“So they can solve the cases?”
“Shouldn’t be much to it, but they’ll find the rest of Korpi’s gang and locate his money. There shouldn’t be much else after that. Joutsamo said they were checking into a warehouse of Korpi’s somewhere around Hämeenlinna.”
Laura looked at her mother, who was smiling faintly.
“How long?”
“I don’t know. A week or two, that’s what Joutsamo said. We’ll be just fine,” said Mari.
A grave expression came over Laura’s face.
“What is it?” said Mari.
“Well…about what happened at the prison…”
“Yes?”
Mari had decided to tell her about the incident immediately, so she wouldn’t be left wondering. Laura had gotten the same story as the NBI investigators who had questioned Mari as a suspect immediately following the incident. She had become overwhelmed with rage, she had told them, and that was why she had pulled the gun. Mari had learned during the trial that witnesses and plaintiffs had to tell the truth, but suspects did not. As a mother, she also had the right to bend the truth with her child.
“When you pointed the gun at him, did you know it wasn’t loaded?”
Mari smiled. “Listen to me, Laura. Do you remember when we were at McDonald’s and your father brought you that MP3 player? Well, he brought that gun at the same time. I thought it might come in handy if we ever got into trouble. But your dad said if I ever point it at someone, I better be ready to pull the trigger. That’s why I never loaded it. I could never kill anybody.”
And she spoke the truth. Somebody had to kill Korpi for her, and in such a way that they wouldn’t be convicted. But that was something she would never reveal to anybody.
Laura nodded.
A cheerful voice rang out from the kitchen. “Come in here, you two!” Agatha called. “I need some help with these tarts!”
Mari looked at Laura.
“I suppose we should go,” said Laura, and she set her book down on the sofa.
* * *
Salmela was sitting at the corner table at the Corner Pub. The Christmas tree languishing near the door seemed to cough on the cigarette smoke. Suhonen was weaving through the crowd with two steaming mugs of glögi, a suitable treat for a snowy yuletide evening. He reached the table, took a seat and slid one of the mugs over to Salmela.
“Thanks,” he said.
The men sat and sipped the hot, spiced wine. Apparently the bartender hadn’t spared any vodka. Or maybe some rookie had messed up the recipe. Both men coughed at the same time.
“Well, poetic justice, they might call it,” said Salmela.
Suhonen shrugged.
“Aren’t you gonna tell me what happened? Word on the street is that Korpi and Ahola were executed for bucking the system.”
Suhonen couldn’t help but smile. “Some reporter asked the chief the same thing on TV. His answer was no.”
“Bullshit. I saw his expression. Said execution all over it.”
“I actually wasn’t there, but my boss Takamäki was. When I left the station tonight he was still there writing up reports. I got a look at the draft and I gotta say, everything went according to the finest letter of the law.” Suhonen smiled broadly and stroked his beard. “Those sections on self defense are pretty broad.”
Salmela sipped his glögi. “I don’t suppose you guys would mind a little rumor circulating that you’re taking extreme measures to protect witnesses?”
“Should we?”
”No, the balance of terror needs to be maintained, just like in Soviet times.”
“Well, go ahead and spread it then.”
Salmela nodded. “Alright… I hear Korpi’s outfit is teetering on the brink. And that psycho Nyberg doesn’t have what it takes to run it either, especially not from the slammer. People fear him, but they don’t respect him. But what about Guerrilla Siikala. What’s gonna happen to him?”
“Tough to say yet, but we’ll throw the book at him. Gotta maintain that balance of terror. I bet he’ll get accessory to attempted murder for the car bomb, and maybe something else for the drugs. All this publicity has made the case a top priority, so we’ll be going full tilt to the end. Martin will get to see the inside of a prison too, that’s for sure.”
“He was involved, huh?”
“Korpi’s lawyer.”
“Right, I know,” said Salmela. “I hear some of Korpi’s guys have already split away to some gang from Vantaa. They’ll probably take the rest with them, too.”
“Yeah.”
Usually, Suhonen would be interested in hearing about new players in the game, but today he’d talked enough about work, and so he let it be. The vacuum
would fill quickly-when one gang was busted up, another would soon take its place.
The men sat quietly for a minute, sipping their drinks.
“Listen,” said Salmela. “I got this diamond ring that’d be a perfect Christmas present for that lady of yours, Raija. Five hundred and it’s yours. She’d love it!”
Suhonen laughed.
“I’m serious. Tell you what. I’ll throw in a Christmas tree and a ham on the house.”