Lind read the article twice, but still didn’t totally understand it. She came to the conclusion that one might protect oneself from a traumatic experience by blocking it from memory.
So the scientific answer to her question was yes. Of course, in Korpivaara’s case, the memory loss supported his guilt rather than his innocence. Had Korpivaara not been in the victim’s apartment, he would have no reason to forget what happened.
Lind listed another half dozen questions, but in order to gain answers she needed to know more about Korpivaara and Vatanen and their relationship.
Lind glanced at her watch. She would stop by the Alamo Bar in the afternoon, but first she had to represent a client in a real estate dispute in small claims court. It would take a couple of hours for several witnesses to be called to the stand. Lind would rather take on criminal cases, but she was glad to have any work. This case had been referred by a friend.
* * *
Crime Reporter Sanna Römpötti sat on one of the chairs near the side wall, looking at the computer screen projected on the white wall at the end of the conference room. While reporters sat to the side, the management was seated at the conference table. About twenty people were in the room for the Channel 3 News morning meeting to review the day’s events, listed on the wall. Beyond corporate press conferences, not much was going on.
Römpötti yawned, not even bothering to conceal it.
“Is that your view of today’s news agenda?” News Chief Risto Lӓhdesranta asked. He was nearing fifty and always wore a striped tie, whether his shirt was plain or plaid. Römpötti suspected that he slept with his tie on, and she could’ve had a chance to find out when Lӓhdesranta, drunk as a skunk, hit on her at a company Christmas party. To no avail.
“What?” Römpötti asked. The meeting was mandatory, and she hadn’t paid attention while discussion centered on education statutes and the administration’s plans to focus on secondary education over the next few years.
“You’re not interested in education statutes?”
“Just as interested as our viewers,” Römpötti retorted, and the others, except Lӓhdesranta, laughed.
Römpötti wondered if she had made a mistake. Sometimes news chiefs, not to mention editors-in-chief, had their own ideas on what made interesting news. Some of the ideas were good, but some were impossible, or impossible to cover in the two minutes of airtime each story got on the nightly news. Those suggestions were simply ignored. But under no circumstance were they to be shot down in the morning meeting-certainly not with jokes.
“Education statutes concern a large segment of our viewers.”
“Sure, sure. Facebook will probably be buzzing with posts about the upcoming huge scoop we have on tonight’s news…about education statutes.”
Lӓhdesranta turned all attention to Römpötti. “What does our crime reporter have to offer for the day?”
“The report of sentences for sex crimes will be published next week, but we can deal with that then.”
Lӓhdesranta laughed. “Well, that’ll interest the rapists, at least.”
The others didn’t find his comment funny.
Römpötti had reported on sex crimes a few years back, and it had resulted in a tightening of the laws. She was anxious to see what the impact was on sentencing.
“Don’t you have anything for today?” Lӓhdesranta pressed.
“Not really. Sometimes I just don’t.”
“If you don’t think our viewers find education statutes interesting, we’ll need something else to waken passions and shake up the Facebook crowd-and people are intrigued by crime.”
Römpötti stared at her boss. She should’ve kept quiet, because he was now about to get back at her by suggesting some totally stupid story idea.
“Yeah,” Römpötti said. “Apparently you have an idea.”
“Actually I do.”
Römpötti feared the worst.
“The police reported last night about a homicide in Haaga,” Lӓhdesranta continued. “A young female was killed in her apartment.”
“That’s probably not…”
“Don’t knock it. I think it’s interesting. Take it and add some human element to it. They’ve had several homicides around Haaga and Kannelmӓki in the past few years.”
“Well, they’ve got lot of public housing.”
“That’s a great angle.”
“Nah,” Römpötti said.
The other reporters followed the conversation, heads turning from side to side as if watching a tennis match at Wimbledon.
“If this was England, you’d be reporting live from the front yard of the building. This would be breaking news.”
“Yeah, but this is Finland.”
Lӓhdesranta smiled.
“You’re always complaining that human life isn’t valued and homicide cases get shrugged aside. Here’s a chance to get air time for a homicide, but yet you don’t seem very excited.” Lӓhdesranta started singing, “It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears; it’s a world of hopes and a world of fears…”
To his chagrin, nobody laughed this time either.
“While we’re quoting children’s songs, I’ve got one,” Römpötti said, getting on her feet.
She cleared her throat and started singing quietly as she walked out of the room: “I’m going on a story hunt! I’m gonna catch a big one! I’m not afraid!”
The others guffawed and Lӓhdesranta asked, “Where you going?”
“To get a cameraman and go to the apartment,” Römpötti replied without turning. She’d been given a challenge and, despite all, Lӓhdesranta had a point. The media did shrug off homicides, leaving their causes and effects in the dark. Each had a story behind it and here was her chance to grab one and tell it to the million Finns who watched their newscast.
* * *
“You serious?” Takamäki asked incredulously.
He was on the phone with Sanna Römpötti who had just asked him for an interview on the Laura Vatanen case.
“I’m very serious.”
“TV news is covering a simple homicide. Why?”
“The news chief wants a touching, human interest story, and he thinks this case has the makings for one.
“Is that right?” Takamäki said. “You want me to send someone to administer a drug test on him?”
Römpötti chuckled. Wouldn’t that be a sight!
“But really, when can we come?”
Takamäki had known Römpötti for years. If she was in a bind because her boss had come up with a dumb idea, he’d help her out and grant an interview.
“We’re not talking about a Trojan here, are we?”
“No,” Römpötti assured him.
A Trojan was a technique where reporters enticed the interviewee with an easy topic that, as soon as the cameras rolled, turned into something they didn’t want to talk about. The method was popular among investigative journalists.
“Unless you have something else you want to address.”
“I can’t think of anything just now. But you can do a story about how easily criminals get off for committing serious crimes, due to the policies of the current government.”
“Oh, is that something new?”
Takamäki couldn’t tell from Römpötti’s tone if she was serious or joking. He decided to take her seriously-he thought that best when dealing with reporters.
“You can go with converting unpaid fines for prison sentences, and inheritance tax evasion.”