The Fire Witness

186

Joona and Summa had planned the road trip together. They took it in stages: first up to Umeå, past Storuman, over the mountains to Mo i Rana in Norway, and then back down the west coast. They were now driving to a hotel in the middle of the Dalälven area and they’d promised Lumi they’d visit a zoo the next day.

Summa changed the channel on the radio to some dreamy piano music. The notes wove in and out like a tapestry. Joona reached back to check that Lumi was fastened properly in her car seat. He wanted to make sure her arms weren’t caught at an odd angle.

“Pappa,” Lumi said sleepily.

Joona felt her small fingers on his hand. She held on tightly, but released her grip when he pulled his hand back.

They drove past the exit to Älvkarleby.

“Lumi’s going to love the zoo,” Summa said quietly. “The chimpanzees and the rhinos.”

“I already have my own monkey!” exclaimed Lumi.

“What?”

“I’m her monkey,” Joona said.

“That suits you.”

“Lumi takes good care of me. She’s a nice vet.”

Summa’s sandy brown hair was hanging in her face, partially covering her deep, dark eyes, but Joona could see the dimples appear in her cheeks.

“Why would you need a vet? Is there something wrong with you?”

“I need glasses.”

“Is that what she said?” Summa laughed. She was flipping through a magazine and didn’t notice that he’d missed the turnoff and was now heading in the wrong direction entirely. They were already north of the Dalälven.

Lumi had fallen asleep with her doll resting against her cheek.

“Are you sure that we don’t have to book a table?” Summa asked. “I want to sit outside on the veranda this evening so we have that great view of the river below us.”

Joona took the exit toward Mora, and that’s when Summa realized that something was wrong.

“Joona, we missed the exit to Älvkarleby, didn’t we? Aren’t we staying in Älvkarleby? That’s what we were planning, weren’t we?”

“Yes, that’s what we planned.”

“What are you doing?”

He didn’t reply, but kept staring at the road. The afternoon sun made the puddles shimmer. A long-distance truck ahead of them swung into the middle lane without signaling.

“We said that we’d-”

Summa stopped and took a deep breath. Then her voice changed and fear was in it.

“Joona? Have you lied to me? Tell me you didn’t lie to me.”

“I had to,” he whispered.

Summa stared at him. He knew how upset she was. She struggled to keep her voice low so that Lumi would not wake up.

“You can’t be serious,” she said. “You can’t do this. You told me we weren’t in danger any longer. You said it was all over and I believed you! I believed you’d changed your mind, I believed that-” Her voice broke and she turned away and looked out the window.

“I lied,” Joona confessed.

“You are not supposed to lie to me. You must never lie to me.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“We can leave the country, the three of us together. It’ll all work out. You’ll see.”

“You have to understand, Summa. You must understand. If I thought it was at all possible… if I had any other choice-”

“Stop this nonsense right now,” she says. “This threat can’t be real. It can’t be. You’re seeing a connection that doesn’t exist. Samuel Mendel and his family have nothing to do with ours. Do you hear me? We’re not under any real threat.”

“I’ve tried to tell you how serious this is, but you won’t listen.”

“I don’t want to listen. Why would I want to?”

“Summa, I have to… I’ve arranged everything. There’s a woman named Rosa Bergman waiting for you in Malmberget. She’ll give you new identity cards. You will be fine.”

His hands have started to shake.

“You really are serious,” Summa whispers.

“I’m more serious than I’ve ever been,” he says. “We are going to Mora, and you and Lumi will take the train to Gällivare.”

He could tell that Summa was working hard to keep her emotions in check.

“If you leave us at the station, you’ve lost us for good. Do you realize this? There’s no way back.” She stared at him with defiant and sorrowful eyes.

“Tell Lumi that I had to go work abroad,” he continued, keeping his voice low. Summa had started to weep.

“Joona,” she said. “No, don’t do this.”

He kept staring straight ahead. He swallowed hard and kept his eyes on the road.

“And in a few years,” he went on, “tell her that I’m dead. You must never ever contact me again. Never try to see me. Do you understand?”

Summa was now crying out loud.

“I don’t want to! I don’t want to!”

“Neither do I.”

“You shouldn’t do this to us!”

“Mamma?” Lumi had woken up and sounded frightened. Summa quickly dried the tears from her cheeks.

“Don’t worry,” Joona says to his daughter. “Mamma is sad because we’re not going to the hotel by the river.”

“Tell her,” Summa said.

“Tell me what?” asked Lumi.

“You and Mamma will be taking the train,” Joona said.

“What about you?”

“I have to work,” he replies.

“You told me we were going to play monkey and vet.”

“He doesn’t want to play,” Summa said harshly.

They were near the outskirts of Mora. They passed scattered houses and a few industrial buildings. Then they passed shopping malls and car repair shops. The dense forest fell back, and the fences to keep the wildlife off the highway disappeared.