Meltwater (Fire and Ice)

side,’ Magnus said.
    ‘This is no joke, Magnús.’ And indeed the chief superintendent didn’t sound amused. ‘So far we have managed to avoid any fatalities. We found the British
schoolgirls and the Norwegian ambassador. But how stupid would we have looked if the only casualty had been one of our own men? In this country you have to treat nature with respect. Icelandic
policemen know this.’
    Magnus winced at the slur on his American background. He hated it when Icelanders made the point that he wasn’t really one of them. He almost mentioned that they had natural disasters in
the United States too, hadn’t Kristján heard of Hurricane Katrina? But he thought better of it; that event had hardly covered the American authorities in glory.
    ‘I had to look for the evidence,’ said Magnus. ‘Especially since they say there is going to be ash falling later on.’
    ‘Did you find any?’
    ‘Yes.’ Magnus filled Kristján in on the state of the investigation.
    ‘It sounds like you are making some progress,’ said Kristján. ‘Keep me informed. But I won’t be able to spare any of my officers for the next couple of days. And
don’t take any more stupid risks around the volcano.’
    ‘I won’t. How’s the guy in the Cat?’
    ‘The Caterpillar? He’s a hero. The highway isn’t too badly damaged, and the bridge is still standing. I think he’s gone home now for supper.’
    Ásta brought Teresa Andreose into the station and Magnus interviewed her. Teresa was much calmer until Erika Zinn’s name was mentioned. She had been jealous of Erika for months.
Even though she suspected her husband of having an affair with Erika, she had had no evidence. But two weeks earlier, she had confronted her husband about his relationship with his Freeflow
colleague. Nico had admitted that they had slept together a couple of times, but promised he wouldn’t do it again. However, when he had said that he was going to Reykjavík with the
Freeflow team, including Erika, Teresa had exploded.
    Nico had gone regardless, and now he was dead.
    ‘Did Nico speak to you much about Freeflow?’ Magnus asked.
    ‘Only in the most general terms. He kept on telling me what a wonderful organization it was, but he didn’t talk about the details.’
    ‘What about the Gruppo Cavour scandal?’
    ‘That happened before Nico got involved. And we live in Milan: fortunately we have nothing to do with those Roman scandals.’
    Magnus studied the Italian woman. She looked exhausted after her earlier eruption. Although she had reapplied her makeup, she could not hide the despair in her eyes.
    ‘When can I have them send his body back to Italy?’ she asked.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ Magnus said. ‘We need to keep it here for a while. With the murder investigation.’
    ‘You can’t do that! I won’t let him stay in this horrible country a moment longer!’ For a moment it looked as if the fight would flare up in her again. But when Magnus
shrugged, her shoulders slumped. ‘Can I at least see him?’
    ‘Of course,’ said Magnus. ‘I’ll get one of my colleagues to take you to the morgue.’
    ‘Thank you.’ Teresa smiled quickly. ‘And when I have seen him, I will go home. There is nothing more I can do here.’
    Magnus hesitated. Could Teresa have paid someone to follow her husband to Iceland and kill him? Magnus doubted it, but it had to be an outside possibility. Erika’s testimony suggested she
was the real target on the mountain, but then Teresa could have wanted both of them dead. So now there were two reasons to look for an Italian.
    Magnus considered insisting that Teresa stayed in Iceland, but decided to let her go. He had her address in Milan; the next step if he was serious about investigating her would be to get in
touch with the police there. So he finished the interview and got hold of Róbert to take her to Barónsstígur to see the body of her husband.
    At about seven, Magnús packed up to leave the station. Ordinarily he would have stayed later at this early stage of the investigation, but he hadn’t had much sleep in the previous
couple of days, and he knew he should see Ollie.
    Before shutting down his computer, he checked the file he had added that morning. Sure enough there were some words added to the bottom:
    we at ff have no idea who killed nico. like you we suppose it was someone with a grudge against us.
    i am worried. whoever killed nico was trying to kill erika. he might try again. i want you to