The Fire Witness

130

Vicky is sitting up in bed, the curtains drawn around her, when Joona Linna shows his ID to the young policeman guarding the door and walks in. Her head is bandaged; her face is covered in bruises and grazes; her broken thumb is in a cast. Susanne Öst is also there. With her is a younger woman. Joona does not greet them but pulls up a chair beside the girl.

“How are you feeling?” he asks.

She gives him a muddled look and asks, “Is Dante with his mother now?”

“He’s here at the hospital and his mother is sitting next to him.”

“Was he hurt?”

“No, he’s fine.”

Vicky nods and then stares into space.

“And you? How are you feeling?” Joona asks again.

She looks at him but is not able to answer before the prosecutor clears her throat.

“I would like Joona Linna to leave this room right now,” Susanne says.

“Now you’ve done it,” Joona says, and doesn’t look away from Vicky.

“You are not part of this initial investigation.” Susanne raises her voice.

“They’re going to ask you a ton of questions,” Joona says to Vicky.

“I want you to stay here,” she says in a quiet voice.

“Honestly, I can’t,” Joona says.

Vicky whispers something to herself and then she looks at the prosecutor.

“I’m not saying anything unless Joona stays.”

Susanne says, “He can stay if he keeps quiet.”

Joona is watching Vicky and thinking about how to get through to her.

Two murders are a heavy burden to bear. Most girls her age would have already broken down and confessed, but Vicky is calm and expressionless. She won’t let anyone inside her mind. She creates quick alliances, he thinks, but hides her true motives to keep as much control as she can over her situation.

“Vicky Bennet,” the prosecutor starts with a smile, “my name is Susanne and I’m going to be asking you questions, but before we begin, I have to let you know that we are recording everything so that we can listen to it later. This means I don’t have to write much down, which is nice… I’m lazy that way.”

Vicky is not looking at her and doesn’t react. Susanne waits a moment and keeps wearing her smile. Then she rattles off the time, date, and the names of the people in the room.

“We usually do this before we get started,” she explains.

“Do you understand who we are?” asks the second woman. “My name is Signe Ridelman and I’ve been appointed as your lawyer.”

“Signe is here to help you,” the prosecutor says.

“Do you know what a lawyer is?” asks Signe.

Vicky gives a slight nod.

“I need an answer,” Signe says patiently.

“I understand,” Vicky says, and then she smiles broadly.

“What’s so funny?” asks the prosecutor.

“All of this,” Vicky says. Then she lifts her arm and pulls out the narrow tube from the inside of her forearm and watches her blood trickle down.