Meltwater (Fire and Ice)

But of course, if people like the CIA really don’t want you to see them, you won’t.’
    The ideal adversary for the paranoid. An enemy so clever you could never detect them. A little bit like Iceland’s hidden people; you didn’t want to get on the wrong side of them.
    ‘Why are you smiling?’ asked Erika. ‘I know I have been followed in the past. And, as you say, someone died yesterday.’
    ‘Sorry,’ said Magnus. She had a point. ‘There’s one more possibility we should add to this list of enemies.’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘Whoever will be upset by what you are working on right now,’ Magnus said.
    ‘We’ve agreed not to discuss this,’ Viktor said. ‘Rannveig?’
    Erika held up her hand. ‘The attack on Nico and me has nothing to do with that,’ she said.
    ‘How do you know?’
    ‘Because the people we are about to expose don’t know we are about to expose them. That’s why we are not telling you who they are.’
    ‘Are you sure they don’t know?’
    ‘Absolutely sure.’
    Magnus looked at her doubtfully. ‘How can you be?’
    ‘We’re good with secrets,’ Erika said.
    Magnus wasn’t convinced, but he changed tack. ‘OK, what about people within Freeflow? Do you have any enemies? Did Nico?’
    Erika raised her eyebrows. Magnus could tell the idea had genuinely never occurred to her. ‘No. We’ve had disagreements about policy, plenty of disagreements. And I tend to get my
way on those. We’ve had a couple of volunteers drop out last year. But no one who would have a reason to kill.’
    ‘What about the people here? Are any of them your enemies?’
    Erika laughed. ‘No. Dieter and I have worked closely together since Freeflow started. I came here to Iceland last November and that’s when I met Dúddi and Viktor. We’re
very much on the same side.’
    ‘And Nico?’
    Erika allowed herself a small smile. ‘Everyone liked Nico. And we all needed him. He was the guy who drummed up the cash.’
    Magnus nodded. ‘Tell me about Franz. What do you know about him?’
    ‘Very little,’ said Erika. ‘He comes from Zurich. I think he’s a friend of Dieter’s. He’s just a typical volunteer. This is the first time I’ve met
him.’
    ‘And Zivah Malach? Why do you have an Israeli on the team?’
    ‘Our volunteers come from all over the world,’ said Erika. ‘It’s the same story with her. And the Icelandic priest. Never met either of them before.’
    Magnus studied Erika. That left him looking for a couple of Italian heavies, probably called Luigi and Salvatore, wandering around a glacier in raincoats with their hats pulled over their eyes,
making offers that Freeflow couldn’t refuse.
    Well, they would follow that line of inquiry, but Magnus was sure it wasn’t the only one.
    ‘OK, Erika. Thanks for your help.’
    Erika stood up from the bed. As she was leaving the room, Magnus stopped her.
    ‘One more thing. I strongly suggest that you and your team spend as much time as possible indoors,’ he said. ‘We’ll have people watching the house. Whoever tried to kill
you before may try again. No need to make it easy for them.’
    Magnus noticed the fear flash in Erika’s eyes, but then it was gone. One brave woman, he thought.
    ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘And that will give you the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on us.’
    ‘So it will,’ said Magnus with a grin. But he was glad she wasn’t dumb enough to turn down the offer of protection.
    Magnus checked downstairs. The searchers hadn’t found anything apart from some ash in the bathroom. Burned paper, they said. Magnus was not amused.
    Computers were propped up next to other computers, whirring away. A guy of about thirty in jeans and a T-shirt was crouching down beside them. It took Magnus a moment to realize that he was with
the police rather than Freeflow.
    ‘Hi,’ he said when he saw Magnus. ‘My name is Ossi. Computer Forensics.’
    Magnus shook his hand. ‘Magnús.’ He lowered his voice so the Freeflow team couldn’t overhear him. ‘Do you think you’ll recover anything?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ said Ossi. ‘It’s all password protected, of course. Ordinarily that wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but I suspect that simply typing in
“1, 2, 3, 4” won’t open sesame with this lot.’
    Magnus glanced over to the Freeflow group sitting at the dining table drinking coffee. The big German guy, Dieter, shook his head, smiled and winked at them.
    ‘No, I have a feeling it is not going to