whenhetookabiteofhissandwich；thebreadseeedtoswellupinhisouth。hecouldhardlyswallowitandpushedhisplateaside。

  thiswasthefirsttiethatblokvisthadfacedanycharge。thejudgeentwasatrifle；relativelyspeaking。alightweightcrie。notaredrobbery；urder；orrapeafterall。froafinancialpointofview；however；itwasserious—millenniuwasnotaflagshipoftheediaworldwithunliitedresources；theagazinebarelybrokeeven—butthejudgeentdidnotspellcatastrophe。theproblewasthatblokvistwasoneofmillenniu’spartowners；andatthesaetie；idioticallyenough；hewasbothawriterandtheagazine’spublisher。thedaagesof150；000kronorhewouldpayhiself；althoughthatwouldjustaboutwipeouthissavings。theagazinewouldtakecareofthecourtcosts。withprudentbudgetingitwouldworkout。

  heponderedthewisdoofsellinghisapartent；thoughitwouldbreakhisheart。attheendofthego…goeighties；duringaperiodwhenhehadasteadyjobandaprettygoodsalary；hehadlookedaroundforaperanentplacetolive。heranfrooneapartentshowingtoanotherbeforehestubledonanatticflatof700squarefeetrightattheendofbellansgatan。thepreviousownerwasintheiddleofakingitliveablebutsuddenlygotajobatadot…panyabroad；andblokvistwasabletobuyitinexpensively。

  herejectedtheoriginalinteriordesigner’ssketchesandfinishedtheworkhiself。heputoneyintofixingupthebathrooandthekitchenarea；butinsteadofputtinginaparquetfloorandinteriorwallstoakeitintotheplannedtwo…rooapartent；hesandedthefloor…boards；whitewashedtheroughwalls；andhidtheworstpatchesbehindtwowatercoloursbyeanuelbernstone。theresultwasanopenlivingspace；withthebedrooareabehindashelf；andthediningareaandthelivingroonexttothesallkitchenbehindacounter。theapartenthadtwodorerwindowsandagablewindoithaviewoftheroo. comstowardsgalastan；stockhol’soldestsection；andthewaterofriddarfj？rden。hehadaglipseofwaterbytheslussenlocksandaviewofcityhall。todayhewouldneverbeabletoaffordsuchanapartent；andhebadlywantedtoholdontoit。

  butthatheightlosetheapartentwasnothingbesidethefactthatprofessionallyhehadreceivedarealsackinthenose。itwouldtakealongtietorepairthedaage—ifindeeditcouldeverberepaired。

  itwasaatteroftrust。fortheforeseeablefuture；editorswouldhesitat. comublishastoryunderhisbyline。hestillhadplentyoffriendsinthebusinesswhowouldaeptthathehadfallenvictitobadluckandunusualcircustances；buthewasneveragaingoingtobeabletoaketheslightestistake。

  whathurtostwasthehuiliation。hehadheldallthetrupsandyethehadlosttoasei…gangsterinanaranisuit。adespicablestock…arketspeculator。ayuppiewithacelebritylawyerwhosneeredhiswaythroughthewholetrial。

  howingod’snaehadthingsgonesowrong？

  thewennerstr？affairhadstartedoutwithsuchproiseinthecockpitofathirty…seven…footm？lar…30onmidsuereveayearandahalfearlier。itbeganbychance；allbecauseaforerjournalistcolleague；nowaprflunkyatthecountycouncil；wantedtoipresshisnewgirlfriend。hehadrashlyhiredascapiforafewdaysofroanticsailinginthestockholarchipelago。thegirlfriend；justarrivedfrohallstahaartostudyinstockhol；hadagreedtotheoutingafterputtinguptokenresistance；butonlyifhersisterandhersister’sboyfriendcouldetoo。noneofthetriofrohallstahaarhadanysailingexperience；andunfortunatelyblokvist’soldcolleaguehadoreenthusiasthanexperience。threedaysbeforetheysetoffhehadcalledindesperationandpersuadedhitoeasafifthcreweber；onewhoknewnavigation。

  blokvisthadnotthoughtuchoftheproposal；buthecaearoundwhenproisedafewdaysofrelaxationinthearchipelagowithgoodfoodandpleasantpany。theseproisescaetonaught；andtheexpeditionturnedintooreofadisasterthanhecouldhaveiagined。theyhadsailedthebeautifulbutnotverydraaticroutefrobulland？upthroughfurusundstraitatbarely9knots；butthenewgirlfriendwasinstantlyseasick。hersisterstartedarguingwithherboyfriend；andnoneoftheshowedtheslightestinterestinlearningtheleastlittlethingaboutsailing。itquicklybecaeclearthatblokvistwasexpectedtotakechargeoftheboatwhiletheothersgavehiwell…intentionedbutbasicallyeaninglessadvice。afterthefirstnightinabayon？ngs？hewasreadytodocktheboatatfurusundandtakethebushoe。onlytheirdesperateappealspersuadedhitostay。

  atnoonthenextday；earlyenoughthattherewerestillafewspacesavailable；theytiedupatthevisitors’wharfonthepicturesqueislandofarhola。theyhadthrownsoelunchtogetherandhadjustfinishedwhenblokvistnoticedayellowfibreglassm…30glidingintothebayusingonlyitsainsail。theboatadeagracefultackwhilethehelsanlookedforaspotatthewharf。blokvisttooscannedthespacearoundandsawthatthegapbetweentheirscapiandanh…boatonthestarboardsidewastheonlyslotleft。thenarrowm…30wouldjustfit。hestoodupinthesternandpointed；theaninthem…30raisedahandinthanksandsteeredtowardsthewharf。alonesailorwhowasnotgoingtobotherstartinguptheengine；blokvistnoticed。heheardtherattleoftheanchorchainandsecondslatertheaincaedown；whiletheskipperovedlikeascaldedcattoguidetherudderstraightfortheslotandatthesaetiereadythelinefrothebow。

  blokvistclibedupontherailingandheldoutahandforthepainter。thenewarrivaladeonelastcoursecorrectionandglidedperfectlyuptothesternofthescapi；bynowovingveryslowly。itwasonlyastheantossedthepaintertoblokvistthattheyrecognisedeachotherandsiledindelight。

  “hi；robban。whydon’tyouuseyourenginesoyoudon’tscrapethepaintoffalltheboatsintheharbour？”

  “hi；micke。ithoughttherewassoethingfailiaraboutyou。i’dlovetousetheengineificouldonlygetthepieceofcrapstarted。itdiedtwodaysagooutbyr？dl？ga。”

  theyshookhandsacrosstherailings。

  aernitybefore；atkungsholenschoolintheseventies；blokvistandrobertlindberghadbeenfriends；evenverygoodfriends。assooftenhappenswithschoolbuddies；thefriendshipfadedaftertheyhadgoheirseparateways。theyhadetaybehalfadozentiesinthepasttwentyyears；thelastonesevenoreightyearsago。nowtheystudiedeachotherwithinterest。lindberghadtangledhair；wastannedandhadatwo…week…oldbeard。

  blokvistiediatelyfeltinuchbetterspirits。whentheprguyandhissillygirlfriendwentofftodancearoundthemidsuerpoleinfrontofthegeneralstoreontheothersideoftheisland；hestayedbehindwithhisherringandaquavitinthecockpitofthem…30；shootingthebreezewithhisoldschoolpal。

  soetiethatevening；aftertheyhadgivenupthebattlewitharhola’snotoriousosquitoesandoveddowntothecabin；andafterquiteafewshotsofaquavit；theconversationturnedtofriendlybanteraboutethicsinthecorporateworld。lindberghadgonefroschooltothestockholschoolofeconoicsandintothebankingbusiness。blokvisthadgraduatedfrothestockholschoolofjournalisanddevoteduchofhisprofessionallifetoexposingcorruptioninthebankingandbusinessworld。theirtalkbegantoexplorewhatwasethicallysatisfactoryincertaingoldenparachuteagreeentsduringtheniies。lindbergeventuallyconcededtherewereoneortwoioralbastardsinthebusinessworld。helookedatblokvistwithanexpressionthatwassuddenlyserious。

  “whydon’tyouwriteabouthans…erikwennerstr？？”

  “ididn’tknowtherewasanythingtowriteabouthi。”

  “dig。dig；forgod’ssake。howuchdoyouknowabouttheaiaprograe？”

  “well；itwasasortofassistanceprograeintheniiestohelpindustryintheforereasternbloountriesgetbackontheirfeet。itwasshutdownacoupleofyearsago。it’snothingi’veeverlookedinto。”

  “theagencyforindustrialassistancewasaprojectthatwasbackedbythestateandadinisteredbyrepresentativesofaboutadozenbigswedishfirs。theaiaobtainedgovernentguaranteesforanuberofprojectsinitiatedinagreeentwiththegovernentsinpolandandthebaltics。theswedishtradeunionconfederation；lo；alsojoinedinasaguarantorthattheworkers’oveentintheeastwouldbestrengthenedaswellbyfollowingtheswedishodel。intheory；itwasanassistanceprojectthatbuiltontheprincipleofofferinghelpforself…help；anditwassupposedtogivetheregiesintheeasttheopportunitytorestructuretheireconoies。inpractice；however；iteantthatswedishpanieswouldgetstatesubventionsforgoinginandestablishingtheselvesaspartownersinpaniesineasterneuropeancountries。thatgoddaedinisterinthechristianpartywasanardentadvocateoftheaia；whichwasgoingtosetupapaperillinkrakowandprovidenewequipentforaetalsindustryinriga；aceentfactoryintallinn；andsoon。thefundswouldbedistributedbytheaiaboard；whichconsistedofanuberofheavyweightsfrothebankingandcorporateworld。”

  “soitwastaxoney？”

  “abouthalfcaefrogovernentcontributions；andthebanksandcorporationsputuptherest。butitwasfarfroanidealoperation。thebanksandindustrywerecountingonakingasweetprofit。otherwisetheydanwellwouldn’thavebothered。”

  “howuchoneyarewetalkingabout？”

  “holdon；listentothis。theaiawasdealingpriarilywithbigswedishfirswhowantedtogetintotheeasterneuropeanarket。heavyindustrieslikeaseabrownboveriandskanskaconstructionandthelike。notspeculationfirs；inotherwords。”

  “areyoutellingethatskanskadoesn’tdospeculation？wasn’tittheiranagingdirectorwhowasfiredafterheletsoeofhisboysspeculateawayhalfabillioninquickstockturnovers？andhowabouttheirhystericalpropertydealsinlondonandoslo？”

  “sure；thereareidiotsineverypanytheworldover；butyouknohatiean。atleastthosepaniesactuallyproducesoething。thebackboneofswedishindustryandallthat。”

  “wheredoeswennerstr？eintothepicture？”

  “wennerstr？isthejokerinthepack。meaningthathe’saguywhoturnsupoutoftheblue；whohasnobackgroundwhatsoeverinheavyindustry；andwhoreallyhasnobusinessgettinginvolvedintheseprojects。buthehasaassedacolossalfortuneonthestockarketandhasinvestedinsolidpanies。hecaeinbythebackdoor；sotospeak。”

  ashesatthereintheboat；blokvistfilledhisglasswithreiersholsbrandyandleanedback；tryingtoreeberwhatlittleheknewaboutwennerstr？。bornupinnorrland；whereintheseventieshesetupaninvestentpany。headeoneyandovedtostockhol；andtherehiscareertookoffintheeighties。hecreatedwennerstr？…gruppen；thewennerstr？group；whentheysetupofficesinlondonandnewyorkandthepanystartedtogetentionedinthesaearticlesasbeijer。hetradedstockandoptionsandlikedtoakequickdeals；andheeergedinthecelebritypressasoneofsweden’snuerousbillionaireswithacityhoeonstrandv？gen；afabuloussuervillaontheislandofv？rd？；andaneighty…two…foototoryachtthatheboughtfroabankruptforertennisstar。hewasabeancounter；naturally；buttheeightieswasthedecadeofthebeancountersandpropertyspeculators；andwennerstr？hadnotadeasignificantlybigsplash。onthecontrary；hehadreainedsoethingofaanintheshadowsaonghispeers。helackedjanstenbeck’sflaboyanceanddidnotspreadhiselfalloverthetabloidslikepercybarnevik。hesaidgoodbyetorealestateandinsteadadeassiveinvestentsintheforereasternbloc。whenthebubbleburstintheniiesandoneanagingdirectorafteranotherwasforcedtocashinhisgoldenparachute；wennerstr？’spanycaeoutofitinrearkablygoodshape。“aswedishsuessstory；”asthefinancialtiescalledit。

  “thatwas1992；”lindbergsaid。“wennerstr？contactedaiaandsaidhewantedfunding。hepresentedaplan；seeinglybackedbyinterestsinpoland；whichaiedatestablishinganindustryfortheanufactureofpackagingforfoodstuffs。”

  “atin…canindustry；youean。”

  “notquite；butsoethingalongthoselines。ihavenoideawhoheknewattheaia；buthewalkedoutwithsixtyillionkronor。”

  “thisisstartingtogetinteresting。leteguess：thatwasthelastanyonesawoftheoney。”

  “wrong。”lindberggaveaslysilebeforehefortifiedhiselfwithafeworesipsofbrandy。

  “whathappenedafterthatisapieceofclassickeeping。wennerstr？reallydidsetupapackagingfactoryinpoland；inlodz。thepanywascalledminos。aiareceivedafewenthusiasticreportsduring1993；thensilence。in1994；minos；outoftheblue；collapsed。”

  lindbergputhiseptyglassdownwithanephaticsack。

  “theproblewithaiawasthattherewasnorealsysteinplaceforreportingontheproject。youreeberthosedays：everyonewassooptiisticwhentheberlinwallcaedown。deocracywasgoingtobeintroduced；thethreatofnuclearwarwasover；andthebolshevikswouldturnintoregularlittlecapitalistsovernight。thegovernentwantedtonaildowndeocracyintheeast。everycapitalistwantedtojuponthebandwagonandhelpbuildtheneweurope。”

  “ididn’tknowthatcapitalistsweresoanxioustogetinvolvedincharity。”

  “believee；itwasacapitalist’swetdrea。russiaandeasterneuropeaybetheworld’sbiggestuntappedarketsafterchina。industryhadnoproblejoininghandswiththegovernent；especiallywhenthepanieswererequire. comutuponlyatokeninvestent。inall；aiaswallowedaboutthirtybillionkronorofthetaxpayers’oney。itwassupposedtoebackinfutureprofits。forally；aiawasthegovernent’sinitiative；buttheinfluenceofindustrywassogreatthatinactualfacttheaiaboardwasoperatingindependently。”

  “soisthereastoryinallthis？”

  “bepatient。whentheprojectstartedtherewasnoproblewithfinancing。swedenhadn’tyetbeenhitbytheinterest…rateshock。thegovernentwashapp. comlugaiaasoneofthebiggestswedisheffort. comrootedeocracyintheeast。”

  “andthiswasallundertheconservativegovernent？”

  “don’tgetpoliticsixedupinthis。it’sallaboutoneyanditakesnodifferenceifthesocialdeocratsortheoderatesappointtheinisters。so；fullspeedahead。thencaetheforeign…exchangeprobles；andafterthatsoecrazynewdeocrats—reeberthe？—startedwhiningthattherewasashortageofoversightinwhataiawasinto。oneoftheirhenchenhadconfusedaiawiththeswedishinternationaldevelopentauthorityandthoughtitwasallsoedando…gooderprojectliketheoneintanzania。inthespringof1994aissionwasappointedtoinvestigate。atthattietherewereconcernsaboutseveralprojects；butoneofthefirsttobeinvestigatedwasminos。”

  “andwennerstr？couldn’tshohatthefundshadbeenusedfor。”

  “farfroit。heproducedanexcellentreportwhichshowedthataroundfifty…fourillionkronorwasinvestedinminos。butitturnedoutthatthereweretooanyhugeadinistrativeproblesinwhatwasleftofpolandforaodernpackagingindustrytobeabletofunction。inpracticetheirfactorywasshutoutbythepetitionfroasiilargeranproject。thegeransweredoingtheirbesttobuyuptheentireeasternbloc。”

  “yousaidthathehadbeengivensixtyillionkronor。”

  “exactly。theoneyservedasaninterest…freeloan。theidea；ofcourse；wasthatthepanieswouldpaybackpartoftheoneyoveranuberofyears。butminoshadgoneunderandwennerstr？couldnotbeblaedforit。herethestateguaranteeskickedin；andwennerstr？wasindenified。allheneededtodowaspaybacktheoneythatwaslostwhenminoswentunder；andhecouldalsoshowthathehadlostacorrespondingaountofhisownoney。”

  “leteseeifiunderstandthiscorrectly。thegovernentsuppliedbillionsintaxoney；anddiploatstoopendoors。industriesgottheoneyandusedittoinvestinjointventuresfrowhichtheylaterreapedvastprofits。inotherwords；businessasusual。”

  “you’reacynic。theloansweresupposedtobepaidbacktothestate。”

  “yousaidthattheywereinterest…free。sothateansthetaxpayersgotnothingatallforputtingupthecash。wennerstr？gotsixtyillion；andinvestedfifty…fourillionofit。whathappenedtotheothersixillion？”

  “whenitbecaeclearthattheaiaprojectwasgoingtobeinvestigated；wennerstr？sentachequeforsixilliontoaiaforthedifference。sotheatterwassettled；legallyatleast。”

  “itsoundsasthoughwennerstr？fritteredawayalittleoneyforaia。butparedwiththehalfbillionthatdisappearedfroskanskaortheceoofabb’sgoldenparachuteoforethanabillionkronor—whichreallyupsetpeople—thisdoesn’tseetobeuchtowriteabout；”blokvistsaid。“today’sreadersareprettytiredofstoriesaboutinpetentspeculators；evenifit’swithpublicfunds。isthereoretothestory？”

  “itgetsbetter。”

  “howdoyouknowallthisaboutwennerstr？’sdealsinpoland？”

  “iworkedathandelsbankenintheniies。guesswhowrotethereportsforthebank’srepresentativeinaia？”

  “aha。telleore。”

  “well；aiagottheirreportfrowennerstr？。docuentsweredrawnup。thebalanceoftheoneyhadbeenpaidback。thatsixillioningbackwasveryclever。”

  “gettothepoint。”

  “but；ydearblokvist