin with the money. What can you tell us about his finances?"

"Finances? I knew nothing about that, I swear. But you didn't have to be Einstein to see that he was filthy rich." Dori gestured around the room, then shrugged. "His car was pretty flashy, too, and he dined out a lot. Unfortunately it wasn't a lifestyle the rest of us could afford."

"Did he dine out by himself?" asked Thora. "Since you were poor students."

This was clearly an uncomfortable question. "Well, sometimes." He puffed on his cigarette. "Sometimes I went with him. He invited me."

"So he took you along and paid the bill, is that it?" Matthew asked, and Dori nodded. "More often than he dined alone?" Dori nodded again. "What else did he treat you to?"

Dori was seized with a sudden interest in the ashtray and stared at it as if the answer to the question was to be found there. "Well, just stuff."

"That's not an answer," Thora said calmly. "Just tell uswe haven't come here to pass judgment on you or Harald."

A short pause and then: "He paid for all sorts of stuff for me. My rent, textbooks, clothes, taxis. Dope. Everything really."

"Why?" asked Matthew.

Dori shrugged. "Harald said the money was his to do with as he pleasedhe never denied himself something just because his friends were broke. I found it embarrassing, but I was flat broke and he was such a fun guy. There were never any hassles. I tried to repay him by helping with those translations and other stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Matthew asked.

"Nothing." Dori's blushing cheeks grew even redder. "It was nothing sexual, if that's what you think. Neither Harald nor I were, are, on that side of the fence. There have been plenty of girls."

Thora and Matthew exchanged a look. The spending that Dori described was peanuts compared with the amount that had disappeared. "Do you know of any large investment Harald made just before the murder?"

Dori looked up. From his expression it was plain that he was telling the truth. "No, no idea. He never mentioned anything like that. Actually, I hardly saw him the week beforehe was busy and I was trying to catch up on my course work."

"You don't know what he was up to, or why he didn't meet you on those days?" Thora interjected.

"No. I phoned him a few times and he just wasn't in the mood to do anything. I don't know why."

"So you hadn't seen him for several days when he was murdered?" asked Matthew.

"Nojust talked to him on the phone."

"Didn't that strike you as odd? Or was he in the habit of locking himself away for days on end?" Matthew persisted.

Dori thought about it. "I didn't wonder about it then, but now that you mention it, it was a bit unusual. It hadn't happened before, anyway, I don't think it had. I asked him what was going on, but he said he just needed a bit of time by himself. But he was cheerful and all that."

"Didn't you develop a grudge against him over that time?" asked Thora. It must have been strange for him to lose his best friend for several days with no explanation, considering how much time they spent together.

"No, not like that. I had plenty to do for my classes anyway. And I took shifts and stuff like that. So I had lots of other things to think about."

"You work at the hospital in Fossvogur, don't you?" Thora asked. Dori nodded. "How do you manage to work there, study medicine, and do all that partying?"

Dori shrugged. "It isn't a full-time job, no way. I do the occasional relief shift, that's all. I work there over summer vacations, and if there's a crisis in the winter, I cover if someone's sick or can't come in. As far as my courses go, I'm just incredibly organized about studying. I've always found learning easy."

"What do you do at the hospital?" asked Matthew.

"This and that. I work as an assistant in surgeryclean the instruments after operations, clear up, that sort of thing. Nothing important."

Matthew gave him a meaningful look. "Clear up what? I'm just curious to ask, I know very little about hospitals."

"Just stuff," Dori replied, reaching for his cigarettes again. "Garbage and things."

"Aha!" Matthew cried. "What's the name of your superior, or someone we could ask about this workin particular about the night Harald was murdered?"

Dori picked at one of the studded straps on his left wrist and clearly did not know how to reply. "Gunnur Helgadottir," he eventually muttered in a sullen voice. "She's the senior surgical nurse."

"I have a question," said Thora as she scribbled down the name. "Who did Harald's tongue job? It was you, wasn't it?"

Dori was about to light a cigarette but stopped, startled. "Why? What difference does that make?"

"I want to know. Harald has photos on his computer showing the operation and it was done in someone's house. Presumably someone he knew. The operation isn't the issueI just want to know."

Hesitantly, Dori looked at each of them in turn. Thora thought he was probably weighing whether the operation required professional qualifications or was illegal. After biting his lower lip for a while he finally said: "No. I didn't do it."

"May I see your upper arm?" Thora asked, smiling as she remembered what Hugi had said about Dori's regrets over the tattoo he had there.

"Why?" replied Dori, leaning back in the sofa to put more distance between them.

"We just want to," said Matthew, moving to the edge of his chair. He had no idea where Thora was taking this. "Be a good boy and roll up your sleeves for the nice lady."

Dori went red as a beet. Matthew moved even farther forward on the edge of his seat, and Dori edged farther back in the sofa. Suddenly he lost his nerve. Glowering, he rolled up his sleeves. "Here," he snapped, and held out his arms. Thora leaned forward and smiled. "'Crap'?" she read, looking at his right arm just above the wrist.

"So?" Dori said, rolling his sleeves down again.

"Interesting," Thora said. "The person who performed the operation on Harald had exactly the same tattoo." She grinned at Dori as she pointed at his right arm. "So, what's the story?"

"Nothing," Dori said slowly. He ran his fingers through his hair, then squeezed his eyes shut. "Okay, I did it. We were at Hugi's place. Harald had been pestering me for ages to do it for him and in the end I gave in. I borrowed the instruments from the hospital and stole some anesthetic. Nobody missed it. Hugi helped me. It was pretty disgusting. But it looked cool."

It sure did, Thora thought. "I wouldn't imagine the hospital would be very pleased to hear that you were stealing drugswould they?"

"Of course not. That's why I don't want word to get around," replied Dori. "It's not something most people would understand, and I don't want to get called a freak."

Matthew shook his head, then suddenly changed tack. "I'd like to ask you about one thing that may sound rather strangeor perhaps not; you've presumably been around a bit." After a quick pause in which he caught Dori's gaze with his own, he continued. "Were you ever aware that Harald practiced sex using asphyxiation to increase the pleasure?"

Dori's face went bright red again. "I don't want to discuss that," he retorted.

"Why not?" Matthew asked. "Who knows, it may have led to Harald's death."

Dori's knees bounced up and down as he tapped his feet on the shiny veneered floor. "He didn't die like that," he said in a half whisper.

Thora spoke. "How would you know that?"

The beat of Dori's feet grew faster. He remained silent. Neither Thora nor Matthew said anythingthey just stared at the young man and waited. In the end he gave in, took a deep breath, and spoke. "Fuck knows what this has to do with anything, but yes, I knew Harald did that a bit."

"And you know this from whom?" Matthew asked sharply.

Dori's feet stopped tapping. "He told me. He suggested I try it." He said no more, his eyes flicking from Matthew to Thora.

"And did you?" she asked.

"No," he answered firmly, and Thora believed him. "I might do some crazy things but that's the craziest shit I've ever seen."

"Seen?" Matthew repeated.

Dori's blush grew even deeper. "Not exactly seenI didn't mean that. Been involved with is more like it." He looked down at the floor. "It was this autumn. I'd passed out on the sofa here after a party and I woke up in the night to this awful gasping noise." He looked up at Matthew. "I don't know how I was lucky enough to come roundnormally I'm right out of it when I'm in that statebut anyway, I woke up and went to check it out and saw Harald who was literally in his death throes." Thora thought she noticed the young man shudder at the recollection. "I undid a belt that was tied really tight around his neck. It wasn't easy, because he'd tied one end to the radiator in his room. Then I managed to bring him around with CPRonly just."

"Are you sure he wasn't trying to commit suicide?" Thora asked.

Glancing at her, Dori shook his head. "No, it wasn't a suicide attempt. Believe me. I'd rather not go into details about the state I found him in." Now it was Thora's turn to blush, which seemed to cheer Dori up when he noticed. He went on, emboldened. "Then I talked it over with Harald and he freely admitted what he'd been up to. He even suggested that I try ithe said it was far-out. But he'd been in danger and was fully aware of the fact. He was scared to death."

"So you don't think he gave up the habit after that shock?" asked Matthew.

"I bet he didn't," Dori answered. "Though I don't know for surehe was scared shitless."

"Do you remember when this was?" Matthew asked.

"The early hours of the eleventh of September," he said without a moment's thought.

Matthew nodded pensively. He looked at Thora and said in German: "He changed his will ten days later." Thora nodded too, convinced now that the young man in front of them was the Icelandic heir named in the will. He had just saved Harald's life days before the will was altered; it was unthinkable not to mention him in it.

"I understand German, you know," said Dori, grinning slyly.

His expression equally malicious, Matthew did not respond. Instead he said: "Hugi told us that Harald was sometimes nasty to you in front of the othersin fact, he humiliated you, if I remember correctly. Didn't that upset you?"

Dori snorted. "What's he going on about? You know Harald wasn't like normal people. He could wind me up, but he could be a real laugh too. Most of the time he treated me great, especially when there was just the two of us. But when we were with the others he could be a bastard every now and again. It didn't bother meHugi can tell you thatand Harald always apologized afterward. It didn't make any difference, just a drag while it lasted."

Thora didn't think it took much intelligence to see through this statement. Surely he must have found it unbearable. But there was little point in probing him for details. "So what can you tell us about Harald's research?" she asked. "Can you describe what form your help took?"

Dori answered immediately, happy to change the subject. "It was nothing special. I really only helped him with translations, with a bit of resource work too. He went all over the placeI couldn't see the connections, but I'm not a historian so that's not saying much. He sort of wandered from one thing to the nextin the middle of reading a passage I'd translated from Icelandic into English, he would suddenly ask me to read something else, and so on."

"Can you cite any examples of articles or topics he was interested in?" asked Matthew.

"Er, I can't give you a complete list. When it started I was mainly translating passages from Olina Thorvardardottir's Ph.D. dissertation on the era of witch burnings, then he became interested in Skalholt because of a text about sorcery by some of the students at the school there, and a book of witchcraft that was in circulation. He also had an old letter in DanishI wasn't so great at translating that but I did my best. It was about an emissary and something I didn't understand properly. When he got that he suddenly changed tack, stopped wondering about witch burnings so much and shifted back a century or so.

"I remember translating a passage for him from a description of Iceland by Bishop Oddur Einarsson from around 1590. It was about Hekla and I remember an account in it of a man who went mad after climbing the mountain and looking down into the crater. And he was fascinated by the eruption of Hekla in 1510, and Bishop Jon Arason and his execution in 1550, and Bishop Brynjolfur Sveinsson. Yes, then suddenly he wanted to know everything about the Irish monks. So you could say he was still going back at the time of his murderto the time before Iceland was properly settled."

From this recitation of dates it was obvious that the young man had a cast-iron memory. Not surprising that he could do his courses in spite of all that partying, Thora thought. "Irish monks?" she asked.

Dori nodded. "Yes, the hermits who were here before the Vikings arrived."

"Okay," said Thora, uncertain what to ask next. Then she remembered poor old Gunnar, who had set up the meeting with Harald's friends. "That old Danish letterdo you know where it came from or where it ended up?"

Dori shook his head. "I have no idea where he got ithe had other old letters that he was comparing with it. They were in a leather wallet, but the Danish one wasn't. It's bound to be around somewhere."

"Do you recognize the name Mal?" Matthew asked, out of the blue.

Dori looked at them and shook his head. "No, never heard of him. Why?"

"Oh, no reason," said Matthew.

Dori was about to say something when his mobile rang. He took it out, looked at the screen, pulled a face, and put it back in his pocket.

"Your mom?" Matthew asked Dori, grinning.

"Right," he replied bitterly.

A text message alert bleeped in his pocket. Since Dori made no move for his mobile, Thora fired her next question. "Do you know anything about a visitors' book that Harald may have owned or talked about? The visitors' book of the cross, or something to that effect?"

Dori looked baffled. "The visitors' book of the Cross? You mean the religious sect, the Cross?"

"No, not that," replied Thora. "So you never heard any mention of a visitors' book?"

"Nope."

Matthew clenched his fists. "Tell us about the raven Harald was trying to buy."

Dori's Adam's apple leaped in his throat. "Raven?" His voice had risen an octave.

"Yes," Thora chipped in. "We know he was trying to buy a raven. Do you know why?"

Dori shrugged. "No. But I can appreciate him wanting to own a raven. Interesting birds."

Thora was convinced that he was lying, but could not work out the best response. Matthew took over before she decided. "Do you know anything about a trip that Harald made to Holmavik to see the sorcery and witchcraft exhibition?"

"No," said Dori, clearly lying again.

"What about Hotel Ranga?" Thora asked.

"No." Another lie.

Matthew looked at Thora. "Holmavik, Ranga. Maybe we should do a bit of traveling?" Dori's expression did not suggest that he approved of this idea.