Reykjavik Nights

39

Gústaf’s house was as tidy as his garage, in marked contrast to the chaos that characterised Erlendur’s own home. Nothing was extraneous. Tasteful pieces of furniture were arranged just so, porcelain figurines faced into the sitting room at precisely the right angle, the pictures on the walls hung perfectly level, the immaculate pale blue carpet still bore the marks of a vacuum cleaner. There was a pleasant smell too, a fragrance that was unfamiliar to Erlendur and whose source he could not identify. No reek of old fat from the kitchen. He had automatically made to remove his shoes on entering but the man had said there was no need. Erlendur was not sure he really meant it.

Having invited him to take a seat in the dining room, Gústaf drew up another chair facing him. He was still holding the earring, and Erlendur wondered how he was going to get it back. Gústaf’s manner had undergone a transformation; he was suddenly eager to cooperate, had invited Erlendur inside and was apparently prepared to talk. He said he couldn’t understand what had happened to his wife; her disappearance had left him a broken man. He had been attending a Lions Club meeting that evening.

‘I’ve been a member for several years.’

‘Was the earring Oddný’s?’

‘Yes.’

‘Definitely?’

‘I bought it myself,’ said Gústaf. ‘From a jeweller here in Reykjavík. I haven’t...’

Emotion threatened to choke him.

‘I haven’t seen it since she vanished. It was a bit... a bit of a shock, to be honest. I don’t quite know what to say, what to think.’ He stared at the piece of jewellery in his palm.

Erlendur waited. He wanted to give the man time to recover his composure. He refrained from mentioning that he had already spoken to the jeweller, unsure how much he ought to reveal about his enquiries.

After a decent interval, he asked if Gústaf could confirm that his wife had been wearing the earrings on the evening she disappeared.

‘Yes,’ Gústaf replied. ‘She was wearing them. I gave them to her once after we’d... when I was in a generous mood. She loved jewellery. This is hers. Definitely. But how did you... where did you find it? Are you trying to tell me that... you’ve found Oddný?’

‘No,’ said Erlendur emphatically. ‘Absolutely not. Only the earring. Actually it wasn’t me who found it but a woman called Thurí. She knew Hannibal, the man who was sleeping in the heating conduit in Kringlumýri. Not long after he drowned she went to his old camp and spotted the earring under one of the pipes. I got it from her.’

‘How did you know it was Oddný’s?’

‘I didn’t,’ said Erlendur, unwilling to go into too much detail. ‘It was just a hunch. Hannibal drowned the same weekend, not far from here, so it occurred to me to ask if you recognised the earring. I had a feeling there might be a link.’

‘Sorry, but I’m still not clear where you fit in. What’s your involvement?’

‘Like I said, I knew Hannibal. I wanted, if possible, to find out how he drowned. I’ve been in touch with his sister and she asked me to look into it. Then the earring turned up. And now I’m here. I’m sorry, I know this can’t be easy for you but I couldn’t think what else to do.’

Gústaf couldn’t tear his gaze from the earring.

‘But how did it get there? How did it end up in the conduit?’

‘It’s possible Hannibal picked it up somewhere else,’ said Erlendur. ‘He was on the streets and had an eye for shiny objects, so he may well have spotted it on his travels and taken it back to his camp. We can’t rule that out.’

Gústaf gave Erlendur a searching look.

‘But you think differently,’ he said at last.

‘It’s my belief that your wife was in the pipeline at some point,’ said Erlendur. ‘And conceivably died there.’

Gústaf was still staring at him.

‘Have you found her?’ he asked in a low voice.

‘No.’ It was the second time the man had asked this, and Erlendur was keen to remove all doubt. ‘I haven’t found her,’ he said firmly. ‘I’ve searched inside the pipeline but she’s not there. It’s a complete mystery to me. All I can say is that I believe she was in the conduit at some point the evening or night she vanished.’

‘Was it this friend of yours, this Hannibal, who dragged her there?’ asked Gústaf. ‘Was he the one who attacked her? Is that what you’re hinting at?’

‘No, I very much doubt it,’ answered Erlendur. ‘In fact, I believe he suffered the same fate as your wife.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘I believe he was a victim too.’

‘A victim?’

‘Yes,’ said Erlendur. ‘I’ve been over and over this and it’s the only plausible explanation I can come up with. I believe your wife was murdered and Hannibal saw what happened. The man who attacked your wife disposed of him to get rid of an inconvenient witness.’

A prolonged silence ensued. It was as if Erlendur’s words had infiltrated that orderly home with its perfectly squared pictures, its neatly aligned porcelain figurines, and somehow knocked everything askew. Distracted, Gústaf put the earring on the table and Erlendur seized this chance to slip it into his pocket. Gústaf did not appear to notice.

‘Of course, it’s pure speculation at this stage,’ Erlendur said. ‘None of this necessarily happened. It’s only one possible version of events. We know your wife’s earring was found inside the pipeline. So chances are that she was there herself. What was she doing there? Hiding, most likely. Who from? That’s where I thought you might be able to enlighten me.’

Unable to remain still while Erlendur was speaking, Gústaf had sprung to his feet and was pacing around the room.

‘What are you insinuating?’ he demanded, coming to a standstill. ‘How can I possibly enlighten you? What are you driving at?’

‘I’ve spoken to various people about this case, and I’m told that—’

‘People? What people?’

‘People who knew Oddný, friends—’

‘Which friends?’ Gústaf interrupted. ‘Surely you haven’t... You haven’t been talking to that nutter Ísidór?’

‘I have, yes.’

‘What, knowing that he tried to come between me and Oddný? Or didn’t he tell you that?’

‘Yes, he did, as a matter of fact.’

‘He tried to destroy our marriage. Did his level best to ruin our relationship. He’s... he’s the biggest shit I’ve ever come across.’

‘According to him, she wanted to leave you.’

‘Yes, well, he would say that, wouldn’t he? Actually, it was the other way round — she was trying to get shot of him. He was stifling her. I’ve always said he was dangerously unstable. If anyone’s done away with Oddný, it’s him. I told the police that but they were strangely reluctant to pursue the matter.’

‘I gather he said the same about you.’

‘He told the most appalling lies about me.’

‘Why did she get involved with Ísidór if he’s so unstable?’ asked Erlendur.

‘I don’t know. A moment of madness. I never understood it.’

‘But you forgave her?’

‘I... I wanted to save our marriage. You know he had the temerity to ring here and ask to speak to her? That’s how I found out about their affair. He had absolutely no qualms about making trouble for her. Can’t you see that? That’s what he’s like. You must see that he’s sick. It’s obvious. I can’t for the life of me imagine what Oddný was doing with him and, besides, it didn’t work out. They met up a few times, she told me, before she realised — realised he was unhinged.’

‘But I’ve heard it from other sources too,’ said Erlendur. ‘That you had marital problems.’

‘Who? Who said that?’

‘Just people I talked to. And not only problems. Oddný was having a very rough time, that’s why she looked elsewhere. It’s not only Ísidór who says that.’

‘A very rough time?’

‘I’ve heard rumours of violence,’ said Erlendur.

Gústaf’s eyes dropped to the hoovered carpet.

‘Was that why you bought her jewellery?’ asked Erlendur.

Gústaf did not reply.

‘Was that why you bought her the earrings? To beg her forgiveness?’

‘I’ve...’ Gústaf drew a deep breath. ‘I’ve gone out of my way to be polite to you, invited you into my house, listened to you, tried to reason with you. I’m glad you’re interested in the case, in Oddný’s case. No one’s more desperate than me to find her. I’ve tried to talk to you man to man. About sensitive matters — extremely sensitive matters to do with my personal life — with our life together. But then you come out with this, this bloody slander! I’ve already been over this with the police. You’d better get out. I have nothing more to say to you.’

‘Was that why she wanted to leave you?’ Erlendur persisted. Gústaf refused to rise to this.

‘But you wouldn’t allow it. Not only that but you forgave her for cheating on you and your marriage carried on as if nothing had ever happened?’

‘You’d better get out,’ repeated Gústaf in a controlled voice.

‘How was your relationship after that?’

‘We did our best to work it out. I don’t see how it’s relevant. I’m asking you to leave, please.’

‘Did things improve?’

Gústaf strode into the hall and opened the front door.

‘I can’t see that it’s any of your business.’

‘Did you attack your wife?’

‘No, I didn’t. Now leave me alone. She never came home!’ His voice sank to a whisper. ‘Oddný never came home from Thórskaffi.’ He shut the door on Erlendur.