Read Online Death Spiral by Leena Lehtolainen - Free Book Online

started up next to me, and it made me wonder how Järvenperä had parked her Mercedes. If she had backed in and the murderer had too, then the raised trunk lids would have mostly sheltered the body transfer from view.
    But where was Noora killed? In the forest near her house? If so, how did the killer get the body in his car without anyone noticing? Did he kill Noora in his car? There was no way I was going to get warrants to search all six or seven possible cars without any evidence that the murder was actually committed in one of them.
    Koivu returned, and I could tell from his expression there wasn’t any news.
    “Lähde and Puupponen are still interviewing the people from the garage last night. They found at least one person who parked on the upper level around seven thirty. But there was no luck with the security camera. The tape was almost black. Come look and you can see why.”
    The security camera was located on the lower level above the entrance. Some enterprising person had sprayed the lens with black paint. Probably the same genius who had covered the walls and ceiling with illegible tags. I didn’t usually get too upset about taggers, since they rarely destroyed anything beautiful, but now I was irked.
    “When did that happen?”
    “Apparently last week. They wash the camera once a month, but the graffiti artists around here always take it out before doing their thing. And the owners have given up caring. Parking here is free, so the cameras are just to protect customers’ cars. Usually there’s enough traffic that break-ins don’t happen anyway.”
    “I still don’t understand how the body could have gotten into Järvenperä’s car without anyone noticing! Hopefully she recovers enough to talk to us soon. And Noora’s parents. That’s going to be fun.”
    “When are you going on maternity leave, by the way?” Koivu asked.
    “At Midsummer. So I have a few weeks left to get this case figured out. Didn’t Järvenperä say there were only a couple of cars here when she came? We need to find them. Put a notice in the papers, and if that doesn’t work, use Police TV too, even though I hate that program. What are you laughing at?”
    “You’re so worked up about this case. You really are trying to show everyone you’re boss material, aren’t you?”
    “Come on, it isn’t that. I . . . I don’t know. You asked whether I’d seen Silja skate. She definitely made an impression, but Noora was the one that really affected me. That girl was something special.”
    As a pair, Noora and Janne had started making waves at the European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Janne did fall during a triple toe loop, and the pair’s pirouette was slightly out of sync. Their free skate, set to the soundtrack of the movie Hair , went better, despite Janne landing on his backside during a combination jump and Noora coming out of a triple Salchow on two feet. They still placed tenth, which was very good for first-timers coming from outside of one of the figure-skating powerhouse countries. The Eurosport commentators gushed about Noora’s temperament and personality.
    The World Championships in Edmonton went even better. Their routines were more polished, with Noora playing a brilliant Snow White in the short program and Janne sticking his triple toe loop, even though his free leg did graze the ice. I thought their free skate was fantastic, although Janne did botch one of his combination jumps again. According to the commentators, the pair’s death spiral was the best of the entire competition. Not all of the judges were thrilled about the Hair music or the skaters’ costumes, and their points for artistic presentation hurt their score. Ninth place was still fantastic for Finland, and I had listened almost with tears in my eyes as the commentators from Eurosport hailed Noora as the most promising female pairs skater since Irina Rodnina and Ekaterina Gordeeva. And now she was dead.
    “We should have time to stop