their parents to hand in at the station, or tried to find the owner, or just kept it, I suppose. But no, they knocked on my door and gave it to me, because they all know where Gunna the Cop lives and it didnât occur to them that I might be off duty.â
âIs this a problem for you?â
âNot at all. Itâs just part of being on the force in a rural area. Itâs part of the package. But itâs the same in town to some extent. Your neighbours are always going to know youâre in the force and they might treat you slightly differently, or they might not.â
Skúli wrote hasty notes on his pad.
âSo. Young man. Tell me, why HvalvÃk?â
âDonât know really. It was partly my idea, I suppose, and Reynir Ãli said it might make a good feature.â
âWhoâs Reynir Ãli?â
âMy editor. It was all set up through the police PR department. I asked the lady there for somewhere rural to go to, but not too far from the city, so she called back the next day and suggested HvalvÃk or somewhere up in Snæfellsnes.â
âSo you chose HvalvÃk.â
âYup. Closer to town,â Skúli said, delicately wiping the detritus of hot dog from his chin. âAnd it sounded a bit more interesting as well,â he added sheepishly.
âWhy?â
âWell, one of my colleagues said it might be a better feature because there are so few women in the police.â
âYou what?â
âHe reckoned it might make a good story because there arenât many female police officers of your experience.â
âYou mean all the policewomen you see are these young ones whoâve been in the job for five minutes and you might get something more out of an old bag like me?â
âUm. Yes.â
Gunna grinned. âGood answer. When being questioned by the law, just tell the truth. And who told you this?â
âJonni Kristinns, the political editor.â
âI know Jonni well enough from when I was in the city force. Heâs a friend of the bloke who was my partner at the time.â
âYour husband?â
Gunna looked sourly across the table at Skúli. âNo. My police partner when I was on the city force. You work together a lot of the time and I suppose in many ways your partner is someone you get to know better than a husband or a wife.â
âIs this guy still in the police?â
âBjössi? Yeah. But he moved out of the city as well, and out of uniform. Heâs in CID in KeflavÃk now.â
âWhatâs his name?â
âBjörn Valsson, known as Bjössi. I havenât seen Jonni in years. He was on TV as well, wasnât he?â
âI think so, a while ago. Heâs one of those old guys who canât keep away from paper.â
Skúli was acutely aware that he had asked few of the questions he had lined up, but had again ended up doing most of the talking while Gunna asked the questions.
âHow long have you been in the police?â he asked finally.
âSixteen years, with a break in the middle.â
âWhat for?â
âYou know, children, all that stuff.â
âSo youâre married?â
âNot any more.â
âIs it long since you split up?â
Gunna gave Skúli a sharp look. âIs this really necessary? The last thing I want to see is my private life splashed across Dagurinn on a Saturday morning.â
âNo, itâs not for print. Itâs just, you know, for me to build up a picture of you,â Skúli gabbled. âI donât want to put in too much personal stuff, but people like to see it.â
âAll right,â Gunna said unwillingly. âI have a son from a relationship when I was in my teens. GÃsliâs nineteen now. I have a thirteen-year-old daughter with my husband, who died eight years ago in an accident that I donât want to discuss. Is that enough for