THERE’S A LOUD pop from the Volkswagen’s shock absorbers when Yusuf drives straight into a pothole in the frost-ravaged asphalt. Jessica’s eyes are focused on the rearview mirror and the van that’s following them.
“Damn it. . . . There go the shocks,” Yusuf curses.
“Don’t worry. Our babysitters hit it too.”
Yusuf turns the car into Töölö Hospital and parks right in front of the doors. A nurse smoking outside gives them a nasty look.
“Police business,” Yusuf says in a discreet voice as the police van pulls up behind his car.
“An emergency?” the nurse snaps back, blowing smoke out of her nose. “If not, feel free to park where everybody else does.”
Yusuf looks at the woman, laughs, and shakes his head. “What’s with all the negativity these days?”
“The world’s a shitty place,” Jessica says. They walk side by side through the sliding doors. The uniformed officers follow ten meters behind. Jessica and Yusuf cross the spacious lobby, where lines of colored tape have been laid down on the floor to guide visitors.
“Listen, Yusuf,” Jessica says, pressing the elevator button. “Laura Helminen seems like a young woman in a profound state of shock. So profound that it was almost impossible to question her earlier.”
“And?”
Jessica lowers her gaze to the tips of her shoes and waits for the elevator doors to open. The elevator is empty, and the two of them step in. It seems odd that the patrol officers sent to ensure Yusuf’s and Jessica’s safety are staying in the lobby, but Erne forbade them from following the detectives up to Laura Helminen’s room.
“In all likelihood, Irma Helle was killed by a woman,” Jessica continues once the doors close, “who resembled the other victims, including Laura Helminen, in stature and appearance.”
“Laura Helminen has been here at the hospital this whole time.”
“Sure, but that doesn’t mean the perp couldn’t be a woman.”
Yusuf grunts and then nods slowly. “Right. We assumed that the women were exclusively victims.”
Jessica nods back and then shifts her gaze to the torn cuticle of her right forefinger. As she does, something about what Yusuf has just said starts to nag at her. Jessica looks back up at him. “Wait. What did you just say?”
“That’s what you meant, right? That we assumed that the perpetrators are men? That this is some sadistic male—”
“Yes. But the way you just put it—apparently unintentionally—is actually genius,” Jessica says as the elevator rises to the sixth floor without stopping.
“What exactly did I say?”
“That women are exclusively victims.”
“Exclusively victims. I don’t understand—”
“We’ve been thinking the murderers are men who want to punish their female victims somehow. But what if it turns out they’re women?”
The elevator beeps, and a mechanical female voice recites the floor number. The voice reminds Jessica of the YouTube video, the monotone repetition of the Latin words.
“But the fact that Maria Koponen ordered the clothes—”
“For some reason we immediately assumed that Roger Koponen manipulated his wife. It’s a natural explanation, of course, because no one wants to plan their own murder.”
The elevator doors open; the corridor is surprisingly quiet.
“Wait,” Yusuf says more softly now, and gently grabs the back of Jessica’s coat. “Are you saying Laura Helminen was not only a victim; she was also a perpetrator?”
Jessica stares at Yusuf without saying a word. Then she shakes her head and laughs joylessly. “Yes, actually, that’s exactly what I was saying. Am I crazy?”
“Yes. You’ve always been as crazy as a loon. But that doesn’t mean you’re not right.” The elevator doors shut behind them; Jessica sighs and eyes the corridor. The hatch to the nurses’ station is closed; a bright light is blazing inside. Farther down, at the end of the corridor, a guard is posted outside Laura Helminen’s room. It’s Teo again.
“OK, Jessica. Let’s assume Helminen knows more than she’s letting on. How do you think we should approach her so everything doesn’t go to shit, one way or another?”
Jessica gives Yusuf a probing look. “The idea that someone would have let someone else abduct, drug, anesthetize, and almost drown them in freezing water is far-fetched. So far-fetched, it wouldn’t even occur to us as a possibility, which means we can conduct a little test of our own.”