‘What do you mean?’ Júlía still didn’t seem to be making the connection, so he smiled and explained it for her.

‘I blew up Radio Edda. For you.’

To begin with Júlía laughed, and then shook her head.

‘Tell me you’re joking,’ she said. ‘This is a joke, isn’t it? You’d never do anything like this?’

‘Now they’ve learned their lesson,’ Anton said. ‘The rest of the media will think twice before they start spouting hatred against Muslims and all that prejudice.’

Júlía took a couple of steps back, collided with a lamp post, stumbled and then sat down on the stone kerb that separated the car park from the pavement. He was about to sit down next to her when she put out a hand to stop him.

‘Now you’re going to have to tell me that this is some disgustingly unfunny joke,’ she said. ‘Before I start to cry, Anton.’

She stared down at the shattered and scorched building, her face expressionless, as if carved in stone. This wasn’t the reaction that Anton had expected. He had expected disbelief, but not on this scale.

‘We’ve talked about this so many times,’ he said. ‘That crowd from Radio Edda are the ones who make it so difficult for people like you and your family to live here. We’ve been through this so often, Júlía. The situation gets worse all the time – they even haul out lawyers and university professors to say that Muslims are dangerous. They’re trying to brainwash people into hating you.’

‘Was it really you who planted the bomb in the radio station?’

Now the tears were flowing down Júlía’s cheeks.

Anton melted inside, stepped towards her, spreading his arms wide, ready to wrap them around her. But Júlía swatted away his outstretched hands and quickly scrambled to her feet.

‘I thought you were the best boy in the world, and my parents are always saying how lucky I am to have met such a good boy, who’s so different to all the other Icelandic guys. But there’s a murderer inside you!’

Anton went towards her, his thoughts in turmoil. This wasn’t the way it had been supposed to be.

‘I’m no murderer, Júlía. I would never kill anyone. I made sure to set it off when there was nobody there.’

‘There was someone there,’ Júlía snapped back. ‘Someone was injured. They said on the news that someone’s in hospital! You’re an idiot, Anton! You’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met!’

‘But you told me yourself that something needed to be done about all this,’ he said, conscious that all the sincerity had gone from his voice. He was shocked at the news that there had been someone in the building. Now he was confused, and all his convictions, which had sounded so logical and reasonable, had been dashed. ‘I told your father that I would look after you,’ he said. ‘And this will change society and make it better. For you.’