Read The Defenceless for Free Online

there was food in the cupboard and whether he’d had a shower. Yes, yes, everything was fine, Ákos was justcutting down on his drinking, he’d almost stopped altogether, he hadn’t drunk much, everything was fine. A kurva életbe , Anna cursed under her breath as she ended the call. I’ve become a mother to my own older brother.

3
    ‘ SEEMS THE OLD MAN hadn’t run away after all. I called all the local care facilities yesterday,’ Sari told Anna.
    It was five past eight. The Violent Crimes Unit was starting its daily work, the photocopier whirred into life, the coffee machine gurgled, office lights switched on one by one, computers booted up. On the surface it was like an average day in any office. There was nothing to suggest that in these drab offices, with their non-descript furniture, people spent their time investigating acts which had their roots in the darkest recesses of the human mind.
    ‘That means he must have wandered off from his own home. I hope a relative notices something soon,’ Anna replied.
    ‘Let’s hope so. It makes me think of a few old people we’ve found mummified. They’d been lying dead for years and nobody noticed a thing.’ Sari yawned. The kids had woken her up at five and started playing.
    ‘Cases like that are rare exceptions. Let’s give it a few days; someone’s bound to call us worried that their grandfather has gone missing. They’ll probably call today.’
    ‘I hope so. I visited Rauno yesterday, by the way,’ said Sari.
    ‘Oh. How is he?’
    ‘He’s on sick leave until the end of April, goes to physiotherapy a few times a week. He’s coming along well, though it’s a long road to recovery. Apparently his left knee is in constant pain, and it’ll be a weak spot for the rest of his life.’
    Senior Constable Rauno Forsman had been seriously injured when his car collided with an elk the previous autumn. Anna remembered the sight of her colleague, battered from the crash, ashe lay in intensive care; how she’d wished she could be in his place, in a coma, forever. She gave a shiver. At the time, she had been suffering from acute insomnia and was so tired that she’d started to wonder whether she was even capable of carrying out her duties as a police officer.
    ‘So we can forget the Achilles heel; from now it’ll be known as Forsman’s knee,’ commented Nils as he walked into the staffroom. His dark hair was still tousled with sleep. Nils was actually quite cute, Anna noticed and stole a glance at the golden ring gleaming on the ring finger of his left hand.
    ‘What about Nina?’ asked Anna.
    ‘She wasn’t at home. I didn’t want to pry. Still, you wouldn’t believe how the girls have grown. Rauno sends his regards to everybody, and said you should all pop in some time. Make sure you do; the poor guy seems bored to tears.’
    ‘I’ll have to stop in,’ said Nils.
    ‘Yes, me too,’ said Anna, though she knew she wouldn’t go.
    ‘Where’s Esko?’ asked Nils.
    ‘He was here before seven this morning, working that case the NBI was asking for help with.’
    ‘What case is that?’
    ‘Some foreign street gang that’s trying to establish itself round here,’ said Sari.
    ‘That’s all we need,’ said Nils. ‘I hope I won’t be drafted in to help them.’
    ‘I doubt it. We’ve got our work cut out with our own motorbike gangs, don’t you think?’ said Sari with another yawn.
    Anna went into her own office and switched on her computer. She had to write up a few reports, then later that afternoon conduct interviews about a suspected assault. Nothing special; she’d get it all done in good time. But what should I do this evening, she wondered. The idea of a lonely Friday evening in her lonely apartment wasn’t appealing. Should she go into town, to a pub? She might ask the pathologist Linnea Markkula to join her.
    Anna hadn’t gone out once in her free time since the Christmas break. This looked like it was going to be the start of yet