Page 6 of The Darkness
‘Death?’
‘Yes. Her name was Elena. She was an asylum-seeker.’
‘Oh, her. I’m with you. But …’ Dóra frowned, puzzled. ‘I thought the case was closed. He rang me – you know, the detective; I’ve forgotten his name …’
‘Alexander,’ Hulda supplied, picturing him as she said it: sleazy, overweight, with a blankness behind the eyes that never failed to set her teeth on edge.
‘Yeah, Alexander, that was it. He rang to tell me he was closing the case because the investigation was inconclusive and, personally, he thought it was an accident. Or suicide, maybe – Elena’d been waiting ages to hear the result of her application.’
‘Would you say she’d been waiting an abnormally long time? It was my understanding that she’d been here four months.’
‘Oh no, not really – that’s not unusual – but I guess the waiting affects people differently. It can be stressful.’
‘Did you agree with him?’
‘Me?’
‘Yes, you. Do you believe she drowned herself?’
‘I’m no expert. I’ve no idea what I’m supposed to think. It wasn’t like I was the one investigating. Maybe he – whatsisname …’
‘Alexander.’
‘Yeah, Alexander. Maybe he knew something I didn’t.’ Dóra shrugged.
I very much doubt it, Hulda thought, suppressing the temptation to say it aloud. ‘But you must have wondered.’
‘Well, sure, but we’re very busy here. People come and go all the time: she happened to go like that. Anyway, I don’t have time to waste on wondering about that sort of thing.’
‘But surely you knew her?’
‘Not really. No more than any of the others. Look, I’m running a business here. This is how I make my living, so I have to focus on the day-to-day management. It may be a question of life or death for the residents, but I’m just trying to run the place.’
‘Is there someone else here who might have known her better?’
Dóra appeared to think about this. ‘I doubt it. Not any more. Like I said, people come and go all the time.’
‘So, let me get this straight: you’re saying that none of your current residents would have been here when Elena was alive?’
‘Oh, well, there’s always a possibility …’
‘Would you be able to check?’
‘I suppose so.’
Dóra turned to the laptop and started clicking away. Finally, she looked up. ‘Two Iraqi guys – they’re still here. You can meet them in a minute. And a Syrian woman.’
‘Can I meet her, too?’
‘I doubt it.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘She’s out and about somewhere. Her lawyer came by earlier and I think they went into Reykjavík. There’s been some progress on her case, which is just as well, seeing as all she does is shut herself away in her room and wait. She hardly even comes down for meals. That’s all I know – the lawyers don’t tell me a thing, of course – but I guessed from looking at them that something was up. Let’s hope it’s good news, though you can never be sure.’
‘Tell me about Elena. How did she behave? What was her situation?’
‘Haven’t a clue.’
