She pulled out from under the tree, and with the engine running waited in the side road from where she could see the exit. As the second truck crossed the speed bumps by the gate she swung the car out onto the road.

She kept a safe distance behind the trucks as she followed them through the town, but closed up the gap as they approached the freeway, for fear of losing them in the traffic. With less than a mile to go before the turn-off, the trucks dropped into separate lanes. For a moment María wondered whether they were aware of her and were splitting up as a way of confusing her. But that was a ridiculous idea, and to avoid switching lanes and drawing attention to herself, María decided to stay where she was, following the second of the two trucks. It took the bend towards the north and Fort Wayne, while the other went under the bridge, taking the Indianapolis road.

Following the truck was no problem. It stayed in the right-hand lane and its speed remained steady. Once again María kept a distance behind it, sometimes allowing another car to drop in between them, but never letting the truck out of her sight. After half an hour she began to feel herself getting sleepy. She hoped that the truck would stop at a diner where she could get something stronger than the dishwater she had been given that morning, which hadn’t seemed to contain even a minimal amount of caffeine.

She didn’t need to think too long about coffee, as her phone rang and the sight of Marteinn’s name on the screen brought her back to full alertness.

‘Hæ, Marteinn, my darling,’ she said and immediately sensed that her warm tone had taken him unawares.

‘Hæ, María,’ he said humbly. ‘I think I was a bit over the top earlier.’

‘Maybe a little, my dear Marteinn,’ she said. ‘You know, if you think of all the time we’ve worked together, you’ll know I sincerely want whatever’s best for you.’

Marteinn broke into tears.

‘I know,’ he snivelled. ‘But it’s so hard to not be angry when there’s so much going on in the world. And now that you’re getting mixed up in this metal stockpiling business I have to be careful in case you’re part of the big conspiracy.’

‘I’m not getting caught up in any metal stockpiling, Marteinn. I’m digging into it.’

‘And who got you to do it, eh? Who was it who put you onto this?’

María swallowed. She hadn’t told him that she was working on this for Agla. But it was difficult to keep anything from him. She had had a suspicion that he was reading her emails. Now she was sure he was.

‘Agla Margeirsdóttir asked me to do it, Marteinn, but that doesn’t change anything. She gets the information she’s looking for, and I get a hell of a scoop.’