Whale Fjord

Twenty-One

Ingileif was less cool towards him than Magnus had expected that evening.

‘I bumped into your old landlord in the street this afternoon. He asked after you.’

‘Tryggvi Thór? How is he?’

‘He looked old.’

‘He is old. He’s ancient.’

‘Yeah, but he looked really old. Like he might be ill.’

‘I hope not.’ Tryggvi Thór was a former cop with whom Magnus had lodged for several years. They had got on surprisingly well.

‘When was the last time you saw him?’

‘Not for several months.’

‘He asked after you. Did you ever find out what he was doing with Thelma?’

‘No.’ Magnus had seen Tryggvi Thór and Thelma having lunch together, shortly after they had both denied knowing each other. And after Tryggvi Thór had been attacked. Twice. ‘He said, if I didn’t shut up asking him about it, he’d throw me out.’

‘Well, he can’t do that any more, can he?’

‘No,’ Magnus admitted. But Ingileif was right — he should stay in touch with the old man. ‘I’ll give him a call. Maybe you could come with me? He always liked you.’

‘Maybe.’ Ingileif’s voice was cool. Maybe not.

Dinner was over, Magnus had done the washing up and Ási was in his bedroom, when she sat on the sofa and asked him to join her.

She took his hand, her face determined.

‘Magnús. I’m going to ask you a question, and it’s important you answer honestly.’

‘OK,’ he said.

‘Are you Erla’s father?’

He squeezed her hand. ‘No,’ he said simply, meeting her grey eyes.

Ingileif seemed to hesitate. He felt the pressure of her removing her hand, and then she squeezed it. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘I believe you.’

‘Thank you,’ said Magnus. And he really meant it.

‘I decided I was going to trust you and you were going to trust me, and I’m not going to give up on that. So I believe you. But you’ve got to admit that Erla and Ási do look similar?’

Magnus didn’t answer.

‘What about getting married?’

‘Do you still want to do that?’ Magnus blurted out.

‘Oh, yes,’ said Ingileif. ‘Now more than ever. I don’t mind telling you, I feel vulnerable. I’m trusting you totally when my head is telling me I shouldn’t. But I’m overruling my head. I need you to trust me.’

‘I do trust you.’

‘Do you? That’s not what you said yesterday.’

She was right, it wasn’t. And yet.

‘OK. I understand. Just give me some time to think about it. Not years, like I said yesterday. Days. OK?’

‘OK,’ Ingileif nodded.

Magnus admired her. She was taking a risk with him. And, given her track record, the whole commitment thing was a bigger deal for her than for many other people. He had no doubt of her sincerity.

But, as she said, Erla and Ási did look a lot alike. And there was a reason for that.

Magnus was worried about Vigdís. And he wanted to share that worry with Ingileif.

‘You know I told you that Vigdís saw her mother hit someone in her car on Tuesday?’

‘Yes?’

‘He died.’

Ingileif gasped. ‘Oh, no! Have they arrested Audur?’

‘Vigdís hasn’t told anyone what she saw. Apart from me.’

‘Oh. That’s not good.’

‘No, it’s not. I’ve told her to come clean. I’ve given her twenty-four hours to do it, or else I’ll do it for her.’

‘Do you think she will?”

‘I hope so. I’m sure she will. She’s a good cop.’

‘What if she doesn’t?’

Magnus shrugged. ‘If she doesn’t, I’ll speak to the officer who took her statement.’

Ingileif looked at Magnus steadily. He knew what she was thinking. ‘I have to, Ingileif! Once cops start covering for other cops then the whole thing becomes rotten. I saw it in Boston. I’m not going to be part of it here.’

‘But it’s her mother,’ Ingileif said quietly. ‘You can’t expect her to testify against her mother.’

‘I would,’ said Magnus, anger tingeing his voice. From nowhere he could feel the emotion bubbling up inside him. It was all he could do to restrain a sob.

‘I know how you feel about your mother, Magnús, how angry you are with her,’ Ingileif said gently.

Magnus was angry with his mother. While he was living it, his childhood hadn’t made any sense. His first memories were of warmth and happiness in a tiny metal-clad house on the hill in Reykjavík with a little tree he could climb in the front yard. His mother going off to teach at the local secondary school. His father at the university. The family laughing together, all of them happy.

Then his father left them to go to a university in America. At first, Ollie, Magnus and their mother were supposed to follow him, but then they didn’t. The two brothers moved up to their grandparents’ farm in Snaefellsnes where life became a nightmare. Their grandfather was cruel to the point of sadism; their grandmother looked the other way. Their mother became sleepy or silly and did nothing to protect the boys from her own father. There were times of manic laughter, but mostly life was miserable.

Then there was a car accident and she died. And Magnus’s father came back from America to rescue him.

As a teenager, Magnus had begun to make sense of all this. His mother was an alcoholic. She had chased her husband away. Then she had got drunk and driven into a rock, probably intentionally. She probably intended to abandon her sons to her own parents.

She had hurt Magnus badly, and ruined Ollie’s life. Magnus couldn’t forgive her.

He had subsequently discovered, after his return to Iceland as a cop, that there were other reasons why drink had got the better of her. Magnus’s father had started an affair with her best friend. But even with that knowledge, he couldn’t forgive her.

He hadn’t been able to explain this to anyone. Except Ingileif. Ingileif had understood.

‘This isn’t about your mother, is it?’ Ingileif said.

‘No. And I know it’s dreadful for Vigdís. But this woman should be locked up. What about the guy she hit? What about the guy’s family? What about the next guy she hits, next week or next month? What about them?’

‘I’m not saying Vigdís shouldn’t say what she saw,’ Ingileif said.

‘So what are you saying?’

‘I’m saying that if Vigdís hasn’t changed her story by this time tomorrow, talk to me before you do anything.’

‘All right,’ Magnus said. ‘All right. I’ll talk to you.’

His phone beeped. Ingileif rolled her eyes.

But the text wasn’t from the station. It was from Louisa.