Ísafold’s right eye has sunk into the swelling. She’s in the flat belonging to the neighbour on the floor below, sitting at the kitchen table, and has clearly been there for a long time, judging by the pile of tear-soaked tissues piled up in front of her.

The neighbour is a strange person. He’s pale and bald, which makes him look expressionless. He’s literally trembling with anxiety. Ísafold is too engrossed in her own misery to realise that the man can hardly wait to push her and her problems out of his door.

A blue bruise is blossoming on Ísafold’s left cheekbone. It’s dark blue at the centre, encircled by a purple ring, and the shades of colour are reminiscent of oil on water.

However, the bruise on her arm is black, building into a swelling, with the skin so tight that it looks about to split. It looks as if there’s a build-up of blood beneath the skin that’s waiting to erupt.

‘Your arm could be broken,’ I say, and she shakes her head, says she absolutely doesn’t need to go to A&E. She says she doesn’t need anything other than a chance to sleep in peace. I suggest a hotel, as a way of getting the neighbour off the hook, and Ísafold agrees.

On the way to the hotel I call in at the women’s refuge so she can get some advice.

Ísafold is too exhausted to protest, but reacts badly to the counsellor’s common sense, explaining that it’s her own fault. She provoked Björn. She called the black eye and the black and blue bruises upon herself.

90

MONDAY

37

Áróra took her time, scrubbing her legs with a flannel before soaping them and taking care to shave them without missing anything. She sat on the tiles of the shower floor surrounded by cosmetics and felt a flutter of anticipation in her belly at the thought of the evening to come. She was looking forward to it but did wonder if it was really a good idea, because a date with Hákon wasn’t just a date, but also an opportunity to slip a USB drive into his computer.

The USB stick was loaded with software that would give her access to his data, which would allow her to keep track of whatever he did with the computer. The software had been bought from a hacker and had cost almost as much as a car, but it had paid for itself many times over.