Authors: Harri Nykanen
Nights of Awe (15 page)
Stenman guessed what I was thinking and said: “This is clearly crossing municipal boundaries. We could ask the NBI for help.”
“No cause for that yet. The investigation is moving forward the whole time.”
“This isn’t a normal case. It wouldn’t hurt.”
For some reason, Stenman’s proposal bothered me, even though I knew it wasn’t a demonstration of lack of confidence. She noticed this and added: “I’m just betting that we haven’t seen the end of this, and we already have five bodies.”
“That last body doesn’t belong to the same group as the others. It has to be a coincidence.”
“I agree, but the firebomb wasn’t a coincidence. Normal criminals don’t use firebombs.”
“I never said anything about normal criminals.”
“Who, then?”
I didn’t answer, and Stenman didn’t expect me to, either. For the rest of the drive, we barely said a word. Both of us were probably trying to come up with an answer to the question that had been left hanging in the air.
10
My big brother and Silberstein were sitting at one of the side tables at Hotel Pasila, cups of coffee in front of them and looking sulky, even though I’d informed them I’d be at least fifteen minutes late. I was twenty minutes late.
I ordered myself a coffee, too.
Raoul Silberstein was the chair of the Helsinki Jewish congregation and usually the one to make media statements on any issue related to Jewishness, whether it was the situation in Israel and Palestine, circumcision or the ritual slaughter of animals,
shechita
. Silberstein was intelligent but a little narrow. I, for one, found it hard to imagine anything that would make him laugh.
shechita
. Silberstein was intelligent but a little narrow. I, for one, found it hard to imagine anything that would make him laugh.
Eli glanced at his watch and gave me a disapproving look.
“If you’re in a hurry, let’s get back to this at a better time,” I said. “I’ve got my hands full, too.”
Silberstein waved his hand dismissively. He was a thin, hook-nosed man with thick, dark hair. Rumour had it that he dyed it. He was dressed in a grey suit and a dark-blue tie, and a dark-blue poplin coat hung from his chair. Leaning forward as he sat, Silberstein looked somehow predatory.
“If the matter is important, the time must be found.”
A cup of coffee appeared in front of me. I looked questioningly at Eli. He in turn looked at Silberstein, who instantly appeared to assume the lead.
“You’re investigating a case in which four foreigners have been killed, evidently Arabs, correct? Can you tell us what it’s all about?”
“If you read the papers and watch the news, you’ll know.”
“You know what I mean. We’re not interested in what they say on the news.”
“Anything that isn’t told on the news isn’t meant to be told.”
“You’re not taking us seriously,” Silberstein said, staring coldly at me.
I stared back and did a pretty good job of it. I noted that as a police officer, I was bound to confidentiality.
“You know we’re not simply asking out of curiosity.”
Silberstein’s tone goaded me into taking a tough stance.
“I don’t really care what your reasons are for asking. I cannot give information about a criminal investigation to outsiders. If you don’t believe me, ask the lawyer who’s sitting next to you. He knows what being under an oath of confidentiality means.”
Eli’s face darkened. He was afraid his little brother would shame him in front of the congregation bigwig.
“Ari, don’t make this too hard for us.”
It was my turn to glance at my watch.
“If you’ve got something on your mind, spit it out. I’m investigating a murder case and I’ve got a lot on my plate.”
Silberstein fiddled with his wristwatch. It was gold and looked like the kind that a faithful employee got for working at the same company for thirty years or turning sixty.
“We’re not outsiders. We come to you as Jews who want to protect our long-suffering people and the members of our congregation, including your relatives, friends and acquaintances, from violence.”
“I want to protect everyone from violence.”
“But you’re also a Jew, you can’t avoid that fact. By helping us, you also help your people.”
“True, I’m a Jew, which is why I’m not going to buy a pig in a poke.”
Silberstein glanced at Eli. The red of Eli’s face deepened. The expression I had used had been mildly inappropriate.
“I never would have believed that your brother would joke about such a serious matter,” Silberstein said. “I knew your father, your mother. Your uncle is my good friend, and I attended your bar mitzvah. Why are you doing this to me?”
Eli took me by the elbow and squeezed hard. “Ari, this is really serious.”
“You mean you think I should commit an act of criminal misconduct without knowing what this is all about? That sounds like a bad deal to me.”
Silberstein pointed at me. His forefinger bore a ring with a black stone in it.
“Am I to believe my ears? You don’t trust the chair of your congregation and your older brother, a counsellor at law?”
“I’ll ask you the same question. Don’t you trust me?”
Silberstein’s hand clenched into a fist. If I had been a boy, he would have grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and shaken me or twisted my ear.
“If you have information that I, as an officer of the law and the lead investigator on the case, should know, then tell me,” I said. “Otherwise…”
Eli glanced at Silberstein. I gulped down my coffee and stood.
“It was nice seeing you two.”
I managed to take two steps before a cry from Eli stopped me.
“Ari, don’t go!”
I turned around and sat back down.
I could tell from Silberstein’s expression that he was no longer my friend, bar mitzvah or no.
“What I’m about to tell you is confidential. Your brother and I are responsible for security matters at the congregation. That’s why we want to know if anything has come up during the investigation to indicate violence against the congregation or the synagogue.”
I looked at Eli, both slightly surprised and at the same time amused. Eli was the last person I would have pictured as the sword and shield of the congregation. He was exceptionally timid and terrified of all forms of physical violence. I was also surprised because Silberstein had just revealed that some sort of security organization existed within the congregation. There had been rumours for years, but no one had ever confirmed them. The official line was that the police and SUPO answered for all security matters related to the congregation.
“I’d like to know what answering for the security matters means in practice,” I said.
“That’s not relevant now,” Silberstein replied, his lips pursed.
For Eli’s sake, I made a conciliatory gesture.
“Neither the congregation nor the synagogue have been mentioned in any way.”
“There are all kinds of rumours going around,” Eli insisted.
“I’d love to hear them.”
“According to the rumours, two of the dead Arabs were al-Qaeda terrorists and our synagogue was their target.”
“It’s news to me.”
Silberstein looked at me dubiously. Doing so was clearly inherent to his nature.
“We have reliable sources,” he noted, stressing the word
reliable
.
reliable
.
“Then your reliable sources know more than the police do. What else do they know?”
I looked at my brother expectantly.
“There’s talk of weapons and explosives that have been smuggled to Finland for the terrorist strike.”
“If that’s the case, that’s Security Police territory.”
My mobile rang. I glanced at it. It was Huovinen.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I answered.
“Come straight to my room.”
I placed my phone on the table.
“Is there anything else I can do for you gentlemen?”
“But the timing,” Silberstein insisted. “I don’t believe in coincidences in matters like this, and even if I did, I always assume the worst.”
“What timing?” I wondered.
“The New Year and Yom Kippur.”
“They happen every year.”
“But the Israeli foreign minister doesn’t visit our synagogue every year.”
“It’s true,” Huovinen said. It was drizzling and it had been since I returned to police headquarters from Hotel Pasila. I had just told him what I had heard from Silberstein.
I tried making my voice sound sarcastic. “Considering the capabilities of modern technology, communication has been pretty slow, don’t you think?”
“I know. But I haven’t been withholding information. I just heard about it myself half an hour ago, that’s why I called.”
“What’s going on?”
“The information about the visit has been kept in an extremely tight circle for security reasons. The only people who have known about it are the highest political leadership, the police command, the Security Police, a few key people from the Helsinki Jewish congregation and the Israeli embassy. The visit is completely unofficial and is taking place at the congregation’s invitation. Evidently Szybilski, the Israeli foreign minister, feels particular sympathy for the Jewish congregation here, because during the war it helped his grandfather and his family emigrate from Austria to the US through Finland.”
“So why’s the information being released after all, then?”
“Because it leaked somehow. SUPO has been getting enquiries from the press. They haven’t commented, but it’s definitely going to go public via that route. And it would come out anyway.”
“What else important has been kept from me?”
“Don’t take it personally. The same things that were kept from me. The man who was found on the bridge has now been positively ID’d as Tagi Hamid. In addition, we’ve received information that he has terrorist connections. He’s believed to have been in contact with a terrorist named Ismel Saijed, who’s being hunted as a suspect in half a dozen bombings. He was last spotted over a year ago in Syria. Then some intelligence came in that he’s in Denmark. The unidentified man who was hit by the train may be Saijed; it’s difficult to get confirmation because there are no good photos of him, or fingerprints either. There would have to be some reason for his presence here. Szybilski’s visit would fit the bill best.”
“I’m guessing the information on Tagi and Saijed didn’t come from Interpol?”
“No, from the Israeli embassy. First to SUPO, from there to the ministry, and from there to us.”
“Where did the Israeli embassy get the photos of Tagi Hamid and the other man?”
“Probably from SUPO. Routine exchange of information between security agencies, like Sillanpää said.”
“Who did you hear about Saijed from?”
“Through my own sources… OK, from Superintendent Kekkonen.”
“What else did Kekkonen tell you? Did he mention guns?”
Huovinen smiled.
“Looks like you two have the same sources. Tagi Hamid’s cousin is suspected of helping Saijed smuggle weapons and explosives into the country from Russia.”
“I’m presuming you mean the Israelis suspect him.”
“It could be that SUPO has some intelligence of their own that they’re holding back for the time being, intelligence acquired, for instance, from Russia.”
The new information roused new questions. If Ali Hamid’s cousin Tagi was a terrorist, what reason did Saijed have for killing him? I posed this question to Huovinen, too.
“I couldn’t come up with any other reason except that Saijed suspected Tagi of being a traitor and getting confirmation for his suspicions through torturing Ali Hamid.”
I couldn’t help playing the “if” game a little longer.
“If Tagi was a double-crosser, then who was footing the bill? SUPO?”
“That’s a pretty surprising wager,” Huovinen conceded. “But possible. I’ve heard that SUPO’s been trying to recruit Muslim immigrants. But the Israelis suspect that Saijed killed Tagi Hamid because Hamid and his cousin wanted to jump ship in the middle of the operation.”
“So it’s possible that the attack is still being planned?”
“So it would seem. To top it all off, the Israelis believe a big-time terrorist named Bakr is involved. He’s worked with Saijed before.”
Stenman stuck her head in the door.
“Toivola’s been trying to call you.” I had turned off my phone because I wanted to talk with Huovinen in peace. “He asked you to call him right away.”
I turned on my phone and called.
“I told that pretty constable not to take this as telephone harassment,” Toivola said. “It’s pure business. We went with the Siltala kid to the place where they jacked the Citro. I brought in a few patrols and a dog to scour the terrain. Didn’t go to waste. We found another body. Foreign. Beaten and shot in the head. Been dead twenty-four hours at most; in other words it looks like he was brought in the car that was burnt last night.”
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