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

is if Bryngeir pops off. I’m sure his children would have the place on the market before he’s even cold.’
    Gunna nodded and poured herself a coffee. ‘And is he on his last legs?’
    ‘Not as far as I can see. He was here this afternoon and he seemed lively enough.’
    ‘Think about it in the new year when you’re back at sea. You’d get the loans easily enough, wouldn’t you?’
    ‘Well, yeah,’ Gísli said, his mind elsewhere and a thumbnail rasping the stubble along the line of his jaw. ‘At the moment I’m just happy to be renting something that isn’t breaking the bank. It’s a nightmare out there, you know, Mum. It really is.’
    ‘Spoken to Soffía recently?’ Gunna asked, dropping her voice.
    ‘Yesterday. Why? Have you?’
    ‘I have. She’s worried.’
    ‘About what? Maintenance? Come on, I’m looking after my end of things and she can’t complain I’m not having Ari as often as I can, but it’s not easy.’ His chin lifted and his eyes went to the ceiling and the sound of Drífa’s footsteps pacing back and forth. ‘It’s sensitive. You know?’
    ‘I know. Of course it’s sensitive.’
    ‘So what, then?’
    Gunna took a breath. ‘Soffía has applied to do a master’s degree in Sweden. She’s concerned that you might not agree to her taking Ari out of the country.’
    Gísli shook his head. ‘For crying out loud, Mum. Why would I object?’
    ‘That’s what I said.’
    ‘If she was talking about moving to Argentina permanently, then I might have something to say about it. But a year or two in Sweden’s not going to hurt anyone, and I guess she’d be running back and forth anyway.’
    Gunna patted Gísli’s hand. ‘It’s all right, sweetheart. That’s what I told her as well.’
    ‘So what’s she worried about?’ Gísli’s voice had risen and Gunna noticed that the sound of Drífa’s footsteps upstairs had stopped. ‘That I’ll bite her head off and stop her taking the boy to Sweden because she threw me over?’
    ‘With reason, maybe? And calm down, I’m just delivering a message.’
    ‘She can speak to me herself, can’t she? Shit!’ Gísli swore and shook his head. ‘We were together for three years and now it’s like I’m some kind of stranger.’
    ‘You’re not the same person you were during those three years any more than Soffía is. You’re not the easy-going character you used to be, you know.’
    ‘I know,’ Gísli admitted, deflating, his shoulders slumping. ‘Tell her it’s fine by me, and she can speak to me about more than just who’s picking Ari up and when.’
    ‘No, Gísli,’ Gunna said, squeezing his hand. ‘You tell her.’
     
    Tinna Lind’s lips parted and presented themselves for a kiss. Her hand had already curled under Magni’s shirt and he had half lifted her to lie across his lap. Magni felt his excitement growing and knew that she had to be feeling the bulge in his trousers, which he was confident wouldn’t disappoint her. Their lips touched; she pulled back for a second and then lifted her head, seeking him out. Her tongue explored his lips just as the shriek from upstairs pulled them from each other.
    ‘What the fuck . . .?’
    Magni was on his feet in a second and pounding up the stairs. Tinna Lind was close behind as Magni shoved the door aside and glared at Össur sitting calmly on the bed, cleaning under his fingernails with the razor-sharp kitchen knife. Erna was huddled on the floor, her back to the wall and her face streaked with tears. A red wheal covered half of her face.
    Tinna Lind crouched next to her and wrapped her arms around her as Erna sobbed.
    Magni glared. ‘What happened, Össi?’
    Össur looked past him at the bikini-clad girls bopping on the television. He shrugged and held the knife up, the point against the tip of his left forefinger.
    ‘The old bag pulled a knife on me, that’s all.’ He yawned. ‘So I had to show her why it wasn’t a good idea.’
    Magni scowled and looked at Erna.