Thin Ice: An Inspector Gunna Mystery (Gunnhildur Mystery Book 5) by Quentin Bates Page A

in it?’
    ‘Not this time.’
    ‘What’s the problem and what are you after?’
    Alli shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t much like going out, and he certainly didn’t like this gloomy cavern hung with motorcycle memorabilia that the Undertakers described as their world headquarters. This wasn’t his style. Old-school, he preferred to keep things quiet and operate from his own place, but felt that he would have to accept that times were changing and so was the business.
    ‘Someone has done me a bad turn. All I’m looking for is some eyes. This guy has vanished, and either he’s hiding away somewhere or he’s skipped town.’
    ‘Össi Óskars?’ Rafn asked. ‘Is that the man you’re looking for?’
    Alli felt a rush of anger and wondered who might have been spreading rumours.
    ‘That’s the guy,’ he said finally.
    ‘I had a feeling you two would fall out eventually,’ Rafn said, defusing the situation. ‘What would you like us to do?’
    ‘Just find him. I’ll deal with Össi in-house, but I need some eyes and ears to find out where the little bastard has hidden himself away.’
    * * *
     
    Erna’s friend Dúa was so different from Sunna that it was difficult to imagine any common ground between them. Gunna’s reception was one of emotion and tears, unlike Sunna’s initially reserved manner the day before.
    A cat was shooed from a chair to make room for Gunna in the cramped kitchen and Dúa clattered cups and plates as she cleared the table and brewed coffee, before disappearing and returning with her greying hair in order and her dressing gown replaced by jogging bottoms and a sweater. She chirruped and clucked, talking almost ceaselessly as she pottered with the coffee pot.
    ‘You take milk, do you, dear?’ she asked, speaking half to herself and half to Gunna, as if she were a child, even though she guessed there could hardly be more than a few years between them.
    ‘A drop of milk, please,’ Gunna confirmed and waited for Dúa to settle.
    ‘Oh, I do hope they come back soon,’ Dúa twittered. ‘I can’t imagine what could have happened to them. I just can’t understand it.’
    ‘You know Erna well?’
    ‘I’ve known Erna since we were at school together.’
    ‘So you’ve known Tinna Lind all her life?’
    ‘Of course. I’m her godmother. Such a sweet girl. Headstrong, but sweet.’
    ‘I gather the two of them don’t get on all that well. Is that right?’
    Dúa poured milk into her coffee, forgetting that she had already done so once.
    ‘Well, they’re so different in so many ways, but then they’re so alike as well, not that either of them would admit it.’
    ‘How so?’
    ‘Erna was just as headstrong and stubborn as Tinna Lind when she was younger, although when Erna was her age, she already had Tinna Lind. She had her at nineteen. Too young, I always thought,’ Dúa said, shaking her head. ‘You have children, do you, dear?’
    ‘And grandchildren,’ Gunna said. ‘So it wouldn’t be usual for them to go somewhere together if they get on each other’s nerves, would it. Or is it just Erna who is easily irritated?’ she asked, anxious to nip giving any personal details in the bud.
    ‘You know what it’s like, surely? Erna can’t understand why Tinna Lind won’t settle into a good job. Because she could, you know,’ she added with emphasis. ‘And Tinna Lind can’t see what all the fuss is about because she’s having a good time, has no ties and is able to travel whenever she can afford it. She’s been all over, you know.’
    ‘So why were they together with you and Sunna on Thursday, if they don’t get on?’
    ‘They bicker but they still get on, and I think Erna wanted to start on some early Christmas shopping. You know, before the rush starts next month.’
    ‘As Tinna Lind travels frequently, would it be out of character for her to disappear with no notice?’
    ‘At short notice, yes. But I don’t believe she’d just go without a word.’
    ‘And