That had always been the bar for Elea. To stay out of jail.
“Try not to touch anything...And keep her inside. At least until we know what’s going on.”
Heikkinen told him about the mound of earth with the small wooden cross. Swann’s heart sank at the news. But at least now they would be able to bring Liisa home. He glanced up at the rickety wooden cabin as Heikkinen left him to return to the crime scene. It was large, but far from homely, with rotting, creaking timbers and a roof thick with snow.
Jesus, he thought, taking in his surroundings as he pushed open the screen door. Rusted hinges, splintered floorboards—everything moved and groaned. Swann’s muscles contracted and tensed as a damp, smoky smell enveloped him. He found Elea in the living room, after he’d pulled on a forensic suit over his clothes. A pitiful sight, she warmed her hands before a two-bar electric fire that Swann recognised as Heikkinen’s own. He kept it in his truck, there for officers in need. Tonight was such a night.
The officer with Elea stood up at their arrival and, reading the room, left them alone. Elea looked at Swann, her crumpled expression reflecting her pain. She was swamped in her bunny suit, the zip pulled down slightly to reveal a police-issue grey tracksuit beneath. No doubt a trade-off for what she’d been wearing before. There was dried blood under her fingernails. Specks in her blonde hair, from when she’d dragged it off her face. The cabin was dim and cold. The furniture was falling apart. The fireplace was blackened, thick with damp soot.
“Hei,” Swann said, lightly touching her back.
“Hei.”
“You OK?” He took the spot next to Elea on the sofa, which groaned beneath his weight. Was there a part of this cabin that didn’t have a life of its own? Soon they’d be asked to vacate it and wait in a heated vehicle or portable tent. In weather like this, heated temporary accommodation would need to be set up. But in the meantime, as temperatures nosedived, compromises had to be made. “Sorry, stupid question.” Swann said flatly, as Elea failed to respond.
“I didn’t mean to kill him.” Elea sniffed. “I aimed for the bastard’s shoulder, but he moved and...” She looked at Swann, her words laced with sincerity. “He was my last link to Liisa. There’s so much I need to know.” She swallowed. “And Maria...oh God.” She wiped her tears, unable to continue.
She went to stand, but Swann gently pulled her back down into her seat.
“I should be out there.”
“Heikkinen will get us as soon as there’s news,” Swann told her.
Elea eased back into her seat, nodding. “He will. Yes.” But her voice was strangely detached, as if her mind couldn’t take any more grief tonight. Her body trembled beside him.
“You’re freezing.” Swann unzipped his forensic suit and took off his jacket. He draped it over her shoulders. She didn’t move. She hadn’t noticed that it was there. He sensed her emotions: a mixture of shock and trepidation. She was preparing herself for what was to come. Building high walls. He might never be able to reach her again. He hated to witness her pain.
“Bit of a shithole, eh?” Elea said, dovetailing her fingers together.
Swann followed her gaze. “It’s not going to win any Tripadvisor awards.”
“There are law books on the bookshelf. Horse manuals, too.”
Swann nodded, aware of Liisa’s love of horses and youthful aspirations to become a judge when she “grew up.” But those days were gone.
“Are you sure you’re OK? We can wait at your house, get food, thaw out. You don’t need to be here if you’re not up to it.”
Elea looked at him as if he’d asked her to run naked in the snow. “Do you know me at all?”
Swann shrugged. “It seems not. I thought you’d left England to top yourself.”
Elea snorted in response.
Time passed. They waited in silence. They were kept updated on proceedings. Anu’s remains had been removed from the scene, and now they were searching for the body buried beneath the snow. The mound of earth was a grave. Elea and Swann sat in silence. There was nothing more for either of them to say.
The creak of a door hinge broke through their vigil. It was Heikkinen. Elea stood. Swann’s coat fell to the ground. She didn’t notice as she followed Heikkinen outside. Swann picked it up and pulled it on, pausing only to turn off the heater before he left. He knew without asking. A body had been found.
Chapter 64
Elea didn’t wait for Heikkinen to update her any further. Nor did she allow Swann to guide her to the grave. She had been in this position with Chelsea. She wouldn’t believe it was her daughter until she saw for herself whatever remained. There were times when she had faltered, allowed doubt to creep in. But tonight the tears she cried were out of frustration. She had told Swann the truth. She’d been aiming for Anu’s shoulder. He had moved, right in the line of fire, and she’d hit him in the temple instead. There was no saving a man whose brains were blown a foot behind him. She couldn’t accept that her hope of finding Liisa—and uncovering everything that had happened to her—had died with him. Elea had wanted to know everything, no matter how bad it had been. And now she’d blown it all away. She’d had no choice. It was an instinctive reaction as he drew his gun to shoot her.
She stood over the grave and took in another facet of the devastation he had caused. She buried her head like a tortoise into the thick scarf that Heikkinen had wound around her neck. The man had a virtual wardrobe in the back of his van. She couldn’t feel her toes, and the tips of her ears were going numb, but she didn’t notice any of it. Because the corpse in the gravewasn’tLiisa. She had gained yet another reprieve. The hunt to find her daughter went on.
Heikkinen hadn’t needed to inform her. The strands of long, greying hair that clung to the decaying skull were enough. She took in the old-fashioned clothes. The items that had been buried alongside her. Ornaments. Books. Cards. Elea hunkered down for a closer look. The bones appeared intact. No obvious signs of injury. But the coroner would shed more light on that. All Elea needed to know was that the corpse buried in the ground was not her little girl.
“It’s not Liisa.” Elea voiced her thoughts aloud as she stood. “And I’ve killed the one person who could tell me where she is. Dammit!” She shouted into the darkness, unable to contain her frustration a moment longer. Heikkinen reached out a hand to guide her away from the scene, but she shrugged it off. She wasn’t some fragile little woman. She wasn’t hysterical. She wasn’t “losing it,” as he’d led others to believe. She turned to look for Swann, his presence oddly absent. Where was he?
“Elea,” Heikkinen was still talking, “you look beat. Why don’t you go home? We’ll take it from here.”
