The Fire Witness

92

Daniel knocks on Tuula’s door. No one answers, so they head back to the kitchen.

“Remember what I told you earlier,” Daniel says seriously.

As they pass the dining room, its table uncleared from dinner, they see the little red-haired girl. Beyond the large windows of the glass veranda, the harbor is gleaming in the darkness. The faded silver fishing huts stand in a row and are reflected in the water. It’s a beautiful view. But the girl has turned her chair away from the windows to face the wall and she’s staring right at it.

“Hello, Tuula,” Daniel says.

The girl turns her head. Her eyes are pale. Her haunted expression changes into something else, something harder to define.

“I have a fever,” she says, and turns back to face the wall.

“Nice view,” Daniel says.

“Yeah,” she says, but keeps staring at the wall.

“I need to talk to you,” Daniel says gently.

“Go ahead.”

“I want to see your face as we talk.”

“You want me to cut it off?”

“It would be easier if you turned your chair around.”

She sighs and gets up, turns her chair, and sits back down. Her face doesn’t reveal a thing.

“Last Friday, you took Vicky’s purse,” Elin says.

“What?” Tuula exclaims. “What did you say? What the fuck did you say to me?”

Daniel tries to minimize the effect of Elin’s words. “She was wondering-”

“Shut up!” screams Tuula.

They don’t say anything. Tuula presses her lips together while she rips a cuticle from her fingernail.

“You took Vicky’s purse,” Elin says again.

“You’re a fucking liar,” Tuula says. She looks at the floor. She’s trembling.

Elin leans forward and strokes her cheek. “I don’t mean-”

Tuula grabs Elin’s hair and yanks, then snatches a fork from the table and pulls back her arm to stab Elin’s face. But Daniel seizes her hand and holds on while she screams and kicks.

“Fucking bitch! I’m going to…”

Daniel holds Tuula until she quiets down. He takes her onto his lap and she finally starts to relax.

Elin has backed away.

“I know. You only borrowed Vicky’s purse,” Daniel says.

“She only had crap in there. I should have burned it all.”

“So there was nothing in her purse that said it wanted to stay with you?”

“Just the flower button.”

“It sounds lovely. May I see it?”

“A tiger is keeping watch over it.”

“Oh, my.”

“You can nail me to a wall,” Tuula whispers.

“Was there anything else that wanted to stay with you?” Daniel says.

“I should have set fire to Vicky when we were in the forest.”

Tuula keeps talking to Daniel and Elin leaves the room. The hall is dark and empty. She walks to Tuula’s bedroom and listens to make sure that Daniel is still talking to the girl. Then she opens the door.