The Island by Ragnar Jónasson

Author:Ragnar Jónasson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2019-02-01T16:00:00+00:00

XXIII

Hulda had been half hoping that an interesting assignment would land on her desk that Sunday morning. Having nothing to work on but minor cases for days on end didn’t suit her at all. However, it seemed her luck was in, since her shift began with a phone call from the Westman Islands.

‘Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir.’

‘Hello … We may need assistance from CID in connection with a fatal incident.’

‘Don’t you have any detectives at your end?’

‘Our officer on duty isn’t available at the moment. He’s off sick. I was told to try and get someone from the mainland.’

‘A fatal incident? Are we talking about a crime?’ asked Hulda, thinking about the Westman Islands, where several years ago she had gone on a walking tour that involved climbing all the peaks on Heimaey, the main island, in a single day. She had given up on the last, having completely run out of steam after scaling Heimaklettur, the steep-sided rock that rose nearly 300 metres above the port. Despite this failure, she had happy memories of the trip – and happy memories were always welcome – as it had been a brilliantly sunny day, warm and still, and she’d been in good company, a small group of walkers from here and there. One of the men, who was around Hulda’s age, had stuck close to her and tried to strike up a conversation, apparently keen to get to know her better, but she hadn’t given him the chance. She wasn’t ready for anything like that.

‘Hmm … I couldn’t say, but I’ve got a bad feeling about it. Some youngsters on a weekend jaunt. I’m guessing there was booze involved. Have you got anyone available to come over today?’

Hulda took a moment to think about it. She could send one of the team; there was no reason for her to go. Then again, she had nothing better to do and she was feeling brighter today than she had been yesterday. Perhaps the trip would turn out to be a waste of time, but anything would be better than another stultifying day in the office.

‘Of course,’ she replied, making up her mind. ‘I’ll come.’

There was a silence on the other end, then the policeman from the Westman Islands said respectfully, ‘You mean you’re coming yourself? There’s really no need … not as things stand. All we need is one of your people to sail out there with us and take a look at the situation.’

Hulda couldn’t help feeling rather flattered. Although she had a couple of officers under her command, her title of inspector sounded rather grander than it really was. No one would have addressed her with that deferential note here at the Reykjavík office.

‘Nevertheless, I think I’ll come myself. It would be good to get out of the office.’ Then, remembering belatedly that he’d said ‘sail out there with us’, she asked, ‘Where do we need to sail to? Can’t I just hop on a plane to Heimaey?’

‘No, sorry … well, yes, I mean you can fly to Heimaey but after that we’ll need to take a boat out to Ellidaey.

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