Chapter 1 #2
Aleksanterinkatu stretched before her, bustling even in the bitter cold of January.
The snow was building in icy layers and with little sun, there was nothing to induce a thaw.
The tramlines cut a trail through the street, their metal rails slick with a sheen of ice.
Elea sipped her coffee, watching the yellow glow of tram lights break up the bluish-white light of dusk.
Soon the coffee shop would be closed and Elea would be going home alone.
Her day at work had been long and satisfying, but policing had been hit with budget cuts and now there was talk of redundancies.
Maybe it was for the best if she gave in her notice and returned permanently to the UK.
She hadn’t seen her daughter in a month.
Each night on the phone, it felt like she was talking to a stranger.
No. Not a stranger. Someone with a grudge.
Liisa’s feelings towards the man who took her as a child were complex and would never go away.
Elea had hoped that by moving back home to Finland that Liisa would follow.
But she couldn’t force the issue. She was still the bad guy in the story taking residence in Liisa’s head.
Elea wanted to be a mother and play an active part in her granddaughter’s life.
So what was she doing here? She mulled each thought over.
Six months, Elea had been here, making regular visits to the UK.
Liisa was finding her way around in this new world of hers, and she would never be alone again.
Elea drained the last of her coffee, watching the pedestrians move briskly outside.
They were wrapped in thick coats, gloved hands buried deep in pockets.
Across the road, the last few shoppers weaved outside the entrance to Kluuvi Shopping Centre.
Elea watched, cocooned in her favourite coffee shop, a place to rest her weary bones after a long day.
But outside… she peered down the street.
She sat her cup down. Something was off.
It was the hooded figure standing on the corner catching Elea’s eye.
The gaunt man had come onto her radar in the past, and her eyes narrowed as she watched him scanning the crowds.
The tug in her gut told her to keep watching.
She followed his gaze as he crossed the road.
Elea left a tip before picking her bag up from the table.
She exited the coffee shop, almost barging into a stout elderly Finnish woman wearing a thick furry hat.
She held a wrapped leg of reindeer meat like a weapon, grumbling about its weight as she passed.
“Katsos tees, holmo!” Her handbag flapped loosely from her shoulder, bumping against her hip.
Elea swiftly apologised, despite being called a fool.
Several seconds later, she dipped her head as hoodie man passed.
He was too laser focused on the woman to notice her now.
Reindeer woman’s fur coat wouldn’t have been cheap, and sent a signal to the man on the hunt.
Elea told herself that she was being paranoid.
That the people she dealt with tainted her view of the world.
But still, she followed his steady, lumbering gait, trying to recall the last time she came into contact with him.
Reindeer woman turned left into Kluuvikatu, oblivious to the fact that she was being followed.
The narrow street was tucked between aging buildings which stood high over smooth paving stones.
Her breath rose in puffs as she walked with a wobble, brisk but off balance.
Arthritis in her joints, perhaps? Elea wondered, as she took stock of the unfolding scene.
The woman didn’t see the man dip his hand into his pocket, but Elea did.
Elea also heard the faint click of a flick knife. Hoodie man was closing in on his prey.
“Hei!” Elea shouted. ‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you!
’ She spoke in Finnish, her words a sharp slap in the frozen night.
Hoodie man spun around, turning the knife on Elea.
It was only when she saw his distinctive green eyes that she remembered him.
That rare shade which was possessed by less than two percent of the population.
Reindeer woman stopped, gasping as her leg of meat hit the ground with a dull thud.
“Put it down, Aleksi. It doesn’t suit you.
” The man was a petty criminal, who usually shoplifted to feed his drug habit.
The introduction of a knife was new. She saw the shake in his hand.
The growing menace in his eyes. He was desperate, and Elea had just called him out.
But she stood her ground, eyes flicking between Aleksi and the woman behind him.
Elea took a step forward. Half a second passed before Aleksi turned on his heel.
But he wasn’t leaving with nothing. Elea watched as he approached Reindeer woman.
Watched as he reached for her bag and pulled it from her shoulder with a sharp yank.
Elea slipped her hand into her bag, then sent the snow globe she’d bought for her granddaughter hurtling through the air.
It reached its target, hitting Aleksi on the temple with a sharp clonk.
It was enough to bring him down as he lost his footing in the snow.
Elea grabbed the knife first, following it as it went skittering down the alley.
She was quick in her movements as she turned towards Aleksi, just in time to see Reindeer woman deliver a sharp kick to his stomach.
“Perkeleen nulikka!” She swore, then calmly picked up her leg of meat from the ground. A groan drizzled from Aleksi’s mouth, his face planted in the icy snow.
“Still intact.” Elea regained custody of her snow globe.
“Impressive.” The young man moaned beneath her as she placed a knee into his back.
He would have one hell of a headache. “Excuse me!” She called after the woman.
“Would you like to give me your details?” But she was gone, giving Elea a deaf ear as she went upon her way.
Elea sighed as she pulled her phone from her bag.
Shitting paperwork. She’d have to call this in.
She raised an eyebrow as her phone rang, and DCI Swann’s name glowed on the display.
“Free to talk?”
“Make it fast,” Elea replied, slightly out of breath.
“We need you on a case. Now.”