Omar had left for the gym but had made coffee for her before going out, so she poured herself a mugful and added cream. With any luck, the coffee would cheer her up. Omar had also fetched the newspaper; it was neatly folded for her on the table, just like in a hotel. Omar was certainly good to her, and she felt a shiver of trepidation, like being ducked in cold water, at the thought of giving him the bad news. She picked up the paper and read the front-page news. Not a lot was happening, as was usual in early summer, so the news items were more than usually positive. A group of middle-aged friends had decided to let their longstanding dream come true and had set off on a motorbike trip across America. There were indications that the Breiðafjörður osprey population was rising. This looked to be a record year for tourism.

Olga was startled when the doorbell rang. She got to her feet and limped the first couple of steps as her legs came back to life. She expected it to be Omar, having forgotten to take his key with him, so the sight of an older woman and a tall man holding a police warrant card took her by surprise. Police IDs were nothing 158new to her. Thanks to Jonni, she had become familiar with them. But the woman didn’t appear to be a police officer.

‘Yes?’ Olga said, one hand instinctively reaching for her head. She hadn’t brushed her hair, and now she stood there in her dressing gown, looking a mess. She would never have opened the door looking like this if she hadn’t been sure it was Omar. Omar! They had come to take Omar away … In her mind she searched like lightning through the flat, wondering where she had left her phone, and remembered it was on the kitchen table, probably under the newspaper. She quickly pushed the door closed in the faces of the pair, muttering an apology, that she would only be a moment. She rushed to the kitchen, the pain in her legs forgotten. Sometimes it was remarkable how the mind could be stronger than the body. For a while after Jonni’s death she hadn’t suffered from arthritis. The razor-sharp pain that afflicted her soul had taken over, and she had felt no other pain.

Her fingers trembled as she tapped in a message to Omar:

Don’t come home! Police here. Police!

Then she took a deep breath, went back to the door and opened it.

‘I’m sorry. Yes?’