Darling by Jarkko Sipila

Takamäki said and ended the meeting.
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 9
    THURSDAY , 12:40 P.M.
    MEILAHTI HOSPITAL, HELSINKI
     
    Suhonen parked his car in the underground garage. The hospital parking lot had reserved spaces for police cars, but this visit wasn’t work related. Suhonen didn’t mind paying a euro or two.
    He had visited the large hospital several times and was familiar with all the buildings and wards. This time he was going to the new triangle-shaped structure adjacent to the main hospital.
    Suhonen passed the information desk in the large atrium, heading straight to the sunlit lobby. He walked by the lockers but decided to leave his leather jacket on. His Glock was tucked in the shoulder holster as usual; he could’ve left it in the car, but that wasn’t his style.
    He climbed the steps from the lobby’s white tile onto dark granite flooring , and got into the elevator.
    His mind was blank. He had called his old buddy, Eero Salmela, who had told him he’d suffered a severe heart attack and was hospitalized. It had been a close call.
    At first Suhonen didn’t know what to say. But since Salmela seemed calm, Suhonen asked if he could visit. He asked Salmela why he hadn’t called ; Salmela said he just hadn’t felt up to it.
    The elevator took Suhonen to one of the top floors. He and Eero had been friends since their childhood in Lahti, a town about sixty miles north of Helsinki. Despite the fact that one of them became a criminal and the other a cop, they remained fast friends. Salmela had given the police good leads over the years, and Suhonen had gotten his friend off the hook now and then.
    Suhonen stepped out of the elevator and followed the sign to the left. He opened the door into a large lobby. A nurse sat behind a small window on the side, minding her own business. He was surprised no one had asked him anything. He squirted some hand sanitizer from the dispenser, rubbed his hands together, and walked halfway down the long corridor.
    The taupe and wood tones lent a stylish feel to the place, reminding him of a large hotel. He thought to himself that paying taxes was worthwhile if it made public health care look like this.
    Suhonen found Salmela’s room and knocked. He heard a faint answer and opened the door. The shower was running, and a blonde nurse was making the bed. Behind the curtain was another bed. Salmela was standing in front of the large window, looking out at the hospital’s front yard and the medevac pad.
    “What’s up?” Suhonen asked.
    “More like down,” Salmela said as he turned. The forty-year-old had a slight twinkle in his eye, but he looked worn out. “No need to shake hands—I’m not going anywhere quite yet.”
    “Well, you’re still alive and kicking anyway,” Suhonen said.
    Five years ago Salmela was a mid-level criminal, hustling stolen goods in Helsinki. Now he looked like only a shadow of the man he had been in his trademark lambskin coat.
    “My roommate’s in the show er. He’s here for the same thing. But let’s go to the cafeteria.”
    “They’re having a worship service in there at one,” the nurse remarked.
    Suhonen walked into the hall and Salmela followed, taking short steps.
    “I’ve been looking into the numbers,” Salmela began. “Every year twenty-five thousand people in Finland suffer heart attacks. Seven thousand of them die before reaching a hospital and six thousand die in a hospital.”
    “In other words, half of them make it, like you did,” Suhonen said, trying for a cheerful tone.
    “That’s the same percentage as junkies in debt,” Salmela said with a chuckle. “And their odds are getting tougher. A guy I know called me yesterday and said a dealer is out there collecting all his debts. I’m sure you guys will get some work out of it, too.”
    Suhonen let out a small laugh. Naturally, even in the hospital, Salmela got wind of the underworld rumors.
    “Who is it?”
    “I didn’t ask… You understand, right. I’d tell you if I