“What trouble could they have caused? Are you talking about the Baltic Invest loans?”
“So you know about them, too. You’ve been busy. Oxbaum was awarded the Finnish loan business because he knew Hararin’s business partner. He arranged a loan for Jacobson and saved his son from personal bankruptcy and forfeiture of assets.”
“Roni?”
“Beautiful women and expensive tastes can be a dangerous combination.”
“Did the father know about it?”
“He didn’t hear about it until a few weeks ago.”
Nurmio eyed me. “I think it’s time we started talking about what we could give each other. I can give you information, but what would I get in return?”
“The police don’t bargain…”
“Too bad for you.”
“…but I’ll listen to anything you want to tell me.”
“That’s starting to sound better already. I didn’t kill Jacobson, although I know it looks like I did. And that’s because that was the intent. Someone wants to frame me as the culprit. As soon as I realized that, my eyes were opened. I was led like a lamb to the slaughter, but not any more. The first thing I want is for you to take my story into consideration, and not believe everything they’re trying to get you to believe. The people behind this know what they’re doing.”
“That’s an easy promise to make.”
“Maybe, but I have no intention of coming down to headquarters and telling you this on tape. I had my fill of prison in my past life.”
“I can’t promise that you won’t be arrested. You admitted to shooting Semeyev. Even if it was in self-defence, something like that can’t be overlooked.”
“What if I can prove that Semeyev tried to kill me? OK, he’s a killer and he had a gun, but I’m no Boy Scout either. That means jail time, at least with my background, even though I’m actually a pretty nice guy.”
Nurmio glanced at me. A smile flickered across his face, but vanished just as quickly.
“If you can prove the threat, it will be interpreted as justifiable self-defence.”
Nurmio didn’t appear to be listening. “I have a nice home in a place where oranges grow. The climate in Finland is horrible and the food disagrees with me. I find all of that depressing. I’ll help you however I can, and then I’ll clear out of here and spend the rest of my days keeping my nose clean and browsing the Catechism. How does that sound?”
“I can’t promise —”
“That’s what I thought. You Finnish cops are such choirboys. In Israel, we know how to cut deals. The Jews are a trading people. You must be the exception who makes the rule.”
“It would help you if we knew who Semeyev was working for and we were able to get proof that he killed Jacobson. The neighbours saw you at the scene of the crime.”
“I know. I was wondering why they wanted to know so damn precisely what time I would be going to see Jacobson. Because I was being framed as the murderer.”
“Why did you go there?”
“Like I said, I was trying to put his mind at ease so we could discuss things like civilized people. He thought I was a killer, and didn’t dare to meet me. I couldn’t come up with anything else. Now I see that the other side scared him into locking himself up at home.”
“Who wanted to know about your visit?”
Nurmio laughed. “We’ll talk about that later.”
“What about Max Oxbaum? We have surveillance camera footage of your meeting.”
“Was it from a service station in Vantaa?”
I didn’t answer. “Why did you two meet?”
“I needed Oxbaum’s help. At the same time, I was trying to get him to understand that he’d better leave Baltic Invest alone, or at least not go around blabbing about its affairs. It wasn’t an easy balance to strike. Kind of the same thing as with Jacobson.”
“You needed help? With what?”
“OK. I think it’s high time I let you in on something that might take some pressure off you.”
Nurmio reached into his pocket and handed me a plastic card. I turned on the light in the sun visor and inspected it.
“Are you telling me that you’re still working for the Mossad?”
“Isn’t that what that says?”
That’s what it said. There was also a photo on the card.
“I’m here on a job that seems to have gone totally fucking haywire. Now you can stop worrying and listen to what I have in mind.”
I opened the window and inhaled the brisk sea air to clear my head.
“Shoot.”
24
I had to admit that Nurmio’s revelation took me completely by surprise. Even though the card looked genuine, I couldn’t shake off my disbelief.
“If you want, you can call my boss in Tel Aviv and check it out. Contact is only allowed in emergencies, but I’m pretty sure this counts as one.”
“Let’s forget that for now. You’d better just tell me what this is about and what you want.”
“All right. Why don’t we agree that you don’t take notes after all? I’m here because the Mossad and the Israeli police are jointly investigating Jakov’s connections to organized crime and the related bribing of officials. I was asked to infiltrate Jakov’s organization, and two years ago I managed to get back on his payroll because I’d known him in the past. I told him that I’d got the boot from the Mossad a long time ago and had been conducting some business of my own in Syria and Lebanon. Which I had, but that had been part of the cover.”
“It’s a long way from Tel Aviv to Helsinki.”
“Which is why they needed me, and why I was ordered to help the Israeli police. It’s a small world. You see, it so happens that there’s a man on Jakov’s payroll named Joel Kazan. Kazan is married to Jacobson’s daughter. Through his brother-in-law Roni, Kazan met Max Oxbaum, who was eventually given Finnish representation of Baltic Invest.”
“Why specifically to Max?”
“He was greedy enough and had good contacts. And initially Max handled the business pretty well, but little by little things started getting out of hand. Max started using quite a bit of coke, and the business suffered. He brokered a large loan for Roni when Roni divorced his wife and built a new house by the sea. Roni simply didn’t pay it back. A few other loans also generated large losses. Israel finally had enough and sent Kazan in, because in a way he was responsible for Oxbaum. Jacobson didn’t care for his son-in-law, and when he told him about Roni’s loan, Jacobson said it wasn’t his problem; why had they been so insane as to go and give Roni a personal loan?”
A police car drove past slowly. Nurmio watched it. Once it had turned at the next intersection, he continued: “Kazan had prayed that Jacobson would take care of it, because Jakov had said that Kazan could kiss his life goodbye if he didn’t fix things. I guess Jacobson didn’t want his daughter to be a widow. In his panic, Kazan got drunk and said more than he should have. He told Jacobson that Jakov was a criminal and that Baltic Invest was laundering money. He imagined that Jacobson would get scared, or at least take pity on him. Bullshit. Luckily for us, things just got worse. Jacobson responded curtly and said he knew the Israeli police were investigating Hararin’s and Jakov’s affairs. He threatened to report Baltic Invest to the authorities. Another factor played a role in this, which proves how small the world truly is…”
I digested Nurmio’s story. It seemed incredible, but true. And I couldn’t think of any reason why Nurmio would lie.
Nurmio sized me up, as if trying to assess whether what he had told me had made the desired impression.
“How does the story continue?”
“Israel got a new Minister of Justice four months ago. The new Minister of Justice, Haim Levi, had made a lot of noise about exposing official corruption and gutting criminal organizations, especially Russian ones. Levi had spent a year as an exchange student in Helsinki in the 1980s. And lived where else but…”
“…at the Jacobsons’.”
“Exa
ctly. And Minister of Justice Levi was coming to Finland for a visit and intended to meet up with his former host family. When Jacobson heard about that, he got what he thought was a brilliant idea. He informed Israel that he intended to tell the whole story to his old friend, Minister of Justice Levi.”
“And you were ordered to kill Levi?”
Nurmio laughed.
“That’s what the Finnish Security Police thinks,” I said in my defence.
“I know. They were watching me from that building across the street 24/7 for an entire month.”
SUPO’s operation was starting to look like a total farce. A month of completely pointless work.
“Someone has supplied them with false information, and not by accident.”
I was intrigued. “Who?”
Nurmio looked sincerely amused. “It feels like a stunt we would pull. They couldn’t set one of their own on him in a friendly country, so they put SUPO on the case and let them pay for the stakeout and handle the reporting. I’d bet that they’ve asked for regular reports on my doings either directly or through the CIA. If I get a warning for fucking on the job, at least I know where the information came from.”
“Are you saying that none of these events have anything to do with Levi’s visit?”
“I never said that.”
“Both SUPO and I have a stake in Levi’s visit. It would be pretty bad advertising if the Minister of Justice were killed while he was in Finland.”
“Whoever said that he’s going to be killed? Let me finish. Jacobson was in contact with Levi and announced that he could help him investigate Jakov’s business affairs, because he possessed incendiary information about Baltic Invest. Furthermore, he went and said that Max Oxbaum could provide inside details on the company’s operations and deliver documents if the Israeli police would protect him from Jakov. This is the point when I enter the picture. I wanted them on my side. It just so happened that Jakov sent me – who else? – to Helsinki to clear up the mess because I’m a former Finn. I was supposed to put the screws into Jacobson and frighten him into silence; or at least that’s what Jakov said. Of course I was in contact with Jacobson, because I wanted to hear everything he knew. Like I said, he got scared because he thought I had been sent to kill him, and barricaded himself in his house. I met Oxbaum, who was also suspicious because he knew I worked for Jakov. I couldn’t reveal my mission to them right off; I had to proceed cautiously. I was already making inroads with Oxbaum, and everything was going pretty smoothly until Semeyev showed up. He went and killed Jacobson and Oxbaum, and pinned both murders on me. It’s hard to do your job when the cops are breathing down your neck and your face is plastered all over the television and the papers.”
“Do you mind telling me already what Levi’s visit has to do with all of this?”
“It confirmed for Jakov that Jacobson was serious and intended to tell everything. Since Jakov didn’t know what that everything was, he didn’t want to take any risks. The fact that Jacobson was Kazan’s father-in-law made the risk that much greater. Jakov suspected Kazan of having blabbed too much to his father-in-law. Oxbaum didn’t know much, but whatever he did know was too much. Together Jacobson and Oxbaum presented such a major risk that it was easier just to get rid of them.”
“How did Jakov find out about Jacobson’s intentions?”
“You’re still not getting it. From Levi himself. The Minister is one of Jakov’s men. All the talk about rooting out corruption is a pile of horseshit. The whole point is to use Levi to smooth things over in Israel. The journalists trust him as if he were some new prophet, and the investigation couldn’t come to a close until the journalists had given their blessing to its conclusion. That’s why Jakov paid Levi more than anyone else. He’s our second prime target, and he’s the reason I’m in Finland. Semeyev was sent here to clean up the mess before Levi arrived. They used a Russian just in case he got caught. An Israeli killer would have pointed in the wrong direction.”
“Levi is still coming, and is meeting Jacobson’s son Roni. They’re going to the Jacobsons’ cottage.”
“I know all about the visit to the cottage. I’ll get back to that in just a minute.”
“Did Roni know that his father’s life was in danger?”
“I don’t think so. He promised to pay off his debts as soon as he became CEO. I heard him suggest to Kazan that the old man should be given a little scare, be intimidated into retiring. I’m sure he understands that everything is interrelated.”
“Why did they want to get rid of you?”
“There aren’t many alternatives. Either Jakov has figured out that I’m still working for the Mossad, or he just wanted to get rid of me and make me the scapegoat for the murders of Jacobson and Oxbaum while he was at it. That would be just like him.”
“What happened at your place?”
“Semeyev called and announced he was coming by because Jakov had ordered us to work together on a gig. He came over and said that Jakov was losing his patience with all the shit that was going on in Finland, and that the whole mess had to be cleaned up for once and for all. That’s when he pulled out his gun and fired. Luckily I was ready for him and managed to take cover in the kitchenette. He missed, I didn’t. I left the body and the weapon behind so you could figure out the truth.”
“How are we going to prove that you acted in self-defence and that Semeyev also killed Jacobson and Oxbaum? Maybe the gun is yours and you put it in the deceased’s hand after you shot him.”
“That’s easy.” Nurmio pulled a small digital recorder out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Give it back after you make a copy. I recorded Semeyev’s call and the entire shoot-out. Every second is on that tape. If I’m not completely misunderstanding things, I’m an innocent man.”
The amount of information Nurmio had given me was making my head spin. “Let’s assume I believe you. Where do we go from here? Regardless of what happens, I have to tell my superiors about this.”
“That’s fine. But if it’s all the same to you, I’m not prepared to meet them; at least not yet. There’s still time to turn things around to our advantage if we cooperate.”
There was one question that had been going through my head for a long time. Now it was high time to ask it.
“My brother Eli was Oxbaum’s business partner, and travelled to Israel with him. What do you know about him?”
Nurmio was quiet for a moment. “I knew your friend Dan Kaplan, and I know what happened here two years ago. It was not to our credit or to Kaplan’s, even though he was a good man. He and I had been in a lot of tight spots together. Dan must have told you what Oxbaum and your brother got up to in Israel.”
“A little.”
“The investigation was already underway then, but that just goes to show what a difficult case this is. Wrenches are being tossed into the works from every side, and you bump into enemies no matter which way you turn. In Israel, these things aren’t as simple as they are here in innocent little Finland. One of the things Dan was supposed to do was to get Oxbaum and your brother on our side. He began to spend too much time playing one game and was careless in the other. The fact that your uncle shot him in front of the synagogue on Yom Kippur carries some pretty heavy symbolism. It even made the papers in Israel. Dan called me from here a couple of days before he died, and told me he was in a moral conundrum. He was supposed to try and use his childhood friend – in other words, you. You can count it in his favour that he took pleasure from it.”
“I was asking about my brother.”
“He helped us; he convinced Oxbaum to work with us. We don’t have anything against him.”
“I don’t understand why he would have helped you.”
“Let’s just say he realized it would be mutually advantageous. Dan’s groundwork didn’t go to waste. It’d be better for your brother to tell you about it if he feels like it.”
Nurmio unrolled the window and stuck out his head. “The thunderstorm passed.” He extended a h
and. “It was nice meeting you, but I have to be on my way.”
I stepped out of the car and watched Nurmio drive towards Ruoholahti. I walked across the windswept square towards the shore where the sea surged, tamed by the harbour’s breakwater but still daunting.
I needed some time to think before I called Huovinen and Sillanpää.
I was sure the thunderstorm hadn’t passed yet.
25
A man should trust his instincts, at least sometimes. I had never liked Roni, and now I was sure that my instincts were right. He didn’t deserve anyone’s regard; he was a total shit. It was just too bad that criminal law didn’t mention anything about being a shit.
I told him I wanted to speak to him again, as new information had arisen in the investigations of his father and Max’s murders. He tried to ask what, but I just told him when we expected to see him at Pasila for his interrogation. I reassured him just enough that he didn’t have the sense to bring a lawyer along.
He arrived at the agreed time in the afternoon. I led him into a conference room. I brought Simolin and Stenman with me.
As soon as he sat down, Roni tried to lighten the mood. “The way you were talking, I was wondering whether I should call my lawyer friend and bring him with me.”
“What would you have needed a lawyer for?”
“Nothing. That’s why I didn’t call him. What new information are we talking about?”
“Just a second,” I said, jotting in my notebook. It was just nonsense words. Men like Roni got nervous when you ignored them.
“All right. We’re recording this conversation,” I said, and Simolin turned on the recorder.
Roni wasn’t able to keep a look of concern from flashing across his face.
Once again, he tried to lighten the mood. “Do all three of you really need to be here?”
“Max’s murder forced us to change tack in the investigation and reconsider motives.”
“Why are you worried about motives? You have a murderer. His photo was already in the papers, right?”
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