Far North - Michael Ridpath [47]
‘Any news on the investigation?’ Magnus asked.
‘No real breakthroughs,’ said Piper. ‘We are still pursuing the Russian angle, although that’s looking less likely. A handwriting expert took a look at the script on the Post-It note we found outside Óskar Gunnarsson’s house. He reckons that whoever wrote it wasn’t a native Russian speaker, or should I say, writer.’
‘You mean it was a decoy?’
‘Looks like it.’
‘Did you try out an Icelandic accent on your witness?’
‘Yes. We took her to the Icelandic Embassy and she listened to some of the people there. She thinks the courier she saw could have had an Icelandic accent. But he spoke very good English.’
‘Interesting.’
‘Yeah. Of course he could have been a genuine courier from one of Gunnarsson’s Icelandic contacts in London, but we haven’t discovered anyone who was trying to deliver anything to him at home.’
‘What about the killer himself? Was he speaking Icelandic?’
‘We did try the girlfriend with the Icelanders from the embassy. She thought the language she heard might have been Icelandic, but she was stretching it. She didn’t really know.’
‘And the motorbikes?’
‘Nothing. But we traced the gun: it was used in a gang shooting in Lewisham two months ago – that’s in south London. No one was killed or even injured. But that probably just means the gun was second hand. I’ve brought a list of Icelandic citizens we know that Gunnarsson was in contact with in London. Can we go through that?’
‘Sure. And I have fixed up an appointment with the Special Prosecutor into financial crimes. That might give you an idea of where Óskar and Ódinsbanki fit into the inquiries into the banking crisis last year.’
‘Good. Thank you. Have you turned up anything?’
‘Nothing on a Russian angle,’ Magnus said. He considered telling Piper about Harpa, but Baldur had been quite explicit. The fact that Harpa had once had sex with Óskar about four years ago was not yet a conclusive link. Reykjavík was a small place, and although that didn’t quite mean that everyone had slept with everyone else, that kind of coincidence could not be ruled out.
Four years? Harpa had a three-year old son. Hmm.
‘Magnus?’
Magnus shook his head. ‘Sorry. It’s nothing.’
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘WELCOME TO ICELAND, Sharon,’ said the chief superintendent.‘My name is Thorkell. And this is Inspector Baldur who is in charge of the investigation from our end.’
Thorkell was beaming at Piper, who fell under his charm instantly. They were in the chief’s office on the top floor of the building, with a view of the windswept bay and Mount Esja, standing strong and immobile against the gale. Thorkell’s round face was all pink-cheeked smiles. Baldur eyed Piper suspiciously.
‘Thank you,’ she said.
‘How long are you planning to be with us?’ Thorkell asked.
‘I’ve left it open,’ Piper said. ‘Probably just a day or so, but I can stay longer if necessary.’
‘I doubt it will be,’ said Thorkell. ‘We haven’t found any Icelandic link at our end have we, Magnus?’
Magnus recognized a question requiring the answer no when he heard one. ‘No,’ he said.
‘Any breakthroughs at your end?’
‘Not yet,’ said Piper. ‘But we can’t rule out that Gunnarsson was murdered by an Icelander.’
‘Mr Julian Lister is incorrect. We are not all terrorists,’ said Baldur in halting English. Julian Lister was the British Chancellor of the Exchequer.
‘I didn’t know there were any terrorists in Iceland,’ said Piper. ‘We have no idea what the motive for Óskar Gunnarsson’s murder was, but there are no signs of terrorism.’
‘Good, good,’ said Thorkell. ‘Sharon, I would like you to come with me to meet Óskar Gunnarsson’s family. He was an important man here in Iceland, and it would be good for them to see what is being done to find his killer.’
‘I would be happy to,’ said Piper.
‘What was all that terrorism crap?’ Piper said as they left Thorkell’s office.
‘Yeah, you’ll find the Icelanders are a bit sensitive about that these days,’ Magnus said. ‘When all the banks blew up last year, the Brits seized the UK assets of one of them under anti-terrorist legislation.