He scrolled through a few websites; some of them already had pictures. He peered at one, looking hard at the scarred building. It seemed to be holding itself up by force of habit alone: a large portion of the lower wall looked to have disintegrated. When he had stood nearby with the remote in his hand, he had shut his eyes, expecting to hear a bang. He had anticipated quite a loud explosion but hadn’t been ready for the ground to shake under his feet and for windows in the surrounding buildings to be shattered by the blast. He had never imagined just how powerful the explosion was going to be.

96

The glint in her eye had gone, replaced by a kind of hardness that Agla hadn’t seen before. Kent had easily been able to get hold of Sonja’s phone number, and to Agla’s surprise, she had agreed to meet for coffee. Now they sat in worn armchairs by the window in Iða Zimsen’s coffee shop and awkwardly looked each other over.

‘The town’s going crazy today,’ Sonja said.

It took Agla a moment to realise that she meant the explosion. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything since they had run into each other at the prison the day before, so today’s lurid headlines had passed her by.

‘Coffee? Latte or espresso, or something?’ Agla asked and was about to stand up when Sonja stopped her.

‘Agla, I owe you an explanation,’ she said, leaning forwards in her chair. The steely look in her eye gave way to a softness that at one time would have melted Agla’s heart. ‘When I left it wasn’t because I wanted to; there were circumstances beyond my control. I was forced to go to London, and although it might not be easy to accept, it was better for you that we broke off all contact.’

‘You don’t need to sugar-coat anything. I know you’re the Boss.’

Agla was taken by surprise – it seemed her longstanding need for an explanation had vanished. Now that she sat opposite Sonja, she no longer wanted to hear her side of the story.

‘Oh.’ Sonja looked disappointed and frowned sadly. Agla was familiar enough with her mannerisms to know that she was searching for the right words. ‘If you know that,’ she said, haltingly, ‘then you’ll be aware that the business I got caught up in isn’t exactly easy. I wasn’t making the decisions and would never have left you if I hadn’t been forced to—’

‘I’m not here to talk about us,’ Agla said firmly, cutting her off midsentence. Instead of being soft, as she had expected to be, she found that inside she was as hard as stone. She was here for one reason and in truth there was nothing else she wanted from Sonja. ‘I want to buy Elísa’s freedom from you and your people.’

Sonja stared thoughtfully at her for a while.

‘I understand,’ she said. ‘That’s who you went to visit in prison yesterday?’