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into the shadows beside the escalator and watched him
come inside. He walked straight over to Merja’s counter
and took some tissue.
“Goodness, you’re wet,” Merja said. “Wait a minute, I’ll get
you a whole package.”
She turned and opened the case where jars were kept. The
package of tissue was bulging; it looked as if someone had
tried to stuff it with extra paper. Petri thanked her and
began to wipe off his hair.
“Don’t much want to be seen this way,” he said with a
grateful smile to Merja. Then he resumed his path toward
the watch department. I waited a short while before I
walked over to Merja.
“You’re cheating on me with that handsome youngster,” I
teased. Merja jumped but recovered quickly.
“Him?” she giggled as if delighted. “Don’t be silly. I’ve
known Petri since he was a little boy. He was one of my
daughter’s best friends.”
“Was?”
There was no time for an answer before I felt someone
tugging at my coat.