Frozen Assets

‘Wait,’ the voice replied submissively. They could hear papers being shuffled and a mobile phone beeping quietly.

‘Here it is,’ Ósk Líndal snapped, and Gunna gestured to both Snorri and Bára to write the number down. ‘I suppose I may as well tell you that last night Sigurjóna stayed at the Gullfoss Hotel. I don’t know her room number, but the company booked four rooms.’

‘Thank you. You’ve been a great help,’ Gunna said, back to her smooth voice again.

‘Yeah. Well, if you need any other information, then don’t call me,’ the voice grated, with the phone banging down on to its rest at the other end as the last word spilled out.

‘Nice one, chief. That’s the way to make friends,’ Snorri said with a wide grin on his face that almost matched the one on Bára’s.

Sigurjóna’s head throbbed. Swathed in a voluptuous white dressing gown and with hair awry, she sat in a deep armchair in one of the Gullfoss Hotel’s finest suites.

‘Do you know where all your staff are at the moment?’ Gunna asked her gently as Jón Oddur, bare-chested and pink-faced, appeared from the bedroom with a handful of tablets and a glass of water which he put on the coffee table in front of Sigurjóna.

‘Of course not. I employ a human resources manager who does that.’

‘Ósk Líndal?’

‘That is one of Ósk’s duties.’

Gunna opened the slim briefcase she had borrowed from Snorri and took out copies of the photos of Hårde that had come from the Swedish police. She placed a picture of a stubble-faced, younger-looking Hårde on the table.

‘Do you know this man?’

‘Should I?’

‘You tell me.’

‘Yes.’

‘Tell me about him.’

Sigurjóna frowned in irritation. ‘His name’s Graham Hardy. He works for InterAlu as their site integrity consultant for the construction of the Hvalvík Lagoon plant.’

‘And if I were to tell you that he has convictions for assault and grievous bodily harm, what would your reaction be?’ Gunna asked.

Sigurjóna’s face was expressionless. ‘So? Our connections with InterAlu on a day-to-day basis are generally via Hardy and he’s given us no cause for concern. He’s very efficient, very well organized. What he may have done in the past isn’t relevant. He does his job well and that’s all that matters.’

‘Where is he now?’

‘Why do you want to know?’

‘All I can tell you is that it concerns an ongoing investigation and it isn’t a trivial matter. Locating your Mr Hardy is a priority.’

Sigurjóna yawned and leaned back in the armchair. ‘Isn’t there any coffee? Jón Oddur! Order coffee, will you?’

The young man put his head briefly round the door, nodded and bobbed quickly back to the bedroom.

‘I’d prefer it if this conversation could be kept confidential from your staff,’ Gunna said acidly, emphasizing ‘staff’.

‘Close the door, then.’

Gunna nodded to Snorri, who walked over, gently shut the bedroom door and sat back down again on the plush sofa next to Bára.

‘Can you tell me about the work Hardy does?’

‘Why don’t you ask him yourself?’

‘If I knew where to find him, I would. What does he do?’

‘I told you. He’s in charge of security at the Hvalvík site on behalf of InterAlu and at the Hvalvík Lagoon site on ESC’s behalf.’

‘Your company?’

‘So you read newspapers, inspector?’

‘Sergeant. When I have time,’ Gunna replied. ‘I have to say, I was rather hoping that you would be more cooperative.’

‘Good God, you wake me up on a Saturday morning after an awards party and expect me to be cooperative?’

‘I would expect the wife of a minister to cooperate with a murder investigation.’

‘Murder? Who?’

There was a knock at the door and Gunna said nothing.

‘Shall I?’ Snorri asked.

Sigurjóna nodded. Snorri opened the door and took a tray of cups and a silver thermos of coffee from a black-waistcoated waiter. He put it carefully on the table and sat back down on the sofa where Bára was taking notes.

‘You still haven’t answered my question,’ Gunna reminded Sigurjóna as she poured coffee for herself.

‘What question?’

‘Where’s Hardy?’

‘I have no idea where he is. As you know, until a quarter of an hour ago, I was asleep. Anyway, you haven’t answered my question either.’

‘You mean the one I expect you know perfectly well that I can’t answer?’

‘Yeah. Who’s been murdered?’

‘Like I said, I can’t say anything about an ongoing investigation.’

‘It’s that silly boy Einar Eyjólfur, I suppose. Look, he must have been drunk, got a lift with somebody and lost his way somehow. For such a smart guy, he was an idiot in some ways.’

‘I can’t comment at the moment. But it’s important that we speak to Hardy soon. Where’s he living?’

‘Don’t know.’

‘He’s working for you and you don’t know his address?’

‘Strictly speaking, he doesn’t work for me. He’s an employee of InterAlu and we purchase their services in some fields, some of which happen to be carried out by Mr Hardy.’

‘How about a phone number?’

‘I contact him when I need to at the compound in Hvalvík. Jón Oddur has the number.’

‘No mobile?’

‘Probably. But I don’t have a number for him,’ Sigurjóna lied.