Thóra said goodbye and put down the phone. ‘Well?’ asked Bella impatiently.
‘I don’t know if he was telling the truth or if he’s still hiding something from me,’ grumbled Thóra. ‘He might even be out and out lyingto me.’ She had got Kjartan’s telephone number from the harbour-master’s office and called in the hope of finding out more about the alcohol case and seeing if he had anything to say about the pool of blood.‘After a long argument he admitted having been a suspect in the smuggling case, and I’m fairly certain that he did play a part in it even though he hasn’t admitted it.’
‘And this Dadi Horseshoe?’ said Bella. ‘Did Kjartan say he was guilty?’
‘Yes, he even gave a little speech about it,’ said Thóra, staring at her phone in exasperation.‘According to Kjartan, Dadi was the kingpin in the smuggling operation, which had actually been going on for quite some time. Dadi was in contact with a couple of sailors on a cargo ship that sailed past here regularly. They would throw the liquor overboard, attached to an anchor line, and it would float there until Dadi came to pick it up in a little rowing boat. When the Cod War started it got harder, since the fishing grounds and the surrounding area were supervised so closely. That’s how it was uncovered, according to Kjartan. He was seen fishing up the containers and sailing away with the unidentified contents. He wasn’t actually caught red-handed with the liquor, but the police in the Islands were notified of his mysterious trip and Gudni’s investigation exposed it.’
‘And what was Kjartan’s part in it supposed to have been?’ asked Bella.
‘As I told you, he denied any involvement; but he did tell me what he’d been suspected of. The police thought he was the one taking any spirits that didn’t sell in the Islands over to the mainland. At the time he was working on a coastal ship for the State Shipping Company.’
‘That’s a sensible division of labour,’ said Bella, nodding in approval.
Thóra didn’t respond. ‘He said the case fell apart: first the eruption halted the investigation in its tracks, then Magnus turned up at the police station and admitted everything.’
‘Maybe he was the only one involved,’ Bella said. ‘He didn’t want his innocent friends to take the blame.’
‘Kjartan said it was absolutely out of the question that Magnus had anything to do with the smuggling,’ said Thóra. ‘I completely believe him about this part, because I think he, Kjartan I mean, was tangled up in it. He said he was amazed when this story started going around. But he hadn’t had the chance to talk to Magnus or ask what he’d confessed, because the night after Magnus took the blame the volcano blew its top. When they met during the rescue operations a short time later, no one discussed it in the hope that it would simply blow over, which is in fact what happened.’
‘But surely Magnus was up to his neck in it?’ frowned Bella. ‘Firstly, no one does something like that for his friends – I don’t care what anyone says. Secondly, we know he sneaked down to the harbour with Dadi Horseshoe in the middle of the night, which must have had something to do with the smuggling.’
‘If Kjartan’s telling the truth, then it’s out of the question. Magnus had his hands full keeping the company going, and he wouldn’t have had the time or desire to complicate his life.’
‘So what did Kjartan say about the blood?’
‘Nothing much,’ said Thóra. ‘He said he’d heard the story about Dadi and Magnus being down at the pier that night, but knew nothing about the pool of blood. Or about the British fishing smack.’ She heaved a sigh. ‘I hope I can get something out of Magnus.’
‘Do you really think he’ll tell you anything?’
‘I don’t know. But I do know he’s one of the only people left alive who know what happened, although it’s clearly impossible to tell how much of it is still in his memory.’
‘If I’d murdered four people, I’d forget everything but that,’ said Bella. ‘I’d forget everything about work, everyone at the office, but never that.’
Thóra smiled. ‘Hopefully you’re right,’ she said, crossing her fingers. ‘We’ll see.’
Magnus was staring fixedly at the compass Thóra had brought with her. The old books lay in a little pile on a table next to him, but he’d showed no interest in them. His veiny hands gripped the arms of the easy chair tightly. ‘Why?’ he asked suddenly. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the compass, so it was unclear who should answer the question. Thóra glanced sideways at Maria, who simply shrugged her shoulders. Thóra placed her hand on Magnus’s grey paw and was startled at how cold and bony it was. ‘Aren’t you happy to have the compass back? I found it in the basement.’
The man jerked his head up and glowered at Thóra. ‘Why?’
She didn’t know what to say. ‘As far as I knew, you regretted having left it behind during the eruption,’she said, avoiding his glare. ‘Isn’t that good?’
The old man looked down into his lap and shook his head, his expression melancholy. ‘You’ve grown old, Sigridur,’ he said. ‘You were just a little girl.’
‘Like Alda?’ asked Thóra. She doubted the name Sigridur was significant, since Leifur had told her his father was confusing her with his sister.
‘Poor Alda,’ said Magnus, still shaking his head. ‘That was ugly.’
‘What was ugly?’ asked Thóra. ‘I’ve forgotten what happened.’ As soon as she’d said it she realized it was a mistake. The man squinted at her and appeared to become confused. Maria came to the rescue. ‘Are you cold, Maggi dear?’ she said good-naturedly, and he calmed down at the sound of her voice. ‘I’ll fix your blanket,’ she said, standing up to pull it over his legs. ‘There now.’ She patted his knee. ‘Be good for Thóra now. She’s helping your son, Markus.’
‘Markus loves Alda,’ said the old man, nodding happily. ‘She’s a good girl.’ Then his face darkened. ‘Ruined.’
‘Ruined?’ exclaimed Thóra. She added, more calmly: ‘What happened to her? Did she hurt herself?’
‘Ruined,’ he repeated. ‘The sacrifice.’ He stared hard at the compass and frowned. ‘Disgusting. Take it away.’
Thóra had to refrain from shaking the man by the shoulders as she put the compass away. Damn it, he had the information she needed. She wondered if it were possible to hypnotize an Alzheimer’s patient. ‘Alda is dead, Magnus,’ she said.‘If I’m going to help Markus, I need to know what happened to her.’
‘Markus,’ said Magnus, turning to look out of the window. ‘Markus loves Alda.’ He dropped his head again.
‘I know,’ said Thóra, reaching for the roughly made purse Bella had found, full of coins that appeared to be gold. ‘You see what I’ve got here?’ she asked, showing him the purse. ‘The coins you were looking for.’ He tried to turn his head away, clearly reluctant to look at it. She opened the purse and showed him the contents. ‘Gold, Magnus,’ she said. ‘Gold coins.’ Suddenly he lashed out at the purse, making Thóra lose her grip. The coins scattered everywhere. Several landed in his lap and he reacted as if they were made of burning lava, trembling all over, crying out and trying to shake them off.
Maria jumped to her feet and tried her best to calm him down. Together they managed to remove the coins. Magnus relaxed a little. ‘Blood,’ he said. ‘Blood money.’
‘Blood?’ asked Thóra, knowing her time here was running out. ‘Did someone die, Magnus? Did four men die?’
He sat still and looked at her, his expression cruel. ‘They were evil men, Sigridur.’
‘Evil men,’ he said again, trying to stand. ‘The falcon is a beautiful bird,’ he added. ‘Not like the cuckoo.’ His face had softened and the dullness seemed to be returning to his eyes. ‘It doesn’t hatch its own eggs,’ he said. ‘Other birds do. Remember that.’
Thóra promised she would. First a falcon, now a cuckoo. Perfect. Still, at least it seemed clear that Magnus had some connection to the old murders. One step forward, two steps back.