Before I Go

by Leena Lehtolainen

  “Why didn’t Petri go public immediately?”

  “Who of us is always sensible?” Eila said sadly. “Even if it destroys my political career, I’m not going to wait to go public. And I won’t be alone. There are people in all the parties who are sick of how small the circles are that decide things in this city. I’m going to call the city beat reporter at the paper. I owe Petri at least that much.”

  My turn at the coloring booth ended at three. Afterward I went for coffee at the café in the event center and saw Laine and Deputy Chief Kaartamo sitting at table together. The latter waved a hand for me to come over, but instead I went outside with the K9 dog handlers who had gathered to smoke.

  That evening I drove to Inkoo to pick up my family. The sailboat, the Marjatta, rocked proudly on the waves, and Iida bragged about learning a sailor’s knot from her cousins. Matti and Mikko were already thirteen, and Matti’s voice was changing. Iida worshipped both of them. The rest of her cousins were all the way in Joensuu, so she rarely saw them. Antti’s sister and her husband were worried about the boys moving up to junior high since—according to them—there were drugs even in the best schools. Suddenly I felt like I had never left the expo.

  Iida fell asleep in the car, so I told Antti about what had happened the previous night. He listened with a serious expression and then sat silently for a long time after I was done.

  “Listen, Maria,” he finally said. “When I decided to spend the rest of my life with you, I also decided to accept the risks that came along with your job. But is any job worth you killing yourself—not physically, but emotionally?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, how are you going to cope if Rahnasto never has to answer for what he did?”

  I didn’t know how to reply.

  The next morning was like riding a hurricane in a dinghy. Our unit meeting was lighthearted because of the Police Expo, but as I was just starting to discuss the partner reassignment with Koivu, Wang, Puupponen, and Puustjärvi, our unit administrative assistant barged in.

  “Maria! Deputy Chief Kaartamo wants to see you immediately.”

  “Oh shit,” I said.

  “Buck up,” Puupponen said and slapped me on the shoulder. Suddenly the others joined in with pats and hugs, and everyone wished me good luck, even taciturn old Puustjärvi.

  Taskinen was also in Kaartamo’s office, along with Agents Muukkonen and Hakala. In addition to coffee, carefully constructed cold-smoked salmon sandwiches were laid out, but I didn’t feel like eating.

  “First, Kallio, a complaint has been filed against you. Over the weekend you made an unnecessary arrest and conducted yourself in an unprofessional manner. Tell us your version of events,” Deputy Chief Kaartamo demanded.

  As I did, I saw Taskinen’s lips twitch in a couple times, but when he worked up the courage to look at me, his expression was sad. The sun shone directly in my eyes, so I moved my chair a little.

  “And then Jani Väinölä’s identification of Rahnasto: Did it come spontaneously, or was he given prompting?” Kaartamo asked.

  “Officer Koskinen was present. Ask him. I haven’t seen Väinölä since Thursday, and during that time there were always witnesses present and complete records were kept of everything that happened.”

  “Väinölä stands by his testimony,” Agent Muukkonen said, interrupting. “In my opinion, we need to question Reijo Rahnasto as soon as possible. Agent Hakala interviewed a few of Väinölä’s drinking buddies last night, and they were all ready to swear that the drinks Väinölä bought them were from money for a bombing. We’re currently looking into who rented the car in Väinölä’s name. It might help to show Rahnasto’s picture around the rental office.”

  “But why would someone in his position do something so insane?” Kaartamo asked and stood up. He paced the floor, his gray mustache wagging worriedly.

  Then he stopped in front of my chair. “Who is your anonymous source? Who told you about Väinölä?” he asked.

  “It was a phone call. I didn’t have time to put a trace on it, since it was over so quickly.”

  “And you took this anonymous tip seriously?”

  “He seemed to know what he was talking about.”

  “Goddamn it!” A fist slammed down on the desk, too close for comfort. “Isn’t it enough that we have the bomber? Väinölä is a thug. What reason do we have to believe his accusations?” Kaartamo turned to Agent Muukkonen.

  “I don’t answer to you. My orders are to investigate the explosion in Kallio’s yard, and I’m going to do that to the best of my ability as long as that order stands,” Muukkonen said sternly. “The explosives we found in Väinölä’s apartment appear to be from a robbery of a construction site in March. At the time there were some indications that it was an inside job, and one of the guards was fired. Now he works for Rahnasto Industrial Security Service.”

  I looked at Muukkonen in surprise. He had learned much more than I had imagined. Kaartamo dried the sweat from his forehead and sat back down.

  “Fine,” he said. “Everyone is equal before the law. But be tactful. And Kallio, you’re off the Seppälä case. Jyrki will handle it.”

  I managed to restrain myself.

  “I’ll make sure you get all of our interview notes,” I said to Taskinen. “Koivu and Wang know the most about the case.” Taskinen returned my gaze, but all I saw in his expressionless eyes was a reflection of my own disappointment.

  I took the same elevator down with Muukkonen and Hakala.

  “Smile, Kallio!” Agent Muukkonen said and tipped my chin up. It felt nice. “Now you’re going to tell us everything, including what you didn’t want Kaartamo and company to know. We aren’t going to get anywhere in this case otherwise.”

  I started with Ilveskivi’s death. Muukkonen listened and Hakala took notes, and I gained even more respect for my colleagues’ powers of deduction. At noon I received an e-mail from the crime lab. Apparently they didn’t know I had been moved off the case.

  Rahnasto’s fingerprints matched some found on Marko Seppälä’s motorcycle saddlebags. I jumped out of my chair and must have shouted for joy for half a minute.

  “Slow down!” Muukkonen shouted when I called him. “Did you ask if they also match any of the prints on the envelope Väinölä got with the cash for the bombing?”

  “I don’t have that authority. I’m not on the case anymore.”

  “But I am,” Muukkonen said, and I heard him start typing at his computer. The answer came back within a few minutes. One of the prints on the envelope unquestionably came from Reijo Rahnasto’s left little finger.

  22

  Fingerprints alone weren’t enough to solve the case. Agent Muukkonen didn’t get to question Rahnasto until Wednesday. Rahnasto’s lawyer had already demanded that his client’s fingerprints be thrown out because he hadn’t been told why they were being taken. The NBI had assigned more resources to the bombing investigation, and Taskinen and Muukkonen led the group working the connection between Seppälä’s murder and the explosion of our mailbox.

  Outside, summer had come, and inside I spent fifteen minutes with a coffee cup and a sheet of paper hunting a wasp that had strayed through the window of my office. Lähde was surprised by my antics when he came in to request an arrest warrant.

  “Well aren’t we tenderhearted,” he said, munching a donut. Sugar fell on the floor and Lähde’s shirt, but he didn’t seem to notice. His shirt had pictures of flowers and bees on it, and the hot pink and bright blue reminded me of tropical beaches. Lähde would start his summer vacation soon, and given the shirt, he was obviously counting down the days.

  Taskinen called me into his office on Tuesday afternoon. He was reviewing the Marko Seppälä preliminary investigation files and asked me to clarify a few points.

  “The van spotted near the dump,” he said. “Did you ever get a more specific description of it?”

  I remembered that I had intended to send Mela to interview the eyewitnesses
but had later rescinded the order.

  “Probably too late for that now,” I said bitterly. “The old man isn’t likely to remember anything from a month ago at this point.”

  “Don’t underestimate people, Maria. Instead of Mela, I think I’ll send Puupponen. Mela can sort through Rahnasto’s gun collection. He appears to have one that uses the same kind of bullet that killed Seppälä.”

  “That probably won’t be much use either,” I said and told him everything about Kim Kajanus, including how Rahnasto had claimed to have lost his Hämmerli. As I talked, Taskinen stared at me even more pointedly, shaking his head.

  “What else isn’t in these reports?” he asked, tiredly massaging his face. He had his injured leg up on a chair. Between his dark-blue trousers and socks of the same color, I could see a strip of ankle covered in blond hair. In the past I might have felt an urge to touch it, but not anymore. That made me sad. Taskinen leaned over the desk, then hesitated and suddenly drew back.

  “I have something I haven’t told you too. Someone told my wife that she would lose her job if the Ilveskivi investigation wasn’t closed after Seppälä was found to be the guilty party.”

  “What the hell? Who made that threat?”

  “The day-care administration office is making cutbacks, and Terttu’s position is one of the ones in danger. The Social Services Committee opposes the cuts, but the City Council is bulldozing them. No one said anything directly. We were just made to understand. Finding a new job wouldn’t be easy for a fifty-year-old social worker, and we can’t afford for Terttu to go on unemployment. You know how expensive Silja’s skating is.”

  “Was it someone in the department who threatened you . . . was it Kaartamo?”

  Taskinen’s face was red, and he had a hard time looking me in the eye.

  “No. Kaartamo just encouraged me to be generally careful. He belongs to the same Freemason lodge as the mayor. Terttu was the one who was threatened. They asked her to tell me to stand behind my superiors’ decisions. You know how it feels when your job puts the people you love in danger, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do! But that still doesn’t . . .” I stood up, barely able to breathe. “Why the hell did you let them pressure you?”

  “You’re so dogmatic. Things aren’t that black and white. What would you have done in that situation?”

  “I would have continued my investigation. Giving in to intimidation makes you complicit in it!”

  Taskinen swallowed.

  “The situation has changed now. I’m going to question Rahnasto myself. I want you there with me, but that isn’t possible. I can use Koivu and Wang, though, right?”

  “Better Koivu and Puustjärvi. We switched their partners because Wang and Koivu are moving in together,” I answered coldly. “Is there anything else?”

  “No,” Taskinen said, but when I reached the door, he cautiously said my name. Instead of turning back, I marched right out of the building, sped home, and vented my rage by beating all the rugs. Even after that I still hadn’t come to terms with what Taskinen had done.

  Being sidelined from the investigation wasn’t easy, but I gave myself permission to work a couple of shorter days. Iida and I washed the windows and baked cookies together for the spring party at her day care. Einstein finally worked up the courage to go outside on Tuesday night and seemed frustrated when the plastic collar got in the way of his hunting.

  Eila Honkavuori called me at work on Wednesday morning. Her excitement was loud and clear over the phone.

  “Have you seen today’s paper?”

  “Not yet. What’s in it?”

  A big story about Laajalahti Bay and Rahnasto. If something doesn’t happen now, it never will. Rahnasto admitted that there have been secret negotiations about the area around the bay. I can hear the mayor’s teeth grinding all the way across town! My phone has been ringing off the hook all morning.”

  “Does the article give any hints about Rahnasto’s part in Ilveskivi’s murder?”

  “It doesn’t hint, it says right out that Rahnasto has been questioned for both Petri Ilveskivi’s and Marko Seppälä’s murders and the bomb that went off in your yard. This is going to be interesting.”

  I asked our unit administrative assistant to get the paper, and when I had it, I sat down, opened a new bag of salmiakki, and put my feet up on the desk to read. Apparently Rahnasto wasn’t afraid of publicity anymore and was openly voicing his opinions about development in the city.

  It doesn’t make sense to reserve the most valuable land for the birds. An advanced technological society requires high-density construction. The Otaniemi-Laajalahti area could be Finland’s Wisconsin, a trendsetting model for all of Europe. If we build up these unused shorelines, we might not have to reclaim the land between Hanasaari Island and Koivusaari Island. Which option will the residents of the city prefer?

  When the reporter asked about the secret negotiations, Rahnasto admitted that there had been some low-profile conversations, but only for the common good.

  We’ve been trying to avoid sparking unnecessary upset and the never-ending cycle of litigation surrounding municipal decision making that slow down every major initiative. For the present situation we need quick decisions. I want to emphasize that we aren’t damaging the natural area, even though I personally believe that the city is the city and the country is the country. Don’t we have enough untouched nature in Kainuu and Lapland for everyone from Espoo to enjoy? Nowadays you can get a flight across the country that take about as much time as driving across town to the bay.

  In the color photo of him standing in his company’s data management center, Rahnasto wore a self-confident smile. According to the reporter, he flatly denied any connection to the crimes he had been questioned about. He said it was nothing but a political witch hunt. Neither the mayor nor the chair of the City Council had agreed to an interview, but plenty of other local politicians, including members of Rahnasto’s own party, harshly criticized the way the Laajalahti Bay matter had been handled. Some said that because of the suspicions surrounding Rahnasto, he should immediately relinquish all of his positions of trust.

  My phone was no less popular than Eila Honkavuori’s. The next caller was Suvi Seppälä. She asked eagerly how much compensation she could demand from Rahnasto. Should she hire a lawyer?

  Kim Kajanus didn’t call. Instead he came to the station. When I went down to get him from the lobby, I accidentally ended up in the middle of a media circus. Reijo Rahnasto was coming in for another interview, and a gaggle of press photographers was hot on his heels. A television camera was trying to get a close-up of him as he smiled calmly. His lawyer clutched his briefcase, looking dour. Could he possibly believe his client was innocent? Agent Muukkonen, Taskinen, and Assistant Chief Kaartamo waited for Rahnasto in the hall, and Kim Kajanus, who had been hanging out by the reception desk, jumped behind the giant stuffed octopus like a character in a comic opera. Uniformed officers attempted to shoo the photographers out of the building. A crime reporter asked for a comment, but I didn’t give one.

  Kim Kajanus looked so guilty climbing out of his hiding place that I started to laugh.

  “I probably should have whistled the all clear,” I joked.

  “Is it all clear? Are you sure Reijo had Petri killed?”

  “We’re investigating that,” I said and opened the door to our hallway. Puupponen and Wang were engaged in a heated discussion in the break room, but otherwise it was quiet. It was as if the whole building had paused to listen to the conversation occurring on the upper floor. Reijo Rahnasto was such a big shot that they didn’t take him to the normal interrogation rooms.

  “I told Eriikka everything yesterday,” Kajanus said and slumped into a half-supine position on my couch. “I really do love her, and I don’t want to lie anymore. I still don’t know what I am, gay, hetero, or bi.”

  “Does it really matter that much? Does everything have to have a definition?”

  “No, but I don’
t know what’s going to happen. Of course Eriikka is totally messed up because of her dad. Her beautiful, simple world is in pieces now. I think she’ll break up with me. She was really hurt that she wasn’t told the real reason for the police interviews.”

  Kajanus sat on my couch as if he were at a friend’s house, and I got the feeling he had come to me because he couldn’t get an appointment with his therapist. I could have told Kajanus that I didn’t have time to talk to him, but I wanted to hear what he had to say. And besides, I didn’t mind resting my eyes on such a beautiful young man. I offered him some salmiakki. Together we finished off the bag while talking about relationships and Reijo Rahnasto. Kajanus didn’t know anything that could help the investigation, but that didn’t matter. Having a conversation instead of conducting an interrogation was nice for a change.

  “Do you believe there are different kinds of love? That there isn’t just one right person for everyone?” Kajanus asked.

  “Hard to say,” I replied, thinking of Mikke Sjöberg. What I felt toward him I couldn’t call love. It was something, though—something big and painful.

  After Kajanus left, Agent Muukkonen and Koivu came to my office to report on their progress. Both looked exhausted. Taskinen was currently in a meeting with the police leadership and the county prosecutor. Koivu had grabbed a pilsner and two donuts from downstairs.

  “Ugh, what a snake,” he moaned and collapsed on the couch in the same position Kim Kajanus had. Poor Muukkonen had to be content with the armchair.

  “He has an explanation for everything, as can be expected from a politician. Guess how he explains his fingerprints on Seppälä’s motorcycle saddlebag.”

  Supposedly Rahnasto had spent the whole night sitting up thinking and finally remembered that sometime in late April a motorcyclist in black leathers had pulled up next to him in the parking lot at the city-planning center while he was walking to his car. The man had asked him for a light, and Rahnasto remembered patting the motorcycle in admiration. He had asked the man to keep the matchbox. Rahnasto didn’t know whether anyone had witnessed it. Rahnasto’s lawyer demanded a review of the analysis of the other fingerprint, the one on the envelope addressed to Väinölä. It was true the print was a partial, and there might be some hope for the defense there. And Rahnasto explained that his visit to Suvi Seppälä’s house was motivated by his social conscience and his natural needs as a man.