Daníel had no memory of having encountered Áróra as a child at any family gathering, and even if he did have some recollection of meeting her, he would hardly have recognised her now. Because Violet had called to let him know that her ‘little daughter’ was on the way, he had expected to see a very young woman. So he was taken by surprise to open the door to someone who had to be close to thirty. His surprise was also over how stunning she was, a real Icelandic-style beauty. She was powerfully built without being fat, and was almost his height.

During his long police career he had learned that this kind of beauty could be a curse. Young girls who grew up with everyone wanting something from them could either become victims – he had met plenty of those during weekend shifts while he had been in uniform – or else they learned from bitter experience that they needed to bite back, becoming unpleasantly sharp or distant, developing barriers that came across as arrogance.

Áróra looked to be the sharp type. She came across as reserved, and judging by her body language, this was an errand for which she had no enthusiasm. He could understand that. She had been pressured into it by her mother. But by the time she was halfway through a mug of coffee, sitting at his kitchen table, she had relaxed, telling him about her sister and their mother’s concerns since she had been out of touch.

‘I don’t know what’s considered a long time to not hear anything, because we’re not in touch. But Mum says she usually hears from her every week, and keeps an eye on her on Facebook, but she hasn’t heard from her or seen any activity for more than two weeks.’

Daníel looked into her eyes and nodded. He hummed, indicating that he was listening; this had often served him well, 54encouraging people to open up when being questioned. There was something about a flowing narrative that enabled people to find the words for all kinds of minor details that could be lost if they were asked a series of questions.

‘The guy she lives with, Björn, said he thinks she went back to Britain,’ Áróra continued. ‘But don’t you think it’s strange that he didn’t follow it up – make sure where she’d gone? Of course I can work out for myself what prompted her to leave – either yet another argument, or else he beat her again.’