Sun on Fire by Viktor Arnar Ingólfsson Read Free Book Online Page B

Eiríksson attract your attention?” Gunnar asked.
    “He was a frequent visitor to some kind of a ‘rest and relaxation’ hotel that has an extremely bad reputation. Very young children, boys and girls, are hired there for service jobs, but it seems that this includes some very serious sexual abuse. These children come from poor families of the lowest social orders of society, and it is very difficult to eradicate this business.”
    “I see,” Gunnar said. He glanced at a picture of the corpse. “This guy was a serious piece of shit. He probably won’t be missed.”
    “Probably not,” Fischer said. “And it was a brutal attack. Somebody paid him back with interest.”
    “What would the next stage of your investigation have involved?” Gunnar asked.
    “A thorough forensic investigation of the whole floor. Fingerprints, hair and biological specimens. If you’d like assistance, I can call our specialists in. Your forensic officer can oversee things and make sure the investigation is satisfactory. We can provide secure storage for any biological specimens. All this will certainly speed things up.”
    “Good idea and good offer,” Gunnar said. He took out his cell phone and called Birkir. After a short discussion he nodded.
    “Yes, please. My colleagues and the ambassador are grateful for your help.”
    Now it was Fischer’s turn to make a call. “They’ll be here shortly,” he said as he hung up. “The Foreign Ministry did ask us to assist you as much as possible.”
    Having finished his second bowl of soup, Gunnar was wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket when a man in his fifties approached their table.
    “Guten appetit,” the newcomer said. “I am Wolf. I’m a security guard, and I was on duty the night before last. Herr Ingason asked me to update you on the investigations we have carried out at the guard post.” He was dressed in a plain uniform with an ID card hanging around his neck. He carried a laptop under his arm.
    Gunnar and Fischer stood up and shook hands with Wolf as they introduced themselves. Gunnar called the waitress over and asked for more coffee and an extra cup.
    “We’ve checked all the security systems relevant to what happened over the weekend,” Wolf said. “We will make a detailed report, but I can tell you where we’re at so far.”
    “Thanks,” Gunnar said. “That’ll be very useful.”
    Wolf opened the laptop and switched it on. He fished some printed notes out of his pocket and placed them on the table. “According to the automatic computer log, the Icelandic embassy security system was switched on at five thirty last Friday afternoon, when the last staff member left the building at the end of the workday,” he read from a sheet of paper. “This is a comprehensive system with automatic door sensors at all entrances and several motion sensors on each floor. No signals were detected from any sensor until the ambassador opened the main door of the building Sunday at 18:10 and deactivated the system at the control board in the entrance lobby. The building was unquestionably empty at that point.”
    Wolf opened a program on his laptop to show footage from the security cameras, and Gunnar and Fischer saw an image of the plaza between the embassy buildings; a few people came into the picture, walking toward the Icelandic embassy.
    Wolf said, “We have footage from the cameras monitoring the plaza, and they show us seven individuals accompanying the ambassador into the embassy building. You’ll get copies ofall these recordings on disc, by the way, along with our written report. Next thing we see is that at 19:40 the ambassador emerges and crosses to the main entrance of the Felleshus to accept his food delivery. At 22:55, a female arrived at the Felleshus entrance by cab and introduced herself as the Icelandic ambassador’s wife. She called her husband herself, and he came over to the reception desk and checked her in as a guest. At that time, the