Her nerves were making her fingers tremble, and she could feel the sweat collecting under her armpits when the knock on the door finally came. She was always like this on the home straight. The stress would always take hold of her, and she wouldn’t believe that things were going to work out until she finally spread the cash on a bed and rolled in it. That would be the moment when she knew that the money was actually hers.

For whatever reason, she had assumed that the bank’s representative would be a man, so she was taken completely by surprise when she opened the door to see a woman outside, holding a briefcase and a vast bouquet of flowers – a woman she recognised.

‘Congratulations,’ Agla said as she walked into the room. ‘And a pleasure to do business with you.’

She held out the bouquet, and Áróra took it, speechless with amazement. She had no idea why Agla was here, or what she meant by congratulating her, or where she should put the bunch of flowers. It was in a vase, but it was so big that the bedside tables were far too small for it and the table by the wall that she had been using as a desk was full. Flustered, she placed it on the floor by the window. None of this appeared to take Agla by surprise; she sat in one of the chairs, picked up a cup and poured herself coffee.219

‘Help yourself.’

‘Just ten drops,’ Agla said, filling her cup, reaching for a pastry and dunking it in her coffee so that it spilled onto the white cloth.

Áróra took a seat facing her and looked into her eyes.

‘You’re the German bank’s representative?’ she said, once she had marshalled her thoughts.

‘Of course,’ Agla laughed. ‘Why did you think I was congratulating you? You did a fine job. Great to do business with you. I’m working for Hákon’s largest creditors. It has been a long process – a few years, to tell you the truth. I had to invest in his hotels in order to get into the books and figure out where he keeps all the money he’s pumping into the company. But he’s cautious when it comes to me and my people, so we had to find another way to find the pot of cash.’

Áróra sighed. So that was the situation, she thought to herself. Of all the possible scenarios she could have imagined concerning Agla’s involvement with Hákon’s business affairs, this one hadn’t even occurred to her.

‘So you turning up was manna from heaven,’ Agla said. ‘The right person, in the right place and at the right time. Now everyone will get what’s theirs. The bank gets a decent chunk of what’s owed, and the taxman will take some as well. His accounts are being frozen right now.’