If anyone had asked him how he would have reacted if his son had caused a huge amount of damage by setting off a bomb, almost killing someone in the process, he would have said that there would be no end to his fury. But now, standing in the living room in handcuffs and watching Anton in tears, he felt himself overwhelmed by a need to protect him. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for the boy, not a thing. He would accept any kind of endless punishment if it would spare Anton.

‘I’ll sort this out,’ he whispered to Anton as he was led out. ‘I’ll sort it all out.’

He was swept down the steps between two police officers, who held his upper arms so tightly that his feet barely touched the ground.

‘This is all some misunderstanding,’ he said to the young officer who placed a hand on his head and folded him into a seat in the patrol car.

‘People like you,’ the young man snarled. ‘You think you can get away with anything. But now we’ve nailed you.’

He shut the door behind Ingimar and sat in the front seat as the bald policeman in the driver’s seat started the engine. He twisted around to reverse, and looked into Ingimar’s eyes.

‘“Soon they’ll come; soon my ships will come to harbour”, eh?’

It was clear from the police officer’s grin that he thought he was being clever, quoting poetry, but Ingimar failed to understand the connection. More than likely it was the usual Icelandic spite aimed at anyone who did well for himself; and of course his new boat had been in the news recently.

August 2017

106

According to the radio, it was the warmest day of the summer, and Agla could feel it, standing in the shade of the church wall. She took off her jacket so she wouldn’t sweat.

William laughed.

‘You’re nervous,’ he said.

Agla shook her head.

‘No,’ she said, taking the hand sanitiser from her bag and rubbing some into her palms.

‘That’s the third time you’ve disinfected your hands,’ William laughed. ‘You really are nervous.’

Hearing footsteps in the gravel, they looked up and saw María coming towards them. Her limp was obvious, but otherwise she looked well. Agla left William to enjoy his third cigarette by the church wall and went towards her.

‘Thank you for coming,’ she said, offering María her hand.

‘I was surprised to get your invitation,’ María said, breathless from the walk from the car park and through the cluster of old buildings that formed the Árbær Museum. ‘Didn’t you see the Spotlight documentary?’

‘Sure,’ Agla said, ‘It’s not as if I had any reputation to lose, so it could hardly do me any harm. It’s worse for poor Ingimar.’

‘I don’t feel sorry for him,’ María said. ‘Who would have imagined he was smuggling drugs as well?’

‘He was fitted up by his nephew,’ Agla said. ‘That’s what my sources at Hólmsheiði say, and they’re reliable.’