Inspector Palmu's Error (Komisario Palmun erehdys)

My mask seems to be pretty good?

Yes, sir. It is good.

I presume it's meant to scare?

Those candles will do, Butler.

Close the doors.

- Evening, Butler. - Good evening, Aimo sir.

Is everybody here? And Bruno? Is he still sober?

You're the first to arrive. My master is in the hall.

Look here, Butler.

But that's...

Surprised, huh, Butler?

Bruno!

Dammit, you scared me...

Evening, Butler.

It's so exciting here!

Look, candles! Oh, how thrilling!

This is madness. We shouldn't have come at all.

Erik, it's just a game.

Don't be such a spoilsport.

What is it?

It's Bruno!

He always comes up with something horrible!

I was scared stiff when I came here...

And now, ladies and gentlemen...

We can move on to the theme of the night.

And that, as you'll recall, is crime!

"The crime I've committed."

Suspense should always build up.

So we'll start modestly.

Aimo, you're first.

Then the ladies. Then me.

And Erik. He promised to be the judge.

Aimo, take your basket.

That was a hard one to guess!

Just a minute, Bruno.

What is the worst crime possible?

Murder.

Obviously murder.

Murder!

What?

Murder is the pivotal, the ultimate crime.

One that can never be redeemed.

That's why it's the only good topic for a detective novel.

If you want to write one, mere forgery won't do.

It must be murder!

What?

So you can take back those records.

Many have spoilt their chances by hurrying too much.

A policeman must be able to wait.

Wait for the criminals to act and then solve the crime.

And there's nothing romantic about it at all.

You always talk about psychology and intuition,

and like to show off with your academic studies.

I'm just a simple old policeman.

But I know that imagination has nothing to do with solving a crime.

You need to collect the facts,

arrange them and make the conclusions.

That's it.

But you have to be pedantic.

So you need to rewrite this record.

A bit of literary activity for you!

Palmu.

You know Bruno Rygseck?

The man who guided traffic with horns on his head on May Day.

Well, Bruno is no more.

He got what he deserved.

He slipped on a soap, hit his head and drowned in his bath.

This morning, half an hour ago.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

- What? - It's Latin.

Please. I have enough of a headache.

An ordinary case, but it has a moral.

A grotesque end to a grotesque life.

Just think. Drowned in his bath!

They had to break the door to get him.

You'll do the interrogation. There's no one else available.

Small accidents like these are your specialty.

But be discreet. Don't harass the family.

Hugo Rygseck is a powerful man.

- Can we take a car? - Sure. Take a paddy wagon.

Or the new armored car, in case someone attacks you on the way.

But remember, no tricks! Hugo Rygseck is...

It has to be murder! No one can drown in his bath.

Bruno Rygseck didn't have a sober day in his adult life.

For him such an end is natural.

Who is... or was Bruno Rygseck?

The worst rotten egg of Helsinki's aristocracy.

He belonged in a sanitarium.

But he owned a large share of the Rykämö corporation.

Rykämö corporation?

As far as I know, he never worked in his life

and used his money on things it shouldn't be used on.

You mean he had fun all his life.

All right...

The police.

- Is the body still here? - Body?

- Mr Rygseck was taken to hospital. - He isn't dead?

There's reason to presume he can be brought to life.

Why the police, then?

Vaara and I wanted to ensure nothing was neglected.

- Who is Vaara? - Vice director of Rykämö corporation.

- Is he here? - In the hall.

- What's your position here? - I'm Mr Rygseck's servant.

My name is Veijonen, but he calls me "Butler".

- Why? - I don't know.

- It means "male servant". - I didn't ask you!

In the hall we have Miss Rygseck, my master's aunt,

and Mrs Rygseck, my master's wife.

And Miss and Mr Rykämö, his cousins.

Family gathering, huh?

At last!

Good day.

I'm Inspector Palmu.

I have to do an interrogation.

Right. We're waiting for information from the hospital.

Excuse me... Could we get that table?

Could you tell me when everyone arrived,

what happened then, and so on?

Miss Amalia Rygseck said she arrived with Alli Rygseck.

"Said"? I know exactly when I arrived.

It's just a phrasing we use.

She came with Alli Rygseck at 9.35 a.m.,

and told Butler to wake up his master, which he did.

Both went to the hall to wait. Mrs Alli Rygseck confirms this.

Engineer Erik Vaara arrived at 9.45 a.m.

Hearing that Bruno was in the bath, he also went to the hall.

Student Aimo Rykämö came at 10 a.m. or "a bit past".

Or a bit fore...

I mean... around 10 o'clock.

Butler gave me a drink, so I just stayed here.

Office clerk Airi Rykämö arrived at 10.20 a.m.

She rang the doorbell many times. Vaara told her what had happened.

The accident had already been noticed.

At Miss Rygseck's insistence, Butler went upstairs at 10.15am.

As Bruno hadn't come down, he went to the bathroom door.

It was locked and he had no answer, so he became restless

and asked Vaara to come with him.

With Mr Rykämö they broke the door

and found Mr Rygseck in the pool.

Does anyone have anything to add?

Why were you all here this morning?

What's it to you?

Private affairs, none of your concern.

Excuse me.

Hello? Speaking.

He's dead.

It can't be true.

Bruno avoided the earthly judge, but he won't the divine one.

Kokki, make sure the body is ready for autopsy.

Butler, come with me!

No one can leave without my permission.

- Bathroom? - This way.

Here.

- Where do these stairs lead? - To the lounge.

- And this corridor? - To the cellar rooms and outside.

Get your fingers off!

Who has been here after you found him?

Everyone.

It's very tidy.

I cleaned after the ambulance left.

Cleaned? Why?

The floor was slippery. It could've caused another accident.

- He slipped on a soap on the floor. - Soap?

Yes, it left a long trace.

- And naturally you threw the soap away? - Oh, no.

It went flat but I squeezed it back to its original shape.

I did it instinctively.

Right, this is very simple.

The knob goes here when it's open and there when it's locked.

The bolt moves easily back and forth.

Its weight makes it fall to the slot.

Right?

We have eyes on our heads, don't we?

Now, just imagine...

I lock the door so that I can take a bath in peace.

Why do you want to take a bath?

Did he lock the door when bathing?

Not usually.

He often needed my services.

- I had to serve here as well. - Serve?

Yes, you see...

Hooray, drinks!

Jump in the water!

Really?

Yes, and sometimes even...

- Why was the door locked today? - I don't know.

Tell me about your master's morning habits.

He always woke up at 9.45am.

- So punctually? - In this respect, yes.

This is the last bond that connects me to organized society.

Once it's severed, I'm ruined.

The bath is ready, sir.

After 20 minutes he rang from his room.

I brought his breakfast.

Did his friends know about these habits?

Definitely.

Now show me how you broke the door.

It wasn't me. It was the engineer.

All right.

We came here.