by J J Marsh
Catinca rolled her eyes. “I would kick you too, but can’t reach from here. Shut up, Adrian, you’re making things worse. We gonna sort this out. First priority, take pressure off Tanya. I got the wedding, Adrian has got the relatives, Will is minding Matthew and Luke. We better get to work, stag night is this evening.” She gave them a supercilious smile. “Ain’t no way you old farts are going to have better time than we did last night. Still, give it your best shot. Will, take Tanya home, drop me and Adrian in Crediton and you go and find Matthew. Your job is help him write that speech.”
Will finished his half of ale. “At your service, ma’am. Is it too much to ask that we can check in first? I promise to be back in five minutes.”
After the men had left the bar, Tanya leaned forward to clasp Catinca’s hand. “What are you doing this evening?”
“Dunno. My plan was maybe me and Beatrice could have dinner together. Give you one last mother and son night with Luke, but she went and sodded off to Finland. Why? You got an idea?”
“Could you come round to my house? I’ll cook and we can go over a few details. Luke will be in bed by eight so we can make a pot of tea and finalise battle plans while the blokes are downing a few pints at The Star.”
“Great idea. Between you and me, I think Adrian wishes he could come with us. Blokes’ nights aren’t really his thing. Listen, while we are waiting, let’s call Beatrice. I just want to know what time she’s arriving.”
Tanya watched as Catinca’s thumbs flew over her screen. She pressed the handset to her ear and smiled at Tanya. Her hair was twisted into a French roll and her silk jumpsuit made her look like a glamorous version of Rosie the Riveter.
She shook her head. “She ain’t answering.”
“What about Theo? Could you call him?”
Catinca placed her index finger on her forehead, her gaze on her mobile. She traced a line down her nose, over her lips and brushed her chin. “Theo. Yeah, I could, but I don’t want to mucky the waters, know what I mean?”
With a laugh through her nose, Tanya gazed at her friend. “Thousands wouldn’t, but I think I understand. Do you ever think you’ve been spending too much time with Beatrice Stubbs?”
Chapter 24
VALO: The only independent news site to shed light on the truth
‘MISSING’ PROTESTORS – PUBLICITY STUNT?
In a national exclusive, this morning’s programme can reveal new evidence indicating the so-called missing environmental activists may have staged their disappearance and are currently in hiding. Their objective is to draw attention to their cause and to create maximum disruption to the LokiEn small reactor nuclear energy project.
Helsinki police has made no progress in ascertaining the whereabouts of Valpuri Peura (16) and Samu Pekkanen (17) who have not been seen since a protest march turned violent on Saturday 13 June. However, a trusted source confirmed that a private investigation company has had more success. The British team, hired by the business consortium behind the Neljä nuclear project, say they have sufficient proof that the apparent abduction is nothing more than an elaborate hoax. Six of the protestors were seen leaving a café and entering a vehicle together shortly after violence broke out at Senaatintori. At the time of going to press, the two youngsters have not appeared in public.
Detective Sahlberg, the senior officer in charge of the investigation, refused to speculate. ‘In a hunt for missing persons, the police receive hundreds of tip-offs per day. There is no reason to believe there is any more truth in this allegation than any of the other so-called explanations in the past few days. We urge the public to remain vigilant and report anything they believe to be significant to the police.’
If the allegations can be proven, this will be the latest in a long line of increasingly desperate attempts at attention-seeking by the Gaia Warriors and similar environmental groups. In 2019, a group calling themselves One Minute to Midnight staged a protest using drones at Stockholm airport, which resulted in flight cancellations, delayed holidays and the cost to the business community of over half a million Euro. In April this year, teenage demonstrators brought the city of Tampere to a standstill, endangering lives of civilians and police officers, as they threw themselves in front of moving vehicles.
Citizens of Finland have grown increasingly impatient with this small but noisy minority, intent on promoting their pessimistic agenda at the expense of a progressive, long-term environmental policy. The government insists well-planned collaboration with the business community is the best way to ensure Finland’s self-sufficiency in terms of meeting its energy needs.
Junior Education Minister, Kari Summa, speaking after the launch of a new youth sports centre in Espoo, said, ‘This country has the best informed and fully engaged younger generation when it comes to global planetary concerns. The vast majority are aware that the way to achieve change is by working with all sectors of the community’.
The financial backers behind the long awaited new nuclear facility, LokiEn, Baltic Energy Services and Scanski Solutions have been approached for comment.
Chapter 25
Beatrice was awoken by the noise of her phone. She reached for it with a glance at the window, wondering what time it was. Impossible to tell, as the light summertime nights in this country could be deceptive. Her handset told her it was twenty minutes past seven. Her alarm was set for half past eight so who on earth would be ringing her at this hour? Unless it was an emergency.
“Hello, Beatrice Stubbs speaking.”
“Ms Stubbs, this is Detective Timo Sahlberg.”
Beatrice heaved herself up to sit against her pillows. “Ah, good morning, detective. I hoped to speak to you before I leave. Although I wasn’t expecting you this early.”
“I’m sorry to disturb you but this is a matter of some urgency. Yesterday, I shared police information with you on a quid pro quo basis. I also asked you to sign a confidentiality agreement and not to reveal any information you might discover without sharing it with us first.”
Beatrice reached for a glass of water, giving herself time to think. “Yes, I know. That’s why I sent you an email, explaining what we found. Detective, is there something wrong?”
“I got your email, among many others I only had a chance to read this morning. At no point did you mention the urgency of a reply. Neither did you tell me you would be going to the press. I find your behaviour unprofessional and worse, potentially destabilising to this case. I would have every reason to charge you with obstruction of justice.”
“Obstruction of justice? Hang on a minute. There was no urgency regarding your reply and I didn’t go to the press. In what way is my behaviour unprofessional?”
“I understand. You see this as a matter of semantics. It may not have been you personally who spoke to the journalist, perhaps it was your colleague. The one who didn’t sign a confidentiality agreement. I have to tell you that my first interaction with a private investigator has been a very disheartening experience.”
“Detective Sahlberg, you have me at a complete loss. My assistant and I have followed best practice. When we found some relevant information, we informed you first and secondly our employer, Karoliina Nurmi. While I would like to stay on and see this case to its conclusion, I have run out of time and handed over my findings to those best placed to follow the map. What does the press have to do with this?”
“My question precisely. I suggest you watch this morning’s report on Channel 6. It’s in Finnish so ask someone to translate. Did you say you were leaving today?”
“Yes, that’s correct. We have a flight out at lunchtime.”
“I’m very glad to hear it.” He hung up.
Beatrice stared at the handset with wide eyes. How incredibly rude! The complete opposite of his behaviour the previous day. She got out of bed and paced the room. Channel 6 was the broadcaster whose editor Theo had met. She called reception and asked if they had anyone who could translate something urgently. The receptionist confirmed they had and o
ffered to send someone up to her room along with some coffee. While she was waiting, Beatrice scanned the online version and saw the photographs of Valpuri and Samu front and centre. She put the article into a translation engine and managed to get the gist.
When the young hotel employee delivering her latte macchiato arrived, she persuaded him to convey a slightly more sophisticated rendering of the report. With some embarrassment and apologies for his English, he obliged. As she listened, the reason for Detective Sahlberg’s exasperation became clear. She tipped the waiter ten Euros and dialled Theo’s room. There was no reply. Where the hell would he be at this hour of the morning? An acidic sensation in her stomach made her call his mobile.
After several seconds, he answered, his breathing heavy. “What’s up?” he asked.
“Where are you?” Beatrice demanded.
“On my way back to the hotel. Just been for a run. Wish I hadn’t. Man, this wind is wild! You want to go down to breakfast already?”
“No. I’m ordering room service for us both. Get back here, have a shower and I’m coming next door in quarter of an hour. We need to talk.” It was her turn to ring off without saying goodbye.
Twenty minutes later, she had showered, packed and calmed her agitated thoughts. She stomped next door to Theo’s room and arrived the same time as the breakfast trolley. She thanked the maid and rapped on the door. It opened to reveal Theo wearing a dressing gown and a concerned frown.
“What is it? You sound pissed off.”
Beatrice glared at him as she wheeled in the trolley. “I am pissed off. Shut that door. You didn’t sign that confidentiality agreement at the police station yesterday, did you? Channel 6 ran the story this morning, made the police look like idiots, disrespected the Gaia Warriors and all but christened you and me Batman and Robin. The truly shitty thing is that we know where they got the information, but cannot prove it. If you’d signed the damn thing, we would have a pretty good chance of convincing Sahlberg it wasn’t us.”
Theo stared back at her and shook his head like a pendulum. “I forgot the confidentiality agreement, I’m sorry. It just slipped my mind. But I have photos of Päivi Aho meeting Karoliina’s husband – the only other person who knew what we found out.”
“Circumstantial. A couple of photos showing them entering and leaving the same building. Not even one of them together. Nowhere near hard evidence. Oh bloody hell! Why didn’t you sign a confidentiality agreement? The police called me first thing to call me an unprofessional backstabber or something similar. They’re convinced it’s us!”
Theo sat down at the writing table, his expression thoughtful. Beatrice poured him a coffee and shoved the plate of pastries in his direction.
“Right, listen to me for a second, Beatrice. I’m new to this game but I swear I played it by the book, apart from me getting drunk and forgetting that agreement. Stupid mistakes and I’m sorry. Apart from us, the only people who know the details are that copper you emailed, Karoliina and Heikki.” He selected a croissant. “That management geezer you spoke to, the Lahti guy, he had the same theory. Maybe he fed it to a journo to take the heat off Saturday’s opening.”
Beatrice sat opposite him, tore open a croissant and began adding butter and jam. Something about the word ‘fed’ triggered something in her mind. A picture formed, Matthew sneaking bits of bacon from his breakfast plate to feed Huggy Bear or Dumpling, thinking she couldn’t see his reflection in the oven door. Yesterday, at Karoliina’s house and that big brown-black Burmese with its dainty jaws. Her gaze rested on Theo, who was dunking his croissant into his coffee.
“That’s an appalling way to eat a croissant,” she observed.
Theo’s eyes flicked to the sticky mess on her own plate but he said nothing.
“The thing is, why would Heikki Mäkinen go to the press?” asked Beatrice. “Karoliina would never have endorsed that.”
“I don’t think Karoliina would endorse her husband meeting a woman in a hotel room while she’s away, either. I have a hunch it’s not the first time those two have used that place.”
“Hunches will do nothing to change Sahlberg’s mind about ...” From her handbag, Beatrice’s alarm rang, reminding her they had a flight in a few hours. This latest development was embarrassing and unfortunate but she could do nothing about it at this stage. She hated to leave Helsinki with an unfinished job and on a sour note with the local police, but she and Theo had to return to Britain.
“We need to get to the airport. I’ll check online to make sure flights are still leaving in this weather. Are you all packed? If so, I’ll book a taxi for ten o’clock,” said Beatrice.
Theo took his cup to the trolley for a refill, the little beads at the end of his plaits creating a little seashore sound as they brushed past each other. “So we’re really leaving then?”
“We’re leaving. What else can we do? The police aren’t talking to us, Karoliina is out of reach and there’s no way of proving her shitty husband let the cat out of the bag. Let’s face it, what we found indicates those kids are in no real danger. So I say we leave them to it and get back to the wedding. Have you decided what you’re wearing? Because I think that greeny purple combination you had on yesterday is a real winner.”
To Beatrice’s irritation, Theo wasn’t listening. He was staring at something on the breakfast trolley. Something about the intense focus of his body language made Beatrice stand up to see what had caught his attention.
“What? What are you looking at?”
He pointed at the envelope lying beside the jug of orange juice. A plain manila envelope with two words typed on it. Theo Wolfe.
Beatrice held up a finger. “Wait.” She dug around in her handbag, pulling out plastic gloves and a pair of tweezers. She slid open the flap and withdrew the single sheet of paper, unfolded it and held it so they both could read what it said.
V and S are not hiding. They are in danger. Where they put them, the place at Malmen, it’s not safe. They need your help. Please do not share this information with the police.
Beatrice read the message twice and then locked eyes with Theo. “Sorry, what was your question again?”
“I asked if we were really leaving.”
She chewed her lip. “No, I don’t believe we are. Not while we’ve a job to do. Find out where Malmen is and I’ll get a message to Detective Sahlberg. We’ll postpone the flight until tomorrow and tell everyone it was cancelled because of the weather. It’s not ideal, but it will have to do. Quick now, look sharp.”
Chapter 26
Theo did a search for the name Malmen and found a small hamlet around thirty kilometres outside Helsinki. It was on the coast, near a golf course and seemed to have nothing remarkable about it whatsoever. If there was the slightest chance the two people they been searching for were in the vicinity, he had to get there and see what he could find.
While considering how to handle his mystery message, he half listened to Beatrice’s conversation with the Helsinki police. It seemed the detective was not taking her call, so she left a message with his team. Beatrice put down the phone. “I’m going to deliver this note in person. That will be faster. Do you have any idea who your mystery messenger might be?”
“Maybe, I’m not sure. Whoever it is, I reckon we should take this tip seriously and at least check it out. There’s a place called Malmen under an hour’s drive away. Should we go and have a look?”
Beatrice looked into the middle distance. “We do need to take it seriously, you’re right. What I’m concerned about is that it might be some kind of trap, throwing us off the scent or putting us in harm’s way. Who do you think sent you this and more importantly, why?”
“My gut says it was from one of either two people, both of them members of the Gaia Warriors. Tuula, Valpuri’s best friend, helped me out when I needed to talk to them as a group. She seems to wear her heart on her sleeve and I think she kind of likes me. But my instinct says it’s the younger guy with a broken wrist, Aleksis. He’s ob
viously terrified of the others and just does what he’s told. Both Risto and Ursula bully him into silence. This might be his moment of rebellion.”
“What do we know about him? Is there any way we could make contact?”
Up until this morning’s newspaper report, Theo had kept Tuula in mind as a possible ally. It was clear the girl was attracted to him and who knows what she might reveal in the course of a harmless flirtatious conversation. But now? She would be unlikely to take his calls and he did not dare ask for Aleksis’s contact details. He could not alert anyone that Gaia Warriors’ tight ship had sprung a leak.
“Theo, if this young lady is sweet on you, that might be your route in. I know, I know, you’re bound to have principles about this kind of thing. But let’s say, for argument’s sake, you call her to say goodbye, apologise for the newspaper article and assure her they didn’t get it from you. Then say something like you couldn’t bear to leave Finland with her thinking badly of you. Do you see what I mean?”
Theo gave a sideways glance, suspecting she’d been reading his mind. “And in the course of that conversation, I ask her to pass on my regrets to the rest of the crew and ask for Aleksis’s address?”
“That’s the sort of thing. Of course one needs years of experience to pull off true subtlety, but I’m sure you’ll manage. You can make the call here if you don’t mind my earwigging or perhaps to spare your blushes, you might want to go out on the balcony. Do you want that last croissant?”
“I speak to her in Swedish so you wouldn’t understand a word anyway.”
“True, but I am fluent in body language.”
Theo sighed, wondering how this woman managed to twist him round her little finger. He took the croissant and his phone, stepped onto the balcony and closed the door behind him. In the fresh air, he took a couple of minutes to compose himself, gazing around the wind-buffeted harbour, pulling his robe tighter against the morning chill. Then he dialled Tuula’s number.