Nights of Awe Read Online Free

four.”
    I tried, but nothing happened. I entered the same series of numbers backwards.
    “No good.”
    “Then try four zeros.”
    I entered four zeros and four ones. No good. The minimal skills at my disposal had been exhausted. I was lousy with tech stuff, even though my dad had been an engineer. One of the guys in overalls walked up to me.
    “You’re in charge of the investigation?”
    I said I was.
    “Our chief of security, Repo, asked when you’ll be able to question the engineer of the train that was involved in the collision. Apparently he wants to get home as soon as possible to rest. So if it’s all right with you…”
    “Where is he?”
    “At the Ilmala rail yard. They’ll tell you where to find him.”
    “You can let him know I’ll be there soon.”
    “And that means?”
    “Ten minutes.”
    I told Siimes: “If our guys show up, I’m questioning the locomotive engineer. Three more patrols are coming to help scour the terrain. As soon as this area is searched, close up shop. We need to get rail traffic back to normal as fast as possible.”
    “Done.”
    A gust of air from a passing train caused the paper sheet that covered the body to billow.
    Just as I reached the bridge, a white Ford Mondeo started climbing towards it. I could see that Stenman was driving and Oksanen sat in the passenger seat.
    Despite the surname, Senior Constable Stenman was a woman, first name Arja. Senior Constable Jari Oksanen was the same age as his partner. He was a key player in the police-guild rally club, which is precisely why Stenman didn’t let him drive.
    I gave them a quick rundown of what I knew.
    “Simolin is out questioning the residents of nearby buildings. You two check everywhere else. There’s a dog park at the other end of the bridge. Talk to anyone who might have seen something. Find out if there are security cameras in the area and confiscate the tapes. Three patrols will be showing up here soon. Have them scour the slope and along the tracks. At least a pistol, a knife, a nose and one ear are missing.”
    “A nose and an ear?” Stenman wondered.
    “Nose and ears were cut from the deceased.”
    I held out my hand.
    “Keys. I’m borrowing your car. I need to go over to Ilmala and have a chat with the locomotive engineer.”
    Stenman slapped the keys into my palm.
    Vuorio had finished his work and was clambering back up the slope. I waited for a second for his breathing to even out.
    “I must admit, you have an interesting case here. It even piques the interest of an old-timer like me.”
    I let him continue at his own pace. I knew from experience that rushing him was pointless.
    “Two weapons? I’d suspect that there must have been two perpetrators. First, one stabbed him in the chest twice; either blow appears fatal. Then three shots to the head and two to the chest.”
    “He was shot five times?”
    “Correct. One bullet hit one of the stab wounds so slyly that the entrance wound is difficult to notice. Based on it, though, I can still conclude that the knife was used first and the pistol afterwards. The man was killed deliberately and extremely thoroughly.”
    I took a moment to consider what Vuorio had told me.
    “Two perpetrators would explain why we haven’t found either weapon or the nose or one of the ears. Is there anything else?”
    “The nose and ears were sliced off pretty handily,” Vuorio continued.
    “What does handily mean?”
    “It means that both ears were sliced off with a clean stroke. That takes a determined hand. Nine people out of ten would blanch and be forced to use multiple strokes. Our butcher was the cold-blooded type. He knew someone might show up and acted quickly and efficiently.”
    Manner had said the same thing. Ice in the veins. If that ended up being the case, it wasn’t going to be an easy investigation.
    “There’s one more item of interest,” Vuorio said. “The deceased was a drug addict. He had used drugs intravenously for years. Some of the