The Absolution by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Author:Yrsa Sigurdardottir [Sigurdardottir, Yrsa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473621626
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2019-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Adalheidur’s father Haukur looked nothing like the man caught on CCTV. He was too short and slight, though of course someone’s build could be disguised with padding. Frustratingly, the police still had no idea what the killer’s face looked like, as the man had taken care to keep it hidden when he’d sneaked in with the smokers. He hadn’t been wearing a hood or a Darth Vader mask or it would have been spotted immediately on the recordings. Instead, he had walked in close behind a much taller man, so all he needed to do was keep his head lowered to be sure his features wouldn’t be caught on camera. He was wearing a coat, seemingly on top of the anorak he’d worn for the attack. They assumed he must have hidden the mask under his coat as well, since he wasn’t carrying a bag.

‘I don’t know how this works,’ Haukur said. ‘Should I offer you a seat in the living room or the kitchen? Would you like a coffee? Just say the word.’ He stood back to allow Huldar, Gudlaugur and Freyja inside. Clearly he had just got home himself since he still had his coat on and all the lights were out in the flat apart from the one in the narrow hall. When Huldar rang, Haukur had opted to dash home from work to meet them there, presumably so they’d be finished before his wife came back. That in itself suggested he had something to hide.

‘It would be best to sit somewhere we won’t be disturbed. And we don’t need any coffee, thanks.’ Huldar was careful not to tread on Freyja’s toes as they all crowded into the hall and bumbled about, trying to remove their snowy shoes. In the process Freyja was pushed up against him and Huldar felt encouraged that she didn’t immediately jump away, unless it was simply because there was no room to move. He preferred to think it was because she didn’t mind the proximity. He was disappointed when Haukur showed them into the living room and the moment of intimacy was over.

They sat down, Haukur and Gudlaugur in chairs, Freyja and Huldar on the sofa, which turned out to be less comfortable than it looked. ‘I can’t think why you want to see me but let’s get it over with. I know nothing at all about what happened to that girl, as I told you over the phone.’ He glanced from Gudlaugur to Huldar, unsure which of them he had talked to.

‘We have to speak to a lot of people as part of our routine enquiries. Sometimes it turns out they know things they didn’t realise were important.’ Huldar studied the man as he spoke. Haukur was sitting bolt upright, hands on the arms of his chair, clasping the rounded ends, as if he were strapped into an electric chair. He was still wearing his coat, which was green and not unlike the killer’s anorak. He hadn’t invited his visitors to take off their outdoor clothes either.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.