Free Sun on Fire by Viktor Arnar Ingólfsson

were staying at had satisfactory security arrangements. Then, if Anton was busy, I would take his calls for him. Sometimes I booked flights and hotels. Dealt with hotel staff. Had clothes washed and dry-cleaned. Practical matters that need taking care of on long trips.Other than that, I was on twenty-four hour duty when he was on business trips.”
    “Did Anton consider himself to be in danger?”
    “He traveled widely and visited places that were not safe.”
    “Where is his home?”
    “In England. He rents a furnished apartment in London.”
    Búi took a business card from his pocket and handed it to Birkir. “Here. His company is registered at the same address.”
    Birkir got up and went over to the bed. He examined the briefcase’s contents. On a chain fastened to the bottom of the case was a key ring containing a number of keys.
    “Did he also have a home in Iceland?” Birkir asked.
    “I don’t think so. I never accompanied him to Iceland. He always gave me time off when he went there. I think he probably stayed in a hotel when he was in Reykjavík.”
    “Where do you live?”
    “I have an apartment in Spain where I go when I’m not working. I have a flight booked to Barcelona tomorrow. I’m probably looking at a long vacation.”
    “Do you have a key to Anton’s London apartment?”
    “Yes.”
    Birkir held out his hand. “I’m going to have to ask you to hand that key over to me.”
    Búi reached into his jacket pocket for his key ring. “I have some clothes and other personal belongings there, but I can get them later,” he said, detaching a key and handing it to Birkir.
    “When did you start working for Anton?” Birkir asked.
    “Three years ago.”
    “What did you do before that?”
    “I was in the Reykjavík police force for two years, and then I went to a bodyguard-training school in America. After that Iworked for a firm that provides security personnel all over the world. Then Anton offered me a permanent position. It was an improvement over Iraq and Afghanistan.”
    “Do you know of anyone who might have wanted to harm Anton?”
    Búi shrugged. “He was a tricky devil and treated many people he had dealings with badly, but I didn’t think there was anyone who might tail him here to Berlin. Maybe that was a bad call.”
    “You said you were with him twenty-four hours a day when he was traveling. Why weren’t you with him Sunday evening?”
    Búi hesitated. He obviously found the question uncomfortable. “I sometimes get time off when Anton is visiting a secure house,” he said. “We assumed that the embassy was safe. That was obviously a mistake. Bad for my résumé.”
    “So what did you do on Sunday?”
    “I accompanied Anton to the embassy in a cab. I had the cab wait while I escorted him inside, and I left him at the front desk.”
    “What did you do after that?”
    “I visited a brothel.”
    Búi’s frankness surprised Birkir. “Can anyone verify that?” he asked.
    Búi grinned coldly. “I have no idea where I went. I just told the cab driver what I was looking for and he drove me someplace. When I had finished my business, I had the doorman call me a cab, and I went back to the hotel. Finding the place could be tough—I didn’t pay any attention to where we went.”
    “Who knew that Anton was planning to go to the embassy?”
    “Nobody knew. It was a spontaneous thing.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “We arrived in Berlin from Jakarta late Saturday night and planned to fly to Hamburg at two o’clock on Sunday. At eleveno’clock on Sunday morning we got a message that the Hamburg meeting had been called off. Anton asked me to cancel the flight, and then spent the next few hours fielding phone calls. Then he had the idea of inviting the ambassador out to dinner that evening. Konrad usually does whatever Anton wants, but he happened to be busy at the embassy and suggested that Anton go there. That was when Anton decided to go to the embassy, and we booked the