‘Who’s gone missing? I’m not with you.’
‘Elín S. Jónsdóttir. You’ll know the name.’
‘Of course I do.’ It would be no exaggeration to say that pretty much anyone who read books would know who she was. Her novels, all ten of them, had sold by the truckload over the last thirty years. She had set out to write crime fiction in Icelandic long before the genre had become such an unmissable feature of Iceland’s Christmas book flood, and she’d gradually built up a readership until her novels became instant bestsellers on publication, every other year. And she was no less popular abroad. Then she had abruptly stopped writing on the grounds that her series was complete and she ‘had nothing more to say’, as he remembered her once putting it in an interview. Naturally, he’d read all her books. There were bound to be copies on the shelves surrounding him at this moment. ‘Has she literally disappeared?’ he asked.
‘Without a trace, I think I can safely say. Her publisher got in touch. No one’s heard from her for several days and she’s not at home.’
Helgi’s imagination instantly took flight. He didn’t know Elín personally, he’d never met her, but the case fired up his interest to such a degree that he was even prepared to cut short his holiday and return to Reykjavík. It was the link to literature, the intriguing fact – if he were honest – that a crime novelist should become the subject of a criminal investigation.
What’s more, he had to admit to himself that he was secretly thrilled at the chance to take part in or even run an investigation that would be in the media spotlight. Missing-persons cases didn’t always attract much attention in Iceland; often they were private tragedies that hadno public interest angle, and reporters tended to keep their coverage to a minimum, but there was no way this news would go under the radar, whatever lay behind it.
‘That’s unbelievable,’ he said. ‘Terrible. Are there any clues to what might have happened?’
‘It’s all very recent; the notification has only just landed on my desk. Luckily, the press haven’t got wind of it yet, and I’ve still got to assign the case…’
The offer dangled in the air.
‘I’ll take it,’ Helgi said decisively. ‘I can head back to town today, be with you by this evening.’ Excitement bubbled up inside him. This was what it was all about: the chance to tackle demanding cases, under pressure, and emerge victorious.
‘I’m delighted to hear it. Why don’t you fly? You can fetch your car later. We can’t afford to let the trail go cold, Helgi.’
He considered this for a moment and realized that Magnús was right. At least it would give him an excuse to fly back up north at his employer’s expense to fetch his car and he’d be able to pay his mother another visit at the same time. He could always borrow a police vehicle while in town.
His mother would understand.
‘OK, I’ll be with you this afternoon.’
‘Now you’re talking, Helgi. I doubt anything’s going to happen over the next couple of hours but after that the ball’s in your court. Mind you, for all we know she may suddenly pop up at lunchtime, back from a holiday or something like that. If not, we’ll just have to pull outall the stops and be ready with some answers, show that we’re taking it seriously. I think we should give ourselves a few days to solve it before issuing a press release. We’ll be under a lot of pressure from the public. But you can handle it, Helgi.’
Helgi had a horrible feeling that this was the explanation for the phone call: Magnús wanted a scapegoat to take the heat if the author didn’t turn up soon. Whereas it went without saying that Magnús would get all the credit if the mystery was solved quickly and successfully.
‘But don’t worry, you have my complete confidence,’ Magnús added, in that smarmy tone of his. ‘Anyway, it may just be a false alarm. Maybe… er… maybe she got lost in one of her own books.’
2005
[hissing]
As the years pass and one gets older, one’s thoughts tend to become more preoccupied with time. At least, mine do. It’s unsettling wondering what I could have changed. Could I have lived my life differently? You’re still relatively young, so it probably hasn’t sunk in yet…
Yes, it has. We only get one life so we should live it well.
Yes, I couldn’t have put it better myself. One life, so…
[pause]
Would you like to take a break? Shall I switch off the tape recorder?
No, there’s really no need. Sorry for the hesitation. You’ll edit it as you think best. Make me look good.
Of course. Anyway, I didn’t mean to interrupt. Didn’t mean to upset your flow…
[pause]
Time, ah yes, that’s what I was talking about. Live life well, you said, but sometimes we need to break with habit, smash a few eggs along the way, do something unexpected. Take a chance. You know?
Yes.
Listen to your heart. That’s vital. Often you don’t even know what your heart is saying. The messages are confused, misleading, the road is winding, the way is never straight, and that’s all fine. Right and wrong depend on one’s perspective. Sometimes, though not always. In some cases, the line is perfectly clear, but we can talk about that at the end. Oh, can I offer you a refill?
