sighed. ‘Svavar’s four now and Vala’s eighteen months.’
Anna Björg shook her head. ‘Hardcore, Helgi, starting all that stuff a second time round. You must be a machine,’ she laughed and watched Helgi’s pained expression. ‘Ah, but I needed that,’ she said, finishing her beer while Helgi was barely halfway through his.
‘And you?’ he asked. ‘How’ve you been?’
She rolled the empty glass in her hands. ‘Ach. Y’know. Work, work, work. The summer was great and I spent plenty of it on horseback. But it’ll be snowing soon.’
‘How many horses now?’
‘Only eight.’
‘Only?’
‘Well. After Gussi moved away, he decided he didn’t want anything to do with horses ever again, so I kept hold of them all, and the stable. I should have figured out years ago that horses are better than men.’
‘There’s nobody else, then?’
‘Not right now. There was someone after Gussi.’ She shrugged. ‘He liked the uniform and the handcuffs, but he didn’t like dogs or horses, so he had to go.’
Helgi downed his beer and stood up. ‘You know, Anna Björg, I never have been able to figure out when you’re joking and when you’re not. Another one?’
‘Why would I joke about anything like that? Deadly serious, me.’
‘Yeah,’ Helgi said uncertainly. ‘The same again?’
The bar was still empty. Helgi rapped on the counter until the girl who doubled as the receptionist appeared and poured two more beers for them.
‘Quiet here on a weeknight,’ he said as he placed the glasses on the table. ‘Not a lot happening around here?’
‘Not a lot. It’ll be jumping on Friday night, I expect. There’s some band playing, so that might be a long night for us.’ Anna Björg raised her glass. ‘
Skál
. So, tell me what brings you here. This is to do with the Tunga brothers?’
‘The man who ran over Kjartan’s boy got eight years, out after four,’ Helgi said. ‘Yeah, I know,’ he added, noticing the sour look on Anna Björg’s face. ‘He’d been at a rehabilitation hostel for eight weeks. Then someone beat him up and broke his head wide open, in an industrial unit that he apparently still owned.’
‘And things point this way?’
Helgi cracked his knuckles uncomfortably. ‘Well, no. Not exactly. Kjartan has a rock solid alibi, as he was at sea. But we all know how the Tunga brothers look after each other. So Gunna suggested I come up here and ask a few discreet questions.’
‘Gunna? That’s your inspector?’
‘Sergeant. We’re supposed to be under Örlygur Sveinsson, but he’s been off sick practically since the unit was formed and so Gunna’s been running things.’
‘That’s Gunnhildur Gísla, right? What’s she like?’
‘I like her a lot. What you see is what you get. No office politics, no fishing for promotion – although it’s long overdue in her case. She gets results even though it’s not always the results that upstairs would like.’
‘So Gunna sent you up here to check out the Tunga boys’ alibis?’
‘Pretty much. Any ideas?’
‘What day?’
‘Sunday.’
‘Well, I saw Ingi on the road to the Hook on Sunday morning, so I doubt it could have been him.’
Helgi felt a sudden surge of relief that Anna Björg did not fail to notice in his face.
‘Do you know any of them?’
‘I was at school with Ingi,’ Helgi admitted. ‘Kjartan left the district while I was a kid. I never really knew the other two, although I bundled Reynir into a cell more than once when I was in uniform here. But he’s calmed down a lot since then, hasn’t he?’
Anna Björg nodded. ‘Össur’s the sensible one, I reckon. Kjartan I don’t know and Reynir’s a dark horse. He’s sobered up, but I’d still be wary of him. The man’s an unguided missile at the best of times and there’s no knowing when he’s likely to blow his top. Not that I’ve had reason to have any dealings with them for a long time. Are you going out to Tunga tomorrow, or do you
Anna Björg shook her head. ‘Hardcore, Helgi, starting all that stuff a second time round. You must be a machine,’ she laughed and watched Helgi’s pained expression. ‘Ah, but I needed that,’ she said, finishing her beer while Helgi was barely halfway through his.
‘And you?’ he asked. ‘How’ve you been?’
She rolled the empty glass in her hands. ‘Ach. Y’know. Work, work, work. The summer was great and I spent plenty of it on horseback. But it’ll be snowing soon.’
‘How many horses now?’
‘Only eight.’
‘Only?’
‘Well. After Gussi moved away, he decided he didn’t want anything to do with horses ever again, so I kept hold of them all, and the stable. I should have figured out years ago that horses are better than men.’
‘There’s nobody else, then?’
‘Not right now. There was someone after Gussi.’ She shrugged. ‘He liked the uniform and the handcuffs, but he didn’t like dogs or horses, so he had to go.’
Helgi downed his beer and stood up. ‘You know, Anna Björg, I never have been able to figure out when you’re joking and when you’re not. Another one?’
‘Why would I joke about anything like that? Deadly serious, me.’
‘Yeah,’ Helgi said uncertainly. ‘The same again?’
The bar was still empty. Helgi rapped on the counter until the girl who doubled as the receptionist appeared and poured two more beers for them.
‘Quiet here on a weeknight,’ he said as he placed the glasses on the table. ‘Not a lot happening around here?’
‘Not a lot. It’ll be jumping on Friday night, I expect. There’s some band playing, so that might be a long night for us.’ Anna Björg raised her glass. ‘
Skál
. So, tell me what brings you here. This is to do with the Tunga brothers?’
‘The man who ran over Kjartan’s boy got eight years, out after four,’ Helgi said. ‘Yeah, I know,’ he added, noticing the sour look on Anna Björg’s face. ‘He’d been at a rehabilitation hostel for eight weeks. Then someone beat him up and broke his head wide open, in an industrial unit that he apparently still owned.’
‘And things point this way?’
Helgi cracked his knuckles uncomfortably. ‘Well, no. Not exactly. Kjartan has a rock solid alibi, as he was at sea. But we all know how the Tunga brothers look after each other. So Gunna suggested I come up here and ask a few discreet questions.’
‘Gunna? That’s your inspector?’
‘Sergeant. We’re supposed to be under Örlygur Sveinsson, but he’s been off sick practically since the unit was formed and so Gunna’s been running things.’
‘That’s Gunnhildur Gísla, right? What’s she like?’
‘I like her a lot. What you see is what you get. No office politics, no fishing for promotion – although it’s long overdue in her case. She gets results even though it’s not always the results that upstairs would like.’
‘So Gunna sent you up here to check out the Tunga boys’ alibis?’
‘Pretty much. Any ideas?’
‘What day?’
‘Sunday.’
‘Well, I saw Ingi on the road to the Hook on Sunday morning, so I doubt it could have been him.’
Helgi felt a sudden surge of relief that Anna Björg did not fail to notice in his face.
‘Do you know any of them?’
‘I was at school with Ingi,’ Helgi admitted. ‘Kjartan left the district while I was a kid. I never really knew the other two, although I bundled Reynir into a cell more than once when I was in uniform here. But he’s calmed down a lot since then, hasn’t he?’
Anna Björg nodded. ‘Össur’s the sensible one, I reckon. Kjartan I don’t know and Reynir’s a dark horse. He’s sobered up, but I’d still be wary of him. The man’s an unguided missile at the best of times and there’s no knowing when he’s likely to blow his top. Not that I’ve had reason to have any dealings with them for a long time. Are you going out to Tunga tomorrow, or do you
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