Áróra felt a burst of illogical anger towards Ísafold in her belly, although she knew herself well enough to recognise that anger was her way of staving off grief. All the same, she felt sick at heart 178at having this emotion. There was no point in being angry with someone who had vanished.

Hákon strode in at six-thirty, and his appearance snatched away these thoughts. He was smart and well-groomed, not wearing the clothes he had fallen asleep in. She was sure she didn’t look as wide awake as he did. Hákon waved cheerfully to her and flashed her a smile, but stopped at the tourists’ table, shaking hands and chatting with them for a moment. He patted the man on the back and wished them a good trip home, which sounded odd to Áróra, as she understood from the woman that they had just arrived and were about to set off to explore Iceland.

‘Sorry,’ Hákon said as he took a seat next to her. ‘I had to have a word with them. They’re regulars here.’

‘Really?’ Áróra said.

‘Yes,’ Hákon said. ‘This is their third stay here, at least.’

He reached over for the last piece of bacon on her plate and put it in his mouth, before waving to the waiter and asking for coffee. He leaned over the table and kissed her on the lips.

‘I woke up and wondered where you were. There was no reply when I knocked on your door, so I figured that if you weren’t there, then you had to be here.’

‘I was so hung over I couldn’t sleep,’ Áróra said, glancing at the American couple, who stood up and waved her goodbye. Why had they claimed to be here for their first visit, if it was obvious that Hákon knew them as regular guests? Why would an ordinary couple on holiday lie like that?

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75

Daníel had been awake far into the night, wondering what Áróra was doing with that Hákon, someone everyone knew was a crook. This guy was the kind of criminal for whom he had zero sympathy, the type of bloodsucker who lied and stole from society, skimming off the cream. Around two in the morning he had reached the conclusion that she probably didn’t know who Hákon really was. She probably hadn’t paid that much attention to the media coverage here in Iceland, so this guy could have told her anything, and they could have only just met, that evening. Maybe it was just a one-off date. But by three he had come to the conclusion that it didn’t matter whether or not Áróra was aware of Hákon’s criminal background, as it was clear that men were on her radar. Whether for a quick tumble or for something more, it didn’t matter, just not with Daníel.