The Fire Witness

77

A white Opel pulls to a stop underneath the flat roof of the gas station. A woman in a light blue sweater gets out and stands at the pump while searching through her purse.

Ari Määtilainen turns his gaze back to the two thick grilled hot dogs on their bed of mashed potatoes with chili sauce and roasted onions. He glances up at the heavyweight motorcyclist waiting for his food and says mechanically that coffee and soft drinks are available at the opposite counter.

The zippers on the motorcyclist’s leather jacket scrape against the glass counter as he leans over to take his food.

“Danke,” he says and then heads over to the coffee machine.

Ari turns up the volume on the radio. The woman in the blue sweater has walked away from the pump as it’s filling the Opel’s tank.

On the radio the news announcer is reporting developments in the recent kidnapping case: “The search for Vicky Bennet and Dante Abrahamsson has been called off. The Västernorrland police are not commenting, but sources have told us that they are feared to have drowned last Saturday. The police are being criticized for sending out a general bulletin. Radio Eko has been trying to reach the chief of the National Police, Carlos Eliasson, for a statement…”

“What the hell,” Ari whispers.

He looks at the sticky note, which is still next to the cash register. He picks up his cell phone and calls the police again.

“Police, Sonja Rask speaking,” a woman says.

“Hi,” Ari says. “I saw them, the girl and the little boy.”

“May I ask who is calling?”

“Ari Määtilainen. I work at Statoil gas station in Dingersjö. I was just listening to the radio and they said that the kids drowned on Saturday. But they didn’t. I saw them here in the early-morning hours Sunday.”

“You’re talking about Vicky Bennet and Dante Abrahamsson?” asks Sonja skeptically.

“Yes, I saw them here. It was just after midnight, so it was already Sunday. They couldn’t have drowned on Saturday and then showed up here on Sunday, right?”

“You’re saying you saw Vicky Bennet and Dante Abrahamsson on Sunday?”

“That’s right.”

“Why didn’t you call right away?”

“I did call, and I talked to a police officer.”

Ari had listened to Radio Gold on Saturday evening. The general bulletin hadn’t gone out yet, and the local news was asking the public to keep their eyes open for a girl and a little boy.

At eleven p.m., a long-haul truck parked in the lot behind the diesel pumps. The truck driver napped for three hours.

He saw them in the middle of the night, around two a.m.

Ari was looking at the monitor, which showed everything the security cameras were picking up outside. The picture changed and showed the long-haul truck from another angle. The gas station appeared deserted as the driver started the engine and the truck began to pull away. Then Ari noticed a figure at the back of the building, close to the car wash. He was surprised to see anyone, then realized that there were actually two figures. He stared at the screen. The truck was backing up and turning around. The truck’s headlights shone into the window as it turned. Ari left his position behind the counter and ran around the building. The truck was on the exit ramp and the parking lot was empty. The girl and the little boy were gone.