Chapter 1

A body is found in the park below Toompea.

Death among the church bells

Lynn Bradshaw

 

It was early morning in autumn and already the paths were carpeted with fallen leaves. The park at the bottom of the rocky hill which formed Toompea, the small religious and administrative town which stood above the walled mediaeval town of Tallinn, was a hive of activity for so early in the day.

Detective Axel Altermann stood on a path and pushed over some leaves with his tan leather boots while he waited for the pathologist to arrive. Officially, he was the detective in charge having been the first on the scene. His partner, Jaana Laar, was standing over by the far wall interviewing the shocked dog walker whose white West Highland terrier had found the corpse.

The dog walker and the little dog had been out on their early morning constitutional heading from Toompea to Schnelli Park when the dog had got over excited and started pulling on the lead. He dragged his owner off the path and across the grass towards a pile of leaves. The dog was yapping like crazy and trying to move its little legs as fast as they could go. The dog, Henry, started to pull on some white material which was sticking out from the pile of leaves. The dog would not be dragged away from his find and kept pulling at the material and batting the leaves with his paws until he had pulled more of the material away.

When the dog had finally stopped pulling and yapping, Richard Redlich, realized that what he was looking was more than just a bundle of cloth buried under the leaves. He looked around for help but he could only see figures waiting for trams in the distance. He pulled the lead but the dog would not come away from his find. Reluctantly, Richard took out his mobile phone and called the police.

There were already several policemen and policewomen in their dark uniforms standing around on the grass trying not to look at, what had now been identified as, a corpse. The early morning traffic was rattling along the cobbles of Toompuistee and there was the distant sounds of Tallinn beginning the day. He could just about hear church bells coming from inside the walled town.

Axel stayed where he was under the tree. Being a detective meant that he did not have to wear the distinctive dark police uniform, with its collection of weaponry on show to the public. Standing under the tree in dark black jeans, a black padded ski jacket and tan boots, he could pass for any member of the public and not arouse suspicion. Toying with the leaves, he looked just like an observer of the scene.

The bells continued with different timbres and peals. So many bells and so many churches in such a small town it’s a wonder they are all still open, thought Altermann. How on earth have they all managed to stand the test of time? Weren’t the communists supposed to have closed them down and persecuted the believers?

He was a little too young to remember the darkest days of the old regime when according to his grandmother, all the church windows had been boarded up, the bells silenced and people snuck into the churches through side doors hoping not to be seen by the security police. In those days the bells had been silent. The secret service had used the spires to block radio and television signals. There had been rumours that they had put hidden cameras inside the churches as well. Things had changed a lot since the communist regime had been booted out and a new liberal government elected.

As the first officer on the scene, Axel had searched the pile of leaves and moved aside some of the white cloth to discover that he was looking at the body of a young woman. He searched her pockets for the ID badge which all citizens were required to carry. He found her ID which contained her name, Magdalena Šenková, and an address in the Kadriorg part of town, some distance from where she was found .

A Czech citizen , he reflected, she was a long way from home. She was aged just 24, a little young, he though, to give her life away to God.

He had grown up in Pärnu and was used to seeing the spires of the small country churches but he had had no direct contact with any of them. He had read in a guide book that if you lie on the metal plague on the square in front of the Town Hall you could see all the five spires of Tallinn’s main churches. He had never done it. He had no idea how to address the people who worked in them - they probably all had some kind of title - or how to behave in front of them. This was going to be a learning curve he could do without. Since he had nothing to do with the religious groups he had no idea what sect or order she belonged to. He called over his assistant, Jaana Laar, to see if she knew the address.

Just as Jaana was explaining that she had no idea and would get onto radio dispatch, the medical examiner arrived. He was a short thin man wearing a wool herringbone coat and a pork pie hat. He had a little grey moustache above his lip, which gave him an Austrian appearance, like a lot of the educated professionals around the town.

Axel pushed himself away from the tree and the leaves and walked towards the doctor.

“Good morning, doctor. If you’ll come with me we can go and look at the body. We need to stick to the path here so we don’t contaminate the scene any further,” instructed Axel.

“Interesting case, huh Axel. A nun?” asked the doctor.

“That’s what we think! She’s not on the list of missing persons, but her ID badge says she comes from an address over in Kadriorg,” said Axel.

“Who found her?” asked the doctor.

“The guy over there who was out walking his dog. He phoned it in as soon as he discovered the body,” said Axel.

The doctor looked down to examine the body. There no blood or obvious sign of a wound. He turned her over and looked at the neck and hands.

“She seems to have been in a struggle or fight. I can’t see anything else. We’ll need to get her to the hospital and have a proper look at her,” said the doctor.

“Any idea of time of death then?” asked Axel.

“It was a cold damp night and there was quite a strong wind. Judging from the layers of leaves and the texture of them it looks like she was here all night. I’ll be able to tell you more we do the autopsy”

Jaana Laar walked over to them.

“According to the witness, Richard Redlich, his dog found the body about 7.30. He comes out walking with his dog every morning and every evening. He says he didn’t see anything unusual when they did their 6 pm walk.”

 “In the early evening the park would have seen a steady stream of people going home from work, walking their dogs or going to and from the Cathedral. We are next to a busy road and near the bus stops so somebody might have seen something. In an area like this, if someone had seen a young woman being attacked they probably would have gone to help her. I think we can assume killed sometime yesterday evening, probably after the last service at the Cathedral,” said Axel. “Jaana can you send one of the policemen up to the Cathedral to find out what time they closed up.”

 “There’s a church up there as well, behind the Cathedral. We should send someone up there to see if they know anything,” said Jaana.

Jaana turned her attention to the doctor who was addressing her.

“I’ve given Altermann here all the details so the ambulance  team can come and take the body. I have to rush as I’ve got some lectures scheduled for this morning. If you come over around 2 pm we should be ready to do  the examination. I’ll send my report when it’s done. Good morning to you both.” Said the doctor as he picked up his bag and walked towards the ambulance.

A small crowd of onlookers had gathered, kept behind the police tape by the heavily armed officers who had first visited the crime scene. Some of the onlookers were taking photographs on their phones, but most were just looking shocked. A van from Media EE had turned up and the camera man was setting up his equipment.

The dog walker and his dog were taken away in a police car so they could file a full report at the station. The small team of crime scene investigators took photographs of the scene and combed among the leaves for evidence, but the leaves had been falling steadily all night and there was a thick covering on the ground. The early morning frost made some of the leaves glisten in the awakening dawn. There were no signs of footprints other than those of the dog walker and the police team.

“We’re not going to find out much more from here,” said Axel to Jaana. “Let’s move on.”

“Has anyone been over to Kadriorg yet?” asked Jaana.

“No. That’s our pleasure. What did the station have to say about them?” asked Axel.

“Not a lot. It is a Lutheran organization from Germany and it is some kind of religious retreat and printing operation ,” replied Jaana.

“Well, that’s enlightening. Let’s go and find out who is in charge and give them the sad news then,” said Axel as he pulled his police issue knitted cap out of a pocket and rammed it on his head. A few more leaves detached themselves from a tree and landed on his shoulders.

He led the way out of the park and through a crowd of onlookers and press photographers. They had not been allowed anywhere near the site but were trying to get shots of the action from a distance. People moved out of the way to let Axel and Jaana pass, so they were soon on the side street at the back of the park.

Novak stopped on the pavement and took out a packet of domestic cigarettes and a bright pink disposable lighter. With a practiced hand he tapped the bottom of the soft packet and a cigarette popped up. He cupped his left hand round the bottom of the cigarette as he lit it. The smoke wafted upwards and the cigarette gave off a strong smell of rough tobacco. Then he looked up and down the street to see who was on the move.

It was a narrow street and quite steep as well but traffic was allowed to use it in both directions to get to and from the upper town.  Most of the main foot traffic reached Toompea from the Old Town. That morning the street was relatively quiet.

Axel looked up. He was stood opposite an old apartment building with some kind of emblem above the door. It looked like the German Eagle. To his left was the rusty steel and glass bunker which now housed the Okupatsioonide Muuseum. Another place Axel had never been in. He didn’t particularly want to know what life was like under Communism. Jana stood on the pavement looking at him, waiting for a signal.

He inhaled deeply then let out a plume of smoke. He was not looking forward to this at all and was trying to put off the evil moment for as long as he could. Informing people that their loved ones had been involved in an accident or a crime was part of the job and he had been trained in what to do at the Police Training School. They had even done role plays. He had got used to going into all kinds of buildings and institutions, but had managed to avoid the churches.

Out in the countryside there were mainly small plain churches but up here in the capital they had this stonking great Russian Cathedral right on above the city. It’s onion domes and gold painted façade  could be seen from many angles. They weren’t hiding their light under a bushel. This lot out in Kadriorg bothered him, though. How come he had never heard of them? He would get Jaana to do some research on the internet to find out more about them.

He was intrigued to find that they were up in the forest behind Kadriorg and not nearer the city. The whole area up there had always spooked him. If you went further along Pirita Tee you came to the ruins of the original St Bridget Convent, which had been left standing for over 500 years, with the new Post-Communist one sitting next door.  During the Communist Era the area had been a controlled zone because the Soviets had their radio and TV transmitter hidden among the forests and the Russian cemeteries. There you would be, tramping about in the woods and looking up at the tall plane trees and the next thing you saw on the ground were Russian military gravestones with their images of the dead. Spooky.

When Axel ground his cigarette butt out on the pavement, Jaana moved towards the car. She got in the passenger side and fastened her seatbelt. Axel looked questioning at her and then got in behind the wheel. Seconds later the Skoda was doing a U-turn and joining the traffic circling the wall of the Old Town.

Axel followed the tram lines and drove along Narva Avenue, past the commercial buildings and apartment buildings, out towards the leafy Kadriorg district and then upwards along the coastal road of Pirita Boulevard. At a set of traffic lights he turned right and they left the main highway to St Petersburg and Tartu. Now they had woods on both sides of the road with occasional family houses planted in clearings. The light was dimmer and the road less populated. A few old men and women with bags or boxes attached to trolleys were waiting at the bus stops as they passed. Twenty minutes later there was a larger clearing and a large ornate building came into view.

Axel pulled up into a parking bay. Jaana got out again and walked to the gate. A printed sign told her to push the top bell button if she wanted assistance. She did. A voice crackled through the intercom making Jaana jump back.

Jaana quickly explained their business and the metal gates to the car park swung open. Axel drove in and parked as Jaana walked up the stone path to greet the woman in jeans and a sweater who opened the front door.

“Good morning, my name is Jaana Laar and this is Detective Axel Altermann,” said Jaana as she flashed her ID badge at the woman.

Within minutes the pair were seated in Ikea armchairs in the hallway as the woman went to fetch someone more senior. Jaana consulted her notebook while Axel cast his eyes around the room. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting but it wasn’t this.

 

Reviews

[paula8966]

Really interesting plot, I'm looking forward to next chapters. Nice descriptive parts helping the reader in imagining the scenes.