Thin Ice: An Inspector Gunna Mystery (Gunnhildur Mystery Book 5) (2 page)

‘The police will be looking for it the moment these two are on their own,’ Magni pointed out.

‘Hey, you,’ Össur said, jabbing the girl with the pistol. ‘Give me your phone.’

‘I forgot it. Left it at home,’ she replied, her voice both surly and frightened as she edged across the seat as far as she could from the gun.

‘Hers, then,’ Össur ordered. ‘And don’t try and tell me you both came out without a phone.’

‘Where is it, Mum?’

‘In my bag. On the seat.’

‘This one?’ Össur demanded, lifting up a bag made of soft leather. The girl nodded and Össur stuffed the pistol back in his pocket as he went through the bag, throwing the contents on the seat. Lipstick, a makeup compact, a pack of tampons and a bunch of keys were all shaken out in a pile on the plush white seat before Össur triumphantly put a smartphone into his pocket. ‘And your phone?’ he snapped at the girl. ‘Where is it?’

‘Really. I didn’t bring it. It’s on the table at home. The battery was flat so I left it there to recharge.’

‘If I find out you’re lying . . .’ Össur said, eyes narrow.

The woman in the driving seat looked around. ‘Listen—’

‘You watch the road.’

‘Look, where do you want to go? Take the car if you want, as long as you don’t hurt us. We won’t say anything to the police. We’ll just say the car was stolen, honestly.’

The fear in the woman’s voice was clear. Magni could see that her hands were sweating on the wheel and he wondered what Össur had planned, if he had anything planned now that their flight would certainly have left without them. He could see that Össur was terrified that his plans had fallen through and Árni had failed to be there just at the critical moment they needed him.

‘Go that way,’ Össur said suddenly.

‘Where?’ The woman asked, baffled.

‘That way over there, you stupid bitch, take the turn-off there,’ Össur yelled and the woman quailed as she hauled the car off the main road and up the slip road.

‘Now what?’ she screeched as a roundabout approached.

‘Over there, that way, go on.’ Now it was fully dark and they could only see the woman’s features in the glow of the dashboard. ‘Faster,’ Össur ordered.

‘Össi, where the fuck are we going?’ Magni demanded, and the brooding lack of a reply convinced him that Össur had no idea.

‘Look,’ Össur said in an urgent whisper, ‘we’ll find some place up in the country where there’s no phone or anything, dump these two there and we can take the car. By the time they’re found, we’ll be clear away. All right?’

Magni nodded in dubious agreement.

‘All right,’ he said, wondering where they would find somewhere safe to dump two city women in the middle of a winter’s night.

‘What the hell is this place? Magni?’

Össur’s voice trembled. A large white building loomed out of the darkness in front of them. Every window was black and a padlock hung from the front door.

‘It used to be a community centre years ago,’ Magni said. ‘Then it was a hotel for a while. Don’t know what it is now, though.’

‘Shit. We can’t stop here. We need somewhere nobody’s going to see us.’

The two women still sat in the front seats of the car, hugged by the deep upholstery, and staring at the building lit up in the glare of the headlights. They sat in silence until the engine stopped and the silence deepened.

‘What happened?’

‘I think we ran out of petrol,’ the older woman said, her hands still gripping the wheel. ‘I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen.’

‘Shut the fuck up, will you?’ Össur snapped.

‘Well, we’ll have to stay here now, won’t we?’ Magni said with a laugh that set Össur’s teeth on edge with frustration.

Magni made short work of the padlock and the door swung open. Össur scowled and went in last, shepherding the two women ahead of him. He flicked a light switch and swore when nothing happened.

‘Hold on,’ Magni said, looking around him in the faint beam of light that the torch in his phone emitted. ‘There must be a fuse board here somewhere. There’s power because there are lights over there.’

His voice echoed and the vapour of his breath gathered in the beam of light. Then there was darkness as he vanished around a corner and into another room, his footsteps slapping on the tiled floor.

‘In here,’ he called, and the two women looked at each other.

‘Go on,’ Össur ordered. ‘You. Give me the car keys.’

‘I told you, it’s out of petrol,’ the older woman said in rising panic, her arms wrapped around herself. ‘Why are you doing this? What’s wrong with you people? Why have you brought us to this place?’

‘Keys,’ Össur said, standing close to her and glaring into her eyes until she looked away and dropped them into his outstretched hand.

They stood in the kitchen doorway to see Magni standing on a stool looking at a fuse box high on the wall. He clicked one of the switches and looked over his shoulder.

‘Try the light.’

The girl switched on the light and the long kitchen with its steel tables was flooded with fluorescent brightness as the tubes in the ceiling flickered into life. Magni jumped down from the stool.

‘The lighting circuit must have been switched off,’ he said, looking around the kitchen with a grin on his face, ‘but the power wasn’t off.’ He opened a chest freezer in the corner and his grin widened as he lifted up a frozen leg of lamb. ‘Roast lamb for breakfast?’

Magni turned up the heating that had been set just high enough to ensure that nothing froze and the place gradually began to warm up enough for him to discard his coat, while the two women remained huddled in theirs as they perched on kitchen chairs. Össur sat with his hands deep in his coat pockets, angry at the usually thick-headed Magni’s practical nature.

‘Hey, you,’ Magni called over to the older of the two women. ‘Come here and stir this, will you?’

A saucepan of soup was starting to simmer on the vast stove, filling the kitchen with its aroma.

‘Me?’ the older woman asked.

‘No, Father Christmas. Who do you think I mean?’

She took the wooden spoon uncertainly while the girl smiled to herself.

‘You,’ Magni said, pointing at her and the smirk disappeared. ‘Have a look in those cupboards and see if you can find some bowls or something.’

Magni ladled soup into four bowls and handed them round. Össur spooned his up quickly, the two women exchanging glances and wrinkled their noses as he slurped. Magni drank his soup straight from the bowl in long draughts, and belched.

‘Fuck me, that’s better,’ he said. ‘I’d forgotten how hungry I was. Who’s washing up?’ He looked at everyone in turn. ‘Well, I’m not doing it.’

‘Nor am I. Wash up, for fuck’s sake?’ Össur dropped his empty bowl with a bang on the table.

‘Looks like one of you ladies, I reckon.’ Magni scratched his head and yawned. ‘We ought to get to know each other considering we might be here a while. What’s your name?’

The older woman pointed her nose in the air.

‘I’m Tinna Lind,’ the younger one said, a spark of amusement in her dark eyes. ‘This is my mum and her name’s Erna.’

‘You didn’t have to tell them, did you?’ Erna snapped. ‘How long is this ridiculous charade going to go on?’

‘I’m Magni and that’s Össur over there,’ Magni said slowly, picking his teeth with the nail of his little finger while Össur scowled at the mention of his own name. ‘And we don’t want to be here any more than you do. I wonder if there’s any coffee here?’

After the long drive in the dark, it was a release to sit back and relax. Össur brooded to himself, while Magni took the opportunity to examine the two women they had managed to abduct. The older one was stylish, blonde hair smartly and simply cut, her soft leather jacket zipped to the neck, designer jeans and boots made from what looked to be the same expensive leather as her jacket. The daughter was very different, a slight young woman with an impish button nose and an air of suppressed energy about her, wearing jeans that looked more bargain basement than designer and with hair in braided cornrows, tied in a loose knot at the back of her head.

Tinna Lind looked back at him with a curiosity that contrasted with Erna’s frosty aloofness. She saw a raw-boned young man with red stubble and shoulders as wide as a wardrobe sitting opposite her, with no apparent concern on his face, while the sinister of the two, the older man with the air of desperation about him, had disappeared down the hall.

Össur came back to the table and sat down, his hands still deep in his jacket pockets. He glared at the two women and finally took his hands out of his pockets, holding a packet of cigarettes in one hand. He clicked his Zippo and blew a cloud of grey smoke.

‘So what do we do now, Magni?’

Magni rattled the contents of a cupboard and came up with a vacuum pack of coffee. ‘I don’t rightly know. This was supposed to be an easy job for me. Stand there, look a bit heavy and cash on the nail afterwards. Now I’m stuck out here in the arsehole of beyond.’

‘What have you guys done?’ Tinna Lind asked, looking from one to the other. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’

‘Mind your own business if you know what’s good for you,’ Össur snarled.

‘I want to go home right now,’ Erna broke in, her voice shrill and angry. ‘I demand to go home immediately.’ She pushed her chair back so that it clattered on the floor behind her. Össur stood up slowly, the smoke from the cigarette curling past his eyes and into his hair.

‘Shut your mouth,’ he said with quiet menace.

‘No. I won’t be quiet. I refuse to be quiet. I’ve been abducted and I’ll see you spend years in prison for this, you . . .’

Her words were cut short as Össur’s short, sharp punch slammed into her belly and Erna fell to the floor, doubled up and gasping for breath. Tinna Lind knelt by her mother and cradled her as Össur stepped back, the cigarette still between his lips.

‘Hey, man, what d’you do that for? No call for that, was there?’ Magni said, standing up and towering over Össur. ‘The lady’s upset but even you can see she might have a reason to be pissed off, so there’s no need to smack her.’ He folded his arms, the muscles of his forearms bunching and straining the sleeves of his hooded sweater.

‘Don’t you give me that. I don’t need lessons from the fucking hired help,’ Össur spat and stalked out into the lobby of the echoing hotel, clicking off lights as he went.

The man with the deeply unfashionable mullet was face down on the floor. He craned his neck, twisting around to try and see what was happening behind him, until a sharp cuff to the back of the head discouraged him. His hands were secured behind his back and one foot had been tied to the leg of the table with many bindings of thin blue rope.

He could hear the old man wheeze as he pulled up a chair and sat next to him, leaning down close enough that he could feel as well as smell the brandy fumes on his breath.

‘Árni, I’m disappointed in you. I never thought you’d let me down like that.’

Árni wriggled on the floor and tried to reply, but the rag tied around his face and filling his mouth simply turned his protests into an unintelligible mumble.

Alli leaned down and picked up something from the table. He tapped it on the floor and Árni’s eyes widened in disbelief. ‘Now listen to me, Árni,’ he said, and there was a furious desperation in his voice. ‘You’re going to tell me where Össi and that other idiot went, aren’t you? Because Baldvin’s not a happy boy these days, had his beauty spoilt. So if you don’t sing like a bird, then I’m going to give these to Baldvin to play with.’

He snapped shut the pair of garden clippers, and two short, curved blades meshed neatly together as the long handles closed.

‘Understand?’

Árni nodded furiously.

Alli nodded to Baldvin, lips swollen from the casual backhand swipe he had received. The big man pressed a button and the CD player burst into life.

‘Ah,’ Alli said with approval. ‘Good old Black Sabbath, you’ve gotta love ’em.’ His voice hardened suddenly. ‘Where’s Össi?’ he demanded, yelling over the music, leaning forward and loosening the rag tied around Árni’s face.

‘I don’t know where they went. They asked me to meet them here and that’s all I know.’

‘Bullshit!’ Alli screamed and slapped Árni’s face. ‘You were part of it. Where did they go?’

‘Honest, Alli. I don’t know. Össi just said meet him here at three to give him a lift somewhere and that’s all there was to it. I thought it was a job.’

‘It was a fucking job,’ Alli yelled, his face going red.

‘No! I meant I thought it was a job for you.’

Alli nodded to Baldvin, who sat on the floor to untie the lace of Árni’s scuffed training shoe and pull it off. He wrinkled his nose at the smell and glanced at Alli.

‘Get the fuck on with it.’

Baldvin pulled off the sock and threw it behind him.

‘Last chance,’ Alli said, his eyes bulging in fury.

‘I’m telling the truth!’ Árni screeched. ‘Össi said he needed a lift and to be here at three! I won’t be late again!’

Alli handed the clippers to Baldvin. Árni could feel the cold metal hook around his little toe. Even now he could not believe that Alli could be so brutal as to carry out his threat.

‘Where. Did. They. Go?’ Alli said, pausing between each word. ‘What was the plan, Árni?’

‘I told you, I don’t know any plan.’

‘Shit, you’re too stupid to live,’ Alli said, and pointed at the foot tied to the table as Árni twisted round to see the two handles come smartly together. There was no pain at first but his eyes bulged as he saw his little toe roll across the carpet while Baldvin stood up and hurried from the room with his hand to his mouth. It took a few seconds before the full realization hit him, followed by the pain. Alli stood up and went to the CD player, turning up the volume to drown out Árni’s disbelieving sobs.

The place seemed warmer. Magni boiled water in a pot on the stove and used it to make coffee, which he gulped with obvious pleasure.

‘No milk, I’m afraid,’ he said to Erna, who sat pale and drawn opposite him, a cup in front of her.

‘What’s going to happen to us?’