“How did you get in contact with the police?”
“I saw an article in the newspaper and I remembered the car. The police were asking for eyewitnesses, so I thought I should call.”
“How did you identify Korpi once you were at the police station?”
“The police had me look through a bunch of
photographs. Then the next day I came in for a police lineup.”
“In those two instances, were you just as certain as you are now that the man in the car was Korpi?”
“Yes.”
“Then I have no further questions.”
“Defense, your turn,” said Judge Tuomela.
Martin stood up. “I have a few questions, too,” he said in a plucky tone. “What sort of work do
you do?”
Lehtonen was somewhat taken aback. “Uhh, I work in an office.”
“For what company?”
Muuri interjected before Lehtonen could respond. “The question has no bearing on the case.”
“Yes, it does. It’s my responsibility to evaluate the reliability of the witness. A janitor can work in an office, too.”
“A janitor’s testimony is every bit as reliable as anyone else’s,” said Muuri.
“She said that she works in an office-that will suffice,” said the judge dryly.
“I noticed that you’re not wearing eyeglasses. Do you wear glasses at work?”
“No. I don’t need them.”
Martin paused briefly and glanced at his papers. “When was the last time you went to an optometrist?”
Muuri cut in before Lehtonen could respond. “Objection. Irrelevant.”
“Sustained. Let’s stay on topic.”
“Well, then,” Martin grumbled. “How can you be so certain that the man in the car was the same as this man here, sitting next to me?”
“Uhh, well… Because I saw him.”
“Just like that, you saw him?”
“Yes.”
The lawyer’s questions were beginning to annoy her, but she tried to stay calm like she had been told.
“Would you say you have a sort of photographic memory?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that. Maybe.”
“In psychology, the term ‘photographic memory’ refers to an ability to remember an image in vivid detail. Some people can memorize a page of a telephone book in minutes. Do you have that ability, Ms. Lehtonen?”
“I don’t think I could memorize a telephone book.”
“So you don’t have a photographic memory.”
Muuri spoke up again, “Objection, leading. The witness never claimed to have a photographic memory.”
“Martin, get to the point,” the judge said.
The attorney fixed his eyes on Lehtonen’s. “Keep your eyes on mine for the time being. If your memory is as good as you claim, you should be able to describe Ms. Muuri’s clothing, right? Go ahead, no peeking, please.”
Muuri tried to object, but Lehtonen had already begun. Her eyes never wavered from Martin’s, “She’s wearing a gray pantsuit with a white shirt and a necklace with a reddish stone. She’s not wearing glasses and her hair is brown and medium length.”
Martin was dumbfounded by her answer-there was a pause of a few seconds. “What was the license plate number of the Mazda you saw?”
Lehtonen recited a plate number beginning
with K.
“How many stacks of paper does Ms. Muuri have in front of her?”
“Three.”
The judge interjected this time. “I think we’ve had enough of your memory games, Martin.”
“Then I have no further questions.”
“Alright,” said Judge Tuomela, turning to Nyberg’s counsel. “Aaltonen, would you like to cross-examine?”
“No, thank you.”
The judge nodded and turned back toward the witness stand. “Do you require any compensation for expenses or loss of wages? You’re eligible for half a day’s pay.”
“No, thank you,” said Lehtonen, though she could have used the money. She felt a wave of relief, and all she wanted was to get away from the tension of the courtroom.
“Alright, then,” said the judge. “In that case, the court thanks you. You are excused.”
Lehtonen nodded and rose. Before she closed the door behind her, she heard Judge Tuomela saying, “The court has now heard testimony from all witnesses and will take recess for lunch. Court will be back in session at one-thirty to hear closing arguments. The verdict will be delivered later on today.”
Joutsamo was waiting in the hallway. “How did
it go?”
“Good, actually,” said Lehtonen. Only now did Joutsamo detect a slight tremor in Mari’s voice as her body defused the tension. “Did you hear? They’re going to have a verdict today already.”
“Really? That’s kind of rare. Well, were you excused?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re free to go. I can drive you home or to work, your call.”
* * *
Takamäki arrived at work around twelve-thirty in the afternoon. Joutsamo was already there to report on the trial. Apparently, everything had gone smoothly, though according to Lehtonen, Korpi’s counsel had tried to rattle her on the stand.
At this point, all the lieutenant cared about was the verdict. The case was out of his hands. Joutsamo’s coaching of the key witness had been an apparent success. Naturally, hearing that the verdict would be delivered today made him feel a little anxious. In the end, verdicts were the only real measure of police performance.
No homicides had crossed Takamäki’s desk since the Korpi case. Just as well. It was good to get a break every once in a while. Various assaults were abundant, of course, but recently they had had none of the tumult that came with a murder case.
On his desk were the case files for a few robberies. Some gangs that had been active around the Helsinki Central Train Station a year back had re-energized with the expanding nightfall of winter. Takamäki’s team had joined in the investigation.
As cases came, they were comparatively insignificant. None involved violence-the wave of a knife was all that was required to relieve a drunk of his wallet or laptop.
But the spate of incidents had captured the attention of the Helsinki media, at which point police brass started yet another collaborative task force. Takamäki had gotten involved against his own wishes. Several suspects had been taken into custody. The interrogations were all through and the case files had to be forwarded to the prosecutor, though some of the DNA evidence was still pending.
A knock came at the door and Takamäki looked up. Suhonen had grown a full beard, and with his leather jacket he looked more like a biker thug than a policeman.
“Heard we’ll get a verdict on that Korpi case today,” said Suhonen, raking his fingers through his beard.
Takamäki nodded. “That’s right.”
“What do you think?” asked Suhonen, lingering at the door. Takamäki took that as an indication that Suhonen had no pressing business, at least nothing relating to an open investigation.
“Hard to say. These types of trials can be unpredictable. I suppose the speed of the verdict would indicate the evidence is pretty convincing one way or the other.”
“So for the court, the case is cut and dried.”
“Yup. You coming tonight?”
“Of course,” Suhonen grinned. “High point of
the year.”
“Really.”
“You don’t think so?”
“Well, we’ve had a lot of fun. At least in the past. How’s things with the future Mrs. Suhonen?” Takamäki asked with a smirk.
Suhonen shifted his weight to the other foot. “Like I said before, ‘Mrs. Suhonen’ is a bit of a stretch. No talk of that with Raija yet. You eaten?”
“No. Let’s go grab something.”
The lieutenant stood up, unable to suppress his smile, for one word in Suhonen’s rebuttal had revealed a lot: yet.
CHAPTER 14
WEDNESDAY, 6:45 P.M.
CANTINA WEST RESTAURANT, DOWNTOWN HELSINKI
“One more round before we move on?” said Suhonen.