Wada nodded. They had to try this. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind. Though as to the result … there was nothing but doubts wreathed around that. ‘I will come.’

Perhaps because she was feeling completely relaxed after her Tuscan holiday, Kate took the news of Nick’s imminent departure for Iceland with greater equanimity than he’d expected and even failed to query his logic that he’d assumed she wouldn’t want to go with him because she’d only just got back from a trip herself. She went on to surprise him by saying she’d never been entirely convinced the conveniently dead Geoff Nolan was his father. This sounded to Nick like one of her characteristic pieces of wisdom after the event, but he let it ride, grateful she wasn’t more curious than she was about the identity of his real father. ‘This is obviously something you have to do,’ she declared, as if that explained everything, although … ‘Whatever you find out about him, you will be back by the end of the week, won’t you? Don’t forget Mummy’s invited us to Easter lunch.’

So, there it was. He had to be back in time for Easter lunch. Nothing else mattered, apparently. And between then and that cosy lunch party … some kind of truth would be uncovered. Nick was determined to make sure of that.

Wada had arranged to meet Kristjan at nine forty-five, at the west front of Hallgrímskirkja, the vast concrete Gothic church that dominated Reykjavík’s skyline. The drizzle had persisted, blurring the floodlights that bathed the church, but there were still a few tourists admiring its imposing architecture. Wada tried to do some admiring herself, but her heart wasn’t in it. She was early for the rendezvous, having fretted away the early part of the evening at her hotel. Now she paced around, trying to keep warm in the deepening chill, hoping Kristjan would be early as well.

He wasn’t. But someone else, it transpired, had guessed Wada might show up before she strictly needed to. Wada’s phone rang and the caller – Erla – asked her to walk across to the shadowy southern side of the square surrounding the church.

She set off. And Erla stepped out of a deep shadow to greet her.

‘Nervous?’ Erla asked, pulling on a cigarette with every appearance of nervousness herself.

‘I thought you were not coming with us,’ said Wada.

‘I’m not. I’m here to warn you.’

‘You do not think Ragnar is reliable. I know.’

‘He could be worse than unreliable.’

‘How?’

‘He works for Quartizon. Maybe he’s just pretending to have doubts about them. Maybe this is a trap.’

‘But we asked to meet him. How can it be a trap?’

‘If Driscoll knows we’ve been asking questions, then he could be ready for you.’

‘Kristjan thinks Ragnar is on our side.’

‘He wants to think that.’