Snow Woman by Leena Lehtolainen

me, and that seemed to give him courage. He grabbed the key out of the maintenance man’s hand.
    “Let me do it.”
    The lock was turned almost instantly, and the sharp, nauseating smell of gas rolled over us. My stomach felt like an icy snowball had been thrown in it. I shouted Milla’s name as I struggled in vain to squeeze through the small gap left by the security chain. Then I stopped to listen. Was that a muffled voice coming from somewhere inside?
    “Do you have bolt cutters?” Akkila asked the maintenance man.
    He didn’t seem to register the question immediately. “Think I left the toolbox at home,” he finally said, coughing. The smell of gas was getting stronger.
    “Let me try,” Haikala said.
    Knowing that he practiced both karate and kickboxing, I got out of the way.
    “I’ll try to kick the screws out,” he said as he took a fighting stance in front of the door. Rapidly bringing his leg back, he let out a yell and sprang.
    But as it turned out, Milla was quicker, throwing the chain off and the door open just as Haikala launched into a jump kick. As it swung out, the door floored Haikala, who took the maintenance man down with him, howling in pain as the emergency beer bottle in his jacket pocket broke and slashed his side. Akkila and I were lucky to make it out of the way.
    “What the hell is going on out here?” Milla yelled.
    She had obviously come straight out of the shower, evidenced by the towel wrapped around her head and the short, bright-red lace robe she was wearing. Without makeup, her round face looked babyish and soft, but the expression in her eyes was hard.
    I tried to explain as Haikala picked himself up off the floor and Akkila bent to inspect the groaning maintenance man’s injuries. When I reached the part about the gas, Milla screamed, “Fucking Asikainen!” and ran back inside.
    I hurried after her into the dim entryway. The kitchen was somewhere at the end of the hall, and as I moved toward it, the stench of gas worsened.
    “That goddamn meathead made oatmeal and then left the gas on. What the fuck? Lucky I didn’t light a cigarette.” Turning off the burner with one hand, she opened the window with the other.
    “Asikainen who?”
    “Oh, he’s nobody. Just here for the night. What the fuck are you doing barging in here anyway? Wasn’t I supposed to be in Espoo at three?”
    “One,” I said. “And didn’t you hear the doorbell or the phone?”
    “I turned the ringer off after you called so no other idiots would wake me up. I was working until four in the fucking morning. Who in their right mind calls at nine?”
    “Was the doorbell turned off too?”
    “I never open the door unless I know who it is. There’s way too many goddamn Jehovah’s Witnesses and rapists running around here. Besides, I was in the shower.”
    I suspected Milla had arranged the whole incident on purpose to avoid the trip to Espoo, but I didn’t bother arguing about it. I could just as easily interview her here since I had two other officers with me. Then on the way back to Espoo I could pick up Kirstilä and bring him to the station.
    The bleeding maintenance man had hobbled inside with the help of the officers. In addition to being cut, he had bumped his head badly when he fell. Poor old guy. I asked Akkila to take him to the emergency room.
    “Am I some kind of effing ambulance now?” he groused, running his eyes over Milla in her skimpy outfit. Haikala, on the other hand, didn’t object at all when I suggested he help me conduct Milla’s interview in the meantime.
    “Take your time getting dressed,” I told Milla. “This isn’t a matter of life and death.”
    I dialed Joona Kirstilä’s number and arranged to pick him up in a couple of hours. Hopefully he wouldn’t take off before I got there. Kirstilä’s voice was pathetic, almost weepy. I wasn’t looking forward to meeting with him.
    When I got off the phone, Milla was still in the kitchen making no moves toward getting