Jarkko Sipila - Nothing but the Truth

“Kulta, how are the interrogations going with Jere Siikala and the attorney?” asked Takamäki.

“Neither’s talking,” said Kulta. “They’re denying all involvement and demanding to be released.”

“Well,” said Takamäki. “Both will be remanded into custody tonight. Suhonen, what’s the status with Korpi and Nyberg?”

Suhonen raked his hands through his hair. “Both in solitary. No contact with the outside. No newspapers, no TV, no visitors. The only person they see is the guard who brings in the food. Or at least that’s what they tell me.”

“Okay,” said Takamäki. “Clearly Matti Ahola is our prime suspect in the bomb investigation and yet another connection to Korpi. The bomb was undoubtedly a retaliation against Mari Lehtonen, probably planned in advance, since Korpi shouldn’t be having any contact with the outside, at least not after his transfer to solitary and Martin’s arrest. We don’t know what’s coming next, but we have to assume that something will.” He let his eyes roam the room. “They’re upping the ante.”

He went on. “The good news about the bomb is that now we’re looking at attempted murder, which means the court will grant us warrants for phone taps. The bad news is we can’t ensure the victim’s safety when Mari Lehtonen is so comfortable being a sitting duck. At any rate, it’s clear that the matter should be kept from the media. This morning’s operation will be referred to as a bomb threat.”

“So lie to the media?” wondered Karila.

“Well, not exactly. We’ll just tell them our version of the truth. The bomb never exploded, so technically it was just a threat, right?” Takamäki scanned the officers in the room. “If anyone has a better word to describe the incident, they can suggest it to me later, but as far as I’m concerned, the presence of an actual bomb should be kept secret here.”

“That’s fine with me, as a tactical decision,” said Deputy Chief Skoog. “But what about getting this woman committed? It’s a smart move if you ask me. She can’t be sane behaving like that. At least we could get her off the streets that way.”

“Uh-huh…” Takamäki managed to say before his cell phone cut him short. He checked the caller: Römpötti. His first thought was to ignore the call, but the possibility that he could get some leads based on what the media knew or wanted to know made him change his mind. “Just a sec,” he said to the others.

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s Römpötti. Bad time?”

Takamäki felt like smiling, but his voice was serious. Kannas was whispering about something with Syväoja, but the others tuned in to Takamäki’s call. “Well, we’re in a little meeting here.”

“Why don’t I call back later.”

“No. What’s up?”

“Well, about this incident on Porvoo Street.”

“What about it?”

“I hear it’s your case.”

“You heard right.”

The reporter tried to use silence to coax more out of him. A few seconds passed before she broke the silence. “Well, tell me about it.”

“We’ll release a statement within the hour.”

Römpötti didn’t let on that she had any new information, so Takamäki decided to test the waters a bit. “It’s really nothing all that unusual. We’re just trying to figure out who might be behind it.”

“I see…nothing all that unusual.”

Takamäki didn’t care for the tone of her voice. “That’s right.”

“Listen, I’ve always thought you’re a pretty fair cop and that’s why I’m still on the line. We’ve gotten along pretty well, but don’t you dare lie to me. I know for a fact that a bomb was placed in front of Mari Lehtonen’s building. I also know the backstory on the threats and all.”

Shit, thought Takamäki, and his eyes darted about the room in search of the mole. Who in the hell had gone and sung to Römpötti? His dumbstruck expression had gotten even Kannas and Syväoja to quiet down.

“How in the hell…” he began, but Römpötti interrupted him.

“Don’t bother looking for a mole.”

“Goddamn it! It can’t be…”

“But it is. Mari Lehtonen told the whole story on camera.”

Takamäki felt the need to sit down, but there were no chairs within reach. “You’re not planning on airing it, are you?” he said in a last ditch effort.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because it’s a death sentence. Once it’s public, Lehtonen will be fair game for every criminal in the country.”

“No, she won’t, because she’s not an informant. She’s an ordinary citizen who you guys couldn’t protect, so you tried to ditch her in some safe house. You had your opportunity, now let’s see if a little publicity can protect her.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Well, it couldn’t be any worse than under your watch.”

“So you’re saying Lehtonen’s face is going to be on TV,” said Takamäki as the others looked on in open-mouthed astonishment.

“Don’t be stupid. Although that’s what she wanted…to show her face, but I decided to scramble it. The thing is, her story has raised quite a few pointed questions about police performance. If you don’t want to answer them, then hand me over to Skoog. I’m guessing he’s there at your little meeting. And if he doesn’t want to comment, I’ll just keep going up the chain of command. We’ll see if anyone wants to comment.”

Takamäki paused. He didn’t like this kind of arm-twisting, but they had to change their game plan, and there was no point in further irritating Römpötti. “I’ll call you back within the hour,” he replied coldly.

“Okay. And no more lies. Your wife wouldn’t like that either,” she said, and hung up the phone.

The others were waiting to be filled in, but Takamäki took ten seconds to gather his thoughts. “Well, I’m sure you overheard. The game has changed. The threats against Lehtonen will be aired on the evening news tonight. Lehtonen gave an interview to Sanna Römpötti.”

“Oh, no,” said Joutsamo.

“What did she say?” asked Skoog.

Takamäki ran a hand over his closely-cropped hair. “We didn’t get into details, but let’s just say Lehtonen has been rather critical of our performance.”

“We’ll have to think about how this will affect the case,” said Joutsamo.

“That’s right, we’ll cover the PR issues later,” said Takamäki. “The situation has changed. Our first priority is figuring out how to keep her alive.”

“Can’t we stop the broadcast somehow?” said Skoog.

“Not unless you want to violate the constitution.”

“Hell,” said Skoog. “Then the constitution needs to be amended. The media meddles with our cases with their stories, cartoons, who knows what else. The system needs some discipline.”

“Well, I doubt we’ll have time for constitutional amendments. Right now, we have to find Ahola and track down the remainder of Korpi’s henchman. Let’s meet at five and see where we’re at. Get to work.”

Kulta stood up first. “Hell, if this doesn’t work out we’re bound for a scolding as bad as the one I got from the newly-married lingerie model at the bar last Saturday night.”

Takamäki didn’t laugh. “Lehtonen has given us a pretty bad scolding already.”

* * *

Sanna Römpötti was sitting at her desk in the newsroom with copious amounts of paper arranged all around her in neat piles.

She didn’t have a private office, just a cube in the same cube farm she shared with most of her colleagues. Back in the corner was the most hallowed ground in the newsroom, the desk from which the anchor read the evening news.

Sundays were always quiet in the newsroom. That didn’t bother Römpötti. She stared at the computer screen, headphones on, watching her interview with Mari Lehtonen. The tape had been transferred to the newsroom servers.