a bomb?”
“That’s what I’ve heard from my own sources, but it hasn’t been officially confirmed. And we don’t know whether it’s an actual bomb or just a threat. They’re not letting anyone on the scene yet. So this was in front of your building?”
“Yeah,” Mari nodded.
“What building number?”
Lehtonen told her. The reporter took out her phone and passed the information on to a roaming cameraman outside. With this information, he could look for a chink in the crowd at the police barricade where he could get footage of the car. Römpötti had considered renting a helicopter, but decided against it. The massive police operation was certainly unusual, but bomb threats weren’t all that rare.
Römpötti was just wrapping up her phone call with the cameraman when Mari’s phone rang. The caller was unidentified, but she answered anyway. It was Joutsamo.
“How you doing?” asked the sergeant.
“Alright,” said Mari. “What’s going on?”
Joutsamo paused briefly before responding. “Someone parked a car in front of your building this morning with a backpack containing an explosive. We don’t yet know what kind, but we’ll find out. The bomb squad is dismantling it for transfer at the moment. Where are you?”
“Not far away.”
“And where might that be.”
“Why do you ask?” said Mari.
“I think it’s best if you two return to Kirkkonummi. I know it is.”
Mari thought for a moment. “And what if we don’t? We still haven’t done anything wrong,
you know.”
Römpötti was listening intently, a puzzled expression on her face.
“Of course you haven’t done anything wrong, but it’s the safest option. The only option.”
Lehtonen took a sidelong glance at Römpötti as she spoke into the receiver. “I don’t want to hide anymore.”
Joutsamo was quiet. “Well, let’s talk face to face at least. Can I pick you guys up? Where are you?”
“I don’t see why we should meet,” said Mari. “I mean…what’s the point if you can’t help me. I think I’m just gonna have to change my game plan.” Lehtonen looked at Römpötti and hung up the phone.
Römpötti didn’t say anything. The woman would have to take the initiative, and Römpötti was all ears.
“It was a real bomb. In a car, in front of our building,” said Mari in a low voice.
“Maybe it has something to do with you?” said Römpötti. Lehtonen nodded. The story was shaping up into headline news: Car Bomb Planted at Murder Witness’s Doorstep.
“So do you want to hear my story?”
She did, and Mari told her everything.
CHAPTER 26
SUNDAY, 12:00 P.M.
PASILA POLICE HEADQUARTERS
Fifteen or so grim-faced police officers had assembled in the VCU conference room. In addition to Takamäki’s core group of detectives, a few other VCU investigators, VCU Chief Karila, Kannas from Forensics, Nykänen from the NBI and Syväoja from the Finnish Security Intelligence Service were present. The FSIS was in charge of national security and took an interest in the bomb since Finland was the current president of the European Union. Because Finland’s term expired at the end of the year and no important conferences remained, Syväoja was the lone FSIS representative needed at the meeting.
The time was two minutes to twelve when Deputy Chief Skoog walked into the room and greeted everyone with a tight-lipped nod.
Takamäki took a final glance at the clock and commenced the meeting with a briefing on the background of the case, including Mari Lehtonen’s testimony and the subsequent threats, after which he went into the events of the day.
“At nine o’clock this morning we found the most serious threat so far,” said Takamäki. “A car parked in front of Lehtonen’s apartment building with an explosive in the back seat footwell. This resulted in an extensive precautionary evacuation of all residents in the area. The full story hasn’t yet been revealed to the residents or the public, but we’ll go through the media process later. Let’s start with Lehtonen. Joutsamo, what’s the latest?”
Joutsamo shrugged. “I chatted with Mari. She doesn’t want to cooperate with us. Thinks we’re trying to solve her problems by locking her up in some kind of quasi-prison, which she’s opposed to because she doesn’t feel she’s done anything wrong.”
“What? Is she nuts?” said Deputy Chief Skoog.
“Not nuts,” said Joutsamo. “More like a woman of principle. Once she’s made up her mind, she doesn’t change it.”
“Sounds nuts to me,” said Skoog. “Have you explained the gravity of the situation to her?”
Joutsamo ignored the comment and went on, “At this point we don’t know exactly where she is. Apparently still in the city somewhere, but she hasn’t returned home. The blockade was lifted as soon as the explosives were removed. We posted a squad car in front of the apartment building, but there’s been no sight of her, nor her daughter. In a way, that’s a positive sign, since if we don’t know where they are, then it’s unlikely Korpi’s henchmen do either.”
Takamäki interrupted. “An even better sign would be getting them back into the safe house.”
“I don’t think it’s possible… We can’t force them.”
Skoog looked pensive. “Can’t force them… Well, if we can’t, maybe a psychologist can. We could have her committed, and the girl could go into foster care.”
Joutsamo scowled in Takamäki’s direction. “Hmm…”
Skoog was unfazed. “That’s my recommendation at this point. We can’t let a woman targeted by these kinds of threats prance around town while we sit around and wait for the next bomb threat. That’s a good way to get innocent bystanders killed.”
“So Lehtonen’s not an innocent bystander?” said Joutsamo.
Skoog glared at the sergeant. “She’s the target—that’s what she is. No question about it. The centerpiece of this case.”
“We’ll talk tactics later,” said Takamäki. “We haven’t even gone through the incident yet. Kannas, what about the explosive? What do we know
about it?”
Kannas stood up. “We’ve received the preliminary results from the NBI lab. The backpack was filled with a plastic explosive by the name of hexogen, also known as RDX, developed during the Second World War. Chemically, it’s a nitroamine organic compound, which is basically military grade, so the same stuff the pros use. As far as its composition, more precise tests are still underway, and I’m sure we’ll hear more soon. Provided they don’t blow up their lab in the process,” said Kannas with a campy baritone and a smile.
The others weren’t amused. Takamäki was about to guide him back on topic, but for once, Kannas checked himself, “I won’t go into the technical details; we can talk about that later as needed. The origin of the explosive is still unknown…” said Kannas, looking straight at Syväoja, who would take an interest in this aspect, since it was the same explosive used by the Chechen rebels in Russia. “…But we did find one fingerprint on the bomb’s detonator, which, by the way, wasn’t set properly. The bomb could never have exploded because one of the safeties was still engaged. No telling if that was accidental or intentional. At any rate, based on the timer, the bomb was set to go off at 10:28. The scariest part was the fact that cold weather makes the explosive very unstable. We had to warm up the car before moving…”
“Kannas. The fingerprint,” said Takamäki.
“Right. The print belongs to a man from Korpi’s gang by the name of Matti Ahola, at least presumably he’s still with Korpi. Twenty-six years old with a history of drugs and debt collection.”
“One of Korpi’s lieutenants, according to the information we have,” said Takamäki. “He is—or at least was—a former drug addict himself, but Korpi’s been using him mainly as a torpedo. A warrant for his arrest has already been issued. Based on Suhonen’s description, it’s possible the driver of the Escort was Ahola
, but that’s still unconfirmed.”
“The car is at our lab for further analysis, but I haven’t received any results yet,” said Kannas.
“Photos of Ahola have been posted at all border checkpoints,” said Takamäki.
Joutsamo had made copies of Ahola’s photo for everybody. His nose, broken at some point in his life, was raked sharply to the left. “Ahola is one of three lieutenants responsible for his own branch in Korpi’s organization. We don’t really have a complete picture of everyone involved, but here’s a diagram with some of Ahola’s potential connections,” said Joutsamo as she handed out copies. “Moving down from Korpi we have three main offshoots: Ahola, Siikala and Nyberg, and then a bunch more subordinates as you go down the line.”
The names, telephone numbers and other contact information were written beneath the photos. “We matched the fingerprint to Ahola twenty-five minutes ago, so he’s got about a two-and-a-half-hour head start.”
“Does he have any connections to foreign operatives?” asked Syväoja, his eyes scanning the handout.
“Some Russians and Estonians, but no links to known terrorist groups.”
Syväoja seemed satisfied.
Kulta spoke up, “Any link between Ahola and the envelope the Lehtonen girl got?”
“Nope,” said Joutsamo. “We don’t have his DNA on file, and so far we’ve found no matches to the DNA on the envelope.”
“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 w
ant 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.
Römpötti was humored by Takamäki’s antics. Clearly, if that was the lieutenant’s reaction, the police were dealing with an extremely serious threat. First he downplays its importance, then can’t string together a single sentence about it. But the most striking thing to Römpötti was that the lieutenant was downplaying it by saying that there was nothing serious about the case. Perhaps therein lay the root of Mari Lehtonen’s problems.
The outline of the story was taking shape in Römpötti’s mind. She had already begun editing some of Mari Lehtonen’s interview on the computer “So I decided to stop being afraid... This Korpi’s the criminal, not me... I’m just an ordinary citizen doing my civic duty… If I fulfill my civic duty and testify, it shouldn’t mean that my daughter and I become pariahs to be hidden away indefinitely… I’m very disappointed in how the police have handled the situation. It seems that to the police we’re part of the problem, and they solve it by sweeping us under the rug… If society expects citizens to testify in court, then it needs to able to protect them.”
Helsinki Homicide: Nothing but the Truth Page 20