Read Online The Bodyguard by Leena Lehtolainen - Free Book Online

door to his office, which was filled with cigar smoke. I didn’t wait for him to ask me to sit down; I went for the dark leather couch. Laitio fell into his office chair and pulled open a desk drawer. Inside was a box of cigars. After he selected his smoke, he separated the cigar’s cap from its head with an angry snap. When Laitio pulled the thick cigar to his lips, the sight was not attractive.
    “We’re not allowed to smoke at the Bureau offices, so I have this little deal here,” he explained and blew smoke toward me. He probably knew the tobacco laws better than I did and would be able to enumerate the reasons why he was allowed to puff away here. Laitio may not have remembered that I was a seasoned traveler in Russia, where smoking was rampant. A little smoke wouldn’t bother me.
    He started questioning me about my work history. He didn’t have a computer or a voice recorder in front of him, just a couple notepads. But he didn’t write anything down.
    “They focus on insignificant things, like the tobacco laws, but then they ignore the real issues, like murders,” Laitio complained, sucking on his cigar. He suddenly switched gears. “Are you and your girlfriend planning on having a church wedding even though the bishops are still against it?”
    “Is that any of your business?” I asked.
    “I just wondered if you were the faithful type. Did you have an affair with Anita Nuutinen?”
    “I don’t fool around with my clients. And as far as I know, Anita only liked men.”
    “Were you jealous?” he asked. I stopped responding to his absurd questions, and let him smoke his cigar in silence, watching his mustache move. Valentin Paskevich had a mustache, too, but it was more of a European style, small and sharp.
    “So you went all the way to America for security training, eh? Do you also always carry a gun?”
    I wanted to reply by pulling out my pistol, but I didn’t want him to confiscate it. He then asked me about people who had been threatening Anita.
    “Being her bodyguard was more about general safety, but like I told you on the phone, she was afraid of her former business partner and lover, Valentin Paskevich.”
    Laitio sat still for a moment.
    “Her lover? Nuutinen and this whatever-his-name-is had an affair?”
    “Yes, for many years. I guess you haven’t done your homework on Anita that well.”
    “Thank you, Ms. Smart-ass. Nuutinen didn’t seem to have any friends. Her daughter was somewhere in Asia at the time and won’t be back in Finland until later this week. Now tell me more about this Paskevich.”
    It seemed wise to steer the conversation away from me, so I took Laitio’s cue and told him all I knew about Anita and Paskevich’s business and all the scams they were involved with after their falling out. Laitio scribbled down some notes and didn’t interrupt me once.
    “So, you started working for Nuutinen after she and Paskevich were no longer lovers. She must have been a real piece of work,” Laitio marveled. “Well, was there enough for you to do? Fighting and shooting, like a real bodyguard? Shoot men in face and kick them in balls?” he asked, as if he were reading from a script.
    “There was no need for that. My presence was sufficient protection.”
    “Apparently. As soon as you left, Anita Nuutinen was killed. Why did you resign so suddenly? Did your girlfriend get jealous?”
    “Nuutinen had decided to buy a lynx fur coat and I didn’t approve of it.”
    Laitio burst out laughing so hard his mustache trembled. “You think I believe that story? You’re no animal-rights activist; you’re an army woman! Who paid you to leave Nuutinen behind? This Paskevich character or one of his minions? Was thirty silver rubles enough?”
    The lynx story went right over his head, obviously. He didn’t need to know about my past.
    “Or did you do it yourself? You took her to a quiet street and killed her? And now you’re here, acting all innocent until you drop out of sight to