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Here is my new story. It's the forth chapter of the saga "Finnish stories". I advice to read first "Finnish stories: Confessions", "Finnish stories: changes are needed" and then "Finnish stories: tears of joy and sorrow" otherwise you will not understand this story.

Main characters: Janne Happonen, Harri Olli & Janne Ahonen
Secondary characters: Matti Hautamäki, Veli-Matti Lindström, Tami Kiuru, Jussi Hautamäki, Arttu Lappi, Ville Kantee & Anssi Koivuranta.

Time of the action: 2023-2024

Like ever, it's a fiction and everything comes from my strange imagination.

I wish you a pleasant reading time in my fantasy world and I'm looking for your comments in the feedback thread.

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1. Funerals of a friend

February 3rd, 2023

Janne Happonen was adjusting his black tie in front of the mirror of his hotel room. His hair was brushed with a bit of gel. He was tired. The last days had been difficult to live. He saw Matti Hautamäki’s health declining very quickly and when he was ten days ago in Kuusamo for the wedding of Anssi Koivuranta he got a phone call from Jussi to announce that his little brother deceased. Since that day he felt really down. Especially because he didn’t have time to say goodbye.

In that day he was in Oulu with his wife Maria to assist to the funerals of his friend. “Are you okay sweetheart?” she asked with her warm accent. Maria was Brazilian and they got married the previous summer in Oulunklylä, a quarter in Helsinki. They were living since a year in a wooden house in Käpylä at a couple of kilometres from the city centre. In his house there was a little flat and at the moment Janne Ahonen was living there since he was fired the previous summer. On the other side of the road, Veli-Matti Lindström was living with his wife Katrina and their four boys. “Yes, I’m okay,” he answered still looking at him in the mirror.

In another room Janne Ahonen was ready. He was sat on the bed, waiting that Havu knocked at the door. He regretted to don’t have spent more time with Matti. He was busy with his family life and with other problems. His son was married and had a child. But it wasn’t perfect. Mico was not mature enough to assume a family life. How many times did he have a phone call from his wife to ask him to bring Mico back home? Most of the time he was in bars, drinking with friends. He also found him twice with other girls. As a father he tried to remind the family values, how important they were and what could be the consequences if Allison heard about it.

Harri Olli didn’t like funerals. What he hated most was to see all these people crying. He understood some of them, like the close friends and the family, but most of the others were hypocrites. Why crying for someone who was not a friend or that we didn’t like when he was alive? He knew that he would not cry. He was not friend with Matti and he was not a hypocrite. Death was part of life. Everybody would die some day. Everybody knew it. It was another reason to don’t cry.

Veli-Matti Lindström put a package of tissue in each of his pockets. He knew that he would need a lot. He was an emotive person. He was alone. His wife stayed in Helsinki with their boys. The journey was too long and funerals were not suitable for children. He closed the door of his hotel room and took a taxi to the church. The ceremony would start in about forty minutes. Arttu Lappi was already there. The two men hugged under the snowflakes. “I really have the impression to have missed something. I mean that I missed the meeting in Norway, then I went to Havu’s housewarming party, the concerts of The Kroisos and the wedding of Anssi. Nothing else with my former teammates and then I was so shocked when Havu told me that Matti was dead. Especially because he was sick. I ignored it,” Arttu confessed to Vellu. “I don’t know if it can comfort but I didn’t know either. Matti was keeping distances with us. Only Havu was really his friend. He didn’t give us a chance. It’s a pity,” Vellu commented.

Harri Olli arrived with the hands in the pockets of his coat. “Hi guys. What’s up?” “Nothing special. We are waiting for the ceremony,” Veli-Matti answered. “I think that it’s stupid. It would be nicer to go to a bar and to drink in the honour of Matti,” Harri proposed. “Well... think a bit of his family. And it’s a question of respect. If you want to go to a bar, you can. But don’t count on us,” Arttu replied. He thought that Harri was really not connected with the reality and that he had strange customs. “Where is your wife?” Vellu asked. “In Helsinki. She had some business to do,” Harri explained.

Few minutes later the group of friends was larger. “Thanks all for coming. I appreciate,” Jussi said to his friends. “It’s normal. We are a family. How are you?” Janne Ahonen asked. “Well... it feels strange. I lived with him the last month and every morning when I got up I hope that he is still here. I’ve to admit that I feel alone,” he explained. Vellu wanted to propose to him to spend some time with him but he remembered that he was a drug addict and that he already tried once to rob his house. He didn’t know if he could trust him. Janne Happonen was so down that he preferred to be alone at home with his wife and sometimes to meet Ahonen. He also didn’t know if he could trust him. For Harri there was no way that this man entered his house. Two and a half year ago he tried to kill him in Norway. Anssi Koivuranta was recently married and he was not ready to welcome a visitor. “You can come to my place. I’ve a house just for myself,” Arttu suddenly said. Jussi smiled and accepted.

“If you want anything from Matti, just come to his flat. We have to empty it by mid-February.” Jussi put his head down and sneezed after this announcement. Arttu put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a tissue. “Where is Cassandra?” Janne Happonen asked. “Somewhere,” Jussi answered before to blow again his nose. Cassandra was the girlfriend of Matti. She was first only assisting his doctor and then he invited her to a restaurant. The next day she was performing at the opera and he went to see the show. It was how their love story started. But Matti was already badly sick. Few months later he was only staying in his flat.

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Some minutes later the doors of the church opened and everybody sat on the wooden benches. The coffin was in the middle of the little stage with flowers on it. Some white roses. There were others bunches of flowers on the floor with messages from relatives or friends. Janne Happonen caught the handkerchief that Matti gave him before Christmas. It was squared and white with Matti embroiled in blue. It was a handkerchief to collect the tears and to send them to a far country where water was missing. Not to blow. He used it and tried to calm down. For him Matti was more than a friend. He was almost like a brother. His death affected him a lot. Maria caught his hand to reassure. “I’m here,” she murmured.

Harri Olli was solving a Sudoku on his phone. Veli-Matti was almost shocked by his behaviour. He was also wondering why he came.

After the classical speech and songs, Jussi got up and read a text he prepared. He coughed once and looked at the audience. Everybody was looking at him. He saw that the relatives were sat at the first rows and the friends behind. But the church was far to be crowded. Maybe was it because the ceremony was in Oulu and not in Helsinki. It was also a Thursday and some people were probably working. He breathed deeply and read:

“Well, Matti told me that we should not cry. Spring is coming soon and we are all waiting to drink a beer on a terrace. I will try to read the text without crying but I can’t promise.

When mom told me that I will have a little brother I was happy. I will have someone to play with me and also I could win every fight. But we were not bad guys and we didn’t fight often. Just for candies. And when he was breaking my toys. I started ski jumping quite early and Matti always wanted to be with me. One day he tried and loved it. He loved it so much that he was beating all my previous records. Then we moved to Kuopio to have a chance to be professionals. Well we had a lot of fun. School, ski jumping, the first girlfriends, the first beers, the first moped. The first parties were great too. If you want details, let’s talk later in private. Everything happened far from our parents. I will not describe our flat but I think that you can easily imagine how it looked like with two lazy and messy boys living there. Then we jumped together for many years in the World Cup. As you know, Matti was very talented. Not me. But I was not jealous. I was proud. Especially when he won or when he became the world record man. 231m! What a distance. Okay, now it seems short but at that time it was unbelievable. He also got some medals in different championships and Olympics but he never managed to be champion. Just once with the team. After his career he had some difficult times. He was depressed. He felt useless. I tried to help but I was quite busy with my family. Then he went abroad for a while. When he came back I didn’t recognize him. He was happy, smiling and he knew what he wanted to do in his life. It was like to be back in Kuopio in the 90s. We were two kids. But one day his smile went away. That smile was artificial. It was created by the... the drugs he used. And one day, Janne Happonen said that it was enough. He wanted to save Matti who didn’t realize that he was killing himself. Thank you Havu. Maybe you should think that after a rehab his natural smile was back. But no. Not at all. He discovered that he was sick and that he will never recover. When he told it, it was like if he got the death sentence. Life continued but he was sad and I’ve to admit that me too. Then he met Cassandra. The lovely girl sat at the third row on the right. She brought some happiness back in his life. Both have the same passion: opera. For a few months, my Matti was back. But when winter came back... he was just waiting for the death. It was difficult to see him dying day after day. Nobody could help him. It was a horrible feeling to be by his side and to be useless. On January 24th he asked me to play a song. The swan song by Within Temptation. I thought that it was one of his favourites. I played it and followed the lyrics in the booklet. It was written:

Winter has come for me, can't carry on.
The chains to my life are strong but soon they'll be gone.
I'll spread my wings one more time.

First I thought that the song was wonderful. But I didn’t understand that it was to tell me that it was time... time to go... I’m sorry.”

Jussi put his hand on his mouth and the tears were running on his cheeks. He left the stage and sat on the bench. His mother hugged and told him some comforting words. Before the end of the ceremony Cassandra sang a song that Matti liked a lot. Her voice was like crystal and the echo was great in the church.

Lost in the darkness, hoping for a sign
Instead there is only silence,
Can't you hear my screams...?
Never stop hoping,
Need to know where you are
But one thing 's for sure,
You're always in my heart.

I'll find you somewhere
I'll keep on trying until my dying day
I just need to know whatever has happened,
The Truth will free my soul.

Lost in the darkness, try to find your way home
I want to embrace you and never let you go...
Almost hope you're in heaven so no one can hurt your soul...
Living in agony 'cause I just do not know
Where you are

I'll find you somewhere
I'll keep on trying until my dying day
I just need to know whatever has happened,
The truth will free my soul.

Wherever you are, I won't stop searching.
Whatever it takes, I need to know.

I'll find you somewhere
I'll keep on trying until my dying day
I just need to know whatever has happened,
The truth will free my soul.

Within Temptation - Somewhere

Janne Happonen remembered when Matti told him “can you feel the power of music?”. He closed his eyes and let his imagination telling him a story. He understood better what Matti meant when he played Montagues & Capulets some months ago.

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After the ceremony the coffin was brought to the cemetery. Jussi was walking right behind it and his tears were still running. He was realizing that it was the end of the journey. Matti would never comeback. He would stay forever in that cemetery far away from his friends but closer from his family. Maria was holding the hand of Janne. She felt that it was a difficult afternoon for him. He lost his best friend and didn’t have time to say goodbye. Arttu was walking with Veli-Matti a bit behind. They were silent. The snowflakes were still falling but they were light. The coffin went to the ground and it was the last moment to say goodbye to Matti. Some more tears ran on the cheeks. Some sweet words were murmured. And some memories were running in the minds.

On the way to the room where some tea and cakes were waiting Harri joined the group of friends. “I’m going to a bar to drink for Matti. It’s my way to say goodbye. Then I will take the train back to Helsinki. Anyone wants to join me?” he asked but nobody accepted. “I will never get how this guy works,” Veli-Matti said when he was gone. “Don’t worry. You are not the only one,” Arttu added. Jussi joined them. “May I ask you a question?” Anssi asked. “You said that he was sick. Which illness did he have?” “A lung cancer,” Jussi lied.

“Why are you lying?” Janne Happonen asked Jussi when they were near the cake table. “I don’t want that people have a bad opinion about him. He suffered enough. Look what they are already thinking of him because he used drugs for a couple of years. Except you, nobody forgive. You were the only one to visit and to call him. He tried to change. But it didn’t work. So it’s why I’d like that you lie too,” Jussi explained. “Who else knows the truth?” Havu asked. “Cassandra and that’s all. Even my family don’t know. They will be destroyed if they hear about it.”

On the way back Janne saw that Cassandra was alone at the end of a table looking at the grey landscape by the window. “It was a nice ceremony. And I really liked your song. You were very courageous,” Havu said. “Thanks. I miss him already so much. I knew how it will end and I promised to myself to don’t fell in love. But it was impossible. He was a so kind person. We had so much in common. I wanted so much to help but it was impossible. Havu I’m sorry. I didn’t keep my promise.” “It’s okay. Don’t worry. He was not strong enough. He is better now with the angels than suffering in his bed,” Janne told. “He said that if he wasn’t sick he wanted to marry me. But I told him that if he was healthy we would have never met. That’s sad but it’s the truth.” “What will you do now?” “I don’t know. He is not the first patient who deceased. But he is the first one who was more than a patient. I think that I need some holidays and then I will have to go back to work and to see other people suffering. Maybe I will change department. This one is too sad. It’s horrible when the question of these patients is not “when will I recover?” but “when will I die?”. They have no hope. And you? How are you?” she asked. “Well... I’m at home since that day. I feel quite bad and down. I know that life goes on and I knew that he would die a day. But I’m still unable to accept it. Probably in a week I will go back to work. I’m not motivated but it’s maybe what I need,” he explained.

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2. Watch out!

Harri Olli arrived in Helsinki very late. He was supposed to take the morning train but after have drunk a few beers in Oulu he jumped in the train. He exited the bus and walked quickly. It was quite cold and he wanted to take a hot shower. He saw that the light in the living room was on. He smiled and thought that he could still have a romantic evening with his wife. He opened the door and walked quietly. He wanted to do a surprise. But nobody was in the living room. Neither in the kitchen. The door of the bathroom was half opened and the light was off. He went upstairs. Nobody was there. Where could she be? He took a shower before to go back to the living room and switched the TV on.

When the movie was finished he wondered where she could be. In the main lobby he checked if her keys were still there. It was the case. He looked through the window and saw the both cars. Maybe she was visiting a neighbour? No, it wasn’t possible. She couldn’t have left, letting the light on and going out without her keys. She was at home. But where? He went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. There was no more beer. He opened the door to the basement. The light was on. Strange. He went to the laundry room: nobody. He went in the storage and took two cans of beer. Where was his wife? Just before to go upstairs he noticed a digital code lock on the last door. He never saw it before. Was it new? He tried to open the door but it was locked. He wrote the date of birth of his wife. The light was red. He tried different code without success. He went upstairs and drank the beers on the sofa.

At 2am he decided to go to bed. He had a long boring day in the cold and he drank a bit too much. He threw his clothes on the chair near the window and went under the cover. The bed was cold. He moved a bit and hoped that it would warm quickly. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He was almost sleeping. When suddenly the light was on. “No!” he complained under the cover. “Harri? What are you doing here?” his wife Nina asked very surprised to see him here. She was forty three years old, with blond hair in a pony tail, a round face, had a pearl necklace and was wearing a dark olive shirt and a brown trouser. “I’m in my bed because I want to sleep. I travelled during half a day and I’m tired. Where were you?” he asked while she took off her clothes. “I went to visit Kati.” “No I mean this evening. What were you doing in the basement?” She was surprised that he asked. He was not supposed to know. It was a secret. “I was ironing,” she lied. “Come on. Until two in the morning? I’m not that stupid. And don’t tell me that you need a digital code on the door to iron. Give me the code,” he requested. “I’m too tired. I need to sleep,” she said while she went under the cover and turned off the light. He turned on his light. “Answer me. What are you doing in the basement?” he insisted while he was holding her wrists. “Stop it please. It hurts. Harri it’s time to sleep,” she begged. “One day or another I’ll discover the truth. And don’t be surprised if you then meet the bad Harri. Until now you have never saw when I'm furious. Watch out. And I’m not joking.” And he turned off the light.

She was scared. Harri seemed to be serious. She had to protect her project but also herself. She hoped that he was just tired and would forget everything during his sleep. What could she do? It was impossible to move her secret laboratory. She was thinking of a solution to force Harri to forget about it. But she wouldn’t hurt. Suddenly she got an idea. She was smiling in the darkness. If Harri wanted to play that game he would lose. He was ignoring what she was able to do to succeed. And for her, her project in the basement was more important than anything else. More important than her love to Harri.

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3. Past is the past

February 15th

Jussi Hautamäki was exhausted. Since his brother died he had a lot to do: to organize the funerals, to cancel all his subscriptions, to announce to the offices that he was dead, to empty his flat plus what he usually did. He sat on the sofa and opened a beer. He put his feet on the table and relaxed. He noticed that his right sock had a hole. Who cared? He also knew that in a few minutes a visitor would come. He had the keys, so he didn’t need to get up to open the door. Effectively. Less than ten minutes later Janne Happonen was there. He took off his coat and his shoes. In Finland it is in the habit to take off the shoes in the entrance. “So Havu. I ask you to come to take all what you want. I’ll bring the left over to the trash.” “Are you sure? Maybe you should ask other people if they need something.” Janne thought that it was a pity to throw away furniture and other material when they were almost new. He really liked this flat. It was decorated in a modern way but it was not cold. There was not too much glass or aluminium. Matti preferred wood. Janne thought that it was warmer and nicer. Janne noticed that Jussi took all the electronics and what had value plus the bookshelf. Of course the books were waiting on the floor. The curtains were also missing and the lamp in the corner. “Hum... you’re right. I’ll do it in a couple of days,” Jussi said before to drink another sip.

Janne was not at ease. It felt strange to look in Matti’s wardrobe, drawers and cupboards. Havu sat on the bed where he used to be and touched the sheet where Matti was less than three weeks ago. Even if he went to the funerals he was still not realizing that he was not there anymore. He took the pillow, smelled it and hugged it. He saw that a hair was on the sheet. He took it and put it in his wallet. Janne had nostalgia. He didn’t realize earlier how he liked Matti. He was probably more than a friend. He was probably his best friend.

He saw that the doors of the wardrobe were opened and that most of the clothes were missing. The little hifi in the bedroom was not there too. Havu opened the drawer of the night desk. He found three handkerchiefs, a Labello, some painkillers, glasses, a pen and his diary. Havu took it but didn’t know if it was a good idea to open it. Maybe it was better to give it to Jussi. Finally he opened it and had a quick look. It was really messy and sometimes the handwriting wasn’t easy to read. On a page he was surprised to read his name written three times on a double page. What did it mean? He thought that he would need a whole life to understand that diary.

“Jussi, I found the diary of your brother. I think that you should have it.” “I will not read it. He is dead and that’s all. I want to move on and I don’t want to know what he wrote. You can have it. Otherwise I’ll put it to the trash.” “But Jussi! It’s the memory of Matti, of your family. You don’t want to know what he wrote about you?” Janne was a bit shocked by the reaction of Jussi. He understood a bit better why Matti gave him the objects that had more values such as his medals, his matches’ collection and the handkerchief. “Well... I take it but if one day you want to have it back, just tell me,” Havu said. “Don’t take it wrong but I really want to move on. Past is the past and Matti is part of the past. He will not come back. I want to forget the last months. It had been difficult,” he explained while he opened another can of beer. “I understand but I can tell you that you will never forget. One day Matti told me that he hoped that we will not forget him too quickly.” “Matti is wrong. I’m sorry for him but he is disappearing from the memories of everybody. Ask Harri in a month. Vellu in summer. Rane at Christmas. Maybe in yours and mine it will take a bit more time. That’s life. I’m almost unable to remember the voice of my grandmother who died only seven years ago. Don’t think of him too much. You are alive, have a wife and a job. You must live the present moment. Not the past. Well. I’m going to the shop. I let you close the door,” Jussi said before to leave.

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4. A new step

March 3rd

After his working day Janne Ahonen had a meeting with his boss. He hoped that he did nothing wrong and wouldn’t be fired. In Santa Hamina it was the case. He was very often absent and he didn’t work well the last months. He was a bit stressed. In the changing room and wore his civil clothes and washed his hands. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. He moved a bit his hair to look better. They were three centimetres long and coloured in brown. He had to do it because his natural colour was more grey than brown and he really didn’t like it. He took the elevator and pressed the button of the third floor. He was not used to go to the offices. He was working at the ground floor, in the kitchen. He started to work there in autumn in the preparation of the vegetables. Then he was cooking the rice or pasta. That task seemed to be easy but it was one of the most difficult one. The cooking time had to be perfect for the quantity demanded. It was always a huge stress to take the water off at the right time.

Before Christmas, Maria Happonen talked about a delicious dessert that Janne did. She was praising it so much that Veli-Matti Lindström was curious. One day of January he asked Janne to make one of his famous Flying Friends desserts. It was a caramel flan with vanilla ice cream and grilled almonds. After have tasted it, Veli-Matti allowed Janne to work in the dessert department. Many employees were jealous that in a couple of months he moved from the preparation of the vegetables to the desserts. Some of them said that it was because he knew the boss. But Janne knew that it was because he was working hard.

The door of the office of Vellu was opened. He knocked and waited that his boss invited him to enter. He was at the phone but was ending his conversation. “Please Janne, take a seat,” Vellu said. “If I did anything wrong just tell me and I won’t repeat it. I promised,” Janne told while Vellu closed the door. “Janne, Janne. Where is your self-confidence? It’s not because I ask you to come here that you did something bad.” Janne was a bit reassured but he was still ignoring why he was there. Veli-Matti sat in his light green leather chair in front of him. The room was not very big. There was a window with the view on the park, a shelf with folders, a desk with a computer, some papers and a calendar with pictures of his kids. On the wall there was his diploma and the patent. There was also a picture of him when he got the price of most innovative business in 2019. The funniest in that office was that almost everything was green. The name of the company was the Bio Fork and all the decoration was green. It was quite fresh.

“Well... I ask you to come because I think that you have a good feeling with food if you know what I mean. You know what goes best with what. You still need to train to be a good cook and you are a bit slow. But it’s quite normal. You are not very experimented.” Janne was wondering what Vellu would request. He didn’t know if it sounded good or not. “I always try to do my best,” he commented. “I know. It’s why you are here. Mervi is going to maternity leave at the end of April. I need someone to replace her.” Janne was honoured that he thought of him for that job. Mervi was responsible to create the menu card for the week from the main course to the dessert plus the special diets without lactose or gluten. “On Monday you will start with her. She will teach you all what you need to know,” Vellu announced. “Thank you so much! I’m so happy. I promise that you won’t be disappointed. May I invite you for a beer to celebrate?” “Yeah. Why not?” Vellu answered with a smile. He was so happy to see a wide smile on the face of his employee and neighbour.

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5. The betrayal of a brother

March 20th

Jussi was at the notary office in Helsinki. The will of his brother would be read and all his property would be shared. Because he wasn’t married and didn’t have a child, Jussi and his brother Hannu would get almost all the heritage. Jussi knew that Matti had a lot of money on his bank account. Previously he was working as a trader in a bank and he was earning a lot. The flat was situated in Herttoniemi one of the most expensive areas in Helsinki. Once it would be sold he would get again a lot of money. Jussi thought that it was fair. He always had money problems and he didn’t like to count each euro he spent. How many times did he need to ask his brother for extra money? Of course one of his biggest sources of expenses was his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Hannu travelled the previous day from Oulu to the capital. He was sleeping at the hotel because he preferred to don’t stay at Jussi’s place. He knew that he had a snake and a tarantula as pets and he really hated these animals. He also didn’t want to be in the flat of Matti. For him it was impossible to sleep in the bed where his brother died. He was working as plumber and had his own family. He was married since twelve years and had two children. A girl, Alina 9 years old and a boy, Otso 7 years old. But for that special travel he went alone.

The room was small with a round table in dark wood in the middle with four chairs, a Persian carpet, a huge bookshelf, a desk with a computer, a window, a plant and a painting on the wall. The notary was over sixty years old with grey hair and a moustache. He was probably smoking the pipe. He was wearing a white shirt with blue squares under a dark blue sweater, a light blue tie and a black trouser. He sat in front of the two brothers and opened an envelope. “So, your brother wasn’t married and had no child and your parents are still alive. This means that each of you will get ¼ of his fortune. He had just one bank account and his apartment as property. I got a letter saying that the flat had been sold. Do you know it?” “Yes, a couple visited it at the beginning of February. They fall in love of it,” Jussi explained. He knew that he would got a quarter of 250.000€ plus the quarter of the rest of the money which was on the account. “So now the case is simple. We divide the amount on the back account in four,” the old man said. Jussi was trying to imagine what would be the first thing he would do. Maybe to buy a new car or to go in holiday in Thailand.

“So now you can share all what is in his flat and you will get 10.000€ each,” he announced. “What? But it’s impossible! The flat was sold 250.000€ and he had plenty of money! Where is that fucking money! There must be a mistake,” Jussi jumped. He couldn’t believe it. “There is no mistake.” The old man opened the envelope with the will very calmly and read it.

My dear family, or more precisely, my dear brothers,

I know that you are under shock and are wondering what happened to my money. Don’t do that stupid face and listen. I spent it during my short life in travelling, wine, operas and other good things. I also gave some to someone who need it and deserve it! Not to people too selfish or that are destroying their own lives. Sorry, you can’t torture me to know his/her name.

Hannu, I haven’t heard anything interesting from you since the birth of Otso. I told you that I was sick in autumn but you never asked how I was (I guess that it’s too expensive to call Helsinki once in a while) or to come to visit. Yeah Oulu is in Siberia. Sorry I forgot that you need 5 walking days to reach the train station. During the last Christmas in Oulu (was it three years ago? Sorry I’ve a bad memory) you just told me the general greetings and nothing more. I was telling that I just broke up with my girlfriend (which one? Oh my God I forgot her name. Maybe I also have Alzheimer) and you answered “I will take another glass of glögi”. I noticed that you really didn’t care about what I was telling you and that your stomach was more important than me.

And you Jussi, you are not better, so stop laughing on Hannu. I know exactly what you planned to do with my money. You wanted to waste it in alcohol, girls and drugs. I don’t want that you burn my property that way. You will probably drink my good wine bottles without appreciating the quality. In my point of view you don’t deserve it even if you were really nice with me until the end (well I hope so. I’m writing this letter in November 2022). Do you remember when you visited me after my rehab? I told you that you should do it too. If I was not sick, I would have had a beautiful life. I had again friends and I understood what life meant. I wanted to help you like Janne Happonen helped me. But you are a selfish chicken. I know that I’m bad with you and that you hate me. I also hated Havu. But after my rehab I was grateful. Don’t waste your life with the poison that you are using. Life is too precious.

You are just two miserable people and I hope that now you will think a bit to the meaning of life. I’m sorry to write it but I don’t feel sorry for you. Now I wish you a long and healthy life.

See you in Hell!

With love,
Matti.

“It’s impossible! It’s not Matti who wrote that,” Hannu complained. “No, it’s him. He signed the letter and there is an official stamp,” the notary said while he showed the letter to the brothers. “Can we know what he did with his money? I mean, can we have access to his transactions?” Jussi asked. “No you can’t. Once a person deceased the account is blocked and only the authorities have access,” he explained. “But we don’t want to empty the account. We just want to know what he did,” requested Jussi but there was nothing to do. The rule was the rule and it was impossible to make an exception.

“I can’t believe that he fooled us! He has preferred to give his money to a stranger than to his own family! I’m so angry,” Hannu said while they were walking to the car park. “I’ve to go back to Oulu. Can you tell me if you have any news about what he did?” “Yes, sure. Have a safe trip back and say hello to everybody from me,” Jussi said.

When he was sat in his car Jussi didn’t start the engine immediately. He was thinking of the letter. Who was kind enough with Matti to get almost all what he had? Jussi saw only two possibilities: Janne Happonen who was without any doubt Matti’s best friend and Cassandra, his girlfriend. For him Matti’s decision was a betrayal. He was determined to know where his inheritance went. But before that he had to ask a few questions to a specialist.

_________________

Half an hour later Jussi was sat in a café. Outside it was snowing and the clouds were really low. Some minutes later a man with a long black coat entered. He took off the snowflakes of his hair and sat in front of Jussi. “Sorry I’m late. I had a client who didn’t want to leave and then I needed more time than expected to park. Anyway, that was a long day and I’m happy that it’s over. How was your day?” Arttu Lappi asked. He was a lawyer and he had a lot of work. Previously he was working as sport lawyer but he decided to change to criminal. It was more intense but also more interesting. “Well... you know that since my brother died I’ve a lot to do with paperwork and I’m a bit lost. I just went out of the notary public and I’ve the impression that everything is decided in advance and that you can’t influence the decisions.” “Yeah that’s right. But you can refuse the inheritance if you don’t want it. For example if he has a lot of debts. But in this case it means that you can get absolutely nothing from him. Nothing that is in his flat for example. You have to be really sure. Did I answer your question?” Arttu asked while the waitress was bringing a cup of coffee with a blue Fazer chocolate. “Yes, you explain well. I think that I studied law during two weeks at school but it was many years ago and I wasn’t interested in. It was boring.” “I can understand,” Arttu replied with a smile.

“Do you know if someone can disinherit a legal heir?” Jussi asked. “No, he can’t. What he can do is to reduce the proportion at the minimum but he can’t disinherit. Except if it has been proved that you tried to kill him. What happened exactly?” Arttu asked for more details. “Matti had a lot of money. I’m not kidding. My parents, my brother and me got only 10.000€ each. I think that it’s very little. He had no wife and no child.” Arttu was thinking. What could be the reason? “I can see only debts. It’s possible that the government took what was needed to cover them. Or maybe he did something bad like to have badly injured someone with his car and he had to pay. Very often you have to pay your whole life a little bit and when you die the left over goes to the victim,” Arttu explained.

“The notary read a letter that Matti wrote and he said that he gave his money to someone who deserved it. Can he do that?” Jussi asked still not accepting the fact. “Maybe he gave the half of his money to that person and the second half is shared between you, your brother and your parents. It’s what I meant when I said that he can reduce at maximum your part of the heritage.” “No, it’s not possible. If he did that we would have had much more. Do you know any other possibilities?” Jussi asked and Arttu thought for a while. “If he did it before to die, yes. The account is blocked once you announce the death. And then no transaction is possible anymore.” “I really hate him! It means that he did it when I was taking care of him! He planned everything. I can’t believe it. What a mother fucker!” Jussi crossed his arms and looked outside. He was really furious. At that moment he was thinking that he didn’t know his brother at all. But what did he do to push Matti to in a way disinherit him?

“There is something else that I don’t get. His flat was sold in February around 250.000€. Where is the money? You just said that the account is blocked,” Jussi requested. “For that question I have no answer. Are you sure that there is no mistake? You should definitively get that money.” Jussi called back the notary to have a bit more details. “No, no, there is a mistake. The couple bought the flat in February. Not in October. I saw these people!” Arttu was looking at Jussi’s face. He was sweating, furious and stressed at the same time. “Are you okay?” he asked when Jussi ended the phone call. “No... I realize that I didn’t know my brother. He was a manipulator.” “Well... he was working in a bank as trader. It can explain it. These people are good at lying, talking and manipulating for their own success and profit,” Arttu said. “Can you imagine that he sold his flat in October? It means that he died in the flat of someone else. The people who wanted to buy it in February probably paid the person who got the money which was on the bank account. And why now should I empty it and clean it? I must let all the mess for that person who got everything. I know what I’ll do tonight. Thanks Arttu for your help.” “You’re welcome. But please, don’t do something bad that you will regret,” Arttu advised.

_________________

6. A bad guy and the naughty girls

March 23rd

Jussi still did not understand the betrayal of his brother. He wanted to know who that mysterious person who got everything was and that Matti preferred to his own family. He drove his small car to Käpylä and tried to remember where the light green house in wood was. All the houses looked the same. But most of them were red or yellow. After half an hour of research he found it. Another car was parked. Someone was at home. He noticed that the neighbour on the other side of the road was spying behind the window of the bedroom upstairs. Probably a desperate housewife. He ignored and knocked. The door opened and a woman with black hair and a skin colour chocolate was in front of him. She was wearing a jeans and a pink long shirt. “Jussi, what a surprise,” she said with her warm accent. “Hello, I’d like to talk to you in private. Can I enter?” “Yes, sure,” she invited. When he arrived in the living room he saw that Janne Ahonen was coming back from the bathroom which was at the same floor. “Hi,” he said to Jussi before to say to Maria: “It’s fixed. If you have any other problems, just tell me.” She thanked and he went back to his flat. Jussi was wondering what he was doing but it was not his business. He had some more important matters to deal with.

“Havu is not here?” Jussi asked when she came back from the kitchen with a tray, two cups of coffee and muffins. “No, you just missed him. He will be back at 10. If it’s urgent you can call him.” “No it’s not. And I think that you can answer the questions too.” After some small talks and been sure that she was at ease with him, he tried to discover the truth. “You have a beautiful house. It must not be easy with the salary of a policeman to cover all the costs. Especially because it’s an old house. There must be always something to repair,” he told. “I’m working too. I’m an interior designer and I work most of the time at home,” she explained. Jussi was thinking that it would become tricky. An interior designer was probably earning more money than a policeman. “Have you planned to have kids?” “Why do you say that?” “Oh don’t be shocked. Your man is almost 39 and you are a sweet couple. I’m sure that one or two kids in that house will make you even happier,” Jussi said with a smile. Maria smiled. “But if you have kids it means that Janne will have to work more.” “Jussi, I don’t get the point. What do you want to know?” Maria asked after that strange question. “Nothing... well have you noticed anything new since a couple of months? Is Janne buying you more gifts? Inviting you more often to the restaurant?” “He is doing it like any other husband. There is nothing unusual. I really don’t understand. Maybe my Finnish is not good enough,” Maria explained. She was quite embarrassed. “Do you know if he got money from someone recently?” “What?” She got up and was really not at ease. “Do you have access to his bank account?” “What do you want?” “Is he honest with you?” he insisted. “Get out of my house,” she ordered seriously. She didn’t like that kind of questions and she was scared. He got up and came closer. “I need to know if he got a lot of money from someone recently. It’s not a complicated question. I need you to answer,” he insisted in a low voice with the teeth tight. “Please, can you go away,” she begged when she felt that the wall was behind her back. “I will not leave before to have an answer. Show me his bank account. I will not be bad with you. I promise. Don’t be scared. I don’t beat women.”

Janne Ahonen was ironing his laundry in his living room while he was watching at the ski jumping season final in Planica. It reminded him many good moments. Especially the long flights and the parties. He thought that one day he should go there to have fun. Suddenly he heard a scream from the other side of the wall. He turned off the sound of the TV and put his ear on the wall. Then he ran outside and opened the door of the other part of the house. “Let her go!” he ordered to Jussi who was holding firmly her wrists. He went to them and caught the aggressor. Maria got free and walked a bit aside. Janne was stronger and pushed Jussi violently outside. “Next time, I’ll kill you! Don’t touch her anymore,” Janne warned seriously. Jussi jumped in his car and drove away.

“Are you okay?” Janne said to Maria when he was back. But she was too shocked to answer. He hugged and comforted how he could. “He is gone,” he murmured in her hear. “Sit on the sofa. I’ll make a tea,” he said while he closed the door. Maria did it and took a tissue to erase her tears. It was the first time since she left her home country that a man was so violent with her. She was remembering the terrible images of her childhood that she thought to have forgotten forever. “Please don’t leave me alone,” she said when he was back. “No, I’ll stay as long as you want,” he promised.

On the other side of the road Katrina Lindström asked her neighbours Minna and Laura to come over. She had a scoop to announce. “Tell us what’s going on. We are impatient,” Minna with her red hair said. “I hope that it’s a great scoop because I’m missing my episode of the Bold and the Beautiful,” Laura complained as always. “Yes, girls, it’s a great scoop. Maria is unfaithful!” she announced with a wide smile. “Ah finally. We know all that the Brazilians just want the nationality but don’t care of the Finnish husband,” Laura said bluntly. “Do you have any evidence?” Minna asked. “Yes, I took a picture with my phone,” Katrina showed to her friends proud of her the picture she took when Janne hugged Maria in the entrance of the house few minutes earlier. “She has an affair with Rane!” Minna exclaimed. For her it was more a confirmation than a real scoop. She knew since weeks that Janne was very often in her house and she was visiting him more than normally neighbours did. “Should we tell it to her husband?” Katrina asked. “No, wait for the right moment. And don’t tell it to Vellu,” Laura suggested. “And when is the right moment?” Katrina asked. “Listen carefully.” Laura explained which devilish plan she had to follow. Katrina smiled and thought that it would be much better than the soaps she was watching at TV.

_________________

7. A very bad guy

Jussi was upset after his failure in Käpylä. He didn’t think that Ahonen would enter and kicked him out. Next time he would come, he would have to be more cautious. But it would be in a long time. Maria would not trust him anymore and Havu was probably furious. He didn’t understand why she didn’t simply answer the question. Was it complicated to admit that he got money from Matti? He took a glass in his kitchen and filled it with pure vodka. On the table of the living room he prepared a shot. He needed it. His hands were shaking. After the injection he felt much better and relaxed. He drank the glass of vodka and thought of the next step to discover the truth. He wanted to have his money back. He thought of visiting Havu’s house by night. But it was very risky. Or maybe he should visit Maria another day and been sure that Ahonen was away. Yeah, it sounded good. But at that moment he just wanted to relax and to enjoy the feeling to space out.

He woke up few hours later, wore his coat and took the tram in the direction of the south. It was a very dark night without moon. He had the impression that the lights of the city were dancing and laughing on him. He waited in front of the door of the old building that an old lady entered because he didn’t know the digital code. He helped her by holding the door. She had a shopping bag in each hand. Then he took the stairs and knocked at the door of the second floor. He heard some music coming from inside. Someone was walking in the corridor. The door opened a little bit and was blocked by a chain. “Hi Cassandra. It’s me, Jussi. Can I enter?” he asked with the best smile he was able to do. She closed the door, unlocked the chain and let him enter. She was listening to the Phantom of the Opera. It was the only opera he was able to recognize. In the living room there was a huge bookshelf, thick dark orange curtains, a dark red carpet, a dark orange sofa and a black round wooden table. She offered him a glass of wine and sat in front of him in the armchair.

“I wondered how nice my brother was with you,” Jussi said. “Yes, he was nice with me. What do you mean?” she asked a bit surprised. “Did he ask you what was your biggest dream and proposed to realize it? Or maybe he thought that you were the kindest person with him. So much that he had a total trust in you.” “I don’t get it. What do you mean?” she asked again. She didn’t know if he wasn’t clear enough or if the third glass of wine was too much for her. “Maybe you were so good in the bedroom that he had to reward.” “I really don’t understand and I won’t tell you private matters,” she answered quite disgusted by his behaviour. “How long have you been with him?” “About eight months. Why?” “You know Cassandra. I was wondering why he preferred you to his family.” “He liked his family. More than what you are thinking,” she explained. “I know what he did. And I think that it’s unfair. You just manipulated a weak person which was losing his mind and which was desperate.” “Jussi, what do you mean? I never manipulated. I loved him and he loved me. I never lied. I did all what I could to help him to don’t suffer too much. I couldn’t save him and you know it.” She was a bit scared. Jussi didn’t look normal, his eyes were reddish, his hands were wet and he wanted something. She ignored what and he seemed to become angry.

“I want my money back, now!” he ordered. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” “Matti give you his money or access to his bank account and you got everything! I want it back now!” He went very close to her and held her wrist. “I swear that he didn’t give me money.” His face became red. His eyes were wide opened. He looked crazy. With his right hand he was pressing her neck. “Liar! Give me my money back!” he almost screamed. She was crying and tried to get rid of him with her free hand and with her legs but he was too strong. “I can’t breathe. Please, Jussi,” she begged. She tried to catch her mobile phone on the table but it fell on the floor. She wanted to scream but it was impossible. “Jussi...” she murmured and hoped that he would let her free but he was still holding her neck very strongly. Her foot hit the table and the glasses of wine fell and broke. The wine was pouring to the carpet.

You have come here
in pursuit of
your deepest urge,
in pursuit of
that wish,
which till now
has been silent,
silent . . .

Jussi got up and looked in her bag. He found her wallet. There were only 35€ that he put in his pocket. Then he went to another room which was her office. There was a computer and several folders on a shelf. There was also a guitar. He turned on the computer and was surprised to see that her wallpaper was a picture of her and Matti in summer. They were smiling and holding each other. In the background there was a castle. Jussi already saw it but it was unable to remember where it was. The photo had been probably taken by his brother. They were happy. He looked quickly in her documents but there was nothing interesting. He opened the web browser and saw that there was the online Nordea banking in the list of her bookmarks. He clicked on it. How could he access? He put his hands on his head and looked at the lamp.

On the shelf he opened the folders until he found the banking data. He didn’t put them back. They were on the floor. He connected with her data and accessed to her account. When he saw that she didn’t have much money he threw the computer on the floor. He was so furious. He pushed the table, broke the guitar, teared up the curtains. He went to the kitchen and opened all the bottles of wine and poured the liquid everywhere on the floor. In the living room on the shelf he saw a picture of his brother where he wrote with a blue pen: Forever in my heart. Jussi became even more furious. He destroyed all the books by tearing up the pages or walking on them. In each room he started several fires. When he was sure that the fire would destroy everything he left. The Hi-fi was still playing the Phantom of the Opera with the final song.

I am your Angel of Music . . .
Come to me: Angel of Music . . .

Angel of darkness!
Cease this torment!

Jussi was walking in the street and heard the firemen coming. He looked at the building and saw big flames coming out of two windows of the second floor. Many people were in the street to look at the show. It was time to go home.

_________________

8. A good guy

March 29th

Ville Kantee decided to be a good guy. He invited his former band mates to talk about the eventuality to recreate The Kroisos. The last gig had been a disaster and two members quitted. It was mainly because he was so drunk that he ruined the whole show. It was not the first time. He also said really bad comments to his musicians. He wasn’t proud of it. At Anssi’s wedding they played and it went pretty well. Jussi was not there because he was in Helsinki with his brother and it was Harri Olli who played the bass. He wasn’t bad at all. Ville tried to convince him to join the band but he refused. During his ski jumping career Harri ended up many times in the gossip magazines because of his behaviour. The press loved him so much for his statements that he couldn’t just go to a bar to drink a beer. Because of that bad publicity he preferred to be discreet. He wanted to be as anonymous as possible.

Jussi Hautamäki was the first one to arrive. “What happened to you? You look exhausted,” Ville said. His guest sat heavily on the old sofa which needed to be changed. “I had a horrible day. First I slept badly. I did a stupid dream. I was falling in a hole without an end. Then I forgot to turn on my alarm clock and when I woke up I was late. I wore quickly my clothes and went to work. I missed the subway for few seconds and had to wait for the next one. When I arrived the subcontractor was already there to deliver the food for the turtles and lizards. He was furious because I was late. He said that then he would be late to all the next clients and would have maybe no lunch break. Already there I wanted to go back home. Then I had a man who complained because his scorpion died few days after he bought it. What can I do? Maybe it had a heart attack! I’m not a vet! Stupid client! And he was shouting on me. I wanted to reply badly but I can’t. I don’t want to be fired,” Jussi explained. “A really shitty day. Here is a beer for you,” Ville gave and Jussi thank. “And it was just the morning. Then for lunch I just crossed the road to have a sandwich. When I came back someone had broken the window of the shop. I couldn’t believe it. I had to call the cops.” Ville was laughing. Jussi calling the police sounded like a joke. He was more often arrested for little crimes such as robbery or drug selling than asking for help. “One of the vivariums was broken. I said to the policemen that there was an animal in liberty. One said that he was not afraid of the rabbits or mouses. I laughed and said that it was a scorpion which was free. Then he became pale. It was funny. But then I stopped laughing. That fucking animal pricked my hand! I ended at the hospital to treat the poisoning. And then my boss called me to say that he was unhappy about my work! Fucking day!” Jussi complained and finished his beer.

Anssi Koivuranta arrived few minutes later. His hair were coloured in a kind of orange, with a green lock. It was pretty strange. He probably didn’t shave in the morning and looked also quite tired. “Did you also have a long day at work?” Ville asked. “No, I still have a hangover from the party of yesterday. A friend turned 30... imagine how the party looked,” Anssi explained. “Oh yes I know. Come on, Anssi. You’re not an old man. You can party like Hell every day.” Arttu Lappi entered the little flat about ten minutes later followed by Janne Ahonen who got lost in the neighbourhood. When everybody had a drink in his hand, a can of beer of course, Ville started to explain why they were there.

“After the last gig, I thought a lot. I concluded that my behaviour wasn’t good at all and I had to apologize to you. You did your best that evening and I ruined everything because I was drunk. Now officially the band has only two members. Jussi and me. During winter I wrote some new songs and I wanted to share them with you.” Ville took his guitar and played two songs. The audience was carefully listening. At the end they applauded. “Don’t you think that we can recreate the band and have success? At least a little bit?” he asked. “I’m sure that it can work. I really like your new songs. Girls must love them,” Arttu commented. “Well... I don’t know. We have busy lives and last time was a disaster,” Anssi reminded. “I was drunk. It will never happen again. I swear,” Ville promised. “What about you, Janne?” “Well... I don’t know. Like Anssi said, our lives are quite busy and it’s hard to get some time for recording or gigs,” Janne Ahonen explained. “Come on! We will not record new songs every week and we will not have hundreds of gigs in a year. It’s just to have fun in a group. I prefer to play music than to go hunting or to play golf,” Ville tried to convince. The others were looking at each other. Of course in a way they were interested. But in the other hand there was no guarantee that they would succeed. Especially if their main fans remembered the last concert. “And Arttu, why are you here? Do you want to join the band?” Jussi asked while he looked at the lawyer. “I’m not talented enough, unfortunately. But I’m still your greatest fan.” “I know! You can be our manager!” Ville replied. “It will be an honour. As soon as the members are back I can find a studio to record the new songs. Let’s hope for a new album in summer. That will be awesome!” Arttu said still with his great enthusiasm. “Wait, wait. We are still negotiating to know if the band will reborn or not,” Ville calmed down.

After a couple of drinks and a long discussion, it was decided that The Kroisos second generation would have a second chance. But it was also decided that if Ville was not behaving good the band would die forever. Of course he promised to be a good guy.

_________________

9. Help me

April 14th

Harri Olli felt the need to talk to a friend. He had some worries and he wanted to share them. But whom? He was not really sociable and had no real friends. He was very good in his job and to study facts but not to understand the human feelings such as love and friendship. Then he remembered that Janne Happonen helped easily his friends. He helped Janne Ahonen to find a job and a place to live. He also helped Matti Hautamäki to treat his addiction. Why not him? But he was not sure if he was ready to admit that something was wrong in his life. Nevertheless he drove his car to Käpylä and knocked at the door.

Janne Happonen opened the door. He was wearing a sport trouser and a t-shirt. He looked pretty sleepy. “Did I wake you up?” Harri asked with a shy voice. He knew that Havu was sometimes working by night and he was sleeping during the day. “No, don’t worry. I was just watching some soaps for women on TV. What’s up?” he asked. “Well... I wanted to come over to know how you were. I didn’t hear anything from you since a while.” Havu thought that it was really strange from Harri. He was not the kind of person who cared about the others. He was sure that he wanted to obtain something or he was totally desperate. “Do you want a cup of coffee?” Janne asked and invited Harri to enter.

Harri was a bit ashamed to notice that the last time he sat on that sofa was more than a year ago during the housewarming party. Nothing really changed. It was just different to see the room with only two guys and not full of people. It looked much bigger. “So, tell me what brings you here,” Havu said while he sat on the sofa after have brought the cups of coffee. “Well... I feel alone.” “Alone? Anything wrong with your wife?” Havu asked. “I don’t know. Last year I thought that she was cheating on me with a guy. I know that he went in my house several times,” Harri explained. “Are you sure? Is it over?” “Yes, he’s not here anymore.” “So, everything is fine, isn’t it?” Havu guessed. “I thought so. But it’s not the case.” “Is he back?” Janne interrogated. “He can’t. But something is slightly different. She seems to don’t love me anymore. But every time I ask about it she says that it’s wrong. I don’t know what she is doing in the basement of our house. She spends so much time there.” “Why don’t you go and check?” Janne asked. “Because there is a code on the door and she doesn’t want to give it to me. I feel bad because it means that she doesn’t trust me,” Harri confessed. “Did you talk about it to her?” “I tried. But she refuses to tell me. Were you good friend with Matti?” “Yes. Why?” Havu asked a bit surprised. “Did he say something about me or my wife?” “What do you mean?” “Havu, I need to know. The guy in my house was Matti. I want to know what he was doing with my wife,” Harri insisted. “I don’t know. He never mentioned it. And are you sure that he was not visiting just as a friend?” “No, there was something more. I know when my wife is lying. If they were not sleeping together, what was he doing there?” “Harri, I can’t answer. He never told me about it. Maybe Jussi can help you.” “Jussi? Are you kidding? I don’t think that Matti told him a single secret. Well... if you know anything, please contact me. It’s important for me. And thanks for the coffee,” Harri said before to leave.

Janne Happonen was perplexed. Harri looked really bad. And what Matti did with Nina? And why did he never talk about it? He got up and opened Matti’s diary. The answer was maybe somewhere there. He turned a couple of pages but he was desperate. The text was a mess. There was no chronological order, no topic, nothing. Matti just wrote what came to his mind. Sometimes he probably wrote very later because the language was bad, the handwriting was almost unreadable and some sentences had no sense. It was a diary of 30cm out of 18cm with a dark blue cover. There was a sticker with diary of printed and Matti written by hand. The paper of the pages was yellowish like the old books. It was thick of 2cm and probably had more than hundred pages. Only the four last were empty. Suddenly he saw the name of Nina in the second half of the diary. Under it Matti wrote:

Where I've become so numb without a soul
My spirit sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home

Wake me up
Wake me up inside
I can't wake up
Wake me up inside
Save me
Call my name and save me from the dark
Wake me up
Bid my blood to run
I can't wake up
Before I come undone
Save me
Save me from the nothing I've become

Janne didn’t understand the meaning. What was he saying? Then he looked at the presentation of the text. He concluded that it looked like the lyrics of a song. He went to his computer and googled them. He was right. It was Bring me to Life by Evanescence. He played it in YouTube but didn’t like the song and the video clip. It was too dark and too gothic. Then he read the whole lyrics. Janne found two explanations. The first one was that Matti was begging Nina to save him because he knew that he was dying. She was working on the AIDS virus in a laboratory since years and he was probably asking if she could provide a miraculous treatment. The second possibility looked crazy and was of course not possible. Matti was maybe thinking that Nina could bring him to life. Janne smiled. Poor Matti. He was really afraid of death. Nobody could come back. But he was convinced that Matti was not cheating with Harri’s wife. The sentences were not at all the same as when he was writing about Cassandra. At that moment he wondered how she was doing. He didn’t hear of her since the funerals. He hoped that she was alright and not too sad.

_________________

10. An inspector is born

April 23rd

Janne Happonen was working hard. But he noticed after several years that to be a policeman was very demanding. It was not easy to work by night, on Sundays and sometimes during the public holidays. It was also a physical job. He liked the fact that people needed the help of policemen but he also disliked when other people didn’t have respect for them. He was thinking of a quieter job. One of the other reasons was that his wife was pregnant and he wanted to have time to spend with his family. Since the previous summer he was doing special courses and training to become an inspector. He passed with success the first steps but he required a little bit more time for the last ones. He was not anymore in a learning mood and it was more difficult than what he expected. He did his best and his motivation was high. And that day was special. He succeeded and was now inspector. His training phase went really well and he was happy to have contributed to the arrest of the gang of car thieves. He quitted the police station of Pasila and moved to his office in Helsinki centre near the design museum. It was a nice location and the colleagues were friendly.

He was sat in the office of the supervisor with three other colleagues. He was presenting the crimes that had not been solved. Last month after the ice melted a man was found in the sea. “He was probably there since December when the ice covered the water. He has been murdered probably with a knife. There was no wallet and ID on him. His finger prints have been sent to the laboratory and we should get the answer within a week. Lintunen and Jussila, I’d like you to investigate,” the boss said while he gave them a folder with all the needed information. He was almost 60 years old, white hair and much experimented. “We have another investigation on a fire in the south of Helsinki which happened on March 23rd. The fire started in a flat and a woman died. We are suspecting that it was a crime. The first conclusion was that the fire started in several rooms. This is almost impossible to be an accident. Apparently the woman had no enemy and was not depressive. I’d like that you Vartanen and Happonen spend a bit of time on that case. Here is the folder. Let’s have a meeting next week, same place, same time,” the boss concluded.

Janne Happonen and Juhanni Virtanen sat at their office and looked at the content of their folder. “So, we have the pictures taken right after the firemen stopped the fire. Our victim is Cassandra Lemaitre, 32 years old, nurse at the hospital of Helsinki,” Juhanni read. “Wait a minute...” Havu said when he heard the name and the profession. “I know her! She... she was the girlfriend of my best friend.” “Really? Maybe they had a fight?” his colleague suggested. “No, it’s impossible. He died in January,” Janne explained. He sat back on his chair and thought of Cassandra. He was shocked to hear that she was dead. She was such a nice girl. Who wanted to kill her? Maybe a patient? “Maybe she committed suicide. He died in January and her in March. It was maybe too hard for her,” Juhanni suggested. “We should interrogate her colleagues,” Havu suggested. “In the first report it’s written that nobody noticed something different in her behaviour but also nobody told that she lost her boyfriend recently. I think that you’re right. We should ask them again. We should also talk to her family. Did you know her well?” “No, I just met her a couple of times,” Havu answered.

“Do you know if the lock of the door had been forced?” Havu asked. “Well on the pictures, the door had been broken by the firemen. It’s hard to say if it had been forced before.” “Juhanni, if the firemen broke it, it means that the door was closed. She knew the person who killed her.” “Havu, I love you! Well, professionally of course. Nothing personal,” Juhanni exclaimed and Havu smiled.

Havu was thinking that some humans were really cruel. Who was able to strangle a so nice girl and then to burn her flat? He thought that that person was probably looking for something. On his computer he was looking at her profile in the people database. But there was nothing interesting. She was a normal person who never did something bad. Then he was thinking of the door. “Juhanni, do you know if the main door of the building was locked?” he asked. “I guess. In that area all the buildings are locked. Maybe the criminal discovered the code.” “Or he called her,” Havu proposed. “It’s possible. Let’s check with the phone company.” Juhanni called and asked for her last phone calls. Half an hour later he got a fax. “Let’s see. She received her last call at 19:21 and lasted 5 minutes and 17 seconds.” “It’s a bit long to ask her to open the door,” Havu concluded. “And the owner of that number is her sister,” Juhanni said. “At what time the firemen have been called?” “Hum... at 21:52,” Juhanni answered. “We have to ask the sister if Cassandra ended the phone call because someone knocked at the door. It can help to know how much time the killer spent in the flat,” Havu suggested.

An hour later the two policemen knocked at the door of the sister. She was living in a detached house in Haukilahti. When she opened the door she was surprised to see two policemen in civil clothes. She was about 35 years old, with dark brown hair, some extra kilos but a friendly face. She invited the inspectors to enter. She proposed to serve a cup of coffee but they refused. They sat in the living room. They immediately noticed that she was not at ease. “Do you know if your sister had enemies?” Juhanni asked after a little while. “No, she was a nice girl. Everybody liked her.” “What did you talked about around 7pm on March 23rd?” Janne Happonen asked. “I don’t remember exactly. But it was about the summer holiday. We were planning to go to France to visit our grandparents,” she explained. “Did you notice anything unusual? Was she stressed or depressed?” Virtanen asked. “No, she was normal. Or maybe I didn’t notice.” “Did you ended the phone call after your conversation or had she been interrupted by someone ringing at the door?” Juhanni asked. “No, we ended it normally.” “Do you know if she was depressive after the death of her boyfriend?” Havu asked. “No, not really. She was a nurse and she knows how to react in case of death. The first weeks were a bit difficult but then she went back to work and life was normal again.” “Do you know if she was dating again?” Juhanni asked. “No, it was too soon,” she answered. “Did she meet someone recently that she trusted but that she didn’t know well enough? Maybe a patient that was sad and that she wanted to help, maybe?”Havu suggested. “She didn’t talk about it.” “How often did you have contact with her?” Juhanni asked. “We met once a week and we called every two or three days.” “Do you know who she allowed to enter in her flat?” Havu asked because he knew that Finnish girls almost never allowed a stranger to enter in their home. “Only her family and very good friends. Maybe some other people. I don’t know.” Then Juhanni asked her to write a list.

In the car on the way back, Janne was thinking. “You look very serious. What’s up?” Juhanni asked. “And if it was a delivery man?” Havu asked. “I don’t think so. We would have seen it in the phone call list.” “But what if he was already in the flat. Like at 6pm?” “I don’t think so. Her sister would have notice in her voice that something was strange.” “You’re right,” Havu answered while he looked at the landscape. The snow had almost totally melted and the first flowers were there. He was waiting for summer. He was thinking of having a barbecue in his garden or simply to take a sun bath.

“Hello my dear inspector. How was your day?” Maria asked with a wide smile when he was back. “Very interesting. But now I want to think of something else. I missed you so much,” he said while he kissed and hugged her. With his hand he was softly touching her belly. He was smiling. He was so happy.

During dinner Maria noticed that Janne was lost in his thoughts. “What are you thinking of? Is everything okay?” “Yeah, yeah. It’s just that... I was thinking of my day... of the investigation. I’m sorry,” Janne said a bit confused. “Do you want to talk about it? It seems to bother you,” Maria suggested. “It’s strange that for my first real investigation I’ve to work... on the death of someone I know.” “Really? Who? Matti?” “No, Cassandra,” he said. “What? Is she dead? When? How? What happened?” Maria asked pretty shocked by the news. “She died in the fire of her flat on March 23rd. It looks like a murder and not an accident,” Janne answered calmly. Maria was like a statue and suddenly cried. He got up and comforted.

“The 23rd of March was a horrible day. I will never forget it,” she said once her tears were dried. “What do you mean?” Havu asked curious. “Don’t you remember? It’s the day when Jussi went here and was bad with me. He wanted to know if you got money from someone,” she explained. Janne was thinking of what she just told. “Thank you Maria.” He kissed her, went to the living room and called his colleague. “Maybe I know who killed her. See you tomorrow.”

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The next day at half past seven Janne and Juhanni were in their office with a mug of coffee. “Tell me everything.” “I think that the murderer is the brother of her dead boyfriend.” “Why Havu?” “Because the same day he went to my house and attacked my wife. He was furious and wanted to see my bank account. He wanted to know if I got money from someone. I guess that he thought of his brother. He was really furious because he didn’t succeed. Then he went to Cassandra because it was the only other person that Matti preferred to his brother,” Janne explained. “Okay. If your story is right we have to figure out what happened in the heritage of her boyfriend and we have to check her bank account but also his and yours.” “Can’t we just arrest him and ask questions?” Havu asked. He was very furious to Jussi at that moment but was hiding his feelings. It wasn’t professional to explode. “We need evidence,” Juhanni answered. “Call the bank and I will try to find out how the heritage has been divided,” he added.

At the beginning of the afternoon Jussi was sat in a little room, waiting. Juhanni and Havu entered. “Hi, Havu! Nice to see you. How are you?” Jussi said with a wide smile. Juhanni sat in front of him and nobody answered. “What have you done on March 23rd?” he asked directly. “I’ve no idea,” Jussi answered with the legs crossed. “Let me refresh your memory. In the afternoon you visited Maria Happonen and you attacked her. Do you remember now?” Juhanni insisted. “Oh yes. But I didn’t attack. We were just not agreeing on something.” “On what?” the policeman insisted. “It’s a long time ago. I don’t remember. But what I remember is that Janne Ahonen almost broke my wrist.” “Have you been to the doctor?” Juhanni asked. “No, after a couple of hours it was better,” Jussi explained. “Can I go? I’ve to go to the pet shop.” “No, stay here,” Havu said bluntly. “I don’t want to lose my job,” he explained but the policemen didn’t answer.

“What have you done in the flat of Cassandra Lemaitre the same day?” “I don’t know that person.” “Stop lying! Jussi, it was the girlfriend of Matti. Don’t tell me that you don’t know her!” Havu exclaimed, putting his hand on the table and looking at him straight in the eyes. “Oh it’s her. I didn’t know her last name. And sorry but I don’t know where she lives. And what am I supposed to have done with her?” he asked with a stupid smile.

“It must be difficult to accept that your brother didn’t give your all his money, isn’t it?” Juhanni asked quietly. “I’m lost. What it the link between Maria, Cassandra, my brother and me?” Jussi asked perplexed. “Come on Jussi. You didn’t get what you thought and then you wanted to get his money back. We also read his letter. I guess that you didn’t like it when he said that he gave everything to someone who deserved it. And you thought that it was Cassandra or me. But you were wrong,” Havu said. “Sure I was not happy about it but that’s life. What can I do?” “Isn’t it strange that in the afternoon you attacked Maria to know about that money and that at 21:41 Cassandra or the person who was in her flat accessed her bank account? Less than 20 minutes later her flat was in fire,” Juhanni added. “It’s not me! I swear.” “Okay, so what were you doing on March 23rd in the evening?” “I don’t know! I was maybe drunk or spaced out. Yes, I used drugs. Heroin if you want to know,” he justified. “Do you know that it’s forbidden? You will be also arrested for that. You will go to jail for years... but if you admit your crime maybe we can have an arrangement,” Havu said. “Really? Okay I was in her flat. But I didn’t want that she died. It was an accident. I didn’t know what to do. And I put on the fire. I don’t know why. It was the first thing which came to my mind. It wasn’t smart but I didn’t want to go to prison. But now I know who has my money,” he said with a smile when he looked at Havu. “I’m sorry for you but it’s not me and you are going to jail anyway,” Havu said with coldness in the voice. “But you promised! Liar!” Jussi screamed when Juhanni was putting on handcuffs. “I said maybe. I didn’t promise,” Havu repeated. “You can’t bring me to jail. Tomorrow I’ve a gig with the band. I’ve to be there,” Jussi argued. “There will be no gig for you,” Havu answered.

When he was going back home Janne was not really happy even if his first investigation was a success. He was sad that the girlfriend of Matti had been murdered by his jealous brother. He was also happy that Janne Ahonen arrived on time in his house to protect his wife. If he was not there maybe Jussi would have also killed her. Behind the door of his neighbour he let a box of chocolate and a card where he wrote: Thank you.

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11. Party vs. family

August 12th

A bit more than a year ago, Mico Ahonen chose to have a family and to be responsible. His son Nelson was born the previous spring and he married few months later. He understood few years ago when he was in the US that he was not someone who liked to study. Everything he tried was a failure. First he wanted to be a doctor but he failed at the entrance exam. Then he wanted to study physics. But he was not good at maths. He wanted to be a teacher but he was too lazy to read all the books of the program. Finally he tried to become a manager. But after seven months he gave up. There was too much theory. When he realized that he had to find something else, he had the idea to join a band of death metal and met there Allison, his wife. He also continued to play with the ice hockey team of his university even if he was not studying anymore. He was quite good and wanted to play in a professional team but then the problems started. He had to move in another city of the state and he lost his student financial support. Quickly he ran out of money and his parents were not very collaborative. He had to make a decision. He talked to his girlfriend and asked if she wanted to move with him to Finland or if she preferred to break up. She announced that day that she was pregnant and refused to leave him. Since he was back in Helsinki he was a professional ice hockey player of the Jokerit Helsinki one of the best teams of the capital playing in the national league. The first year he played a couple of weeks with a local team and a coach of the Jokerit saw him and proposed to join the team for a training session. He showed good effort and few weeks later he played with the team. At the end of the season the coach was really satisfied and offered him to play the whole following season. The beginning had been quite tough. It was not as easy as the first season. He had some bad time and was thinking of quitting. But to do what? Then after good training he was good again for the end of the season. What he liked the most in that sport was the team spirit. It was not rare that after a game most of them were having a drink somewhere in the city.

But on that day of August he was going to the birthday party of one of his teammates. In the invitation he got it was written the biggest party ever organized in Helsinki. He wanted to go there but his wife was not agreeing. She reminded that he was a father and that there was no more room in his life for that kind of party. She knew that it was only drinking and then to behave stupidly. She was also upset because he promised to do a mini golf and then to eat a pizza in the evening. They quarrelled but he didn’t change his mind. He wanted to go to that party. Just before 8pm he was ringing at the door of Seppo Röpänen.

During that time Allison was calling to get some help. She needed to ask someone who had a bit of influence on her husband. It was Saturday evening and Janne Ahonen was grilling some sausages on the beach of the Bodom Lake in Espoo with his neighbours. He said that he couldn’t go back to town but he would try to convince his son to go back home. “Anything wrong?” Janne Happonen asked. “Yeah, my stupid son prefers to go to a party to get drunk in steed of to stay with his family. He promised to play mini golf and to eat a pizza in town. I don’t know how I will convince him to go back home. He has a family but behave as a teenager,” Rane said a bit desperate. He hoped that his son learnt of his own mistakes. As a child he suffered a lot when his father was away. Why was he doing the same to his family? Janne called but the only answered he got was “I can’t hear you”. There was a lot of noise in the background. “Take my car and bring him home. Then don’t forget to pick us up to go back home,” Havu said while he gave his car keys to his neighbour. Rane thanked and promised to don’t be too long.

Less than forty minutes later he was behind the door of Seppo Röpänen. He could hear that the music was pretty loud. He rang two times and waited. He hoped that someone heard him. Two minutes later he rang again. A woman half naked opened the door. “Sorry for the noise. It’s a birthday party. At 10pm we’re going to town,” she said while she was closing the door. But Janne blocked the door. “I’m not here to complain. I’d like to talk to Mico Ahonen.” “Who?” the brunette asked a bit confused. She seemed to be drunk. “Let me in. I’ll just get him and leave,” Janne said. “No way. You’re not invited.” “I want to talk to Seppo,” Janne answered. The girl winced, told him to wait and closed the door. Janne hoped that she was sincere.

“What grandpa?” a tall and wide guy asked. It was probably Seppo. He had short brown hair, a rectangular face, blue eyes, an ugly pink t-shirt with the writing Fuck me I’m famous printed in golden and a jeans with holes. Like the girl, he seemed to be drunk. And it was only a quarter to nine. “I’d like to talk to Mico Ahonen.” “No, he is my guest. We are having fun. And who are you, man?” “I’m his father.” Seppo laughed. “Eh Mico! You’re daddy wants you to go back home!” Mico arrived furious. “What the hell are you doing here? You make me ashamed in front of my friends. Are you happy?” Mico complained. “No, it’s not my aim. Do you remember when you complained because I was never at home?” “I forgive you. Go home. You’re an old man. You should go to sleep soon,” Mico laughed. “I will not leave that building without you. You have a wife who is waiting for you. Do you remember what you promised?” Janne reminded. “This party is more important. He will never be 30 again. I can go out next week with her. No problem.” “Nothing is more important than family. You decided to have your own family. So now be responsible. Let’s go,” Janne insisted but Mico was decided to stay. “If you don’t come, I forbid you to criticize me anymore. I’m very disappointed,” Janne said when he started to go back in the stairs.

“Wait!” And Mico joined his father. Janne hid a smile. He was happy about his decision.

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12. Friendship is over

September 24th

Veli-Matti Lindström had to talk to his neighbour since a while but he never found the right words to introduce the subject. He went outside and looked at the green house on the other side of the road. His neighbour was wearing a red t-shirt and beige short. He was washing his car by hand. It was a beautiful Sunday, perfect for that kind of activity. Vellu crossed the road and greeted his neighbour. “Hi Vellu. How were your holidays?” Janne asked still washing his car. “Fine. We came back on Thursday. We stayed almost two weeks. We were in the region of Joensuu in a camping. The boys really love to go there. And there were other children to play with them. It’s friendlier than to just rent a mökki by your own. Have you been somewhere?” Vellu asked. “Just a week in Spain. It was nice but a bit too hot for me. It was over 30 degrees every day. We rented a boat. It was pretty nice. I just go some bad sun burns. But I survived. Don’t worry,” Havu said with a wide smile.

Vellu was looking at the door of the small apartment. There was nothing special. It was just a door. “He is not here,” Havu answered when he noticed what Vellu was looking at. “I don’t need to talk to him. I was just... I just came as a neighbour... to say hello.” Havu was really surprised. The answer of Veli-Matti didn’t sound natural. He wanted to say something else but it was like if he was blocked. “Do you want a beer? I’m finished with the car.” And Vellu accepted.

They sat on the terrace in the yard. The grass was cut, there were three trees and several bushes, a little garden were vegetables were growing and two deckchairs. “Is Maria here?” Vellu asked. “No she is visiting a friend. She should come back at the end of the afternoon. Maybe later. You know when girls are talking you never know when it will end,” Havu told. “How is the baby?” “Well, growing. Everything is fine,” Havu answered when he opened his can of beer. “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” “No, we don’t know. We would like to have a surprise. I don’t have special expectations. I just want a healthy baby. I’ll be happy the same way with a boy or a girl.” “When is it expected?” Veli-Matti asked. “At the beginning of December. It will be our Christmas gift,” Havu explained. “And how is it with Maria? Everything’s fine?” “Yes... but what do you mean?” Janne was not sure of what he wanted to hear. “You know after a while couples are sometimes quarrelling. Especially when there is a new situation. I was just wondering.” “Vellu, like I told you many times, I’m the happiest man on Earth. I really found the right partner. She is my soul mate,” Janne indicated.

“Is it not too difficult to live so close from Rane?” “No, he is nice and independent. Sometimes I don’t see him for days. And he is quiet,” Havu told. “But do you know that when you are at work he comes very often to your house?” Vellu asked a little bit shyly. “What do you mean by often?” Janne insisted. “Almost every day. I don’t know what he is doing but he seems to be close from your wife. Watch out,” Vellu warned. “You know Vellu, since Jussi attacked I’m glad that he comes over. Maria is still quite stressed every time there is a strange noise. And stress is not good for the baby,” Janne Happonen explained. “I can understand. But he is doing it since he moved here last autumn. Why do you think I offered him a job?” Vellu told. “What do you know?” Havu asked in a low voice. “Well... it’s rumours in the neighbourhood. I don’t know if everything is true. But many people say that they are sleeping together,” Vellu finally dared to say. “What?” Janne answered totally shocked. He sat back and wanted to finish his beer but it was already empty. “Some people are saying that it’s not your baby but his baby. I’m sorry but I wanted to tell it to you. I thought that it was important.” Veli-Matti didn’t know what to do. He felt very uncomfortable. He noticed that his neighbour was close to explode. He was so furious. Should he comfort?

On the other side of the road, Katrina was behind her window with her two best friends Minna and Laura. From there they couldn’t see the two men. “Very soon it will be very interesting,” Minna said. Laura looked on the side and saw Janne Ahonen coming from town by foot with two shopping bags. “Oh yes, I confirm. The show will start very soon.” Before he opened the door of his flat Janne Happonen arrived from the side of the house. He looked pretty angry.

“I think that you have something to tell me,” Havu said directly. “I don’t know what...” Ahonen answered perplexed. He was thinking if he did something wrong recently. He was lost. “I trusted you. I thought that you were honest. I also thought that the incident with Henna was bad luck. But I’m more and more thinking that I don’t know you and that you have a very dark side.” “Havu I’m sorry but I don’t know what you are talking about. What did I do to lose your trust?” “Don’t be silly! Everybody in the neighbourhood knows what you are doing when I’m not here,” Havu almost screamed. He wanted that Rane admitted what he did. Furious Havu forced Janne to open his door. “What do you want to find?” Rane asked totally confused. Behind their window the women of the neighbourhood were laughing.

“You have betrayed my trust and our friendship. You are a liar and a poor person. I did so much for you. I’ve been so naive. Why do you never visit when I’m at home?” “It’s not true! Havu, you are accusing me but it’s a lie! I’m not a bad person. I swear,” Ahonen tried to justify but Havu didn’t believe him. Happonen went up the stairs, entered the bedroom and opened the drawer of the night desk. “Ah ah. You have condoms. Can you give me an explanation?” “Havu, this is ridiculous.” “I never saw a woman in your flat. So, can you tell me why you have some?” “This is my private life. Can you please get out of my bedroom,” Rane said as calmly as possible. He knew that it was the best way to calm his neighbour as well. If he answered with aggressiveness the situation would get worse quickly. “Our friendship is over. You have three days to move out,” Havu announced.

Behind the window the housewives assisted to an unplanned event: the arrival of a police car. “Oh my God! The situation turns to be dramatic!” Minna exclaimed. “Do you think that they are fighting?” Katrina asked. “Maybe one got injured,” Laura guessed without emotion in her voice. “I’d like so much to see what’s going on,” Katrina added, very curious. When he heard women voices, Veli-Matti entered in the room where they were. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Oh Rane is arrested!” Minna told and Vellu joined them. He never thought that the situation would turn that way. He just wanted to warn his neighbour. “Is he bleeding?” Katrina asked. “It’s hard to say. We need binoculars,” Laura said. But the show was over. The police car left the yard in front of the Happonen’s house. Havu locked the door of the flat and went back to his house.

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13. Don’t let them destroy my life

The next day Janne Ahonen was transferred to the prison of Vantaa situated in Itä-Hakkila. He protested saying that he was innocent but nobody listened to his complains. He would have to wait there for his lawyer to clarify his case and for his trial if it was needed. He was in a small room with another guy who didn’t look friendly at all. He was tall, fat, full of strange tattoos on his body, a scar on the left cheek and a beard but no hair. He sat on the bed and stayed silent. In the corner there was a WC and a sink but no shower. The room was quite clean and didn’t look too old. There was a little TV on a desk and a bible. Nothing else. From the window he had the view on the inside yard. He thought that what happened to him was totally unfair. Why nobody wanted to listen?

Some hours later it was lunch time. He made the queue, took a tray, a plate and looked at the food. It didn’t look really good and he wasn’t hungry. Someone behind him pushed his back but he didn’t react. It was just a provocation. He took some salad a bit of pasta and Bolognese sauce with a glass of milk and bread with butter. He sat at the extremity of a table. He didn’t want to see or hear the others. He was not like them. He was not a criminal. He did nothing wrong. Some minutes later a guy sat in front of him but he didn’t look. “I’ve never seen you here before. Why are you here?” the man asked but Janne ignored, still looking at his food. “Look at me when I’m talking.” And he hit Janne’s shinbone. “I’m innocent. I’m not like you,” Janne answered. When he looked at him he had a shock. “Jussi!” “Janne!” “What are you doing here?” “And you?” Jussi asked.

“It’s a mistake. I’m innocent and my lawyer will have to prove it,” Janne said. “Good luck. I’m here for murder,” Jussi answered. “What?” “I was drunk and under the influence of drugs. Arttu is a very good lawyer. Because of him in less than two year I’ll be out again. To be here is like holiday. I can sleep quietly, the food is not too bad, I can work and I’m treated for my addiction. Everything is fine,” Jussi explained. Janne didn’t understand how he could be happy to be in that place. It was the worst place. “Who did you kill?” Janne asked while he finished his glass of milk. “Cassandra.” “The girlfriend of your brother?” Janne asked a bit shocked. He thought that he killed a competitor or a client of his dark business. “She didn’t answer my question. But now she is happy. She’s with him.” “How can you talk that way? She was a nice person. You’re a monster. I knew it the day when you attacked Maria. I hope that you’ll stay here longer than two years,” Janne said, disgusted. Some people were really cruel. “What have you done?” Jussi asked. “Nothing. It’s just bullshit invented by lonely housewives and a silly husband,” Janne answered, the arms crossed.

Three days later Janne finally met his lawyer. Of course he chose his friend Arttu Lappi. Both sat in a small room with a rectangular table and two chairs. Arttu was wearing a dark suit and a light yellow tie. He looked elegant and serious. “So Janne. You have to tell me the truth. You know that in this kind of situation it’s really difficult to contradict a woman. The couple Torjonen accused you to have used violence, she went to the hospital to show her bruises and that you raped her. I’ve a copy of the medical inspection and they confirmed that she had been raped.” This family was living in the neighbourhood but Janne didn’t know what he did bad to be accused that way. “I swear that it’s not me. I could never do that to a woman. You can ask all the people who know me. Arttu, I’m not a monster. I want to get out of here,” Janne begged. He felt vulnerable in that place. “Tell me what happened on Saturday September 23rd? Five days ago if you prefer,” Arttu asked. “I slept until 10. Then I cleaned my flat. For lunch I cooked some rice and chicken. In the afternoon I went to Helsinki. To the cemetery to see my son. Then I stayed in the Sibelius Park until 4 or 5pm. Then I came back home and didn’t go out anymore.” “Can someone confirm?” “Well... Vellu was in his garden when I left in the afternoon. Otherwise no,” Janne answered. “She said that you were at her place at half past four when her husband was driving his son to his soccer training.” “I promise that I’ve never been to her home that day. It’s bullshit. Arttu, you have to believe me,” Janne begged. He felt desperate. He had the impression that even Arttu did not believe his story.

“Janne, tell me what was your relation with Sonja Torjonen?” “Well I’ve mowed a couple of times and I repaired her electrical panel. I also fixed her computer more than once. And I had sex with her. A couple of times. But it was always her who proposed. I accepted because I’m too kind, lonely and also because I needed money. That’s a shame. I know,” Janne told. “I’m not judging. When did you meet her for the last time?” Arttu asked. “I don’t know. Maybe two weeks ago. She gave me hundred Euros. I couldn’t refuse.” Arttu was looking at his client. He looked totally destroyed by the situation. He doubted that he was simulating. He really seemed to be honest. Or he was an excellent actor. “Look at my hands,” Janne said and Arttu did it. “Can you see any bruises? If I beat her five days ago don’t you think that my hand would be marked? But there is nothing. Like I told you: I’m not a monster,” Janne insisted. “Well you seem to be honest. But I’ve to find people who can defend you. I’ll contact you next week,” Arttu explained while he got up. “Arttu, don’t let them destroy my life. I suffered enough,” Janne requested in a low voice and with a tear in the eye.

Arttu decided to start by asking the women in the neighbourhood of Käpylä. He noticed that most of them were ashamed to admit what they did with him. Very often they asked Arttu to don’t repeat it to their husband. But none of them said that he was a violent person or forced them. In the afternoon he knocked at the door of the Happonens’. Maria invited him to have a cup of coffee and Janne joined them on the terrace. It was probably one of the last moments to be outside. It was getting colder. “Janne, do you mind if I talk in private to your wife?” Arttu requested after a while. “No, sure. I’m in the computer room if you need me.” And he went to the house. “Maria, can you tell me how is Ahonen? I mean as a neighbour.” “He is very kind. He comes often to visit and ask if I need help. Since half a year I appreciate when he is here because I’m scared that Jussi or any other bad guys enter the house. We talk a lot. About anything,” she said. “I’ve a question but it’s a bit... embarrassing,” Arttu told. “You can ask me whatever you want.” “Have you slept with him?” he asked in a low voice. “But why everybody is thinking it? It’s not true! Janne is my confident. I teach him the samba too. We are just friends. Nothing else. The women around are just jealous. They are sad with their husbands and don’t support that someone is happy. They all want to sleep with Janne but not me. I don’t need it. I’m happy with Havu. And I’m quite sure that someone made up that story to force him to leave the neighbourhood. Janne is someone very kind and sensitive. He had a hard life and he will never be bad with a woman. I bet that it’s the husband of Sonja who did it to her because he discovered that she wanted to divorce. When he heard that she had sex with him a couple of times it was a good argument for him. There is no secret here. Everybody knows everybody. Please Arttu. Bring Janne back,” she begged.

“What do you know about the Torjonen?” Arttu asked. “I think that I saw the husband only a couple of times. He is a bit scary. He never smiles, is tall and fat. He is also really busy with his job. He travels also a lot. Her wife is very discreet and not very talkative. She seemed to be scared of me. But maybe Katrina Lindström can tell you more. She is living just on the other side of the road,” she explained. Arttu thanked for the coffee and knocked at the door of the neighbour. He heard some kids’ screams of excitement and smiled. The door opened and he saw a blond woman with extra kilos, a brown trouser, a too wide green shirt with stains and an exhausted face. “Hi Ms Lindström. I’m Arttu Lappi, the lawyer of Janne Ahonen and I’ve a couple of questions. May I enter?” “Sure.” She invited him to the kitchen. The way looked like a battle field. It was full of toys and other objects.

The kitchen looked pretty nice. It was in wood in old fashion style and fitted perfectly with the style of the house and the neighbourhood. The plates of the lunch were waiting in the sink to be brought to the washing machine. The pans were still on the cooker. “I’m sorry for the mess. I’ve four kids,” she apologized. “I don’t mind. Well I’m here to ask you some questions about your neighbours. The Torjonen. Are they good neighbours?” “I guess. I don’t talk with them often. They are very discreet,” she said. “How old is their son?” “Nine if I’m not wrong.” “Is he playing with your kids? Is he sociable?” the lawyer asked. “Not really. He plays alone in their garden very often. But you know my kids are also playing most of the times here. We have a playground not far away and most of the families are going there and the kids can play together,” she explained. “Is the Torjonen’s son also playing with the others?” “No, he prefers to be alone. It’s why his parents bring his to the soccer club.” “Do you know if the couple is quarrelling?” he asked. “I know that two weeks ago she wanted to divorce. But I guess that he wasn’t happy about it. He is a bit... scary.” Arttu noticed that it was the second time that someone used the word scary to describe the husband.

“Tell me how is Ahonen. Does he have asked you to have sex with him?” he asked directly and he noticed that she looked scared. She bit her inferior lip. “Have you slept with him?” he asked again. “It was a mistake,” she said with tears in her eyes and Arttu gave a tissue. “Did he force you?” “No... Please don’t tell it to Vellu. I don’t want to lose him,” she begged. “I won’t tell him. It’s your business.” And Arttu left. He drove to his office and wrote a report about the interviews he did. He thought that he needed some solid evidence to prove that it was not Janne who did it.

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14. Witches

October 16th

In summer Harri Olli made a new friend: Tami Kiuru. They have never really talked before and a day they ended up in the same bar. Since that moment they decided that it was their head quarters. After some discussions they discovered that they had something in common. A big problem with their wives. “Did you discover anything new?” Tami asked Harri who told him about the secret room in the basement of his house. “Well not really. I checked my electricity bills for the last two years and I found something interesting. In September 2021 the bill raised of 10%. I tried to remember what the reason was but I couldn’t figure out. Then it’s stable. It’s maybe why I didn’t notice the change. Then in July 2022, the bill raised again. But that’s not all. In February 2023 the bill almost doubled. I thought that the neighbour was stealing the electricity. But I checked the arrival to the house and there was no pirate installation or anything strange,” Harri explained before to drink a sip of beer. “This is really strange. Have you talked to your wife?” Tami asked. “No, I prefer that she ignores that I’m trying to discover the truth. I’m quite sure that it’s what is in the basement that consumes so much electricity. And what is really strange is that I and my wife are really concerned about the environment. I don’t understand that she can waste that power.” Tami was thinking but didn’t find any explanation.

“Women are strange and we will never understand them.” “Why do you stay with her? I mean, there is no more love,” Harri asked to Tami. “You don’t know what she is capable of. She is a witch.” “A witch?” Harri repeated. “Yes, she has a kind of power. She feels when I want to go away and she used that power to keep me,” Tami told to his beer. “Maybe I should be with you. She will not dare to be bad again if I’m here. I’m not afraid of her,” Harri replied. “Thanks but she will have her revenge as soon as you will leave. I’ve suffered enough. I prefer to don’t complain.” “Tami, wake up! She is killing you. You are prisoner from a witch! Or a bitch. It’s maybe a better word.” “And you Harri? What are you doing with Nina? You said last time that she ignores you,” Tami added. “I’ve to figure out what is killing my marriage. I know that it’s in the basement. I call it the monster. When I will know I’ll take her to court.” “Isn’t it a bit extreme?” Tami asked a bit surprised. “No, in April I wanted to find the code to open the door and she saw me. But you know what? The next day at work I was shaking, unable to concentrate and I was very aggressive. I almost destroy all my work of the last weeks. I was out of control. I cut my hand and a colleague drove me to the hospital to stitch. I asked them to analyze my blood. A week later I had the answer. Do you know what happened to me?” “No idea,” Tami said, just waiting for the answer. “She poisoned me with a mushroom that you can find only in the deep forests! My wife is definitively a witch. Yours is... I’ll say a bitch,” Harri finished his story.

“We should find a way to be free again,” Tami said. “Yes, but how? You are trying to escape since years. And like I told you, I want the truth. I want to know what is destroying my couple,” Harri added while he made a sign to the waitress to bring him another beer. “Harri, you will never understand what’s going on in a woman’s brain. She is possessed by the devil,” Tami murmured. “What? Are you crazy? What did you smoke?” Harri asked a bit shocked by the last sentence of his friend. “Harri you just admitted it. She is a witch. She will get more and more power and she will not hesitate to eliminate you if it’s necessary. If it was a surprise for your birthday I can understand that she doesn’t want that you go down stairs. But there it’s very strange. It lasts for too long. Harri you should leave before it’s too late,” Tami advised. “I’m a scientist and I believe in facts. Maybe she knows well the mushrooms. I call her witch but I don’t think that she has magic powers. I know that there is a rational explanation,” Harri told.

“You can’t help me but I’ll help you. Next time Piia is violent, just call me and I’ll help you. And that time we will tell everything to the police. She can’t do that to you. It has to stop definitively,” Harri promised. “I killed my daughter,” Tami replied. “It was an accident. She can’t use it to manipulate and to beat you. The mental and physical tortures have to stop,” Harri murmured while he was holding the hand of his friend who was looking at the floor. Harri knew that he didn’t want to look at him because it meant to admit the truth. And truth was cruel. “Okay, next time I call you,” Tami promised and Harri hoped that he would do it.

When he came back home Harri saw his wife going to the basement. “Good evening. I’ll watch a movie after the news. You can join me if you want,” he said. “Thanks but I’m busy.” And she disappeared underground. He wasn’t surprised by her answer. There was definitively nothing left in their marriage. They were like two strangers. He didn’t care about it and enjoyed his movie. He thought that soon he would be free and live with someone who really loved him.

“You are late,” Piia said, the hands on the hips when Tami was back. “A server went down. I had to stay to fix it. It was more complex than expected. But everything is working fine,” he lied. She accepted the explanation and left him alone. Like very often he spent his evening on his computer. He was chatting with other fans of hip-hop in the city.

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15. Hunted

November 12th

That evening Janne Happonen went to bed at 2am after a long day at work. He was totally exhausted. He went quietly under the cover and hoped to don’t wake Maria up. He was on the side and closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt something touching his hair. He moved his hand and touched. Nothing. He tried to fall asleep again. But something cold touched his nose. He opened the eyes and saw the curtain moving. He got up to close the window which was... closed. He checked the curtain but there was nothing. It was probably his imagination. He was too tired. Once he was back to his bed he found a good position and closed his eyes. “Janne...” a very low voice murmured. He opened his eyes and sat on the bed. “Who’s here?” he asked in a low voice too. “I’m here for you...” the voice murmured again. Janne thought that he was definitively too tired. He was hearing... a ghost! No that wasn’t possible. “Rane is not guilty... everything is made... ask the health centre to check the medical folder of Ms Torjonen.” “What?” Janne asked very surprised. He didn’t understand at all what was going on. He thought that maybe he needed to use some sleeping pills.

The next day he was listening to the radio in his car. He was singing very badly the last song of the Rasmus. Suddenly the radio made a strange sound. “No, please not now. Not during this song,” he said to the radio. He touched the FM button to find better reception. “Good morning Janne.” He jumped on the breaks and stopped his car. He was in a panic. The radio was talking to him! It wasn’t possible. He was probably still tired or had a wide imagination. He was a bit scared. Was he going crazy? After a couple of silent minutes he started again the engine of his car. He drove very carefully. He stopped his car at the crossing because the traffic light was red. When the light turned yellow he got ready. “No! Don’t go! You’ll have an accident!” the voice in his head said. “What the fuck!” Havu answered. And a big truck came from the right. The light was red for it and green for Janne. “Thanks. But can I know who you are?” Janne asked very perplexed. He thought that he was really going crazy. He was talking to himself in his car. “You will discover it by yourself. Have a nice day.” And the voice stopped talking. Janne looked at this face in the mirror. No, he didn’t seem to be drunk. And he thought that he slept long enough.

Later when he was at work, Havu couldn’t stop thinking of the voice he heard. He was scared. Maybe it meant that he urgently needed some holiday. Or maybe it was because he would become soon a father. After a mug of coffee he remembered to a suggestion of the voice. He logged in the database and looked at the profile of Ms Torjonen. He opened widely his eyes when he saw that the little voice was right. He took his phone and composed a number. “Arttu? It’s Happonen. I’ve something interesting for you. Can you give me your fax number?”

Some minutes the lawyer got a copy of the document. It was describing how many times the woman went to the doctor for injuries which were probably caused by domestic violence. He also got another report about the husband. At work he got two warnings because of violent behaviour. Arttu smiled. He had finally some solid evidences. During the last week he was stacked in the Finnish administration to get these reports and Havu just helped him a lot in a few minutes. He just had to prove that Janne was not at her place that Saturday.

The lawyer decided to drive to the football club of the son of the family. He opened the gate and walked to the office which was near the field. He knocked at the door and waited. It was quite windy and he hoped that he would not get a cold. He was already sneezing and coughing. A sporty man with a red long shirt opened the door and asked if he could help. “Yes, I’m Mr Lappi and I’m investigating on a case. It concerns the family Torjonen.” The man frowned and looked suspicious. “Oh nothing bad happened. I just need to verify something. Can you tell me if Toni was here on Saturday September 23rd,” the lawyer asked. “Let me check,” the man answered when he looked in his papers. Arttu was surprised to notice that there was no computer in that office. He thought that it was an exception. And of course the research requested more time. The lawyer had time to admire the trophies of the club on the shelf. He took off the list of presence from the drawer and looked for the little boy. “I can’t find his name,” he said. “Are you sure? Is that list reliable? I really need an honest answer,” the lawyer requested. “Yes, it’s filled before to start each training session. We are strict. The kids can miss only three times per season. They want to become champion, they have to train. Success never comes before hard work,” the coach said. Arttu smiled because it was his motto when he was a ski jumper. He thanked and left the office with a copy of the presence list.

When he was back home Janne Happonen was sat on the sofa and was looking at the rounded belly of his wife. He wondered if it was a boy or a girl but also if he was the father or if it was his neighbour. He couldn’t believe that he was not anymore able to trust his wife. And if Vellu misunderstood the situation? He was thinking of the picture on the phone. Maybe he just hugged to say thank you. There were so many lies and jealousy in that neighbourhood. He knew that many people were thinking that their love was fake. He was quite sure that that entire story was invented to destroy his couple and Rane was an innocent victim in that devilish scenario. But who wrote it? Why? “Are you okay sweet heart?” Maria asked when she noticed that he was lost in his thoughts and frowned. “Yeah... I was just thinking of... never mind.”

“I like your deductions. It’s why you are a good policeman.” Janne jumped on the sofa. It was the voice again. Maria was looking at him very surprised and asked if everything was okay. “Yes... did you hear?” “What? The screams of the kids outside?” “Never mind.” He got up and closed the door of his computer room. “Who the hell are you? And why do you talk to me when I’m not alone?” “I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time,” the voice answered and Janne sat on the chair. He was totally confused. “Are you a ghost?” He couldn’t believe that he asked that question. “Kind of,” the voice said. “Do you know everything?” Janne asked. “I know a lot. But not everything. What do you want to know?” “Who is the father of my kid?” “You will know it soon. It will be born in less than a month. On December 4th if you really want to know,” the voice said. “Am I crazy?” “Nope,” the voice reassured. “Am I hunted?” “I’d say yes.” “Can I get rid of you?” Janne asked. “Why? You don’t like me? I save you! It’s your way to say thank you?” “Don’t take it wrong but if someone notices that I’m talking to... to nobody I’ll go to a psychiatric asylum and I’ll never go out,” Janne explained.

The voice was right. On December 4th at the hospital of Helsinki a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes was born. Her parents were really happy and named her Ana. Janne was also very happy to notice that he was the father. His neighbour had green eyes. He thought that he would have to present his deepest excuses. But he was not the only one.

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