Meltwater (Fire and Ice)
went?’
‘No, he ran down the slope by the volcano, but I couldn’t see the cars at the bottom because of the poor visibility. So I don’t know what he did when he was down there. And I
couldn’t hear either, with the noise of the volcano.’
‘What can you tell me about the guy? Was he young or old? Tall, small, fat, dark?’
Erika hesitated. ‘Tallish. Fit and strong. Not a kid, but not middle-aged either. He was wearing a bright red jacket and the hood was up, but he had dark hair.’
‘Would you recognize him again?’
‘Probably not, no.’
‘Did he look like an Icelander?’
‘He wasn’t fair or red-headed, if that’s what you mean. But quite a lot of Icelanders have dark hair, don’t they? Come to think of it, his complexion was darker than most
of them.’
‘Mediterranean? Asian? Indian?’
‘I don’t know. I said I didn’t see him clearly.’
‘But he definitely wasn’t one of your group?’
Erika’s eyes flashed. ‘That’s a dumb question.’
‘I like to ask dumb questions,’ said Magnus calmly.
Erika raised her eyebrows. ‘No, he definitely wasn’t one of our group. Bigger than most of them except Dieter, and I don’t think the others had red jackets. Of course he
wasn’t one of our group.’
‘OK,’ said Magnus. ‘I understand. So what did you do then?’
‘We went back down to check out Nico. He was bleeding badly from the stomach. He was still alive when we got to him, but then . . .’ A tear ran down Erika’s cheek. She sniffed.
Tried to say something and couldn’t. Fell silent.
Magnus waited.
‘Then . . . then he wasn’t alive any more.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Magnus.
‘I studied medicine for years. I should have been able to do something to save him. But there was so much blood.’ She looked down at her hands, which were now washed clean, but there
were brown stains on the cuffs of her sweater. And all over her coat, no doubt. ‘I tried to stanch it. But . . .’
‘Were you friends?’ Magnus asked gently.
‘Yes,’ said Erika. ‘Yes, we were. I’ve known him for a year or so. We’ve worked together on some projects.’
‘Stories?’
‘Yes.’
‘Tell me a bit about him. He was a journalist?’
‘Not exactly. In fact he used to be a banker of some kind. Worked for a hedge fund in London trading oil futures or something. He said he was originally a geologist.’ Erika smiled.
‘That’s why he was so eager to see the volcano. Anyway, he gave up the hedge fund business a couple of years ago.’
‘To do what?’
‘I’m not sure, exactly. I know he had saved up some money. He was a bit of an idealist.’
‘Were you and he having a relationship?’ Magnus asked.
‘Oh, no,’ said Erika. ‘He’s married. Three small kids, I think. His family are in Milan now.’ She closed her eyes. ‘Someone’s going to have to tell his
wife.’
‘Do you know her?’
‘Not well,’ said Erika. ‘Her name is Teresa. I stayed with them once in Italy. I have their address and phone number.’
‘If you give it to us, we can do it,’ Magnus said. ‘We’ll call her right away.’
Erika smiled. ‘Thanks.’
‘Did he have any enemies as far as you know?’
‘None that I know of. Nico didn’t make enemies. He was just a great guy. Big smile; nothing was too much trouble for him. You know, one of those people everyone loves.’
‘You’ll miss him,’ said Magnus softly.
‘Yeah,’ said Erika. ‘I’ll miss him.’ She took out a tissue and blew her nose. ‘I’m sorry. It’s been a rough night.’
‘Yes,’ said Magnus. ‘Yes, it has. Just a couple more questions. I don’t understand why Nico was in Iceland. If he wasn’t a journalist, I mean.’
Erika pulled herself together. Looked Magnus straight in the eye. Too straight. ‘I told you. He knew about volcanoes.’
‘Yes, but he wasn’t an expert, was he?’ Magnus said. ‘I mean he’s not a, what do you call them, vulcanologist? Or is he?’
‘No. But he was a friend and he wanted to come.’
‘To help you with your article?’
‘Yes.’
Magnus examined Erika. This wasn’t quite right. She was sitting up straight now, alert. She had been shattered a moment before. Something about his questions had caused her to raise
her defences. To look him straight in the eye.
‘You say you are a journalist. So who do you write for?’
‘I’m freelance,’ Erika said.
‘What about the others out there?’
‘They are freelance too.’
‘I
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