The Shadow Killer

49

When they emerged from the interview room, Thorson was told that he was wanted on the phone in the prison governor’s office. A fellow MP was on the line with news of Billy Wiggins. The sergeant had been released after his interview with Thorson earlier that day, but while waiting for a lift back to Hvalfjördur he had got into an altercation outside Hótel Borg and been arrested for drunk and disorderly behaviour. Later, once he had calmed down and promised to clean his act up, the police had driven him back to his barracks at Camp Knox.

‘Is everything under control now?’ Thorson asked the police officer. ‘And if so, what’s the reason for the call?’

‘They said he’d mentioned your name when he started going nuts.’

‘My name?’

‘He kept saying he wanted to kill you, but the boys didn’t take any notice because he was crazy drunk. Called you some pretty ugly names. I’m not going to repeat them out loud, but apparently he threatened to rip your head off. The boys are starting to regret that they didn’t make him sleep it off at the station. They said he was pretty wild at first. Then he calmed down, and they took him back to his barracks. They just wanted you to know.’

‘Thanks,’ said Thorson. ‘The trouble outside Hótel Borg — what was that all about? Who was he fighting?’

‘Some GIs. He starting calling them a bunch of poofs — faggots, you know — and they went for him. Some British soldiers intervened and brought him in, so luckily it didn’t turn into a serious incident. We’re all supposed to be on the same side.’

Thorson relayed the news to Flóvent and asked if they were going to do anything more about Felix that night. Flóvent said probably not, but he was going to drive by Rudolf’s house on the way home, just to make sure all was quiet.

‘What’s the matter with Wiggins?’ asked Flóvent.

‘He’s a goddamn fool,’ said Thorson. ‘What did you think of the stuff Brynhildur just told us? Is she trying to be straight with us now?’

‘It looks like it. If her suspicions are correct, then Felix has got himself into a serious jam. That’s probably as good a reason as any other for why he’s gone into hiding and daren’t show his face. But I can’t work out what’s true and what’s not. All this stuff about spies and assassins and traitors. We’re just not used to that kind of thing here. We’ve never dealt with an investigation on this scale.’

‘Let alone engaged in espionage yourselves,’ said Thorson.

‘Quite,’ said Flóvent. ‘I suppose that’s why Felix has got himself into such a mess. He doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing. And he’s in way over his head.’

‘You’re probably right.’

‘This is more your department than mine, Thorson. You’d better talk to your people right away.’

‘Yes, of course. I’ll see to it.’

‘Mind you, if there’s any truth to what Felix told Brynhildur — if he’s considered a risk to someone within your ranks — perhaps you shouldn’t go talking to just anyone. You’ll have to watch what you say and who you speak to. It’ll be almost impossible to keep a story like this under wraps. Supposing it isn’t just some fantasy and there really is a man using Felix to feed the Germans false information, it would be a big deal for your people.’

‘That’s for sure,’ said Thorson. ‘It’s just a shame Felix is so slippery. I don’t know if we can believe a word he says.’

They parted company, and Thorson decided to drive out to Camp Knox before going to bed, just to check that everything was quiet in Billy Wiggins’s hut. He wasn’t too worried about Wiggins making good on his threats: that was just the booze talking. Although Thorson didn’t like the guy, he wasn’t particularly scared of him. He had requested a background check on the sergeant to see if he’d ever had a brush with the law in Britain or had a record as a troublemaker in the army. Thorson was also anxious to find out if he was married, maybe even a father. He wouldn’t be the first soldier to tell his Icelandic girlfriend that he was a bachelor when the truth was very different.

The Nissen huts, with their semi-cylindrical roofs and small windows, stood in rows along muddy tracks named after places at home. Thorson already knew which one was Billy’s. As he passed the hut, he saw two soldiers smoking under the large outdoor light over the door. Thorson hadn’t seen them before. This part of the camp was reserved for NCOs, and the huts were roomier and more comfortable than the privates’ barracks. Thorson couldn’t see Billy Wiggins anywhere. He halted the jeep, switched off the engine and said good evening to the two men.

‘That didn’t take you long,’ one called, as Thorson jumped out of the jeep and walked over to them.

‘Long?’ queried Thorson, unsure what the man meant.

‘To get here.’

‘Get here?’

‘I’ve just come off the phone to police headquarters,’ said the man, grinding his cigarette butt under his heel. ‘I don’t know where he went, but he was blind drunk. He didn’t stop after you lot brought him round. Didn’t go to bed. Just got hold of a bottle from the hut next door and carried on drinking and cursing the bloody Yanks. He was pissed out of his mind when he stormed out of here.’

‘Who are you talking about?’ asked Thorson, suspecting the worst.

‘Billy, of course,’ said the soldier. ‘Sergeant Wiggins. I just stepped out to take a leak and he scarpered.’

‘He’s not here?’

‘No, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. He’s gone. I wouldn’t have troubled you, only I think he’s armed. I can’t find his gun. I checked because he was making all kinds of daft threats. I know where he usually keeps it, and it’s not there now. I’m afraid he’s planning to do something bloody stupid.’

Thorson raced back to his jeep. He had to find Billy Wiggins before he got too far from the camp.

‘Any idea where he was heading?’ he called back to the soldiers.

‘No, I don’t know if he was going back into town to find those Yanks or to meet a woman or...’

Thorson leapt into the jeep and gunned the engine.

‘A woman?’

‘I dunno...’

‘What woman?’ yelled Thorson. ‘What woman was he talking about?’

‘The girl he’s been seeing,’ shouted the soldier. ‘The woman who takes in washing. He was pissed off about something she’d done and kept ranting on and on, saying that he’d sacrificed everything for her.’

‘Do you know what she was supposed to have done?’

‘No, but the bastard was hopping mad. Beside himself with rage.’

Thorson slammed the jeep into gear and scanned the camp, looking west towards the sea where Vera’s laundry stood. There was a faint light in the upstairs window, and he was overwhelmed with the horrible sensation, familiar from his nightmares, that however fast he went, he’d be too late.