Helena Halme - The Red King of Helsinki - Lies, Spies and Gymnastics

She looked over to Linnonmaa, who was stirring his coffee with a concentrated effort.

‘It is rather delicate,’ he said.

Maija waited.

Linnonmaa settled his pale blue eyes on Maija and continued, ‘I don’t want you to be alarmed, but something the girls have got involved in…something they shouldn’t have.’

‘Drugs? But the other night on the telephone you said they weren’t into…’

‘No, not drugs. It’s to do with diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.’

Maija stared at Jukka Linnonmaa. Had he heard of her snooping all those years ago? How did her work then have anything to do with Pia?

A door behind them opened, letting in a noisy group of women. A chill wind blew in and reached down the back of Maija’s spine. She shivered and pulled her cardigan tighter around her.

Jukka Linnonmaa leant closer to Maija and said, ‘It’s Anni who’s gone and…’ he sighed and said, ‘she is such a kind girl. She’s befriended these Commies at school. It’s rather difficult for me as they have contacts to the Soviet Embassy and…’

‘What has this got to do with my daughter?’

‘Well, Pia is friends with them too.’

‘Oh.’

‘Oh dear, this is rather difficult.’ Linnonmaa smiled again; it was the same insincere facial expression he had made when they’d started the conversation.

‘Go on,’ Maija said, glancing at her wrist watch. She wasn’t in a hurry, it was only half past eight, but she wanted Linnonmaa to get to the point.

‘Alright, the friend I’m talking about is Heikki Tuomila.’

Leena spotted the man as soon as she walked out of the gym hall. It had become her little Friday treat to take the tram to Stockmann’s, instead of having lunch in the dreary staff room at the Lyceum. She usually chose a luxurious tuna salad or an open rye sandwich in the café on the top floor of the store. The place was always busy and she enjoyed watching suited businessmen or well-dressed ladies enjoy their coffee and sandwiches. Afterwards she’d admire the clothes on the first floor. She rarely had the money for the expensive items, but once she’d bought a pair of French trousers; they were still the best piece of clothing in her wardrobe.

The man was standing in the exact same spot as last Monday. He had on a different coat, a little more sensible for the weather, but he still looked foreign, and come to think of it, cold. No Stockmann’s lunch today. This was her chance. She’d show Vadi what a clever woman she was!

‘Can I help you?’

‘Hmm, sorry?’ The man looked shocked. I’m not that frightening, Leena thought. Perhaps her teacher demeanour was a bit too overpowering. She’d just finished another frustrating session with the Friendship Tournament team, and Pia’s lack of co-ordination was sending her over the edge.

‘Actually, I wondered if you had a cigarette?’ Leena tried to soften the tone of her voice.

‘Hmm, no, sorry, don’t smoke.’ He still looked like a frightened rabbit, not at all the evil character Vadi had made him out to be. Suppose he was just following orders. Leena had to change tactics. ‘Are you waiting for Pia?’ Now this was bold.

‘Actually yes, her mother asked me to…’ The man still had the madly worried look, but he did relax a little. He wasn’t that bad looking, quite tall, with wavy slightly grey hair. His ears were frozen and pink. He’d catch the death of cold here if he stood in this place for much longer. The temperatures had plummeted the night before. The thermometer outside her kitchen window had read -19°C that morning. Leena herself was wearing a fur-lined coat and a matching fur-trimmed hat. A 40th birthday present she’d bought for herself.

‘Ah, she’s been detained, I’m afraid.’ Leena lied.

‘Oh?’

‘Pia has extra gym class tonight. For the Friendship Tournament, you know.’ Leena wondered if this would bring a reaction from the man. She might as well get straight down to business, she thought. Besides, Leena was sure she could talk him into understanding how important a win would be for the Lyceum.

‘Why don’t we go and wait for her at the café? She’ll be another hour yet.’ Leena nodded towards the Rixi Bar. Its rickety red neon sign shimmered in the half-light of the late afternoon. She smiled at the man and took hold of his arm. Leena had to hurry. Pia could appear at any moment.

‘Oh, yes, of course,’ he said and started walking beside Leena.

As they moved away from the Lyceum, and crossed the road to the Rixi Bar, the man glanced backwards. As if he was waiting to see if Pia would appear after all. Leena hurried into the café. Normally she wouldn’t dream of frequenting this little shit hole, where she knew most of the students spent their breaks and often lessons too. But she needed somewhere warm to talk to the man sensibly about the matter. Vadi was obviously worried about Pia, so Leena would find out if there was anything untoward about this foreigner. There was no harm in using a little initiative when the opportunity presented itself. Besides, Leena hadn’t heard a word from Vadi since he left in such a hurry the night before.

There was a shock of silence when they walked into the café. She spotted three or four sixth formers smoking and drinking the low-alcohol beer establishments like this were allowed to sell. Most of the children were underage – she should really report both them and the management of this place to the authorities. But she didn’t care to think about that now. She chose a table in the corner and said, ‘Would you mind if I had a coffee?’

The man went and got two coffees. He started stirring his, while looking at Leena, saying nothing.

‘Now, why is it you want to sabotage our chances in the Friendship Tournament?’ Leena said.

Iain didn’t see Pia until the afternoon when she stepped out of the Lyceum building and ran to the tram stop. He was standing on the other side of the building and the girl didn’t spot him. Just as well, he didn’t want to attract attention to himself. Being accosted by the gym teacher was bad enough. The Colonel would not be pleased.

Iain had to run to catch the same tram as Pia. Luckily the group of youngsters from the Lyceum had entered the long Russian tram through the front. He could hide in the back without being spotted. He queued up behind two men talking to each other about an ice-hockey match. It seemed Finland had come very close to beating Russia last night. The Russians had won in the last minute with a penalty shot. ‘I suppose it would have been a diplomatic incident had we won,’ the younger man said, laughing bitterly as he stepped onboard the tram. Once inside the carriage, Iain tried to see Pia. The two joined carriages were fairly full, and it was difficult to see past people standing in the aisles. But when the tram climbed the hill towards Erottaja, Iain spotted Pia’s blonde hair resting against the colourful scarf. She was sitting with her back to him on a seat at the front. Next to him, the two men from the tram stop were still discussing the ice-hockey match. The younger one was convinced that the game and the winning penalty in particular, had been fixed. ‘No way was that tackle a penalty! The Russians can do what they want with us, can you ever see the Finnish officials complaining to the Big Eastern Brother? Mutual co-operation and friendship my ass!’ he said. The other man gave Iain a worried glance.

‘Don’t be stupid,’ he said, his eyes on Iain while talking to his friend. ‘You’re just being bad a loser.’ He nudged his friend and nodded towards Iain. Iain hadn’t realised he was staring at the two men. They must have thought he was a Soviet informer and would report them. He tried to smile reassuringly at them and moved slightly forward in the carriage.