Several details of the case lead Inspector Palmu to suspect that she was murdered, including a crooked soup pot, her unusually strong sleeping pills and the fact her dog has been killed by breaking its neck.

Although all the evidence points to Kaarle Lankela, the attempted suicide and false but accurate confession made by Kirsti Skrof (taken from details that were given to her by Virta) causes the whole affair to become untangled.

Palmu's suspicions about Kuurna are aroused due to his unusually proactive involvement in the murder case as well for delivering Kirsti's suicide note, which at first glance doesn't appear to concern him.

The climax is heavily indicative that Kuurna is homosexual but the motives of the murder are also tied to the story about his ancestor's surrender of a horse to the King of Sweden.

After Palmu points out the tilted pot in Kuurna's painting, Kurt attempts suicide by throwing himself down the spiral stairwell of his apartment building but is stopped by the police at the last second.