The Day is Dark by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir Read Free Book Online

hissed. ‘You’ve always said how pushy Bragi can be, and he gave me no other choice than to accept the help.’ He smiled sheepishly. ‘Believe me, I tried many times to decline it.’
    Thóra was speechless. She was both frustrated with Matthew and furious at Bragi, and couldn’t decide which of them she would rather lock inside a cupboard with Bella for a week. But her hangover prevented her from arguing about this any further. The entrance to the airport was not visible from where they sat, but she could see the check-in counter, where all was quiet. ‘Maybe she’ll miss the plane,’ said Thóra, looking at the clock on the wall. ‘I bet she misses the plane.’ Then she started thumbing through the documents in the hope that her anger would dissipate.
    ‘Yes, maybe,’ said Matthew, awkwardly. ‘But we won’t make a fuss about it if she turns up too late. It was only this morning that I received final confirmation that she could come, but I don’t know when Bragi delivered the message to her.’
    Thóra ground her teeth and continued to read. There was a total of five volumes of various thicknesses and she could see immediately that only two of them mattered: the contract terms and letters sent between Berg Technology and Arctic Mining during the negotiation process. The other three volumes contained information about geological studies of the area, the climate and drawings that had been scaled down so small that Thóra was unable to make out the tiny print. One of the notebooks was labelled ‘Job Description’, and its contents covered the details of each of Berg Technology’s tasks and how they would be paid for. Thóra knew that she would have to read over the last volume, especially if everything on site had gone to pot. ‘Why is no one from the contractors joining us?’ she asked without looking up. ‘This is a rather large contract and I doubt that everyone from the company was working on site. At least not the management.’
    ‘It’s not a big company,’ replied Matthew, clearly relieved that Thóra was talking about something other than his having given in to Bragi. ‘It’s very specialized and has managed to make a name for itself in geological research and related feasibility studies, though mainly in the field of geothermal heat. Berg Technology’s main man and founder is now involved in another project in the Azores, along with five employees. The company has no other staff apart from the twelve who went to Greenland, and ten of them refuse to go back there, while the other two . . .’ He cleared his throat before continuing. ‘The company had planned greatly to expand its workforce this summer, when it was supposed to start major construction projects like laying an airport runway, but whether that will actually happen depends on whether Berg Technology manages to stay afloat. The kind of workers they need are much easier to find than the ones working at the site now, and it shouldn’t be any trouble to hire them if an agreement can be reached with the mining company. As far as the owner is concerned, we’ve been in constant contact with him by telephone and e-mail, but he can’t get away for the time being. They’re about to complete an important stage of their project in the Azores and he’s afraid that if he leaves now, the company that hired them will start having doubts. The last thing Berg needs now is for that project to be put at risk as well. We’re not going to press him, because he could become an albatross around our necks. His company is naturally far more important to him than the financial standing of the bank, so you never know what he might do. Berg has three board members, including the owner, but the other two have never come to Greenland, so it’s not really worthwhile dragging them along.’
    Thóra nodded. The voice on the tannoy announced that the charter flight to Greenland was ready for departure. Thóra stuck the documents back into the briefcase.