‘Vladsislas Kovtun, I am from the Friendship Committee. We met in Moscow some time ago.’
‘Yes, yes, I remember,’ Leena said. His touch made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She was afraid he’d notice her body shaking with the fury she felt. She needed to keep breathing. She must stay calm.
‘I am here to offer you our best wishes.’
‘Oh, yes, of course.’ Leena was thinking hard. Why had he come? And why the elaborate pretence? Surely he remembered Pia had seen them together in the classroom only a week ago? Was the man losing his mind? Leena saw Pia and her mother exchange looks. They had moved closer together and Mrs Mäkelä was holding Pia’s hand.
‘Are you not going to introduce me to all the ladies?’ Vadi said, smiling. He turned around and started walking towards Pia and her mother, who were now standing apart from the group of girls, near the exit of the gym hall. Pia’s mother had her arm around Pia, as if to protect her from the Russian. Vadi offered his hand. For a painfully long moment Pia and Mrs Mäkelä stared down at Vladsislas’ hand, refusing to touch it. Leena walked over to the group and said, ‘I’m sorry, Mr Kovtun. We are in the middle of rehearsals. Perhaps you’d like to sit down and honour us with your opinion of the routine?’ Leena pointed to a slatted bench. Vadi let his hand drop, and with a forced laugh, said, ‘Yes, of course.’
Leena checked her watch and saw they’d only have time to practise the whole programme two more times. They needed it. Pia had been slow in the start and they had overrun by thirty seconds. They couldn’t afford to do that in the competition.
‘C’mon girls, let’s carry on!’
When Pia entered into her front roll, Vladsislas came close to Leena and whispered. ‘I talk you in private?’
Leena felt the man’s warm breath on her neck. She felt sick, but made herself turn her face towards the Russian and say, ‘Yes, of course.’ She watched Pia finish at the end of the mat and move into the correct position for a back flip. She looked at the large clock on the far wall of the hall and gestured with her head towards her office by the changing rooms. As she walked, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She hoped the man following her didn’t notice how nervous she was. Be strong, you can do it, she repeated to herself.
Once inside the small office, Vladsislas pulled violently at Leena’s arm and said, ‘I warn you!’
‘What are you talking about?’ Leena forced herself to look puzzled.
‘Yesterday at hotel, I warn you, not say word!’
Leena freed her arm and sat down. She crossed her legs slowly. She had dressed carefully that morning. Just because she was the gymnastic teacher didn’t mean she had to wear her normal tracksuit. She’d finally chosen a short, black skirt and matching suit jacket with a simple white shirt. She was also wearing her best high-heeled Palmrooth boots. She noticed Vadi’s eyes wander from her heels to the top of her thighs.
‘Oh, that,’ Leena said, and smiled, ‘Of course I knew about you and that woman. It was just a bit of a surprise to see you and her there.’
The man was gawping at her. Leena wanted to laugh, ‘I wasn’t alone, you see,’ she said and got up. She touched Vadi on the lapels of his coat and said, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t say anything if you don’t. Now I must return to those girls, if we are to win, don’t you think?’
When Leena returned to the gym hall, the girls were standing around panting, with their hands on their hips, at the end of the programme. All were watching Leena. She was shaking, but pulled her back straight and lifted her chin, ‘Right, all begin stretching, first quads, then hamstrings, arms and hips.’ None of the girls moved. They were all staring at Vladsislas, who was marching furiously past them all, towards the back door.
‘Do svidanja!’ he shouted from the door and waved his hand in Leena’s direction.
Leena looked down at her boots. She felt her cheeks redden and hoped she wasn’t blushing too visibly. Leena coughed and said, ‘Come along, girls, we mustn’t let you cool down now! A quick stretch, and then one last time from the top!’
Pia’s mother was staring at Leena. For a moment she thought the woman was going to come over and hit her. Instead, she sat down on one of the benches by the climbing ropes and watched as once again Pia pushed up her hands in preparation of the first front roll.
20
Iain watched Kovtun come out of the gym hall and walk into the centre of the schoolyard. He’d got to the spot in good time. He parked up opposite the main entrance, behind a corner where he still had a perfectly good view of the door to the gym hall. After the initial rush of children arriving for school, the yard was empty. During his wait the car had got cold and his breath was visible against the windscreen. To warm up, he’d run the engine for a while but turned it off just before Kovtun reappeared. Iain wore a felt hat, which he’d bought from a stall at the Market Square on his first day in Helsinki. He’d found it in the corner of the hall that morning and on the spur of the moment thought it might come in handy. As long as Kovtun didn’t walk past him, the Russian wouldn’t spot him. Iain checked his watch: 11.02. Half an hour before the Lyceum girls were due to leave for the Stadium.
Iain crouched down a little further. Why had Kovtun come to the school? To see Leena? Or Pia? Iain watched the Russian walk up the road and disappear behind the sports hall. Iain lifted his head in order to see a little better. He felt in his pocket for the gun. On the other side of the road two men came out from behind the tram stop opposite and walked along the street in the same direction as Kovtun. Iain hadn’t seen them before, but their clothing gave them away. It was one of the few useful things the Colonel had told Iain: ‘The middle ranking KGB all wear standard issue Finnish Tiklas overcoats and fur Cossack hats.’ Iain shook his head. He wondered if Kovtun knew he was being followed.
Twenty minutes later the door to the hall opened and Miss Joutila, followed by five girls and Maija, holding tightly onto Pia, walked from the gym hall towards the waiting bus.
Miss Joutila stepped determinedly inside the bus. All the girls apart from Pia followed. She was detained by Maija, who was saying something to her. Pia shook her head almost imperceptibly, and the two women ascended the bus.
When the bus had left the school car park, Iain waited fifteen minutes. Just in case Kovtun reappeared.
The drive to Myllypuro took over half an hour. It was in the far northeast corner of Helsinki. On the map it had looked a simple enough journey. All along the way, Iain tried to spot the bus.
Finally Iain came to what looked like a country lane. A small sign, marked Myllypuro Jäähalli convinced him he was on the right track. There were snow-covered fields all around, just an occasional two-storey wooden house. It was hard to believe he was still inside Helsinki’s city limits. The road was bumpy too. Iain had to slow right down to avoid the pot-holes.
Finally he saw the modern low-slung building, with Finnish and Russian flags fluttering at the front entrance. Several cars were parked at the front, including a Russian plated bus. It had blacked-out windows, and for a moment Iain wondered how they could have driven the children all the way from Moscow in it. According to Council staff, Finnish tourists venturing over the Eastern border were also transported in buses with blacked out windows. ‘In case we happen to see the true extent of the poverty over there,’ Mrs Cooper had told Iain.
When Iain passed the ice-hockey hall, he saw the yellow and blue bus parked at the front. ‘Thank God, they’re here!’ Iain said out loud in English.
He drove to the other side of the hall where there were steps leading down to a door. The car slid as Iain tried to stop too fast. For a moment he felt the vehicle was out of his control. He took his foot of the brake and found the first gear, while he pulled on the steering wheel and turned the car to face a large refuse bin. The car slowed down as Iain gently squeezed the brake and eventually came to halt.