"To be a really good journalist Here at the Post, you have to become awful at everything else." "The Post has no friends." "I wouldn't say a single word to anyone from that filthy rag." "Yellow journalism, that's what it is." "You don't belong there, Lara." "Look, here's your first job." "This is an engineer who's missing, Mani Magnusson." "Him?" "You know who he is?" "Yes, he's married to the TV presenter," "Esther Gunnlaugsdóttir." "They found the car." "What the hell was he doing here?" "Were we supposed to keep quiet when an MP harassed a bartender and beat up a bouncer?" "I just heard that the police brought in Mani Magnusson's car." "We found signs of violence in the car." "OK, front page..." ""Esther er..." "Esther Widowed?"" "A woman in her 30s was just taken into custody, suspected of being involved in the disappearance of Mani Magnusson." "Reliable sources say that the woman is Mani's wife," "Esther Gunnarsdottir." "OK." "Bye." "Hey, wait a minute." "Like your new phone?" "Yes." "OK, bye darling." "Call me if anything comes up." "Alright." "Bye." "Wow." "Is that new?" "Yes." "Dad gave it to me." "Congratulations." "Nice phone she's got there." "Yes, it is, isn't it?" "See you." "Bye." "Bye." "Awful phone!" "I've never been inside that car." "It was brand new." "It was Mani's not mine." "That's not true." "Try to remember better." "We know you been inside the car." "No." "Why don't you believe me?" "If you've never been in the car how come we found strands of your hair inside it?" "What?" "How come we found strands of your hair in the vehicle?" "I never been inside it." "Couldn't Máni have had some strands of my hair on him?" "Yes." "Well then." "Yes, if we were talking about one hair." "But there were five, all of them with roots." "Hair does not fall out by the roots... and definitely not in groups of five." "It's boring always having to go outside to smoke." "What?" "Journalism went to the dogs when we weren't allowed to smoke inside anymore." "We wrote much better when we could smoke at our desks." "When's the bloody coffee machine coming back?" "Hey, Lárus the photographer became a father last night so he won't be in today." "You'll have to take the photos yourself." "So, the paper's so broke we can't afford a photographer?" "Boy or girl?" "I can't remember." "We couldn't get hold of anyone to replace him, so we'll just have to put up with it-for today at least." "Hopefully, we'll be fine tomorrow." "Isn't he taking paternity leave?" "He says he's going to take it later." "I expect him in tomorrow." "What's the problem?" "All you have to do is press a button." "Exactly." "Says the genius with the cooker who got as far as eleven." "Good thing you were watching." "We had a special home make-over party last night." "We thought you'd be there, Gestur." "What's with all the wine in That wine rack of yours." "Always on the booze, are we?" "It could be for you guys, if you ever dropped by, for example." "That would be fun, being one of Gestur's guests." "Yackety-yack." "OK, meeting, right now!" "What's happening in the Máni case-anything new there?" "I don't know any more than the police have disclosed." "And they're being very quiet." "Yes, innocent until proven guilty and all that." "What do you lot think?" "I reckon they went hunting together and she killed him with the shotgun." "We going to have divide our Resources on this." "Stina, you try and find out what happened when the police questioned her." "Lára, you carry on with the human interest angle." "Yes, I want our readers to get a fuller picture of Esther." "What kind of a person is she?" "Everyone wants to know that." "Check out this local committee that she's on." "What about the rest of you?" "Any tasty morsels?" "Hello!" "Anyone home?" "I think I'm going to continue with Jörgen Skarphéðinsson." "Haven't we given these pedophiles enough coverage?" "People are sick to death of reading about them." "Yeah, but I don't expect that's how the victims feel." "Coffee anyone?" "The machine's been fixed." ""TIME BOMB IN FAMILY NEIGHBOURHOOD"..." "Ridiculous headline." "But what about "CROSSED THEM" for that article about the woman who was trying to get her husband out of the clutches of that Christian fundamentalist group?" "Yours, I believe, Stina?" "Pretty good headline, too." "It's important not to go too far." "That makes readers just lose interest altogether." "Go too far!" "Are we supposed to ignore this kind of offence because it lacks sufficient variation?" "If the judicial system is not firm enough then we have to be even more vigilant." "Are you saying we should be doing their job for them?" "It takes the pressure off them if they think they can hide behind us in the media while we deal out punishment." "Exactly." "I mean I agree with Lára." "Good for you." "There's no need to have the paper lead a personal campaign against your pervert just because he's moved into that apartment building," "All the parents are demanding that these men's names be revealed and photos of them be made public." "You don't even have any children." "Scared your cat's going to be sexually assaulted?" "I know loads of children in the area and I'm determined to keep on this pervert's heels." "Can we see your new phone again?" "Why?" "We just want to take a look at it." "Maybe it's not so ugly, after all." "It's absolutely awful!" "Look, Ferrari." "Let's see how fast it goes." "No!" "Do you know any of these people?" "Just Esther." "Everyone knows her." "Harpa, you know everyone." "Which of these would be likely to tell us something about her?" "Let me." "You can forget this one." "She's in the progressive Party." "This one." "Thorhildur." "Green Party." "Guaranteed she tries to knock her a little." "Look how irritated she is." "She just can't hide how much Esther gets on her nerves." "Not even for the two seconds while someone takes a photo." "What about this guy here?" "Grétar Jónsson." "Big building contractor from Keflavik." "Grétar Jónsson?" "Finally, does anyone know when we can expect some results from the survey?" "Monday, I'm told." "We won't get anything out of them." "The rural areas want to keep the airport..." "People in Reykjavik want to get rid of it." "We don't need Gallup to tell us that." "Strange that no one here wanted to express their views when the decision was made." "I just couldn't be bothered to argue with Esther at the time." "It was her idea." "Arguing with her is like dealing with a Chihuahua." "Let's not discuss Esther." "She isn't here to defend herself." "You've taken it on yourself to defend her until now." "Thank you for that observation." "That's all for today." "Thank you." "This statement of yours just doesn't hold any water." "The neighbours say your car has not been outside the house all weekend." "Either they are all lying or you are." "I think it's you." "I was home." "That's not true." "An express delivery service tried to deliver a package to you three times that same Saturday." "Ten o'clock, two o/ clock and four o/ clock." "No one home." "It says so here NO ONE HOME." "I was at home!" "What about the car?" "Maybe you had it inside the house?" "How's it going?" "Great." "I've got a whole lot of information on Grétar Jónsson." "Popcorn?" "No thanks." "He was born in Keflavik in 1965 and runs a large contractors called Grettistak." "He lives in the same town and owns a number of properties in the Greater Reykjavík Area." "On the other hand, I can't get hold of him no matter how hard I try." "An old trick-trying to make himself seem more important than he actually is." "I'll give it one more try." "No, you have a go." "The woman at the other end Doesn't know your voice." "Grettistak, can I help you?" "Yes, can I speak to Grétar Jónsson." "Sorry, he's not here and will be out for the rest of the day." "OK, thanks very much." "Who was that?" "It was the Post again-a man's voice this time." "I'm sure they'll give up eventually." "Just keep saying I'm not here." "OK." "She can see it's our number." "Right, I'll try to get hold of this Thorhildur woman." "Lara." "They broke my phone." "What?" "Broke it?" "Who?" "Sjöfn and Rakel." "They're always picking on me." "No, they're always nice to you." "It was them, really it was." "They took my phone and threw it at the wall." "I don't believe it." "It was brand new." "I don't want to stay here at school." "You must come and get me." "Alda, my love, please." "It must have been some kind of accident." "I'll have it repaired." "But I can't come and get you." "All children have to be in school, darling." "You never believe me." "No, darling, that's not true." "Of course I believe you." "Hey, how about we rent a video together tonight then we can discuss the business with the phone." "It'll all be fine." "Just a second." "Thanks." "Are you alright, Alda, dear?" "Yes." "What do you say, darling?" "Alda?" "Hello?" "Alda?" "Well, Lara, you've been doing fine." "Got your first front page and maybe another one tomorrow." "Isn't that just beginner's luck?" "Of course, it's a little more than that my dear." "You obviously have a talent for this." "No question about it." "It might be an idea to sit down sometime and go over a few things." "Maybe lunch or something like that?" "What do you say?" "You really don't remember me, do you?" "What do you mean?" "I was twenty and you said almost exactly what you said just now." "What?" "A famous reporter who suggested he had a chat with an enthusiastic young girl and tell her a few things about the media." "I don't remember it at all." "We ended up in bed in the apartment" "I was renting with a girlfriend." "Girlfriend?" "What?" "When was that?" "That would have been approximately April 1996." "Was it in Arbær?" "There's a good deal going on in Hafnarfjord, where a large crowd has congregated around the apartment building that was mentioned in the Post this morning." "Yes, the Post has reported that a known pedophile lives here." "Over to Rosa, who is on the spot." "Can you tell why you're here?" "Are you trying to get this man to move out of the apartment block?" "Yes, we're not prepared to put up with this." "And if the police won't do anything then we have to." "I've got two children and I'm going to make sure this is a safe place." "I'm a tax payer and I have a right to live in a safe environment." "Do you expect then that the man is going to move out of the area because you're throwing rocks at his apartment?" "Yes, we're going to make sure he knows he's not welcome here." "What then?" "He moves to another area and assaults someone else's kids?" "Is that what you want?" "I don't know." "That isn't our problem." "Yes, this is Rósa Björk Gunnarsdóttir here in Hafnarfjord where some angry parents have gathered outside the apartment of a convicted pedophile after his whereabouts were revealed by the Post." "You see, Stina, obviously there are people out there who agree with me about the seriousness of this matter." "Sure, a bunch of hysterical mothers in the suburbs." "Yes, but it just so happens that hysterical mothers buy newspapers just like anyone else." "I predict I'm going to get a few more front pages after this." "Hey! "TIME BOMB IN FAMILY NEIGHBOURHOOD"!" "I'd forgotten that." "I'm ahead now." "I wouldn't be too sure of that, my friend." "Good morning." "My name's Lara." "From the Post." "I'm here to see Thorhildur." "Yes." "Just a moment." "Thorhildur, there's a woman here from the Post to see you." "Tell her I'm busy." "I'm sorry, she's busy right now." "Couldn't I just pop in for a second." "I mean she is there..." "She's busy." "Would it be alright if I took a look at the meeting room..." "I thought you came to meet Thorhildur?" "Can't I go up and look at the room?" "Just a moment." "Good morning." "Town Hall." "Hello." "Good morning." "I'm Lara from the Post." "Who let you in?" "The girl in reception." "Really?" "I don't understand." "I'm due at a meeting." "I'm writing a piece about Máni Magnússon." "I thought you might be able to give me some information about Esther, such as what kind of person she is-that kind of thing?" "I mean you're both on the Vatnsmyrar Committee and probably know each other quite well, I expect." "You know, I have nothing to say about Esther, at least nothing I would want printed in the papers." "You'll have to try elsewhere." "Is there something wrong with her, then?" "The woman is absurdly out of her depth." "One has to take town development matters seriously." "Not the kind of affair a Barbie doll should get mixed up in." "I'm sure Esther could organise a fashion boutique but she doesn't have a clue about town planning." "But don't quote me on that." "You don't think much of her, then?" "I didn't say that?" "Really?" "Do you think she has anything to do with Máni's disappearance?" "I'm not saying that either." "But that marriage was more for show than anything else." "I have no idea whether she killed the man or not, and I don't care either." "Are you implying that she was unfaithful to him?" "I don't have anything else to say." "This is not an interview." "If you want to know any more, you can try talking to someone else on the Vatnmyrar Committee, like Grétar-they know each other well." "Goodbye-and you will not print any of this, my dear." "If my name appears on so much as an obituary in the Post" "I'll have you brought before the Press Ethics Board" "Whatever possessed you to send that journalist up to me without an appointment." "I told her not to go up." "Now we're going up to the second floor." "I've had this floor completely renovated." "Yes, it's beautiful." "Thank you." "Yes, here we have... this is my favourite appliance." "Really." "So you do most of the cooking, do you?" "Wait, here's the best bit." "This is the best bit." "See this knob here?" "It goes all the way up to eleven." "Eleven!" "That's really funny." "How about doing a little work around here?" "Hey Gestur, nice kitchen." "Thank you." "Your wife has excellent taste." "Yes, she does." "Have you heard?" "What?" "On the radio." "A kid got hit by a rock outside the pedophile's apartment." "What?" "Someone threw a rock and a little girl was hit." "She lives in the building." "Hit her right in the face." "She could loose an eye." "Not good." "Not good at all." "Why are you looking at me?" "Now, it's going to be our fault and we're the bad guys again." "Weren't you supposed to be working on that employment story?" "I tried to tell you that at the end of the day this kind of story does no one any good." "Get down off your high horse, Stina." "We couldn't hold this information back." "It's not our responsibility if some idiots lose control." "Yes, exactly!" "But that doesn't mean it's good." "No, I know." "Definitely not good." "What are we going to do?" "You're going to have to work on this." "Go talk to the people involved, the girl who was hurt." "Yes, and I'll write a leader on why people shouldn't use this kind of information as an excuse to break the law." "We can expect the worst from the rest of the media." "Shit!" "Damn it!" "You have reached Grétar and Birna." "We're not home right now." "But please leave a message." "Birna, we need to talk." "There's something I need to tell you." "It's best you hear it from me when I come home tonight." "Hello?" "Alda darling." "Hi Daddy." "I can hardly hear you." "The girls wrecked my phone." "The girls wrecked your phone?" "Is your new phone broken?" "Yes, I thought it was completely ruined, then you called." "Hey, I've got a summer chalet this weekend and I was wondering whether the two of us shouldn't take a little trip there." "Yes, that would be great." "OK, wonderful." "I'll have a word with your mother." "OK, bye." "I see you can still use the phone." "That's good." "Such a nice phone." "Why didn't you come earlier?" "There were so many things I had to take into consideration." "I didn't think it would take so long." "Might I ask you to make sure the media don't get hold of this." "I have a wife and child." "I'm in politics and there are considerable business interests at stake here." "You should have thought about that earlier." "We can't stop the media finding out, you know that." "OK, Grétar runs this Grettistak company and they're building a large number of places in Reykjanesbær as well here in the city, and specifically in Vatnsmyrar." "Are you absolutely sure he had a relationship with Esther?" "Thorhildur hinted very strongly that was the case, yes." "And look at this nice coincidence." "Grétar owns part of Verkmat." "That's Máni's company, and has a seat on the board of directors." "Wow, that means they could have known each other for a long time." "It would certainly damage Esther's squeaky clean image if they've been having an affair." "But where would they meet?" "Hardly at each other's houses?" "Maybe at a hotel?" "Check the rates information." "We have access at fmr.is." "What's his surname again?" "Jónsson." "Could be this one." "His wife's name is Birna Rögnvaldsdóttir." "She's listed a joint-owner of the property in Keflavik." "And here's another address-Skúlagata." "Bet you that's their love-nest." "Wouldn't want his wife to be a joint-owner there." "I have to check this out better." "Hey, Viggo, shouldn't you be doing the layout?" "Birna, we need to talk." "There's something I need to tell you." "It's best you hear it from me when I come home tonight." "Well, of course, the man is a fool." "The fact that you fell for him shows how unalike sisters can be." "Why is he a fool?" "Well, it might have something to do with his continual affairs." "Don't you think he finally wants a divorce?" "It was inevitable." "Divorce?" "What else?" "That's how infidelity always ends." "They fall head over heels and then want to set up home with the new wife." "The absurd thing is that Grétar thinks you know nothing about it." "I don't anything for certain." "No, of course not." "You can tell yourself what you like." "But if I were you I'd pack his stuff in suitcase and throw them out into the street." "Hello?" "Yes, hello." "I'm from the Morning Post." "I've come to take some photos." "Eh?" "Of Grétar Jónsson's apartment for our properties page." "He must have mentioned it." "No, I don't recall that he did." "No problem." "Won't take more than a few minutes." "Come in." "Thanks very much." "I think it's best I give Grétar a call." "Yes, but I tell you it's no easy matter getting hold of him." "This is Grétar, please leave a message." "Very busy, these people." "As quick as you can, right?" "Hey, what paper did you say you were from?" "The Post." "I won't be long." "I just need a couple of shots of all the rooms, then I'm done." "Taking pictures of the trash, are you?" "I'm done." "Yes, I believe you are." "Off you go." "Look, the last statement we issued to the press still stands." "We don't have any more to add at this present time." "Something must have come up during your interview with Esther." "I mean, you did arrest her so you must have had some reason for that." "Yes, of course we had." "But things are at a critical stage and I don't have time for calls." "Oh, come on, you must have something?" "Sorry." "Bye." "Do you still maintain that you were home that weekend?" "That's odd." "A witness has just come forward to testify that he was with you" "Somewhere else on the 23rd and 24th of April-the whole weekend." "Really?" "He's a married man named Grétar." "I see." "He couldn't bear the idea of his mistress being in distress." "Am I free to go then?" "No, not before you tell us what happened that weekend." "Hello?" "Grétar?" "Speaking." "Hello, my name's Lara." "I work for the Morning Post." "Where did you get this number?" "We journalists have our methods." "I was hoping I could get a comment from you on your relationship with Esther Gunnarsdóttir." "It has emerged that you two were lovers and still are perhaps." "Can you confirm that?" "Did you get this information from the police?" "I'm afraid I cannot disclose my sources." "I told them not to release any information to the media." "What do you want me to say?" "Look, there is no way she killed that man." "Was she with you at the weekend?" "Was she with me at the weekend?" "Well... yes she was." "Esther and I, we're not bad people." "I don't want you to think that." "Would you like to meet me and tell me your side of the story?" "I can't meet you today." "Not the slightest chance." "I have to talk to my wife... and see to a few things." "Then I have to go to Keflavik tomorrow." "No problem." "I can come out there." "Damn!" "Meet me for coffee at Kaffitár in Reykjanesbær." "Do you know the place?" "Tomorrow." "Five o'clock." "Alright, five o'clock it is." "Will there be a story in tomorrow's paper?" "Yes, there will." "Do you want to make a comment on that?" "No." "Alright." "See you tomorrow at five." "OK." "Bye." "Yes, the Post gets the top story yet again." "Yes, I saw it this morning." "I have to admit, I was really surprised." "Yes, I also thought my favourite television announcer was above all that kind of thing." "No, really." "How far can the tabloids go?" "As far as possible." "The Post has it as clear as day." "THEY WERE LOVERS is the headline." "Esther Gunnarsdóttir and Grétar Jónsson, construction mogul." "No, limits to this nonsense, obviously." "And we're just coming up to the news at eight." "But first, some commercials." "Hey, it made the ten o'clock news." "But all the other papers had already gone to press when she was released from custody." "OK, now we have both of them." "Lara, you go directly round to Esther's place and try to get some information from her." "Then you meet Grétar at five and we try to hold back from going to press as long as we possibly can." "It would be best if you could send notes from the interview while you're taking it and send it to Stina." "Then she can put the article together." "OK, I'll do my best." "OK, Stina, what have you got?" "I have some serious news." "Einar Theodorsson, our friend and former MP, is going to be the next managing director of SIF." "Jesus!" "But first..." "First what?" "He's off to rehab." "Shouldn't Stefán be in today?" "Yes, I thought so." "What are you doing?" "I'm burying my cat." "How did it die?" "You don't want to know." "OK?" "Hello." "You remember me, don't you?" "Yes." "I've just got nothing to say to you." "Are you absolutely sure?" "Yes." "I mean, do you need any more information?" "Haven't you already done enough?" "I mean, I can't show my face in public again." "But don't you want to use the opportunity to tell your side" "Of the story?" "Christ!" "You just don't get it, do you?" "Go away." "This is my home." "No, but you know well enough Lara my dear, that the whole point of the job is to destroy people's lives." "Oh, come on, Gusti, we not trying to destroy anyone's life." "We're just reporting things as they are." "I know you're not trying to destroy anyone's life," "But as soon as you start prying into people's lives that's how things end up." "You can be so critical and nasty." "It's just a fact, Lara." "When are you going to pick Alda up to go to the chalet?" "I need to talk to you about that." "Are you really telling me that you can't fetch her?" "I don't believe it." "I have to go and do an interview in Keflavik at five." "Something's come up." "I have to work tomorrow and the day after." "I thought I could take some time off." "I'll make up for it." "The day you threw a brick into the window, you knew you were on the right track." "Are you sure it was him?" "Yes, I saw him." "Where did you see him?" "Outside." "I chased him and..." "And what?" "I beat the shit out of him." "You beat the shit out of him?" "Yes." "Do you realise what this could do to us?" "Yes, I do realise that." "Hi Dad." "Hi." "Any chance you can look after Alda until dinner time?" "Gusti was supposed to take her to the countryside but he's had to postpone the trip." "Are you sure you can actually manage that job, Lara?" "You can never rely on the child's father for anything." "I just wanted to see whether you could do me a favour." "Yes, but I don't get out of here until six." "I suppose she could be here at work with me for a while..." "No, no, it doesn't matter." "I just can't take her over to Dad's." "I always have to pay for it." "He uses every opportunity to turn things round and make me look like a bad mother." "He's always comparing me to Mum, who was, by the way always home, looking after everyone till she died." "I think I'll just take her to Keflavik with me." "Yes, I'm sure she'll think that's fun." "I could take a look at her mobile if you like." "I'm reasonably good at that kind of thing." "That's nice of you." "Thanks." "I'll bring it in tomorrow morning." "Sure, no problem." "Ah, Viigo's such a nice lad." "Stop it." "OK, if it's not Esther who's behind all this, who is?" "That's a good question." "Tell about these girls who did that to your phone." "They say stuff and don't mean it." "Is it the same girls we met yesterday?" "Yes." "I thought you were such good friends." "No, we're never been friends." "They just pretend to be nice to me when you're around." "The phone still works." "Yes, but..." "Aren't we going to watch a video tonight?" "Yes, darling." "We're going to have a nice time, just you and me." "Yes." "Can we go on the racing cars Mum?" "Doesn't answer?" "We've been waiting for half an hour, Mum." "Can't we go on the cars, just for a while?" "Yes, OK, darling." "He's not coming." "Let's try some racing." "Yesss." "Hey, her time's up." "Want another half-hour?" "No, I know she'd enjoy it, but that's all I can afford." "She's pretty good." "She can take a few more rounds on the house." "Thanks." "She's crazy about cars." "A little strange for a girl." "Yes." "I think this is the first time she's tried a motor go-cart." "You wouldn't think so." "You should bring her more often?" "Are you from around here?" "Me?" "Not at all." "I'm from Reykjavik." "I've just come to meet a guy who is obviously not going to show." "Really?" "Must be something wrong with him." "It wasn't a date." "Fortunately." "To do with work." "Hey, look in if you're Passing by soon." "Won't be here for much longer." "Closing the place down?" "Not us, a construction company." "Isn't Grétar the owner?" "Yes, that's right." "A greedy bastard." "Why's he closing it?" "The more you got, the more you want, I reckon." "He bought the land we're renting, now he wants to build on it." "I'm not sure where he's going to find enough people to occupy all the apartments he's planning to build." "Hopefully, he'll go bust." "You don't like him?" "He's a shitbag." "Can't you do anything?" "After all, you must have a rental contract." "Yes, about as valid as contract for the world trade centre." "Don't you worry, love." "It's all going down the toilet." "You have my personal guarantee." "Come on, let's go." "Wait here, darling." "I'll be very quick." "Why couldn't I just keep on driving?" "It was closing, darling." "I won't be a minute." "Grétar?" "Hello?" "Anyone here?"