Frozen Assets

‘It’s rubbish,’ Sigurjóna said airily. ‘Only don’t quote that. It’s got to the point where everyone has a blog, even government ministers. It’s part of the PR machine. We advise our clients to have a blog and to update it regularly, and of course I’d prefer you to not mention that piece of information either.’

Dagga smothered her irritation. Surely someone so expert in dealing with the media would know better than to say something and then ask for it to be kept quiet?

‘But on the record — are you prepared to tell me about Skandalblogger?’

Sigurjóna looked pained. It was something that she had practised in front of a mirror along with the winning smile that made clients feel they could trust her with their children’s lives.

‘Of course. But there isn’t a lot to tell that isn’t already well known. This blog started up about a year and a half ago. It’s completely anonymous. Some of us who have been on the receiving end of this particular brand of poison have made a study of it and it’s our opinion that there’s one person who writes not all, but certainly much of it, and the information seems to come from several different sources.’

‘So this is a group effort?’

‘Certainly. One person would hardly have access to so much information — and misinformation, as a great deal of what appears on this blog is absolutely false. If you were to publish this kind of story in Dagurinn, I can assure you that you would be sued for every penny you have, and more.’

Dagga desperately wanted to ask if the story about the Heathrow sex marathon and Sugarplum were true, but didn’t want to be thrown out, at least not quite yet.

‘And have you tried to track down this person? Or persons?’

‘Naturally. The police computer crime division is also working on it and I’m sure that every newspaper in Iceland — yours included — has had a crack at finding whoever is responsible for this blog. Am I right?’

‘You’re right,’ Dagga admitted. ‘Our internet whizzes had a try but couldn’t get very far. It’s hosted in South America somewhere, isn’t it?’

‘It comes and goes. It’s on a server in some central Asian republic at the moment, as far as I’m aware.’

Dagga checked the red light on her recorder. ‘Returning to the personality actually behind this blog, do you have any ideas, any clues as to who it may be?’

Sigurjóna raised her hands, palms upwards, by way of reply.

‘Is there anything that can be done?’

‘Probably not. If the person or persons ever surface, there will be a good few people who will undoubtedly have grievances they will want to obtain damages over, but there could be huge problems in establishing proof,’ she said, flashing the smile again.

‘Is this an issue of free speech?’

A spasm of anger passed over Sigurjóna’s face and Dagga was sure that asking about boob jobs would probably mean the end of the interview.

‘Of course it’s not about bloody free speech,’ she said with irritation. ‘It’s about the right of ordinary, honest people to live their lives without being slandered in a hideous and hurtful way, without being able to refute all kinds of awful, untrue allegations.’

‘I take it there’s no truth in any of the allegations that Skandalblogger has put forward?’

Sigurjóna’s voice rose in pitch and volume. ‘Certainly not. It’s all spiteful fabrication, pure lies.’

‘As for your husband and the allegations about his relationship with ESC and InterAlu-’

‘As I said, it’s all lies and fabrication.’

Although she was keeping her famous temper in check, Dagga was sure that Sigurjóna was about to explode. Dagga saw her eyes flicker over the desk and settle for a moment on the tiny recorder with its red light. She suddenly calmed and returned to her normal manner.

‘I’m terribly sorry. You must forgive me, but you have to understand that the last few weeks and months have been. . stressful, shall we say?’

‘I understand that it’s been difficult for you and for quite a few other people. Your husband-’

‘Isn’t here,’ Sigurjóna interrupted. ‘He will have to speak on his own behalf and I’m sure he’ll be happy to do so. But I can say that he is deeply disturbed and hurt by allegations that he has behaved less than entirely honestly.’

‘And InterAlu? They have been portrayed very unfavourably. As Spearpoint is InterAlu’s public relations agency, surely you can comment for them?’

‘I’ll have one of my staff email you a statement this afternoon,’ Sigurjóna replied with an icy dismissiveness in her voice that Dagga realized indicated the interview was almost at an end.

‘Before we finish, I’d like to ask about the young man Skandalblog-ger alleges was murdered a few weeks ago?’

‘An extremely unfortunate matter. The police investigation, as far as I’m aware, has found nothing to indicate any kind of foul play.’

‘You don’t believe he was killed deliberately?’

‘Of course not. I’d like to know how he found his way out there to that place in wherever-it-was. .’

‘Hvalvík,’ Dagga supplied.