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Authors: Arnaldur Indridason
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Oli.
‘Yes, I know. I was there with you when they told us.’
‘No, I mean they found Rohypnol in Runolfur. Inside him. There was a load of it in his mouth and throat.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘He was up to his eyeballs in the stuff himself!’
8
The manager of the Customer Support Division at the phone company met Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli after lunch. Sigurdur Oli was distracted - he was working on another demanding case and had only half his mind on the Thingholt murder. In addition, his relationship with Bergthora was not improving. He had moved out and their attempts to resolve their differences had failed. She had invited him over one evening recently but they had finished up quarrelling. He did not tell Elinborg. He wanted to keep his personal life private. They had hardly spoken on the way to the phone company except for Elinborg asking if he had heard anything from Erlendur since he left for the East Fjords.
‘Nothing,’ said Sigurdur Oli.
Elinborg had gone to bed late and had not managed to get to sleep until the middle of the night. Her mind had been racing with thoughts of Runolfur and the date-rape drug. She had not yet spoken to Valthor about his blog. He had been out of the house when she intended to tell him to stop writing about his family on the net.
Teddi snored quietly next to her. She never remembered him having any trouble sleeping, or having a restless night - no doubt a sign that he was at peace with himself and with the world. He did not complain, and was not much of a talker. He did not take the initiative, preferring to live in peace and quiet. His job was not particularly stressful and he never brought it home with him. Sometimes, when Elinborg felt oppressed by her work, she considered whether she should have stuck to geology and imagined what she might be doing now if she had not joined the police. She might be a teacher; she had taught a few courses at the Police Training College and she enjoyed the role of instructor. She might have pursued postgraduate studies and become a scientist, researching glacial floods and earthquakes. Sometimes, when she observed the work of the police forensics officers, she thought that it might have suited her. She was not especially unhappy in her work, but from time to time she was overcome by the degradation and horrors she had to witness. She could not fathom how human beings could behave like savage beasts.
‘What is it exactly that a telecoms engineer does?’ Elinborg asked the manager. ‘What does the job involve?’
‘Well, it can involve various things,’ the manager - Larus - said. ‘They’re responsible for the telephone system, and they handle maintenance and installation. I checked up on Runolfur in our records. He’d been with us for several years - joined us straight from technical college. An excellent worker. The company was very happy with him.’
‘Was he liked?’
‘Yes, so far as I know. I didn’t have much direct contact with him but I’m told he was sober, punctual and pleasant. Nobody here understands this. We can’t grasp what really happened.’
‘No,’ Elinborg replied. ‘Do they go to people’s houses, these engineers?’
‘Runolfur did. He handled Internet connections, broadband, in-house phone systems, digital tuners, fibre optics. We offer an outstanding service. People have no idea about computers and technology. Someone who had been stamping on his mouse all day rang recently. He thought it was a foot pedal.’
‘Can you give us a list of customers that Runolfur visited in recent months?’ asked Elinborg. ‘He covered the Reykjavik area, didn’t he?’
‘You’ll need a warrant. I’m sure we’ve got a list, but I should think it’s confidential, so …’
‘No problem,’ said Elinborg. ‘You’ll have one by close of business today.’
‘Are you going to interview everyone he visited?’
‘If necessary,’ said Elinborg. ‘Do you know of any friends of Runolfur we
‘Yes, I know. I was there with you when they told us.’
‘No, I mean they found Rohypnol in Runolfur. Inside him. There was a load of it in his mouth and throat.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘He was up to his eyeballs in the stuff himself!’
8
The manager of the Customer Support Division at the phone company met Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli after lunch. Sigurdur Oli was distracted - he was working on another demanding case and had only half his mind on the Thingholt murder. In addition, his relationship with Bergthora was not improving. He had moved out and their attempts to resolve their differences had failed. She had invited him over one evening recently but they had finished up quarrelling. He did not tell Elinborg. He wanted to keep his personal life private. They had hardly spoken on the way to the phone company except for Elinborg asking if he had heard anything from Erlendur since he left for the East Fjords.
‘Nothing,’ said Sigurdur Oli.
Elinborg had gone to bed late and had not managed to get to sleep until the middle of the night. Her mind had been racing with thoughts of Runolfur and the date-rape drug. She had not yet spoken to Valthor about his blog. He had been out of the house when she intended to tell him to stop writing about his family on the net.
Teddi snored quietly next to her. She never remembered him having any trouble sleeping, or having a restless night - no doubt a sign that he was at peace with himself and with the world. He did not complain, and was not much of a talker. He did not take the initiative, preferring to live in peace and quiet. His job was not particularly stressful and he never brought it home with him. Sometimes, when Elinborg felt oppressed by her work, she considered whether she should have stuck to geology and imagined what she might be doing now if she had not joined the police. She might be a teacher; she had taught a few courses at the Police Training College and she enjoyed the role of instructor. She might have pursued postgraduate studies and become a scientist, researching glacial floods and earthquakes. Sometimes, when she observed the work of the police forensics officers, she thought that it might have suited her. She was not especially unhappy in her work, but from time to time she was overcome by the degradation and horrors she had to witness. She could not fathom how human beings could behave like savage beasts.
‘What is it exactly that a telecoms engineer does?’ Elinborg asked the manager. ‘What does the job involve?’
‘Well, it can involve various things,’ the manager - Larus - said. ‘They’re responsible for the telephone system, and they handle maintenance and installation. I checked up on Runolfur in our records. He’d been with us for several years - joined us straight from technical college. An excellent worker. The company was very happy with him.’
‘Was he liked?’
‘Yes, so far as I know. I didn’t have much direct contact with him but I’m told he was sober, punctual and pleasant. Nobody here understands this. We can’t grasp what really happened.’
‘No,’ Elinborg replied. ‘Do they go to people’s houses, these engineers?’
‘Runolfur did. He handled Internet connections, broadband, in-house phone systems, digital tuners, fibre optics. We offer an outstanding service. People have no idea about computers and technology. Someone who had been stamping on his mouse all day rang recently. He thought it was a foot pedal.’
‘Can you give us a list of customers that Runolfur visited in recent months?’ asked Elinborg. ‘He covered the Reykjavik area, didn’t he?’
‘You’ll need a warrant. I’m sure we’ve got a list, but I should think it’s confidential, so …’
‘No problem,’ said Elinborg. ‘You’ll have one by close of business today.’
‘Are you going to interview everyone he visited?’
‘If necessary,’ said Elinborg. ‘Do you know of any friends of Runolfur we
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