Free The Exiled by Kati Hiekkapelto

were so thick she couldn’t make out where the water ended and the shore began.
    ‘How did you manage to see the man? You can’t see anything at all in there,’ she wondered out loud.
    ‘When you drive past every day like I do, you notice even the smallest things out of place,’ the fisherman responded.
    ‘What was out of place on that day?’
    The man thought about what to say as he used the oars to guide the boat closer to the riverbank. Anna had to hold back the branches on both sides to stop them hitting her in the face.
    ‘I saw a flash of red,’ he said eventually.
    ‘Was the man wearing red clothes?’
    ‘No, black. And dead people don’t move. Whatever it was in red was alive.’
    ‘Another person?’
    ‘Probably. What else could it have been? We don’t have animals that colour round here,’ said the fisherman and chuckled as though he’d told a particularly good joke.
    ‘Did you tell the police this?’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘What did they say?’
    ‘They said they’d look into it thoroughly.’
    Did they now? Anna thought. They didn’t say anything to me, though I told them about the little girl in the red skirt.
    ‘Did you get a good look at the red skirt?’ Anna asked, unable to hide her agitation.
    ‘I don’t know anything about a skirt,’ he replied and gave Anna a quizzical look. ‘And I didn’t see anyone else by the time I got here. Only the man.’
    ‘And he was already dead, yes?’
    ‘I didn’t get out of the boat to take a closer look, but he was dead, no doubt about it. He was lying over there, right by the water’s edge.’
    ‘What position was he in?’
    ‘With his head down towards the water.’
    ‘Was he lying parallel to the shore?’
    ‘No, his head was pointing towards the water. His legs were up on the verge. His arms were spread out, if I remember right. He was looking up towards the sky.’
    ‘Can I get out of the boat?’ asked Anna.
    Again the fisherman looked behind him and squinted, allowing his eyes to scan the water as though he was looking for something, but the river was deserted.
    ‘I don’t know about that,’ he said. ‘We shouldn’t really be here.’
    ‘Who says so?’ asked Anna.
    ‘The police told me not to reveal this place to anyone before they’ve completed their investigation.’
    ‘You mean on the phone just now, when you arrived at the quayside?’
    The fisherman looked at Anna with his blue eyes, another puzzled expression on his face, and nodded.
    ‘Yes. They called me especially to reinforce the point. When I was walking to the quay I was unsure whether I should have come at all. I was already thinking I should call the whole thing off, seeing as my lunch is waiting for me as well, but then the chief of police called me. The boss himself.’
    ‘And?’
    The fisherman gave a hearty laugh and spat into the water.
    ‘Then I knew I had to show you the place, even if it meant my lunch getting cold. He wouldn’t have called me if there was nothing to hide out here. Don’t you think?’
    ‘I think you’re right,’ said Anna and gave the fisherman a friendly smile. She felt like hugging him, but the boat was rocking so she didn’t dare stand up.
    ‘I’ll steer this tight up against the shore so you can look at the spot from the boat.’
    ‘I want to inspect the scene as thoroughly as I can.’
    ‘We don’t have much time, and I don’t think you should go ashore.’
    Anna thought about this for a moment. She wanted to argue the point or simply jump out of the boat, but there was something about the man’s mood – something about the whole situation – that made her reject the impulse, however tempting it was.
    ‘All right, I suppose it’s best if I don’t leave any footprints. The police and the crime-scene investigators will be coming back here again.’
    The fisherman nodded, lit a cigarette and guided the boat forward until it was touching the riverbank. If someone had been watching them from the river, it would