The Red King of Helsinki

by Helena Halme

  ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter. We haven’t got time for that now. Tell me about Anni.’

  Pia’s mother sighed.

  ‘Please tell me – what about Anni?’ Iain pleaded.

  Pia recounted what Anni had told her about the Finns wanting to get rid of Kovtun

  ‘That makes sense,’ Iain said. ‘Of course, we know he’s a trusted interpreter.’ Iain looked up, ‘It’s hard to get hold of Finnish Russian translators. Strange, but very few Finns want to learn the language.’

  Maija lowered her eyes. ‘Were you aware of Mr Linnonmaa’s involvement?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course,’ Iain said.

  ‘But you said Anni was in danger.’ Pia was watching Iain carefully.

  Iain took Pia’s hand and said, ‘She was, and is, in danger. How do you think the Russians will react to a Finn getting involved with a defection to the West? Not to mention the Finns. Anni’s father is playing a dangerous game. In my opinion…’ Iain hesitated.

  ‘So you knew about Jukka’s plan all along?’ Pia’s mother had moved closer to the table.

  Both Pia and Iain looked at her. Pia didn’t understand who her mother was talking about, but Iain said, ‘Jukka?’

  Pia’s mother’s mouth was slightly open. She was staring at Iain, as if she couldn’t understand what he was saying.

  ‘Maija?’ Iain said.

  Finally her mother seemed to come out of her trance, ‘Mr Linnonmaa and I exchanged Christian names on the telephone after Pia’s little accident…’ She coughed and continued, ‘But the point is you knew what he was planning?’

  Now it was Iain’s turn to look uncomfortable, ‘Well no, not exactly, but we did have information that Mr Linnonmaa was involved somehow…’

  Again there was a long silence. Iain was still watching Maija. She turned around and started to busy herself with washing up cups and saucers left in the sink.

  Finally Iain said, ‘I’m glad you two are OK.’

  Maija stopped washing up and faced Pia and Iain again. Her arms were folded over her chest but she smiled.

  Iain got up and said, ‘What time are you planning to leave here?’

  ‘I’m not sure we’re going yet.’ Maija said.

  Iain said, ‘Look, I’ll be there all the time keeping an eye on Pia.’

  ‘Mum, it’ll be fine,’ Pia said ‘You’ll be there too, and all those people. What could possibly happen to me in the middle of all that? It’s a huge hall, it can seat at least 1,000 people and Miss Joutila has been going on about how many people there will be watching us. Then there are the other schools and their trainers and parents. Finnish and Russian officials, the police will be there, isn’t that right?’ Pia turned to Iain, who just nodded, then said, ‘Look Maija, it’s up to you. If you don’t want Pia to go, don’t let her.’

  Pia let her hands drop, ‘I’m supposed to attend the final training session at ten, and then we’re all transported to the Myllypuro hall in a bus. The competition is due to start at one o’clock.’ Pia looked at her mother but she averted her eyes.

  ‘Ok, I’ll be there whatever you decide,’ Iain said.

  Standing side by side, the two women watched as Iain walked wearily out of the kitchen and out of the flat.

  * * *

  The morning was beautiful. When Pia woke for the second time that Monday, she couldn’t believe the strength of the light filtering through her closed Venetian blinds.

  Maija was already dressed. She had even put on her make-up and looked polished in her work suit.

  ‘I’m coming with you to the rehearsals and then the Tournament,’ she said.

  Pia ran up to her mother and hugged her hard. ‘I knew you’d understand!’ She gave her mother a light kiss on the cheek, careful not to disturb her make-up.

  ‘But what about your job?’

  ‘I’ve phoned in sick.’

  Pia looked at her mother. She was glad she’d told her everything.

  ‘It’s quarter past nine, so we haven’t got that long.’ Maija handed Pia a cup of coffee. ‘I’ve also spoken with Iain. He’ll be at the Myllypuro hall waiting for us. Hopefully that’ll be enough.’ She sighed.

  ‘Did Iain say anything about Anni?’

  Maija paused briefly before replying, ‘No, but we spoke only a few words.’ She added, ‘C’mon, Pia, you only have half an hour!’

  Pia had an unreal feeling. It was strange being at home this late on a Monday morning. She’d been given the day off for the Tournament while the rest of the class would already be listening to another boring lecture from the Old Crow. She looked out of the window. The street was quiet. The sun reflecting on the newly fallen snow was blinding. How could anything be dangerous on a bright and beautiful day like this? She started eating the rye bread and cheese her mother had laid out for breakfast. Pia wasn’t in the least bit hungry, but knew she needed to eat in order to have the strength to carry through the programme.

  * * *

  Leena woke after a sleepless night. Iain and she had talked until the early hours. Had she made a mistake telling Iain everything? She peered at the large window in her living room and saw the sun was shining through the long thin curtains. It was in this room that Vadi had confessed his love for his daughter. Leena remembered how touched she had been.

  ‘My daughter, Leena, my daughter crying in sleep every night. I must do something, I must get her out!’

  Leena now wondered if any of what Vadi had told her was true. If this Alyona even was his daughter. Iain knew about the defection, but not that he was going to be accompanied by his daughter. But why would Vadi make up such an elaborate lie? The whole forced schooling of talented gymnasts, how Alyona was made to train even when ill with exhaustion or injured. How the Tournament proved the perfect opportunity to get Alyona over the border to Finland and then to London. He had even told Leena he’d send for her when they had both settled in England. Or had Leena just been fooling herself? Thinking about it now, she couldn’t remember when he had actually said she would join them in London. Leena put her head in her hands. She looked at her watch by the bed. Just before nine. This won’t do! She got up to have a hot shower.

  * * *

  The girls looked nervous. The gym hall was bathed in strips of bright light from the windows near the high ceiling. Pia Mäkelä had come with her mother. Leena went over and shook her hand. She was a copy of Pia, just a little older.

  ‘Miss Joutila,’ she said and there was a chill in her voice. But Leena didn’t have time to think about that now. She needed to concentrate on preparing her girls for the Tournament.

  The group of five girls looked smart in their sky-blue competition costumes. The cuffs and collar had thin white edgings on them. Leena had designed the costumes herself to reflect the colours of the Finnish flag. ‘Helsinki Lyceum’ was discreetly embroidered over the top left breast of each girl’s suit. The three girls with long hair had it up in a tight ponytail, just as Leena had told them to. Leena frowned at Pia’s leg warmers. They looked shabby. She’d have to remove them before the routine. All that was left now was to get through the programme as well as possible.

  Leena clapped her hands together and shouted, ‘From the top, start with the front roll, on my signal!’

  When they had run though the whole of the ten-minute programme the third time, there was clapping from behind Leena. Other parents must also have decided to come to the rehearsals. Leena turned around to see who was being so enthusiastic.

  The man clapping and whooping loudly was Vladsislas. He was now walking towards Leena, with a big grin on his face. He was wearing the long black coat and boots.

  ‘Vadi,’ Leena whispered. She felt the eyes of the girls and Pia’s mother drill into her as Vadi took her hand and shook it.

  ‘Vladsislas Kovtun, I am from the Friendship Committee. We met in Moscow some time ago.’

  ‘Yes, yes, I remember,’ Leena said. His touch made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She was afraid he’d notice her b
ody shaking with the fury she felt. She needed to keep breathing. She must stay calm.

  ‘I am here to offer you our best wishes.’

  ‘Oh, yes, of course.’ Leena was thinking hard. Why had he come? And why the elaborate pretence? Surely he remembered Pia had seen them together in the classroom only a week ago? Was the man losing his mind? Leena saw Pia and her mother exchange looks. They had moved closer together and Mrs Mäkelä was holding Pia’s hand.

  ‘Are you not going to introduce me to all the ladies?’ Vadi said, smiling. He turned around and started walking towards Pia and her mother, who were now standing apart from the group of girls, near the exit of the gym hall. Pia’s mother had her arm around Pia, as if to protect her from the Russian. Vadi offered his hand. For a painfully long moment Pia and Mrs Mäkelä stared down at Vladsislas’ hand, refusing to touch it. Leena walked over to the group and said, ‘I’m sorry, Mr Kovtun. We are in the middle of rehearsals. Perhaps you’d like to sit down and honour us with your opinion of the routine?’ Leena pointed to a slatted bench. Vadi let his hand drop, and with a forced laugh, said, ‘Yes, of course.’

  Leena checked her watch and saw they’d only have time to practise the whole programme two more times. They needed it. Pia had been slow in the start and they had overrun by thirty seconds. They couldn’t afford to do that in the competition.

  ‘C’mon girls, let’s carry on!’

  When Pia entered into her front roll, Vladsislas came close to Leena and whispered. ‘I talk you in private?’

  Leena felt the man’s warm breath on her neck. She felt sick, but made herself turn her face towards the Russian and say, ‘Yes, of course.’ She watched Pia finish at the end of the mat and move into the correct position for a back flip. She looked at the large clock on the far wall of the hall and gestured with her head towards her office by the changing rooms. As she walked, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She hoped the man following her didn’t notice how nervous she was. Be strong, you can do it, she repeated to herself.

  Once inside the small office, Vladsislas pulled violently at Leena’s arm and said, ‘I warn you!’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Leena forced herself to look puzzled.

  ‘Yesterday at hotel, I warn you, not say word!’

  Leena freed her arm and sat down. She crossed her legs slowly. She had dressed carefully that morning. Just because she was the gymnastic teacher didn’t mean she had to wear her normal tracksuit. She’d finally chosen a short, black skirt and matching suit jacket with a simple white shirt. She was also wearing her best high-heeled Palmrooth boots. She noticed Vadi’s eyes wander from her heels to the top of her thighs.

  ‘Oh, that,’ Leena said, and smiled, ‘Of course I knew about you and that woman. It was just a bit of a surprise to see you and her there.’

  The man was gawping at her. Leena wanted to laugh, ‘I wasn’t alone, you see,’ she said and got up. She touched Vadi on the lapels of his coat and said, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t say anything if you don’t. Now I must return to those girls, if we are to win, don’t you think?’

  * * *

  When Leena returned to the gym hall, the girls were standing around panting, with their hands on their hips, at the end of the programme. All were watching Leena. She was shaking, but pulled her back straight and lifted her chin, ‘Right, all begin stretching, first quads, then hamstrings, arms and hips.’ None of the girls moved. They were all staring at Vladsislas, who was marching furiously past them all, towards the back door.

  ‘Do svidanja!’ he shouted from the door and waved his hand in Leena’s direction.

  Leena looked down at her boots. She felt her cheeks redden and hoped she wasn’t blushing too visibly. Leena coughed and said, ‘Come along, girls, we mustn’t let you cool down now! A quick stretch, and then one last time from the top!’

  Pia’s mother was staring at Leena. For a moment she thought the woman was going to come over and hit her. Instead, she sat down on one of the benches by the climbing ropes and watched as once again Pia pushed up her hands in preparation of the first front roll.

  20

  Iain watched Kovtun come out of the gym hall and walk into the centre of the schoolyard. He’d got to the spot in good time. He parked up opposite the main entrance, behind a corner where he still had a perfectly good view of the door to the gym hall. After the initial rush of children arriving for school, the yard was empty. During his wait the car had got cold and his breath was visible against the windscreen. To warm up, he’d run the engine for a while but turned it off just before Kovtun reappeared. Iain wore a felt hat, which he’d bought from a stall at the Market Square on his first day in Helsinki. He’d found it in the corner of the hall that morning and on the spur of the moment thought it might come in handy. As long as Kovtun didn’t walk past him, the Russian wouldn’t spot him. Iain checked his watch: 11.02. Half an hour before the Lyceum girls were due to leave for the Stadium.

  Iain crouched down a little further. Why had Kovtun come to the school? To see Leena? Or Pia? Iain watched the Russian walk up the road and disappear behind the sports hall. Iain lifted his head in order to see a little better. He felt in his pocket for the gun. On the other side of the road two men came out from behind the tram stop opposite and walked along the street in the same direction as Kovtun. Iain hadn’t seen them before, but their clothing gave them away. It was one of the few useful things the Colonel had told Iain: ‘The middle ranking KGB all wear standard issue Finnish Tiklas overcoats and fur Cossack hats.’ Iain shook his head. He wondered if Kovtun knew he was being followed.

  * * *

  Twenty minutes later the door to the hall opened and Miss Joutila, followed by five girls and Maija, holding tightly onto Pia, walked from the gym hall towards the waiting bus.

  Miss Joutila stepped determinedly inside the bus. All the girls apart from Pia followed. She was detained by Maija, who was saying something to her. Pia shook her head almost imperceptibly, and the two women ascended the bus.

  When the bus had left the school car park, Iain waited fifteen minutes. Just in case Kovtun reappeared.

  The drive to Myllypuro took over half an hour. It was in the far northeast corner of Helsinki. On the map it had looked a simple enough journey. All along the way, Iain tried to spot the bus.

  Finally Iain came to what looked like a country lane. A small sign, marked Myllypuro Jäähalli convinced him he was on the right track. There were snow-covered fields all around, just an occasional two-storey wooden house. It was hard to believe he was still inside Helsinki’s city limits. The road was bumpy too. Iain had to slow right down to avoid the pot-holes.

  Finally he saw the modern low-slung building, with Finnish and Russian flags fluttering at the front entrance. Several cars were parked at the front, including a Russian plated bus. It had blacked-out windows, and for a moment Iain wondered how they could have driven the children all the way from Moscow in it. According to Council staff, Finnish tourists venturing over the Eastern border were also transported in buses with blacked out windows. ‘In case we happen to see the true extent of the poverty over there,’ Mrs Cooper had told Iain.

  When Iain passed the ice-hockey hall, he saw the yellow and blue bus parked at the front. ‘Thank God, they’re here!’ Iain said out loud in English.

  He drove to the other side of the hall where there were steps leading down to a door. The car slid as Iain tried to stop too fast. For a moment he felt the vehicle was out of his control. He took his foot of the brake and found the first gear, while he pulled on the steering wheel and turned the car to face a large refuse bin. The car slowed down as Iain gently squeezed the brake and eventually came to halt.

  When Iain opened the car door, he caught sight of something. He pulled himself down, and feeling inside his pocket for the gun, made his way slowly to two large bins standing at the far corner of the building. One was for refuse and one for sand. They should have used the sand on the car park, Iain thought. He could feel his he
art pounding from the near accident he’d had. Or was it because of the puffs of smoke he could see slowly drifting up into the cold air from behind the bins? Iain ran doubled over and placed his back against one of the bins. He could now see the car exhaust and hear the low burr of the engine. Somebody was keeping the car warm. Iain didn’t risk checking who; he could guess. He made his way to a set of stairs leading down to the back door of the building. With a little flick knife, Iain managed to open the door; suddenly he was inside a dark corridor. There was loud music and the sound of people walking in the arena on top of him.

  * * *

  Pia was so nervous she couldn’t help join in the giggling of the younger girls. They were sitting in the cold changing rooms waiting for Miss Joutila to speak. They were one of several groups of girls of different ages. Some were still getting changed, some were practising their routines. Miss Joutila stood in front of them, looking down at her hands. They were shaking. Pia grew serious, ‘Miss, can I…’ she began but was interrupted by the gym teacher.

  ‘Quiet, please.’ Miss Joutila put her hand up and gave them a deadly serious look. ‘You have a great routine and you have worked hard to perfect it. All you must do is go out there and perform. Enjoy the music, smile and give everything you have!’ Miss Joutila ran through the procedure of the competition again, about when they were to enter the stage, when to leave, what to do at the end of the routine. She’d done it so many times before, Pia and the other girls knew it by heart.

  When the gym teacher finished speaking, the younger girls jumped up and down and clapped. Without really wanting to, Pia joined them. She wanted to win so badly she felt sick.

  Miss Joutila led them through the long corridor towards the arena. As they approached the steel stairs, Pia heard the Russian girls’ prattle from further down the corridor. Just like them, the five girls were walking in an orderly line, with the smallest one in front. She was amazed at the size of the first girl. She could only have been six years old at the most. The tallest girl looked confident. Something about her was familiar. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail with a bright red ribbon. The sickle and hammer on her costume made Pia shiver. She caught Pia’s look and smiled. Her face, though kind, looked sad. Did she not want to compete? Or was she homesick?