Read Online Against the Wall by Jarkko Sipila - Free Book Online Page B

have much expertise in violence.”
    Takamäki knew that the Helsinki Police and Customs had had their fair share of conflicts in drug investigations. Snellman poured Takamäki a cup of coffee without asking.
    “So,” Snellman began. “On the phone you mentioned a Jerry Eriksson and wanted some information on his connections to Customs. What kind of a character is this guy?”
    Takamäki liked the fact that his host cut right to the chase. He tasted his coffee. It was fresh, clearly better than police coffee.
    “Eriksson’s been connected to a serious crime,” Takamäki hedged. “I can’t go into details yet, but we have some information indicating that he might have connections to Customs.”
    “It was my understanding that he’s a criminal, not a civil servant?”
    Takamäki nodded, sipping his coffee, “Yeah, from the underworld.”
    “So not from the upper crust like us,” Snellman grunted. “We searched our various databases—and we have plenty—but we got no hits. Bad news, in other words.”
    “Tough to say whether that’s bad news or good news.”
    “Seems to me that the real question is whether or not Eriksson is one of our informants.”
    “Yeah. That’s one way to put it.”
    “You should’ve put it that way right from the start, so I’d know where you’re coming from,” Snellman grumbled, and picked up a stack of papers on the table. “Never mind. After we got off the phone, I took a look at our confidential intelligence reports from the last month. These include the names of some informants, but not all.”
    Takamäki waited in anticipation.
    Snellman continued, “Jerry Eriksson isn’t mentioned here. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that he couldn’t have a connection to Customs somehow. Our undercover guys have contacts that are never put down on paper. Probably not much different from your agency.”
    Takamäki was surprised that Customs would document any of their informants on paper. Never in his life would Suhonen write down the name of an informant in any report. He wouldn’t even write reports.
    “Understood. Can I read those reports?”
    Snellman shook his broad head. “No can do. We can’t give any of these out. Even to a trusted colleague in law enforcement, it’s just too risky. But like I said, Eriksson’s name doesn’t appear here.”
    “Could he have used another name?” Takamäki suggested.
    “Say the name and I’ll tell you if it’s here.”
    “Is there a way to dig deeper?”
    “Is it that important?” Snellman seemed interested. “We can certainly send out a message to everyone asking for any information about this Jerry Eriksson. His last name is common enough that we’d probably get plenty of bad leads. One thing’s for sure, though, a couple hundred agents on the ground will wonder what this is all about.”
    Takamäki sipped his coffee. This didn’t sound promising. “You’re right. That might jeopardize the investigation.”
    “How important is this, really?”
    “Important enough for me to come here,” he said carefully.
    Snellman seemed helpful—maybe he could reveal a little more. “We’re dealing with a murder, and any connection to Customs could constitute a motive. We know that Eriksson has a history of fraud, but we don’t know what he’s been up to lately.”
    Snellman put the pieces together quickly. “So Eriksson was murdered because he was an informant of ours.”
    Takamäki nodded. “But that’s an unconfirmed rumor.”
    “Bad news, whether it’s true or not. I mean the connection to Customs.”
    Snellman stood, picked up the intercom off the table and pushed a button. Takamäki was amazed that these still existed.
    A crackly voice answered, “Nyholm.”
    “You should be here already,” Snellman growled.
    “Right,” the voice on the other end said.
    Takamäki looked at Snellman quizzically.
    “Jouko Nyholm, one of our inspectors. Actually, he could be a senior inspector by now, but to me he’ll always be