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

The receptionist came in with a teapot and a cup. ‘Thought you’d like a cup of tea, Sir,’ she said to Iain in English. ‘Ah, you’re a dear, Mrs Cooper,’ Iain said and smiled at the woman. He got up and took the tray from Mrs Cooper. ‘Thank you so very much. It’s good of you to come in on a Sunday.’

‘Oh, you’re welcome,’ Mrs Cooper cooed. She started clearing up the table, removing Heikki’s and Pia’s empty cups.

‘It’s alright, you can leave those,’ Iain said in English, glancing at Pia. He leant back in his chair and said to Heikki, ‘Now young man, isn’t it about time you told me what you’re up to?’

Heikki looked sideways at Pia and started talking to Iain.

‘I was just telling Pia about the Pioneers. It’s a youth group. We meet every Thursday at The Workers’ Hall in Töölö.’ Heikki was fiddling with his hair. ‘A few times we’d get a Comrade from the East to come in to talk about life in the Soviet Union.’ Heikki’s eyes now met Pia’s. ‘They’ve got such a good education system, you know, and jobs for everyone after school. Not like here where you’re unemployed however many qualifications you’ve got!’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Pia said.

Iain gave Pia a stern look. ‘What?’ Pia said, ‘you’re on their side now are you?’

‘It’s alright, we just want to hear what Heikki has to say,’ Iain said, then turned to Heikki. ‘Go on’.

‘This one guy came in a few months ago, his talk was brilliant. He had slides and everything. Both Sash and I wanted to go and visit his town, Minsk. Anyway, we got talking to him afterwards and he said he could arrange a scholarship for us to go and study there. We were so excited! The week after, when we were playing pool, he came in again. By that stage we’d both thought he’d just been all talk, we’d not heard from him though he said he was going to write to our parents. He’d taken our addresses and everything. My Mum was so excited when I told her!’

‘Did this man tell you his name?’

‘Yeah, Vladsislas Kovtun.’

Pia gasped and put her hand to her mouth. Iain looked at Pia and shook his head. Heikki was watching both of them intently. ‘I know, that’s why I’ve been trying to find out what’s he up to, haven’t I?’ he said.

‘And when was this?’

‘Oh, just after Christmas.’

‘Go on, Heikki,’ Iain said.

‘Anyway, he came back and started talking to me and Sash. We were playing pool and she was beating me so I was glad of an interruption,’ Heikki grinned at both Iain and Pia. She glared at him.

‘He said he could arrange a scholarship at a university in Minsk for both of us.’ Heikki looked pleadingly at Pia, ‘You know how difficult it is to get into a university here, especially with the results I’m going to get.’ Heikki paused for a moment. Pia didn’t feel at all sorry for him, if he was so worried about his studies, why didn’t he work a bit harder? Heikki continued, ‘Anyway then the guy started talking about Anni.’

‘What did he say?’

Heikki looked down at his hands. ‘He wanted us to find out about Anni and her dad. Just ordinary stuff, you know.’ Heikki’s head was hanging and he was looking at Pia and Iain from under his eyebrows. ‘Next time the Comrade came to the meeting we told him all we knew. He told us our scholarships were a certainty. Sash and I started talking about going to the USSR when we’d finished the Baccalaureate, but then weeks went by and we heard nothing. Then at last week’s meeting we had another Comrade in, and after his talk about the Moscow children’s homes, he came straight up to us as if he knew Sash and me and started asking questions.’

‘What was his name?’ Pia noticed that Iain was leaning closer to Heikki as if afraid he might miss a word he said, just like he and the Colonel had done when Pia came into the Council before. Where was the Colonel, Pia wondered. Shouldn’t he be here listening to Heikki too?

‘He didn’t tell us his name.’

‘Shame, but go on,’ Iain said.

‘This guy seemed to be very interested in what Vladsislas had promised us and he knew all about the scholarships, though he still wanted us to tell him exactly what the first Comrade had said. And he asked a lot of questions about Anni.’

‘Who was he? Did he tell you who he worked for?’

‘No.

‘The next Monday when I saw Vladsislas at school and Anni was behaving so oddly…both Sash and I were shit scared that it had something to do with this scholarship and the other bloke.’

‘Apart from spying for the Russians, what else have you been up to?’ Pia’s throat was dry. She could hardly bring out the words.

Iain coughed, ‘I don’t think that’s quite fair.’

Pia shot an angry look at him.

‘Nothing, really,’ Heikki said. ‘I thought you knew something about it, so I followed you around for a bit.’ Heikki was looking at Pia.

Pia’s heart was pounding. She looked down and fought the tears filling her eyes. She wasn’t going to show Heikki how much he meant to her.

But Heikki just carried on looking at Pia with that sheepish look. ‘Pia, I’ve always really liked you and…’

‘If you say so,’ Pia said. Her voice was high, too high.

Heikki was quiet.

Pia straightened up and trying to steady her voice said, ‘And what were you really looking for in Mr Linnonmaa’s study?’

Heikki looked up at Pia. Leaning closer to her, he said earnestly, ‘I was desperate to find out what was going on, if Mr Linnonmaa knew about Kovtun’s visits to the Pioneers, and me…’

‘Just trying to save your own skin, that figures.’ Pia said. She looked away from Heikki.

‘Pia, please!’ Heikki tried to take hold of Pia’s hand across the table.

The Admiral coughed, and said, ‘You two will have to sort that out later. Let’s go back to Kovtun. Did he mention Miss Joutila to you?’

Heikki looked surprised, ‘No, why?’

‘What about the Friendship Tournament? Did he talk about that?’

Heikki thought for a moment, ‘No, he just talked about all the good the Comrades were trying to do for the Finnish youth, you know to enable the continuing of…’

‘The friendship and mutual co-operation,’ Pia finished the expression all politicians were always harping on about. ‘More like exploitation of a weaker country!’ she said more forcefully.

‘No, it’s not like that at all!’ Heikki had got up but seeing Pia’s face he sat down again. ‘I knew you wouldn’t understand,’ he said.

‘You’re right!’ Pia said.

When the lift doors opened Maija saw a woman in a smart suit standing behind a reception desk.

‘Can I help you,’ she said.

‘I’m looking for Iain Collins.’

‘I’m afraid we’re shut today.’

‘But Mr Collins is here, I saw him come in. And the door was open.’ Maija didn’t like the woman’s superior attitude. As she spoke she looked Maija up and down, as if assessing the cost and age of her coat.

‘I’m sorry, you must be mistaken.’

‘But he’s English!’

The woman laughed. It sounded more like a cough. She looked pityingly at Maija. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said.

Iain, followed by Pia and Heikki appeared at a door behind the woman.

‘Pia!’ Maija shouted. ‘And Iain!’ she said, looking pointedly at the receptionist.

‘I’m sorry,’ the woman said to Iain in English. Iain looked at Maija, and then the woman. He came across and gave Maija a peck on the cheek. ‘What a nice surprise!’ he said unconvincingly.

‘What’s going on?’ Maija said looking straight at Iain.

‘Nothing, Mum, I’ve just come to the Council to borrow some books,’ Pia said. ‘And Iain happened to be here at the same time! Isn’t that a coincidence?’