‘Use this. Cut your hair using the shortest setting,’ Grímur told the Arab boy, handing him his beard trimmer. ‘Then you need to shave as close as you can. And put these clothes on. Pack only what you absolutely need into one small case and come back downstairs to my place as quickly as you can.’

He pushed the bundle of clothes he had pulled at random from Björn’s wardrobes into Omar’s hands, along with a blazer and a mustard-yellow scarf. They were top-quality clothes, expensive designer stuff, and much smarter than anything Omar could have ever been used to wearing. The boy left, clearly upset, and the look on his face brought both exhilaration and fear. Grímur waited until the door had closed behind him, snatched up the keys, hurried up the stairs and pulled on a pair of rubber gloves before he went into Björn’s flat. He tiptoed through the living room, picked up the laptop from the coffee table and made his way quickly back to the door, where he hesitated. He turned back and went into the bathroom, where he picked up a jar of make-up from the little cosmetics bag that lay on the half-empty shelf. He left, silently closing the door behind him, and lost no time going back down the stairs. He didn’t dare stay too long in the apartment, as someone might come.

In his own flat, Grímur opened the laptop, and to his delight found there was no password. This was amazing, considering Björn used this computer to co-ordinate his dealing activities. It was one more example of the man’s arrogance: how secure and untouchable he considered himself to be. Grímur opened Björn’s wallet and took out his credit card. He checked that the computer was still connected to the router in Björn’s apartment before he tapped in the web address. He booked a return flight to Canada in Björn’s name, checked him in online and added all the required information.222

None of this had been thought out, but Omar, Olga’s Arab boy, fitted in perfectly. He was stuck here in Iceland without a residence permit, and Olga seemed to be worrying endlessly about him being sent back to Syria. Nobody but he and Olga knew he was here, so nobody would miss him, and Olga wouldn’t go to the police.