Two

“Mr. Aho, are you unhappy with me? Or the way I have been taking care of Oona?”

I raised my eyes from the newspaper I had been reading and looked at our babysitter, Minna.

“No, Minna, not at all. I’m sure that we both have been more than happy with you. Why ... oh, now I get it. It’s because I haven’t needed you that often!”

She blushed a bit and I couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty. Minna had pretty severe dyslexia but she was determined to become a children’s teacher. She was able to get some assistance in her school, but as soon as the employers found out about her problem they became very hesitant to keep her. Their loss and my gain, since she was terrific with Oona - and the funny thing was that probably because of Minna’s problem, Oona was already learning to read. I made sure that Minna got paid well and the work she did for me would be counted as part of her studies.

The most important thing about Minna was that Oona liked her - or more precisely - Oona loved Minna. It wasn’t like I didn’t like to have her around, since there wasn’t anything wrong with her - or at least not that much. She was maybe a bit chubby, but in a sexy way. Still, I had no plans getting involved with my babysitter. However, I’m not at all sure what would have happened if she had really tried to seduce me. I’d like to think that I’d be able to resist the urge, but, in all honesty, I probably would have caved in at some point. Probably after a minute or less. Luckily for me, she was too shy and innocent to really try something ... which in a way made her even more sexy. I shook my head mentally in order to clear it.

“Minna, I promise that your pay remains the same even if I spend more time with Oona - and the same applies with the hours I put into your reports. You just have to take care of me in addition with Oona.”

I smiled at her before I understood the mistake I had just made. The fact that she had dyslexia didn’t make her a dummy - so she picked up the double meaning of my words faster than I did. She blushed first and suddenly the look on her face turned funny and without any warning she turned around and ran to the downstairs bathroom, closing the door behind her. A small bell was ringing inside my head but it took some time for me to understand what had happened - and then I blushed myself. I had had no time to deal with women lately and it showed. Like I had been any better at it earlier in my life.

When she came back I tried to act as though nothing abnormal had happened - and in a way, nothing had. Or that was at least the way I wanted to see things. No complications were needed now.

“Are you okay now, Minna?”

“Y ... yes.”

“Good, do you want some coffee? We could then talk about our future in more detail.”

Now it was my turn to blush. Great. Two times in less than five minutes. It was painfully clear that truly I was out of practice when it came talking to girls - or women. I wanted to kick myself. I didn’t need any trouble with Minna now - or any kind of disturbance.

“I’m sorry Minna, that didn’t turn out quite like I meant. I’m totally out of practice here.”

“I didn’t mind, Mr. Aho.”

“It’s Mikael, I think we have already agreed about that.”

Minna didn’t smile. Now when I thought about it she didn’t smile that often; most often she smiled while playing with Oona and a few times I had seen a smile on her face when she didn’t notice that I could see her in a mirror or a window reflection. Normally she was quite a serious girl and I had gotten some hints that her life hadn’t always been that easy.

I was just wondering how to put things into words without putting my foot into my mouth again when my phone rang. No caller id.

“Mikael Aho.”

“Mr. Aho, this is Sergeant Koskinen. Can I have a few words with you?”

For a moment, I wondered if I should mention to her that I was automatically recording all incoming calls but decided against it. She probably had guessed that already - and I was sure she was recording this call, too.

“I guess. Is this about my visit last week? Is there still something that’s not clear?”

“No, it’s not about that. In fact, that person shut his mouth soon afterwards and now he claims that it was a moment of insanity and he had no reason to accuse you. However, there’s another case that we are investigating.”

“What have I done now? I’m almost certain that I’ve not been speeding - and if I have it was accidental.”

“No, this case is about drugs.”

I was silent for a moment. “As far as I know I have never used drugs - damn, I don’t even smoke ... no, if I’m fully honest I have to admit that in my youth I once tasted eighty percent alcohol - Stroh. I’m not sure if that’s still considered a drug while we are in European Union. But I do remember that it tasted terrible.”

“It’s not about you, but another case where the person claims his innocence of the crime.”

“So, first I framed someone for child pornography and then another person for drugs? Damn, I have been very busy lately. Quite a wonder that I get any work done.”

“I didn’t say that he accused you.”