The commissioner’s office still felt oddly empty, even though it was now five years since she’d been appointed. The floor was bare, with no mats or carpets, and the walls were just as blank. The place gave the impression that the furniture had been delivered and put down anywhere, placed at random rather than with any kind of order in mind. When she’d started in the post, the commissioner had moved her office down a couple of floors at the station, and Daníel felt that this move, closer to the lower-ranking police officers, symbolised her approach, although the office still looked as if she had moved in yesterday. There were a few small red armchairs here and there, and when a meeting was called, these were arranged around a modest coffee table, as was the case now. The commissioner’s desk and computer were in the corner by the window, almost like an afterthought – facilities necessary for the job, not status symbols.

‘It sounds like grounds for suspicion of illegal activity,’ the commissioner said when she had taken a seat, Ísafold’s case files in her hands. ‘We all know what domestic violence means.’

The two Jóns – CID superintendent Jón and deputy police commissioner Jón – both nodded in agreement. They waited in silence while she leafed again through the pages of the dossier Daníel had prepared for her so that she could evaluate the circumstances as quickly as possible.

‘Daníel can decide how big a team he needs, and he’ll consult with you, Jón,’ she said, handing the dossier to the deputy police commissioner. ‘As usual, the deputy national commissioner can handle the media, so everything needs to go through him,’ she added. ‘If there are any problems, I’ll be answerable,’ she concluded.232

She always said that, and was as good as her word. On the occasions when the police had been criticised, she had stood up and responded to the media. She had apologised for errors, explained the facts and provided cover for those who were doing their jobs. As a result, she had little by little earned respect within the force. Even those who had been most suspicious of a young blonde woman from out of town being appointed commissioner had been forced to admit that she did a good job.

They stood up, and for a moment, just a second or two, they looked each other in the eye, the glances heavy with meaning and a tension in the air. Then the commissioner nodded and left her own office ahead of them, and Daníel took a deep breath. His first task would be to talk to family members, and that meant Violet and Áróra.

233

98