Jarkko Sipila - Nothing but the Truth

The men were coming straight for them, and fast. Mari pulled her daughter to the edge of the sidewalk.

“What’s this?”

She didn’t answer. Ten yards now, and the men were looking straight at them. It occurred to Mari that she could jab them with the umbrella, and maybe shout for help from the soccer players.

They came within arm’s reach when one of them turned to Mari and said, “Boo!”

Both roared with laughter as they continued on their way.

Idiots, she thought, suppressing her urge to cuss them out. She glanced back. The men were still walking.

She took a deep breath.

“What was that about?” asked Laura.

“I dunno. Couple idiots.”

“Can we get some tea somewhere?”

Before Mari had the chance to respond, her cell phone rang. The caller was Anna Joutsamo.

TUESDAY, 10:30 A.M.

PASILA POLICE HEADQUARTERS

Mari Lehtonen was standing behind a mirrored window. On the opposite side stood six men with shaved heads.

“Number one, could you please step forward to the line,” said Lieutenant Ariel Kafka into the intercom. Takamäki had asked his colleague to conduct the proceedings. The protocol for police lineups explicitly stated that the officer conducting the proceedings must not know which of the subjects was the actual suspect.

Takamäki wasn’t sure if Kafka knew Korpi. He certainly might, but he hadn’t said anything, and his demeanor was perfectly impartial.

Number one stepped forward and Lehtonen shook her head.

Joutsamo was also in the room taking notes. Two video cameras were capturing the event, one trained on the lineup, the other on Lehtonen and Kafka.

“Thank you. Number two, please.”

Lehtonen shook her head again, and did the same over the next minute as numbers three, four and five stepped up to the line.

“Number six, please,” said Kafka.

Lehtonen nodded. “That’s the one. He was in

the car.”

Number six was Korpi.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely positive.”

Kafka returned to the microphone. “Thank you for participating. Please exit through the door on

your left.”

On the other side of the glass, the men filed out slowly.

Joutsamo finished off the last few words of her notes and Kafka stopped the video cameras.

“Alright. That’s that,” said Joutsamo, as she offered Lehtonen her hand. “Thanks again.”

“What happens now?”

“We’ll finish up the investigation and then send the case to the prosecutor. As I said before, you’ll receive a summons from the court informing you of the date and time of the trial.”

“That’s it?”

“Yep. In court, the prosecutor will ask you a few questions and possibly show this video.”

Kafka handed the tape to Joutsamo as he left. “No need for me anymore?”

“Nah. I’ll just type up my notes and bring them for your sign-off.”

“Sounds good.”

Joutsamo turned to Lehtonen. “I’ll show you out. You need a ride?”

Mari shook her head.

* * *

Helena Muuri, district prosecutor, was sitting in the VCU’s conference room, her expression grim, as usual. Takamäki didn’t know if she was capable of a smile, at least he had never seen one on her.

Muuri was wearing a black-collared shirt and a gray blazer with a red bird-themed brooch. Takamäki likewise wore a blazer and tie. He always dressed up for meetings with district prosecutors.

Joutsamo came in wearing a sweater.

“Do you two know each other?” asked Takamäki. “Anna Joutsamo is my lead investigator on the case.”

Muuri stood and the women shook hands. “Seems like we’ve met somewhere,” said Joutsamo.

“Well, anyway, let’s get to it,” said Takamäki, and he explained the events of the last few days, as well as the highlights of the investigation from the time of the murder to the interrogation of the suspects. Muuri took notes in her notepad.

Takamäki was encouraged that the prosecutor was getting involved with the case before the investigation was closed. This way, she’d know the details much better than if a pile of paper just appeared on her desk.

Takamäki went over the police lineup as well.

“Tsk, tsk…” said Muuri. “Didn’t you mention that you also showed Lehtonen photographs before the lineup?”

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“Well, nothing serious, but you can only ask a witness to identify a suspect once. That happened when you showed her the photographs. The lineup is irrelevant since the witness already identified the suspect earlier.”

“That we didn’t know,” said Joutsamo. “Normally once is enough, but we just thought we’d double check.”

“It just means that the police lineup is inadmissible. It doesn’t really matter, since the witness had already identified the suspect from a photograph.”

“Alright,” said Takamäki. “Though I’d imagine using a lineup would better ensure due process for the suspect, since photographs tend to be older and less accurate.”

“True enough, but the rules are explicit. Do you have a motive for the crime?”

“No,” said Takamäki. “Nobody’s talking. We found cocaine in Tomi Salmela’s apartment, which could be a possible motive.”

“Could be, but motives aren’t always clear cut, either. The forensic evidence against Nyberg is pretty unambiguous, but with Korpi there are still quite a few question marks. Mari Lehtonen’s account puts Korpi near the scene of the crime, but what level of involvement did he really have? It’s a difficult question.”

“Right.”

Muuri continued to reflect, “What we know is that Korpi was in the car with the killer, who left the vehicle, committed the crime and returned to the car. Korpi then drove away and dropped off the murderer somewhere else in the city. We have no information on Korpi’s activities after that. Essentially what we need is proof that Korpi was complicit in the crime, or even ordered Nyberg to commit it. The problem is that Korpi’s a professional criminal, so it’s unlikely you’ll get a single word out of him in the interrogations.”

“Same goes for Nyberg.”

“Right,” said Muuri, returning to her papers. “With that in mind, we can assume that Korpi must have something to hide. His activities would likely cross the threshold for a murder charge, and he’d certainly be an accessory.”

“He’s the leader of a criminal organization where nothing is done without his approval,” said Takamäki. “And he has a long record.”

“Good points,” said Muuri. “And this is a good angle to focus on in the investigation. Can Korpi be tied more closely to Nyberg? Do we have evidence from previous investigations clearly indicating that Nyberg takes orders from Korpi? What about Nyberg’s weapon? Can it be tied to Korpi? Did Nyberg ever live in the same house in Kaarela? What about the drug trade in Korpi’s organization? His funds and other assets?”

Joutsamo was jotting everything down in her notepad. This was plenty to go on, thought Takamäki. They’d need help from Narcotics and the Financial Crimes Division. Takamäki knew from experience that the drug bosses commonly moved their assets abroad, while keeping some funds in the form of loans to street pushers and others. This way, the police wouldn’t be able to confiscate them, but the money was always accessible with the help of hired muscle.

Muuri went on, “This is also important because Nyberg will almost certainly try to exonerate his boss in court and shoulder the blame for everything. At that point we’d need some facts to sling at Korpi. Something that will stick, not just generic observations about criminal organizations.”