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you or let your feelings interfere with the investigation. It was just a job, nothing more.
    Joutsamo continued . “Forensics took DNA samples, but it’ll take a few days to get the results. They found plenty of fingerprints, of course, but none near the victim. The coffee table had been wiped clean recently.”
    “W onder if the killer cleaned up the place,” Nyström said. “That would mean they had time, and that the murder was premeditated. But she wasn’t raped, so it’s hard to say. In any case, this is no contract hit for unpaid debts or the revenge killing of a snitch.”
    Takamäki liked the way Nyström thought. He was glad the guy was assigned to his unit.
    “Hard to say,” Joutsamo added. “Let’s first find the killer and then ask about the motive.”
    “Yeah, I was just trying to think of the motive so we could narrow down the potential perpetrators.”
    Takamäki nodded. “Good, let’s go on.”
    “No winners yet among the fingerprints,” Joutsamo said. “For example, the front door had prints from at least seven different people, and we’ve identified three so far: Laura Vatanen’s own and the two officers who responded to the call.”
    “One set of prints might be the custodian’s, who unlocked the door,” Kulta pointed out. “He fiddled with the lock.”
    “That’s what I was thinking. We ’ll talk to him again and get his prints,” Joutsamo said. “Interestingly, one set of the prints matches the ones found on the coffeemaker and more specifically the on-switch. So it’s evident that someone who recently entered the apartment started the coffeemaker. Note that it was still on when the body was found.”
    “What about a phone and a computer?” Takamäki asked.
    Joutsamo l ooked at her notes. “No computer in the apartment. Maybe the killer removed it from the apartment, or she never had one. No internet cable or wireless network either. She had a hundred twenty euros in her purse, so the motive probably wasn’t money. We found one noteworthy call in her phone—an answered call at 8:50 A.M. from a number listed as ‘Mom.’”
    “A possible suspec t, since the motive wasn’t sex, money, or gang-related,” Kulta said. “The mother had easy access to the apartment and could’ve even surprised her daughter, who wouldn’t have been expecting the slash.”
    “ Sure,” Joutsamo said. “The previous phone call was the night before to a number on a prepaid SIM card. By the way, Laura’s was prepaid, too.”
    Joutsamo looked at Takamäki. “That’s what we know so far.”
    “Nice work, Anna, and quick . The coffeemaker is an interesting point. Seems likely at this stage that the killer was someone Laura Vatanen knew.”
    Takamäki was interrupted when Kannas from Forensics popped into the room, his large frame towering in the doorway. Takamäki knew Kannas from their patrol days.
    “Well, we’ve got something anyway,” Kannas said in his gruff voice.
    “What is it?” Takamäki asked.
    “ The prints matched a guy with a criminal record; a guy named Jaakko Niskala was in the apartment at some point. He’s not a big-time gangster, but he does have a couple of thefts and assaults to his name.”
    “You mean t he prints on the coffeemaker?” Takamäki asked hopefully.
    “Unfortunately, no; his were on the front door and the fridge.”
    Kannas handed Joutsamo the printout and said, “ His address is only a few hundred feet from the victim’s apartment, so you might want to talk to him.”
    Kulta was the first to speak, though they all thought the same thing.
    “What was a small-time thief doing in a mentally disabled woman’s apartment?”
    No one had an answer.
    “We’ve got our work cut out. Mikko, Kirsi, and Leif, keep interviewing the tenants in the Nӓyttelijӓ Street apartment complex. Someone might’ve seen something. And ask the people if they know anything about her.”
    “Okay,” Kulta agreed. “We’ll get fingerprints off what’s-his-name, the