Helsinki White

by James Thompson

  We come out of our second round in the sauna to find Milo and Sweetness in a drunken fistfight. Moreau moves to stop them, but I say no, it’s been a long time coming. I think Sweetness will stomp a mud puddle in Milo’s chest, but he holds his own. Sweetness is fast, but Milo is small and even faster. He gets in close and works inside Sweetness’s reach, slips his punches. Sober, Sweetness would have killed him, but the pontikka evened the odds. Milo lands some good ones, but they don’t pack enough power to put Sweetness down, and in the end, they’re rolling around in the grass, drunk and laughing. They go to the sauna bleeding together.

  Afterward, Sweetness and Jenna disappear, and I hear love grunts come from the Muumin house. Anni wakes Timo up from a lounge chair and takes him to bed. Milo and Mirjami must have passed out in the sauna. I set an alarm for seven, and join Kate in the spare bed.

  35

  The alarm goes off. Kate doesn’t stir and I shake her awake. “I can’t move,” she says, “I’m sick.”

  “I’m sorry, but you have to. I have an appointment that has to do with the Söderlund murder and we have to leave.”

  She has trouble sitting up but manages it. “I’m woozy. I can’t drive.”

  “That’s OK, someone else will drive. Can you eat?”

  She shakes her head no.

  I’m a little tired myself. We stayed up late, and I was up twice in the night with Anu. “You weren’t the only one drunk. I doubt the others are in much better shape. Can you pull yourself together while I get them up and moving?”

  She nods yes. “Kari,” she says, “I’m sorry. I fucked up. I’ve fucked up a lot lately. I—”

  She has a king hell case of morkkis. I cut her off. “Everything is fine. Anu is fine. You didn’t do anything embarrassing. You just got sick, passed out, and I put you to bed. You didn’t even drink half as much as the others. It just hit you wrong because you’re not used to it. We can talk about it later if you want.”

  I go downstairs. Anni is up and in good spirits. “Should I make everyone breakfast? Help kill their hangovers?”

  I have a feeling their hangovers are beyond redemption. “Thanks, but we don’t have time. I have to meet someone in Helsinki.”

  I make the rounds. Moreau made a pillow out of his coat and slept on the floor. He’s already waking. I go outside and hear laughter in the Muumin house. Jenna speaking in a soft voice. Sweetness whistling. Kissing slurps. He got his cherry busted with his true love. Nice. Maybe the life affirmation will give him some perspective, he’ll come to terms with the death of his brother and stop staying drunk morning, noon and night.

  Milo and Mirjami are sleeping head to foot, clothed, on a cot in the washing room in the sauna. I wake them. They’re not sick yet because they’re still drunk. The hangover will come soon enough. I get everyone roused and in the vehicles. I don’t get a chance to say good-bye to Timo. He’s still passed out. I have a feeling we’ll talk again soon, though.

  I DRIVE THE AUDI, and Moreau drives the SUV. The others snooze along the way. We drop them at their homes and take the Audi to Veikko Saukko’s mansion.

  His foundation museum is near the road. His mansion sits near the rear of the sprawling grounds of his property, the sea not far behind it.

  A man resembling a two-hundred-eighty-pound bullfrog, in a tight black turtleneck with a thick gold chain hung around his neck, opens the door. Bodyguard chic. He checks his visitor’s list on an iPod and asks us to wait.

  Veikko Saukko comes to the door to greet us. He pumps my hand and tells me it’s an honor to meet a law enforcement officer of my caliber. He hugs Moreau, pats his back and calls him “old friend.”

  He ushers us into his study. It calls to mind a Victorian gentlemen’s club. Dark wood paneling and deep leather chairs. A Parnian desk with only an Aurora Diamante pen on it. The diamonds, platinum and gold sparkle. He insists, despite the hour, that we join him in a Richard Hennessy cognac and a La Gloria Cubana Reserva figurado. He sits with us in a circle of three chairs around a small table rather than behind his desk, to create an air of intimacy. He asks how he can help me.

  “I’m investigating the murder of Lisbet Söderlund,” I say, “and I believe it may be related to the kidnap-murder your family suffered last year, for which I offer my condolences.”

  He takes a deep draught of cognac, just poured a couple hundred euros down his throat. “I’m glad the bitch is dead, but if you convince me of some connection to my family…well, let’s just say I’ll hear you out.”

  “You’ve created some enmity with Finland’s extreme right. I’m told you promised them a million-euro campaign contribution but reneged. It created antipathy, and may have led to the crimes perpetrated against your family. These same factions also despised Lisbet Söderlund and openly discussed killing her. Only a limited number of people in our little country are capable of such crimes, both in psychological profile and technical skill, and so the natural train of thought is that the murderer or group of killers is one and the same.”

  “You killed a nigger, didn’t you, Inspector?”

  I assume he refers to the Sufia Elmi case, in which her father died ablaze, doused in gasoline.

  “It would be more accurate to say that I sat and watched him burn to death.” I was unable to reach him in time because of my bad knee. I test Saukko’s limits to see how crazy he is. “I shot the head off an Estonian, odds are good he had Slavic blood. Does that earn me points?”

  He laughs haw haw and slaps his knee. “Adrien here has killed many niggers. That’s why I like him. How many niggers do you think you’ve killed, Adrien?”

  Moreau exhales a long plume of smoke. He knows how to play this game and manipulate Saukko. I think Moreau kills many but hates no one. “Do you want to count Africans only, or Hispanics such as Mexicans? Beaners are just little brown niggers. And Arabs such as Afghans, sand niggers. And do you want to count killing by including the calling in of artillery fire and air strikes, or long-range killings, or only killings committed while close enough to look in the men’s faces?”

  “Wow,” Saukko says, “so many options. Let’s include all the minorities, but count two ways, faceless and face-to-face.”

  “Faceless, some thousands. I wouldn’t hazard to guess. Face-to-face, some hundreds.” Moreau’s smile spoke of indulgence. “Veikko, you’ve heard all of this before. Do you enjoy it so much?”

  “Can niggers dance?”

  “I thought that the French Foreign Legion has been primarily involved in peacekeeping missions over the past couple decades,” I said.

  “Many people require a demonstration that it is to their benefit to be peaceful,” Moreau said, “and I haven’t been in the Legion for some time. My missions have had a wide variety of objectives since then.”

  I say to Saukko, “May I ask you some questions?”

  “Fire away.”

  “Why did you change your mind about your donation to Real Finns?”

  “All the patriots are connected. Real Finns. Neo-Nazis. Others. There are several groups populated by many of the same members. I wanted a demonstration of intent from them, not just talk. And I didn’t ask them to kill anyone, just be more up front about the contagion of non-white immigration.”

  “What form of demonstration?”

  He hesitates, considers the ramifications of his answer. “Are you a real white man? Is our conversation off the record?”

  “Yes.”

  “Finland was a white man’s paradise. Now good Finnish blood is soiled by poisonous nigger bacterial infection. We’re overrun by mud people. Zionist vampires. Jewish cancer. It’s time to take our country back. Sacrifices must be made. Blood spilled.”

  He starts to ramble. I put on my practiced smile that shows agreement. At the moment, it’s good that I feel no emotion. If so, I might have given him the beating of a lifetime. I listen.

  “Mud babies. Filthy white girls with no self-esteem desecrate themselves with filthier septic black men—tar people—
and make mud babies. Certain parties sell the niggers heroin to sedate them. They should contaminate the heroin with strychnine to reduce the numbers of tar people and slow the contamination of pure Finnish blood. The whites that use it are flawed, of no use to society. Good riddance to bad rubbish. But these men who supposedly are ready to lay down their lives for the cause refuse to poison tar people because they’re afraid of prison, as if they would be common criminals rather than patriots and political prisoners. Cowardice. Pure cowardice. Yet, they come to me with their grubby hands out.”

  I neglect to point out that his own daughter was a heroin addict, and now a methadone addict, or that, although I don’t know the statistics, Muslims aren’t inclined toward the use of narcotics. On the other hand, I’ve noticed that quite a few Muslims here have taken up drinking. Maybe a significant number use narcotics as well.

  “Have you considered that the murder of Lisbet Söderlund may have been just the sort of demonstration you sought?” I say.

  “I have considered it, and would reward it, if I knew who did it.”

  I sip cognac I don’t want and force a sound of satisfaction. “Excellent.”

  “Indeed.” He tosses his off, gets up, pours a triple, sits down again.

  “I understand that you and your son Antti had a falling-out before his kidnapping.”

  He smirks. “We had many falling-outs. He always came groveling back, and I rewarded his cringing monetarily.”

  “What if this time he didn’t come groveling back? What if this time he teamed up with the extremists who felt betrayed by you—I understand they were all well acquainted—and together, they faked the kidnapping? It does appear, after all, that Jussi Kosonen was a patsy. Upon examining the man, it even seems ridiculous that he could have pulled off such a crime.”

  “Then why,” Saukko asks, and pours another couple hundred euros down his throat in a gulp, “was Kaarina murdered? Antti wouldn’t have shot her.”

  “But Kosonen was shot. Maybe Antti fucked his buddies, killed Kosonen, and disappeared with the money. They might have shot Kaarina as payback.”

  “Antti,” Saukko says, “is a fucking pussy. He hasn’t got the balls to shoot anyone.”

  I smoke, try not to choke on the cigar and damage my manly image that he seems to value so highly. I hate cigars. “On the contrary, I’m told he’s crazy for water sports—surfing, yachting—and also extreme sports like skydiving and bungee jumping. The impression is that he has plenty of balls and is reckless.”

  “A façade, and far different from physical confrontation.”

  “True. However, people will surprise you. I understand that the three paintings stolen from you were as yet uninsured. That would be difficult information to ascertain and to cull out from your vast holdings.”

  He takes this in. “Somewhat difficult.”

  “Who, may I ask, saw to the installation of the security system, which I understand is relatively new?”

  He’s coming around and takes time to think before answering. “Antti.”

  “How much of this information have you shared with the detective now in charge of your case, Saska Lindgren?”

  He scoffs. “As little as fucking possible. That goddamned Gypsy comes here to the house and he steals, and I have to have the place sterilized after he leaves. That’s why Adrien is here. To sort this out, get my money back and kill my daughter’s killer.”

  I never really believed all that crazy shit they said about Howard Hughes before now. His soul mate is sitting in front of me.

  “Sir, would you have any objection to me exploring the possibility that Antti was involved in a bogus kidnapping, set up and killed Kosonen, and escaped with your ten million euros?”

  “No. You may explore it.”

  “I’ll have to call Saska Lindgren and ask for his go-ahead.”

  “I’ll make the fucking call.” He disappears to another room. He comes back and hands me his cell phone. The prime minister is on the line. “I know you can’t talk in front of Saukko,” he says. “Yes, you can take the case, at least for now, and I’ll square it with Detective Sergeant Lindgren. And I’ll see that he gets credit if you solve it. He’s got a year invested in it after all. It’s only fair, because Saukko impeded his investigation.”

  “OK,” I say. The PM rings off.

  I sit down again. “You have your own dry dock here, correct?”

  “Yes, I have a number of craft of different sizes and varieties, including my smallest yacht. I also collect vehicles and have a large garage for them. And I employ a full-time skipper, crew and mechanics to maintain them all.”

  “Would you notice if a small craft was missing?”

  “Not necessarily. As the whole family has access to the vehicles and watercraft, only the skipper would know by checking the manifest. The kids sign them out when they take them.”

  I finish the cognac, stub out the cigar. “Kosonen was killed on the riverbank. Antti would have needed a small craft to get away. Could we go now and check the manifest to see if a suitable craft has been missing since the kidnapping?”

  “Sure.”

  The three of us ride across the estate in a golf cart and pull up at the dry dock. We go inside. It’s massive for a personal dock, has about fifteen vessels in it. Most are small, but one is a thirty-one-foot yacht. But, I reflect, he is the richest man in Finland. I suppose this is to be expected. The skipper, who must have the easiest job in the world when Saukko isn’t about, compares the vessels to the paperwork. Two vessels are missing and haven’t been recorded as taken out for over a year. One is a normal boat meant for fishing, but with powerful twin engines. The other is an underwater Jet Ski.

  I ask him to check the specs on the Jet Ski, its possible speed and range. It can travel seven and a half miles an hour underwater, faster on the surface, and the battery holds a charge that lasts about an hour.

  This is perfect for following the Aurajoki undetected out to sea. But he had to pull not only himself but two heavy bags of money.

  The skipper says they own three batteries. All are gone. So, Antti had the ability to bear a load and an extended range.

  Saukko fires the skipper on the spot. The skipper stammers, shocked, “I’ve… I’ve worked for you for eighteen years.”

  “You have ten minutes to gather your things, and then security will escort you off the property.”

  I meet some of the nicest people in my profession. I ignore all this and say to Saukko, “Let’s picture this scenario. Kosonen was to meet Antti, who had come to pick him up in the boat that Kosonen purchased a few days earlier. But Antti kills Kosonen, ditches the boat, and leaves with the Jet Ski. Where would he go?”

  I copy the makes and serial numbers of the Jet Ski and missing boat down in my notepad. Like Sweetness, the alcohol seems to leave Saukko unaffected. Practice makes perfect. “To Åland,” he says.

  I suspect the same. Åland, an archipelago in the Baltic, between Finland and Sweden, comprises over six thousand five hundred islands and skerries, sixty-five of which are populated. Many of them are little more than flyspecks that stand only a few inches over the waterline. In the summer, Åland is bustling, infested with boats and tourists. However, most congregate on Fasta Åland, the main island, and the islands in the surrounding area.

  Some of the islands are flat as planks. The most popular ones have well-kept bicycle paths, and the area is a favorite of cycling enthusiasts. The residents own far more bikes than motorized vehicles for this reason. In some places, they’re rendered almost unnecessary. Many of the islands have old cottages, most just shacks, the most basic of structures—that were once used by commercial fishermen. Now they serve as crash pads for whoever wants to spend the night.

  “Can you think of anywhere in particular he might be drawn to as a place to hide? Do you own a private island Antti could be hiding on?”

  Saukko laughs. “You know, I almost forgot about it. I own so much shit. I have a private island called Saukkosaari�
�Saukko Island—and it has an excellent summer cottage on it. In fact, it’s a bit sumptuous to be called a cottage. I bought the island and it had an old, run-down house on it, which I had refurbished. This was fifteen or twenty years ago. I went there a couple times and got bored with it. Just never went back. And none of the rest of the family uses it, either. I hired a gamekeeper who lived in a cottage there. I have no idea if he’s still there or not. For all I know, he might have dropped dead and is still on the payroll. With three batteries, Antti could have made it there.”

  This heartens me. However, there’s also the other missing boat. He could have used it to flee considerably farther away.

  Saukko says, “I also owned over a hundred islands up north in the archipelago. I created a foundation out of them but kept the hunting and fishing rights. Not even tourists go up there much. And it’s a barren area. No amenities. Nothing. I doubt he’s there. If he is, he’ll be damned hard to find. But I still don’t put much stock in this Antti-is-a-murderer-theory shit.”

  I seriously doubt he’s there, either. But still. “Doesn’t cost anything to look.”

  “True,” he says. “What the fuck. Take my yacht.”

  “Thanks, but we can take a police boat.”

  “Do police boats have fully stocked bars and come loaded with fishing gear?”

  I admit that they don’t.

  “Then I insist you take the yacht.” Then it dawns on him. “Fuck. I just fired the skipper.”

  This boat is motorized. No sails. Doesn’t take the same level of professional skill. “First, I want to check out Saukkosaari. My partner Milo knows how to sail, he can pilot. I’ll call him now.”

  Moreau says he can also handle a yacht. Moreau. Master of All. It’s starting to get on my nerves. I call Milo and Sweetness and tell them to be here in an hour.

  36