Page 32 of The Darkness
‘Innocent man?’ Magnús laughed, though he didn’t sound in the least amused. ‘He’s guilty as hell. That’s the whole bloody problem.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He runs a major sex-trafficking outfit.’
‘So it wasn’t him who complained about me?’
‘Are you out of your mind? God, no, we haven’t heard a peep out of him. No, you’ve just managed to jeopardize months of hard work. We’ve been keeping him under surveillance and, as far as we know, he didn’t have the faintest idea until this evening – all thanks to you.’
Hulda was appalled. ‘You mean I –?’
‘Yes, you … Our people were monitoring the premises and saw you go inside, but by then it was too late: the damage had been done. There’s no way of knowing what he’s up to now – warning his accomplices, destroying evidence. The team’s holding a crisis meeting as we speak, trying to decide whether to cut their losses and arrest him now. The trouble is, they needed more time to collect evidence against him. It’s a bloody mess. And you’ll be blamed for that. Which meansI’llget it in the neck.’
‘I don’t know what to say. I simply hadn’t a clue.’
‘Of course you didn’t have a fucking clue! Because you didn’t bother to check with anyone first. It’s always the same problem with you – a total failure to collaborate.’ Magnús banged his fist on the desk. ‘Always the same bloody story.’
Hulda bridled at this: ‘I didn’t always have a choice, you know. You and your mates, you haven’t exactly been eager to “collaborate” over the years. I’ve sometimes been forced to slog through cases alone because no one’s been willing to work with me. You boys stick together and shut me out. Oh, I’m not complaining – it’s too late for that and, anyway, it’s not my style – but I want you to know what it’s been like, before the next woman has to go through the same crap.’
Magnús seemed astonished by her reaction. ‘I’ve treated you no differently from anyone else in this department. I don’t have to sit here and listen to this.’
Hulda shrugged. ‘You know better than that, Magnús. But I’m leaving, so it’s not my problem any more.’
‘I think this meeting has gone on long enough. The case is closed.’
This time, it was Hulda who slammed her fist on the desk. She kept taking herself by surprise, all her pent-up rage bursting forth: ‘No. I need more time to finish this. Surely you owe me that much, at least?’
Magnús sat frozen at this outburst, his face expressionless.
‘I need a few more days, maybe a week. I’ll keep you informed so there’s no danger of my treading on my colleagues’ toes again. That was completely unintentional, as you know full well.’
He sat and thought about it, before grudgingly conceding: ‘All right. You can have one day.’
‘One day? There’s no way that’s enough.’
‘Well, it’ll bloody well have to be. I’ve had it up to here with you. You’ll just have to get an early start. We’ll make a deal: I’ll leave you alone tomorrow, OK? But the day after that, you’re coming in here and clearing your desk. Then you can start getting used to your retirement.’
XXIV
The light was failing.
After driving for a while, she had more or less got the hang of coping with the snow. The four-by-four answered well to the steering wheel and the hard-frozen crust bore up under their weight. The promised blizzard hadn’t materialized yet, though a few flakes had begun to fall, enough to justify switching on the wipers.
He had been right after all: this was part of the package, part of the adventure she had signed up for. She regretted now that she had shrunk away from the challenge.
Once she’d had a good go, he’d taken over the wheel again and driven at a cracking pace until a mountain loomed up ahead, at which point he took his foot off the accelerator and slowed to a stop.
‘This’ll do. We’ll leave the car here.’
Stepping out into a light mist of snow, she surveyed their surroundings. ‘Are we going up there, up the mountain?’ she asked doubtfully, quailing at the sight of the sheer black crags showing through the white.
He shook his head. ‘No, not all the way, just into the valley over the next ridge. The going’ll be a bit challenging, though.’
Darkness was closing in with frightening speed and she only hoped they would make it to their destination while it was still twilight. The night would be impenetrable here: no distant glow from a town; nothing but mountains and snow.
‘Will … will there be any other people about?’
‘Nobody else comes out here,’ he said flatly.
