The Red King of Helsinki

by Helena Halme

  Vadi was tall, blond and muscular. She saw how his arms flexed through the tight-fitting shirt as he clapped at the end of the performance in Moscow. The pupils at the Soviet school had been immaculately behaved at all times. They were so orderly during the gymnastics display Leena had attended at the end of the visit, it had left her breathless. Afterwards she and Vadi had shared a drink in the bar of the vast hotel where Leena was staying. Vladsislas’ Finnish was charmingly disjointed, but flirtatious. At the end of the evening he told her she was beautiful.

  Leena didn’t worry about first or second date rules. She was grown-up after all and didn’t need to play games. She invited Vadi to her room and after a couple of vodkas Leena found herself amongst tangled sheets, admiring Vadi’s lean body.

  Back in Helsinki, Vadi called her the next day. Leena was flattered. She cooked him a meal in her small flat in Töölö and bought Koskenkorva vodka for him. She even drank some to keep Vadi company. The liquor made her heady. When Vadi made his move, she was glad she’d put clean sheets on her bed. Afterwards he told her about his daughter. Leena had noticed the long-limbed, brown-haired girl was the star of the Moscow school team.

  ‘My daughter, she very beautiful. And talented. But so, so sad,’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘She cannot go home.’

  ‘Oh,’ Leena was puzzled. Why was he telling her all this? ‘Where is home?’

  Vadi looked at Leena as if she had asked him to share his most intimate secret.

  ‘Minsk.’

  ‘And her mother?’

  Vadi waved his hand, ‘No good.’

  ‘Oh.’ Leena didn’t know what to say next. ‘What’s her name?’

  ‘Alyona. Beautiful name, no?’

  ‘Yes.’ Again Leena struggled to know what the man was getting at.

  ‘They keep her jail, yes?’ Vadi looked at Leena.

  ‘Prisoner?’

  ‘Yes, yes, because she so good at jumping.’ Here Vadi made an arch with his arms like a ballet dancer.

  Leena smiled.

  Vadi fixed his dark eyes on her and continued with a serious face. Leena straightened her mouth.

  ‘But it terrible. Not enough food, very, very hard work. And school cold – you notice, yes?’

  ‘Yes.’ Leena was surprised at the man’s critical tone. In Moscow, Vadi had seemed a typical Soviet official, towing the party line. He hadn’t said a word about the lack of proper drink or food at the hotel, nor about the poorly-fitting costumes the girls wore during the performance. He’d hardly seemed to notice that the hall was cold, even though their breath steamed in the chilly space as they exchanged compliments on the girls’ performance. Had he been watched in Moscow? Leena didn’t say anything for a while. Vadi got out of bed. He had such a wonderful physique; no doubt where the girl got hers from. He pulled on his white trunks and trousers and poured himself more vodka.

  ‘So I want to help her,’ Vadi took Leena’s face into his strong hands, ‘and I ask you help too, yes?

  * * *

  It was now three days since he’d last been to the flat. Leena missed his strong body next to hers. Was it wrong of her to enjoy sex with him so much? He seemed to know instinctively how to touch her. She felt her cheeks redden when she thought of the power with which he entered her. Was she getting obsessed? She shrugged at the thought. Of course she wasn’t. She was a modern, single woman with a lover, that’s all. If only there weren’t all these complications. If only Vadi hadn’t told her about his problems. On that first time in Helsinki, she’d tried to control her emotions, but couldn’t help promising she’d do everything she could to help.

  Leena inhaled deeply on her cigarette. How would it all end? To have a chance to win the Friendship Trophy was wonderful. But the level of achievement at the Moscow Girls’ School was far beyond that of Helsinki Lyceum. None of the girls in Leena’s school spent enough time training. How could they possibly win? Especially with Pia Mäkelä. Vadi had insisted that Pia had looked the most upright and enthusiastic, and that he’d spotted real talent in her at Christmas.

  ‘Sometimes, my beautiful educator of young Finnish minds, you not see who is best, eh?’ he told Leena. Sitting on the side of her desk, Vadi had looked Leena deep into her eyes and kissed her. ‘But me, I can!’

  The glory it would bring the Lyceum, and Leena, was unimaginable. But if this was her reward for helping Vadi, the victory would be tinged with shame. Vadi and his daughter were a good cause. Leena would have helped them even if he didn’t occasionally share her bed.

  Finishing her cigarette, she heard the girls’ prattle coming from the changing rooms. She had to go soon. Then she heard a sharp scream. Leena sighed and dropped her cigarette out of the small window high up on the wall. She tried to waft the smoke out into the cold air, but gave up. She’d lock the door and no one would know. She could always say Mr Kovtun had been smoking there.

  * * *

  At home Pia was greeted with the smell of cooking. She walked into the kitchen and saw her mother bent over a pot. She had rollers in her hair and was wearing a dressing gown.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Disaster!’ her mother said.

  Pia could smell burning.

  ‘We’ve got a dinner guest! And the pork is ruined!’

  Pia’s mother had an English boyfriend. Pia called him Admiral Jones. She’d forgotten what his real name was. He worked at some English library in the centre of town and Maija had met him at English language classes. She laughed when she told Pia the story. The Admiral was trying to explain the silent “k” in “knock” and “knife” when their eyes met. They’d sat for at least five minutes just gazing into each other’s eyes. The class around them shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Eventually someone in the back coughed and the Admiral returned to the front of the class. Afterwards he’d asked Pia’s mother out.

  The doorbell rang.

  ‘Pia, please can you get that?’ Her mother hurried past Pia into the hall and then the lounge, which was really Maija’s bedroom, with a sofa that turned into a bed. She sat at her little dressing table, Grandmother’s old one, in the corner. She looked into the mirror, her eyes wide.

  ‘I need to do a couple of things,’ she said turning to look at Pia, smiling, ‘If it’s the Admiral, could you just push the door shut and sit him in the kitchen. I won’t be long.’

  ‘Ah, it’s the young lady of the house,’ the Admiral said, in English. Pia took a step back and let him into the long narrow corridor. Then she walked into the kitchen and said, ‘My mother won’t be a minute, you can wait here.’

  The Admiral wore a tie and a navy blazer with gold buttons. He was really slim and tall, with black wavy hair, combed to one side of his head.

  ‘How was school today?’ The Admiral sat down at the table. He attempted Finnish this time. His silk tie was red with yellow spots, showing under the blazer. It was the middle of February and he didn’t look like he was wearing enough clothes for a winter evening. Pia and her mother had laughed about that; he always looked cold with red cheeks and ears.

  Pia turned around at the door and looked at him, ‘Fine,’ she said.

  ‘You have many friends?’

  From the kitchen window Pia saw it was snowing again. Large, flat flecks of white were slowly floating past and settling on the rooftop of the block on the other side of Kasarminkatu. She looked at the Admiral. Why was he interested in her all of a sudden?

  ‘No,’ she lied and went back to her bedroom.

  During dinner the Admiral talked and talked in his funny Finnish, mixing in some English, and making bad jokes all the time. Pia looked at her mum, thin and beautiful in her black velvet dress. She didn’t look thirty-five at all. The Admiral kept asking Pia questions.

  ‘How are you doing at school? Top of your class?’

  ‘No,’ Pia said, trying not to look at his mouth. He was struggling with a piece of meat, burnt and overcooked to a pulp. It was dill stew, Pia’s absolute leas
t favourite.

  ‘Is it a good school?’ he said, turning to Pia’s mother, his eyes on her cleavage.

  Her mother made a little wriggle, showing him more of herself. Pia looked away.

  ‘Yes, it’s the best school in Helsinki, probably Finland,’ her mother said. ‘Would you like some more salad,’ she smiled and reached across Pia for the bowl.

  ‘Lot of Embassy people, yes?’ The Admiral had his eyes on Pia, ignoring the salad.

  ‘Yes,’ Pia said and wondered what’s it to him?

  ‘Hmm,’ he said and took the salad bowl out of her mother’s hand. Then smiling at her said, ‘This is wonderful food’ – he slipped into English – ‘darling Maija’.

  The English flattery worked on mum. She blushed and bent her head down in a shy smile. Pia scraped the last of the meat off her plate and into her mouth.

  ‘How many years do you have left?’ the Admiral asked.

  ‘Just the two, she’s in lower sixth,’ her mother replied before Pia had a chance. It was as if she wasn’t in the room.

  ‘And there are only two classes, a very difficult school to get into!’ Pia’s mother continued.

  ‘Ah, very good,’ the Admiral said, smiling at Pia.

  Pia had had enough.

  ‘I forgot to tell you, I’m going to be in a gymnastic competition!’ Pia said to her mother.

  ‘Really?’ Her mother looked at the Admiral’s full plate; he hadn’t eaten much of it at all.

  ‘Yeah, this Russian,’ Pia glanced at the Admiral, ‘I mean a man from the Soviet Union came to the school and announced it. Then I heard them talk about me – they’ve chosen me to take part! Even though I am good – I mean I am very good – Anni and Sasha are good too, so I was really surprised…’

  The Admiral dropped his fork.

  Pia’s mother moved her eyes from the Admiral to Pia. ‘Slow down – what did you say?’

  Maija listened in silence as Pia told her the story of the gym teacher knowing this Soviet official, and how she’d – accidentally – overheard them discussing her.

  ‘I mean, it’s not absolutely sure yet. It’ll be announced tomorrow.’ She looked at her mother’s worried face. ‘It’s fantastic. You know how much I love gymnastics! This is a great chance.’

  Maija smiled. She leant over the table and patted Pia’s hand, ‘Well done, good girl.’ But Pia knew she wasn’t happy, for some reason.

  ‘Who did you say this Soviet man was?’ the Admiral asked.

  Pia hadn’t told them his name.

  ‘Kovtun, I think.’

  The Admiral stared at her.

  * * *

  The Colonel gave Iain a long, severe look, ‘Collins, looking after civilians is a little different.’

  ‘Sir?’

  They were sitting in the darkened Council building with only Iain’s desk lamp for light. Iain was behind his desk and the Colonel sat opposite him. It was past midnight. The city behind him was quiet. Even the trams had stopped running. In the semi-darkness his dull office had taken on a menacing air.

  The Colonel shifted in his seat. ‘For one thing, you need to keep the girl’s mother out of this.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I know you’re new to the Agency, but…’ the Colonel considered Iain for a fraction of a second and continued, ‘When you quiz Pia you need to make sure she doesn’t talk to her mother.’

  ‘How?’ It seemed impossible to control two people when you weren’t with them all the time. Did the Colonel want him to move in with the two women?

  The Colonel stared at Iain for a moment too long. Iain felt he was being incredibly stupid.

  ‘For Goodness sake!’ the Colonel said under his breath. ‘OK, a young girl like that could be involved in anything. All you have to do is convince the mother that she’s gone a bit wayward. You become the mother’s confidant and supporter through the difficult times with her daughter. She doesn’t believe anything the daughter tells her and so forth.’

  Iain’s first thought was, how the hell was he to come between mother and daughter? He cleared his throat. ‘Wayward?’

  The Colonel inhaled deeply. After a long silence he said, slowly, as if speaking to a child, ‘Use the old trick of drugs.’ Seeing Iain’s grave face, he resumed a normal tone of voice. ‘Everybody with a teenage child is terrified they’re high these days, I know I am.’ The Colonel paused for a moment, looking at Iain. ‘You’re lucky not to have these kinds of worries. Bloody children, nothing but trouble! Anyway, take money from the mother’s purse when she’s not looking. Hint that it was the daughter needing it for drugs. It works every time.’

  4

  The date of the competition was announced in assembly the next day. It would be less than a week away on Monday. The Old Crow addressed the back of the vast hall.

  ‘We haven’t been given much time to prepare, but I am sure the chosen girls will give the best performance of their lives. Remember, you are not only representing your school, the Helsinki Lyceum, but also the city of Helsinki and your fatherland, Finland.’

  Nobody seemed to be interested. The Crow had to clear her throat several times to be heard. She scanned the room with her brown eyes full of threat. The restlessness in the vast assembly hall subsided. Pia was sitting right behind Sasha. Next to her was an empty seat, which she’d reserved for Anni. But she was late and would miss the whole of the announcement. At last came what Pia had been waiting for.

  ‘And now, I’ll pass you onto Miss Joutila who will announce the team.’

  When Miss Joutila read out Pia’s name first, she saw Sasha jerk her head towards the left, as if she wanted to look at Pia but stopped herself at the last second.

  * * *

  After assembly, Pia walked past the lockers in the hallway towards the central staircase. She scanned the hall for any sign of Anni. She’d have to slink into the line of pupils making their way to lesson if she didn’t want the Old Crow to know that she missed assembly. But there was no sign of Anni. A few people patted Pia’s back as they passed her. Heikki was waiting at the top of the stairs. He stood with his feet apart, with his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

  ‘Meet me at the smoking place after class,’ Heikki whispered into her ear. Pia’s heart started pounding. It was so loud she was afraid Heikki would hear it. She nodded. Someone pushed her from behind and she saw the Old Crow had appeared behind them. Heikki and Pia entered the classroom side by side and everyone stared. Pia didn’t look at the people in the room, but hurried to her desk. As she flung her bag down to the floor, she saw Anni’s empty desk. Where was she? Usually, if she was bunking off school she’d call Pia to ask if she wanted to join her. They’d spend the day in town, walking around Stockmann’s department store looking at all the clothes and shoes they couldn’t afford. Or at least Pia couldn’t afford. Anni must be ill. Pia decided to go and see her after school.

  The Old Crow started handing out sheets on some grammatical point or other, ‘You must all listen very carefully. This is the most common mistake you all make, and making it during the exam will deduct valuable points from your essay.’ Pia sighed and tried to concentrate on the writing on the sheet. But all she could think about was the Friendship Trophy. Why had the Russian wanted her to take part and not Sasha or Anni? They were both good on the mats. Because of Sasha’s size, it seemed to come easy to her. Pia was forever cursing her long legs. They took so much more effort to control. How did he know which girls were good? Had Miss Joutila told him? And how did Miss Joutila know a Russian from the Soviet Embassy?

  Whatever, Pia wasn’t going to let Miss Joutila and the school down. She was going to train hard. She wouldn’t have any dinner tonight. She would lose at least two kilos before the competition.

  That would show Sasha.

  ‘Pia!’ The Crow called, after the most boring Finnish class ever. ‘You are to go and see Miss Joutila in her office.’ Pia looked at her watch. Miss Joutila would have to wait until next break.

  *
* *

  Pupils weren’t allowed to enter the area behind the Lyceum. But to have their break-time ciggies the smokers climbed through a massive hole in the chicken wire fence. When it was cold like today, they huddled under a large pine tree, and the smoke rose straight up to the large, lower branches. The ground was covered with cigarette butts. Pia had only been to the place a couple of times, because she didn’t smoke. She’d tried it once, but inhaling made her feel sick. She didn’t mind the smell of it, though, especially when it was on Heikki.

  When Pia got to the tree, Heikki was already there, smoking and talking with Sasha. Because of the Old Crow she’d got there before Pia. Sasha was standing close to Heikki, her down coat touching the sleeve of Heikki’s jacket.

  ‘Pia, come here, hon,’ Heikki said. He was blowing smoke rings. When Pia was next to him, he put his arm around her. Pia held Sasha’s gaze. Nobody said anything for a while. Heikki dropped his cigarette and put it out with his boot, kissed Pia lightly on the lips and said, ‘We’re off – see you Sash.’

  That showed her, Pia thought, as they walked around to the back of the school. Pia had never before dared to come here. A small path led all around the school building. On the other side was marshland, with the occasional birch tree. The bare trunks looked sad and lonely, sticking out of the white snow like ghostly skeletons. They walked past several low windows. Pia recognised the biology labs and the home economics classroom with its row of stoves and ovens and kitchen cupboards. Heikki peered through each window before they passed it.