Read Online Behind God's Back by Harri Nykänen - Free Book Online

didn’t believe in luck. It wasn’t likely that the killer would have made such an elementary mistake.
    â€œWe need to talk to the people who live on the road that starts on the far side of that hill. They might have noticed the killer’s other car. It was probably parked there overnight.”
    â€œI’m on it,” Simolin said. Stenman nodded, too.
    Simolin’s phone rang. He glanced at it and said: “It’s Estonia.” Stenman and I stopped to listen.
    â€œWait, let me write that down.”
    I handed Simolin a pen and a notebook.
    â€œAll right, go for it,” he said, jotting down the information he was getting. “Thanks a lot; I owe you one.”
    Simolin frowned at the notebook. “The car was sold by a legitimate importer a little over a year ago. It’s owned by an Estonian finance company, which is also the registered user. It was stolen from the company’s parking garage two weeks ago.”
    I had a sinking feeling. “What’s the name of the company?” I asked. Simolin took another glance at his notebook.
    â€œBaltic Invest.”

6
    Roni Jacobson’s plane from Rovaniemi was landing at 7:15 p.m., and it would take about twenty minutes for the bags to come through. Stenman and I waited in the short-stay lot. I was tired, and I rolled down the window to get some fresh air.
    â€œHow well do you know Jacobson’s son?” Stenman asked.
    â€œNot well. We haven’t seen each other in years. The last time was in passing, at some community event.”
    â€œI always thought all the Jews in Finland fraternized with each other.”
    â€œI’m an exception,” I said, sounding stuck-up even to myself.
    Stenman smiled. “Why don’t you go to the synagogue and find yourself a nice Jewish girl, get married under the canopy, and smash a wine glass under your heel. I’ve seen Fiddler on the Roof. ”
    â€œI know all the nice Jewish girls in Finland, and they’re already married. And if I married a Finnish Jew, I’d be marrying her entire family. Just the thought gives me the willies.”
    I was telling the truth, but I still shouldn’t have said anything to Stenman.
    â€œI thought family was the only thing that mattered to Jews?”
    â€œFor some it is, for others it’s not. Most of us marry outside the faith.”
    â€œIsn’t that a shame?”
    â€œIt’s pretty natural. What would be weird would be if people from as small a group as us Jews only bred… only married each other.”
    Stenman had been my subordinate for years, but she hadnever asked about my Jewishness before. Maybe she felt that prying was indelicate.
    I saw Roni Jacobson exit the terminal carrying a bulging gym bag in one hand and a fishing rod case in the other.
    I got out of the car; Stenman followed. Roni saw me, and we shook hands. He had aged since the last time we had met. Despite the fact that he was a couple of years younger than me, he was already greying, and he had a bald spot the size of an apple at the crown of his head. A few days of stubble covered his chin.
    I had never particularly liked Roni. Ever since he was a kid there had been an air of arrogance about him, and character traits like that don’t just disappear. One glance at Roni’s face was enough to see that things hadn’t changed – at least not for the better.
    â€œI’m sorry for your loss,” I said. “This here is Detective Stenman.”
    â€œMom’s waiting, so… Are we going to stand here, or should we get in the car?”
    â€œWe can give you a lift and talk during the ride. We’ll do the official interrogation sometime later.”
    I opened the trunk. Roni dropped in his luggage and joined me in the back seat. Stenman drove.
    â€œDid you catch anything?” I asked.
    Roni’s tone was impatient. “A couple of trout and some grayling.”
    We chatted for a minute