Jarkko Sipila - Nothing but the Truth

Mari nodded. Agatha, huh? Was that her real name? “Laura, honey. I’m going to have a cup of coffee. I’ll be over in the common room.”

Laura looked up. “You’re leaving me? Can’t

I come?”

“Oh…of course.”

Laura slipped a bookmark into her book.

Mari turned and smiled at the woman waiting at the door. “Alright. We’ll be right there.”

Agatha had apparently put the coffee on before knocking on their door, as it was already waiting when Mari and Laura reached the common area. The chairs and table were a newer vintage than those in the rooms.

“You have beautiful girl,” said Agatha, her back turned toward them as she poured the coffees at the counter. Laura looked embarrassed.

“Yes,” said Mari, not knowing what else to say.

“Does she like coffee?” asked Agatha.

Mari glanced at Laura, who rolled her eyes as if to say that ‘no, isn’t there any tea?’ Mari shrugged. “No, she doesn’t.”

“What about tea?” said Agatha, turning to look at Laura.

Laura nodded with a smile. “Thanks.”

Agatha returned the smile, took a tea bag from the cabinet, put it in a cup and doused it with hot water from the pot. “It is no worry, but we pay for tea and coffee together. Easier for us if each just pays five euro per week, no matter if we drink tea or coffee. These I will buy,” said Agatha, and she gave Laura her tea. A bowl of sugar was on the table, and Laura added a couple of spoonfuls.

Agatha sat down at the table and gazed at Mari with her dark eyes. “So…what is your story?”

Mari hesitated. “I can’t say. The police…”

Agatha laughed. “Yes, we are not supposed to

talk. But here you have to. Or you go crazy. We are all here in same boat.”

Mari wasn’t so eager to break the rules, however, so she turned the question around. “What’s your story?”

“How long version you like?” Agatha smiled, and she continued without waiting for a response. “I tell you shorter one so your daughter not fall asleep. I am a Turkish Kurd and I come to Finland four years ago with my husband and my daughter. My husband had bad situation in Turkey, and we got residence permit. Life here was quite good. I got a job and Nabila, my daughter…”

“How old is she?” asked Mari.

“Six, now.” A flicker of sadness showed in the woman’s eyes. “She is not here.”

“Why not?”

Agatha raised her finger and smiled. “I will get to that. A year ago Nabila was in day care, and around same time Hamid get mixed up in some crimes. They steal some things and get caught by the police. Hamid got arrested, but got out quite soon. That starts a big fight. I tell him we have to obey the law for Nabila sake, but Hamid…he is very bitter because he cannot find work. Our fight just gets worse and worse, and so I go to get divorce. It takes forever, but finally the court gives me a divorce and papers to give me custody of Nabila.”

A pretty familiar story, thought Mari, but she just nodded.

“Hamid does not approve, so my friend at work told that I should get a restraining order. Well, this does not help much. Hamid just violates it, and they start deportation process because of his crimes. His hatred for me just grows. So I have to send Nabila back home to Turkey to be safe with my mother. When Hamid finds out about it, he tries to kill me. The police came in time, and Hamid goes to jail again. I was moved here because Hamid has many friends, and the police think I’m in danger.”

“Where did you live?”

“Savonlinna.”

Mari was cradling her coffee cup in her hands. “When did this happen?”

“Three months ago.”

“And?”

“Last week a policeman came and said that there is still danger.”

Laura was quietly sipping her sweetened tea, but she threw in a question, “How is Nabila doing?”

Agatha smiled. “I think she’s okay. She must wait there until everything is better. That can take some time.”

Mari looked at Laura, who went on, “Why don’t you go to her?”

“If I go, I lose residence permit. Things will settle down. Finland is better country than Turkey. I think Hamid will be deported and so he cannot travel to EU countries anymore. And Turkey will not become EU country for many years. After that, Nabila and I can be safe together.” Agatha sipped her coffee. “I have time to wait for what is best.”

Mari looked at the spruces out the window. Did she too have time to wait for her life to return to normal?

Agatha’s smile was laden with sorrow. “Of course I miss my daughter, but here, I am like a mother to everyone. It helps me to forget.” She stroked Laura’s hair. “I should tell about the laundry room. There is a list there that tells you…”

Mari had a hard time listening. Agatha seemed like a nice person, and Mari was glad that she was able to talk with somebody. Still, the woman’s situation made her wonder. For how long should she be afraid? Was she afraid for her own life or for Laura’s? What if she sent Laura to be with her godmother in Oulu for a few weeks or months while she stayed in Helsinki? On the other hand, she thought, how could she ever be apart from her daughter in the middle of a crisis?

* * *

Mikko Kulta yawned. It was exactly four o’clock in the afternoon, and it seemed to Takamäki that fatigue was not a good sign, even if it was Friday. They, along with Suhonen, Joutsamo and Kannas, had gathered around the large table in the conference room.

With VCU Chief Karila’s help, Takamäki had managed to pass the surveillance of Siikala’s house in Kaarela on to the Narcotics undercover unit, which didn’t have much going on at the moment. In addition to one in the ditch, two others were posted in the parking lot of a nearby office building. More men would be called in to help if Siikala left the house. The arrangement freed up resources for homicide, but had come only on the condition that Jere Siikala was officially named a suspect in Mari Lehtonen’s harassment. Takamäki had decided that the threshold for reasonable suspicion had been met, and had filed for a telephone warrant.

“Apparently nothing new on Siikala?” said Takamäki.

Suhonen shook his head. “Been there all day, and still there-I just checked.”

“What about Mari and Laura?” said Takamäki, turning to Joutsamo.

“Been there all day, and still there-I just checked,” said Joutsamo. “Mari didn’t feel much like talking. Of course, the most important thing is that they’re safe.”

“Pretty down?”

“Sure seemed that way.”

“Is there anything new?” said Takamäki, scanning the faces.

“I probed a bit more into Korpi’s organization and got some leads from Nykänen,” said Joutsamo, handing out a stack of copies. “Here are some names of known contacts with phone numbers and addresses. No guarantees on whether it’s up-to-date, though.”

Suhonen looked over the list. Lots of familiar names.

“Are we expanding surveillance to include these guys?”

“No,” said Takamäki. “Not enough manpower. If you start running into them, we can reconsider. But let Anna know if you find more names.”

Suhonen nodded.

“Good. Did you find anything in the footage from Brahe Street?”

“Nothing of any use,” said Kulta. “I saw the girl a few times, but no car that fit the description.”

“Did you get all the tapes?”

“Yep. I went through all the cameras that were in the database and drove the route to check for any new ones. Found a few additional cameras, but nothing on

their tapes. The picture quality at nighttime is terrible.”

“Okay, at least it was good to try,” said Takamäki, continuing around. “What about the DNA on the envelope. Have we gotten it back?”