Meltwater (Fire and Ice)

obvious point that whatever it is, it’s probably
pissing off someone, and that someone might be trying to stop them. I’m just trying to solve a crime. And I don’t appreciate you obstructing the police in doing that.’
    Viktor switched his attention to Magnus.
    ‘Are you threatening me?’
    Magnus was very tempted to arrest the man for obstruction of justice, but he knew that would lead to more trouble than it was worth. ‘I suggest you wait until we have finished with the
witnesses.’
    ‘Where are they?’ the lawyer asked.
    ‘Through there,’ said Erika, pointing to the door of the common room at the other end of the corridor.
    ‘Out of my way,’ said Viktor as he pushed past Magnus. Vigdís stepped in front of him, with Árni next to her.
    ‘Who the hell are you?’ he asked her.
    Tall and black, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, it was true that Vigdís did not look like your typical Icelandic detective.
    ‘Detective Vigdís Audardóttir,’ she replied in Icelandic.
    ‘Give me a break,’ said Viktor in English. ‘You’re another Yank. A nigger CIA spy.’ He barged past Vigdís and down the corridor. Vigdís lost her
balance and almost fell.
    Árni grabbed the politician by the collar and pushed him up against the wall. ‘Don’t talk to a police officer like that,’ he shouted.
    Viktor was bigger than Árni, and stronger. He pushed Árni backwards and took a swing at him, catching him on the cheek.
    In a moment Magnus was on the politician, grabbing him from behind and pinning his arms to his sides, while the chief superintendent grabbed Árni. Viktor struggled for a few seconds, but
Magnus was stronger.
    ‘He assaulted me!’ the politician said. ‘You’re all witnesses, you saw him.’
    ‘You took a slug at him,’ said Magnus. ‘And you racially abused my colleague.’
    ‘Árni! Back off,’ said Kristján. He jabbed a finger at Viktor. ‘You, in my office! Everyone else wait.’
    Kristján led the MP into his office, turfing out the open-mouthed Ásta, and shut the door behind him.

CHAPTER FIVE
    Tuesday 13 April 2010
    T HE FREEFLOW TEAM drove back to Reykjavík in two vehicles: Dúddi’s father’s superjeep and
Viktor’s Mercedes four-by-four. They had left Ásta behind to show the police the crime scene in daylight. Erika sat next to Viktor in the front of his car, with Dieter in the back.
After an initial flurry of conversation about what had happened, they lapsed into silence, each of them absorbing the horror of the previous evening.
    As soon as they arrived at the house, Erika called everyone into the living room for a meeting. They stared at her, anxious, tired, uncertain.
    ‘What happened to Nico on the mountain was horrible,’ she began. ‘I wasn’t lying to the police when I told them I had no idea who killed him. As you all know, Nico was a
vital part of Freeflow and a good friend, a great friend to many of us.
    ‘I have been thinking hard about this. It is tempting to abandon the project because of what’s happened. In fact it is going to be very difficult to carry on without Nico.’ She
paused. Took a deep breath, controlling the emotion in her voice, channelling it. ‘But carry on we must. If there was one thing Nico believed in it was Freeflow and what it stands for. In
addition to doing this for Tamara Wilton and the other victims we saw in that video, we are doing it for him. In memory of him.’
    She glanced around the room. ‘Are you with me?’
    There was silence for a moment, and then murmurs and nods of assent.
    ‘What if Nico was murdered by the Israeli government?’ asked Zivah. ‘To shut us up?’
    ‘Then we don’t let them,’ said Erika. ‘For Nico’s sake, we don’t let them. If that was indeed why he died, then we cannot allow his death to be in
vain.’
    ‘What do we say to the police about the Gaza video?’ It was Franz, looking tired and a little scared.
    ‘Nothing. For as long as we can, we continue to say nothing. Sorry, Viktor, but I don’t trust the Icelandic police, and especially not that American – what was his name –
Magnus?’
    ‘Nor the black woman,’ said Viktor.
    ‘Can you keep them off our backs?’
    ‘I can try,’ said Viktor. ‘That is what the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative is all about. You gave us the idea after all, so you deserve to be protected by it. I’ll
start off by putting in a complaint to the National Police Commissioner. And I’ll go to the District Court when it opens