“She broke his fingers.”
“Self-defence isn’t a crime. She did a good job. Proper old-fashioned police work.”
Swan was dumbstruck. It seemed that Elea had beaten him to it, presenting her own version of events. No wonder she was smiling when she came into his office. But next time she might not be so lucky.
“She has guts,” Jess added. “And her track record is impressive, although I’m surprised at you, leaving her in the lurch after everything she’s been through.”
“What?” Swann stiffened as he was caught off-guard. “What else did she tell you?”
“We had quite a chat. She’s loyal, your ex-wife. I’m not sure you’ve earned it, mind, considering that you came in here to throw her under the bus.”
Swann’s laughter was devoid of humour. “Is that what she said?” He clasped his hands together, hating thoughts of Elea sharing details of their private life.
Jess inhaled a deep breath as she rested her elbows on her desk. “I want Elea on our team long-term. She’s ready for a change, and you’re going to provide your unwavering support.”
“Seriously? Even if she’s breaking the law?” Swan retorted.
“She’s worth the risk.” Jess stared at him, resolute. “And you’re responsible for making sure she doesn’t. Any law-breaking is on you.”
Swann bristled as he got to his feet. “I can’t watch her twenty-four seven!”
“Which is why you’ll pair her with DI Harding. Give her time. She’ll get us results.”
Swann ran a hand through his hair. Elea couldn’t have told Jess about their one-night stand. Either that or his boss didn’t care. This was turning into a nightmare. “Why Mitch? Granted, he’s a DI, but he’s wet behind the ears. Shouldn’t we pair her with one of our veterans, like Ness?” To Swann, experience wasn’t judged by rank, but by results. Mitch had yet to prove himself.
“Mitch needs some mentoring in his new role, and the responsibility won’t hurt. This isn’t up for debate. The pressure’s on, Swann. We need results, and Elea’s dug up some promising leads.” Jess checked her watch before flapping a hand in his direction. “Go on then. Off, you fuck.”
Swann sighed. In what universe was Elea a suitable mentor for someone new to their role? But there was no point in arguing. Once you got the “Off, you fuck” from Jess, there was no going back.
Chapter 12
Liisa
My grandmother always told me to treat my elders with respect. I was taught about stranger danger in school. But I wish my teacher had told me that ordinary people do bad things, too. Because the people who took me aren’t monsters, at least not the kind I imagined during our talks in class. The woman and her son in the cabin in the woods seem more like the people that my mummu told me to respect. I’m not the same as other girls my age. I know that I’m in trouble. When your mum investigates murders, you learn things. Things you can’t share with your friends. I heard Mikael whispering, something about me being “the right fit.” I sit, legs crossed, as he watches me from the other side of room. The open fire is blazing now and I’m grateful for the heat.
“There are three bedrooms in this cabin.” Johanna stands before me, blocking my view of Mikael. “One belongs to me, the other is Mikael’s, and one will belong to you.” Her voice lowers as if she’s telling a scary story. She leans so close that I can see the tiny red veins in her bloodshot eyes. “Then there’s the hole. That’s underground. It’s dark and cold and has big hairy spiders that bite.” She makes a gnashing motion with her teeth that makes me jump on the spot. “You don’t want to stay there, do you?”
I shake my head so much that it hurts. My eyes are puffy, and I want to answer properly, but my throat feels like it has closed up. Everything comes out: the pain, the emotion, the fear that has been building in my chest as I sob. I sit here, my shoulders jerking, hoping she’ll feel sorry for me and take me home. I don’t see her open palm coming until it’s too late. It makes a sharp slapping sound as it hits the side of my cheek. Mummu never once hit me, not even when I misbehaved. The sudden stinging sensation hurts so much. Shocked, I cup my cheek with my hand.
“I’ve already told you—stop crying!” Her voice booms like thunder now, as she leans over me once more. Her face is red, a film of sweat breaking out on her upper lip. “This life isn’t for the weak, do you hear? Pull yourself together and do as you’re told!” Flecks of her spit land on my face, but I’m too scared to wipe them away.
“S-s-sorry,” I manage to say, gulping back the tears that won’t stop. I part my lips and force myself to smile. That’s when I notice Mikael touching the scar creeping up from his mouth. It’s almost like a lopsided grin.
Chapter 13
They say that the depth of love is measured by the pain of loss. But what about the refusal to give up hope? When Liisa disappeared, Elea was thrown into a world of uncertainty. There was no firm indication that her daughter was dead, but neither was there anything to suggest that she was still alive. Elea could see it on people’s faces when the subject was raised. She didn’t want their pity. She wanted them to have witnessed what happened that day. Her last moments with Liisa were forever locked into Elea’s memory to be played on a loop. Elea had got annoyed over the most minor of things, sullying their last precious minutes together. Because even if Liisa was found alive, she would never be that little girl again.
Lost in thought, Elea sat in Swann’s office, sipping from the cup of coffee that Ness had kindly made. She wasn’t going anywhere, despite his earlier orders to return to her hotel. She knew how he’d react and had pre-empted him. She cradled the mug in her hands, relaxing in the comfort of Swann’s leather chair.
The kitchen sink had been dripping the morning that Liisa disappeared. A dripping tap was the sole reason for Elea’s annoyance. No, Elea corrected herself, it went back further than that. She had woken up late. There was a power cut in the night, and her alarm hadn’t gone off. She’d been disorientated after a nightmare that she could no longer remember, but felt. Then she’d checked her watch, cursed, stumbled out of bed and stubbed her toe. She’d been working late every night and had barely seen her daughter all week. Oh, those precious days. She’d missed so many, working for a world that did not deserve her loyalty as she tried to keep the streets of Helsinki safe.
By the time she reached their small kitchen, her daughter was dressed and eating some porridge that she’d made. Liisa wasn’t only gifted academically, she was blessed with common sense, too. Yet Elea didn’t praise her daughter for her independence, or remark on how pretty her hair looked that day. Instead she’d grumbled because they had run out of coffee and asked why Liisa hadn’t woken her up. Elea often relived that morning in her mind and fantasised about turning back time. If only she could go back to how it should have been. She would have got up early that morning, called in sick to work, then given her daughter a day off school. She imagined Liisa’s surprise as she told her that she was taking her somewhere nice. “But we can’t,” Liisa would say, then list some school project she had to complete. Liisa didn’t skip school. Elea’s vivacious, intelligent daughter planned to be a judge one day. That girl was born middle-aged. Elea swallowed back her regret as she forced her dream to conclude. She couldn’t leave her imaginary daughter hanging there. “Where would you like to go?” she would say, already knowing the answer. “To the horse farm!” Liisa would reply, because she adored all animals, but horses were her absolute favourites. The six-hundred-acre farm in Sipoo was only half an hour away.
Elea would agree, urging Liisa to wear something appropriate. “I’ll call the school, tell them you have a dental appointment.” But this is where the daydream turned, because Liisa would frown, worried about her mother’s sudden change of character. “What’s going on?” she’d ask. “What’s wrong?” Then Elea’s dream would fade away. Because she wasn’t the type of person to allow her daughter to skip school, not even for one day. She rubbed her chest with the heel of her palm to ease the physical pain. Why must she put herself through this time and time again?
Her police colleagues knew the depressing stats. After forty-eight hours of being missing, the chances of someone like Liisa being found alive dropped dramatically. Ten long years had passed. She would be a woman now, celebrating her twenty-second birthday this year. After all this time it was unlikely Liisa was alive. If she’d managed to escape, then why hadn’t she been in touch? As usual, when revisiting the case in her mind, Elea’s thoughts turned to the other Ice Angels. Their school bags were also discovered in the snow, but their remains had never been found. Why were there so many years between each disappearance? Elea thought of Anu’s mother. Maria was heading into her seventies. Like Elea, she refused to give up hope. Like Elea, she had kept her child’s bedroom exactly how it was on the day she disappeared. How many more ghostly museums to missing children existed in the world? She dragged herself back into present day as Swann returned.
By the look on his face, Swann’s meeting with her new friend the superintendent had gone as she had hoped. It seemed that Elea would not be packing her bags for Helsinki just yet.
