theliberalorningnewspaperentedonmillenniu’sscoopintheforofaneditorial；writtenpersonallybytheeditorinchief；earlierintheafternoon。theeditorinchiefthenwenttoadinnerpartyastv4startedbroadcastingitsnewsprograe。hedisissedhissecretary’sfrantiallsthatthere“ightbesoething”toblokvist’sclaiswiththeselaterfaouswords：“nonsense—iftherewere；ourfinancialreporterswouldhavefoundoutaboutitlongago。”consequently；theliberaleditorinchief’seditorialwastheonlyediavoiceinthecountrythatbutcheredmillenniu’sclais。theeditorialcontainedphrasessuchas：personalvendetta；criinallysloppyjournalis；anddeandsthateasuresbetakenagainstindictableallegationsregardingdecentcitizens。butthatwastheonlycontributiontheeditorinchiefadeduringthedebate。

  thatnightthemillenniueditorialofficeswerefullystaffed。aordingtotheirplans；onlybergerandthenewanagingeditor；malineriksson；wereduetobetheretohandleanycalls。butby10：00p。。theentirestaffwasstillthere；andtheyhadalsobeenjoinedbynofewerthanfourforerstaffebersandhalfadozenregularfreelancers。atidnightmalopenedabottleofchapagne。thatwaswhenanoldacquaintancesentoveranadvancecopyfrooneoftheeveningpapers；whichdevotedsixteenpagestothewennerstr？affairundertheheadlihefinancialmafia。whentheeveningpaperscaeoutthenextday；aediafrenzyerupted；thelikesofwhichhadseldobeenseenbefore。

  erikssonconcludedthatshewasgoingtoenjoyworkingatmillenniu。

  duringthefollowingweek；theswedishstockexchangetrebledasthesecuritiesfraudpolicebeganinvestigating；prosecutorswerecalledin；andapanickysellingspreesetin。twodaysafterthepublicationtheministeroferceadeastateenton“thewennerstr？affair。”

  thefrenzydidnotean；however；thattheediaswallowedmillenniu’sclaiswithoutcriticis—therevelationswerefartooseriousforthat。butunlikethefirstwennerstr？affair；thistiemillenniucouldpresentaconvincingburdenofproof：wennerstr？’sowneailsandcopiesofthecontentsofhisputer；whichcontainedbalancesheetsfrosecretbankassetsinthecayanislandsandtwodozenothercountries；secretagreeents；andotherblundersthataorecautiousracketeerwouldneverinhislifehaveleftonhisharddrive。itsoonbecaeclearthatifmillenniu’sclaisheldupinacourtofappeals—andeveryoneagreedthatthecasewouldenduptheresoonerorlater—thenitwasbyfarthebiggestbubbletoburstintheswedishfinancialworldsincethekreugercrashof1932。thewennerstr？affairadeallthegotabankibrogliosandtrustorfraudspaleinparison。thiswasfraudonsuchagrandscalethatno…oneevendaredtospeculateonhowanylawshadbeenbroken。

  forthefirsttieinswedishfinancialreporting；theters“anisedcrie；”“mafia；”and“gangsterepire”wereused。wennerstr？andhisyoungstockbrokers；partners；andarani…cladlawyerseergedlikeabandofhoodlus。

  duringthefirstdaysoftheediafrenzy；blokvistwasinvisible。hedidnotanswerhiseailsandcouldnotbereachedbytelephone。alleditorialentsonbehalfofmillenniuwereadebyberger；whopurredlikeacatasshewasinterviewedbytheswedishnationalediaandiportantregionalnewspapers；andeventuallyalsobyagrowingnuberofoverseasedia。eachtieshewasaskedhowmillenniuhadei. comossessionofallthoseprivateandinternaldocuents；sherepliedsiplythatshewasunabletorevealtheagazine’ssource。

  whenshewasaskedwhythepreviousyear’sexposéofwennerstr？hadbeensuchafiasco；shewasevenoredelphic。sheneverlied；butsheaynotalwayshavetoldthewholetruth。offtherecord；whenshedidnothaveaicrophoneunderhernose；shewouldutterafewysteriouscatchphrases；which；ifpiecedtogether；ledtosoeratherrashconclusions。thatishowaruourwasbornthatsoonassuedlegendaryproportions；claiingthatmikaelblokvisthadnotpresentedanysortofdefenceathistrialandhadvoluntarilysubittedtotheprisonsentenceandheavyfinesbecauseotherwisehisdocuentationwouldhaveledinevitablytotheidentificationofhissource。hewasparedtoroleodelsintheaericanediawhohadaeptedgaolratherthanrevealtheirsources；andblokvistwasdescribedasaheroinsuchludicrouslyflatteringtersthathewasquiteebarrassed。butthiswasnotietodenytheisunderstanding。

  therewasohingthateveryoneagreedon：thepersonwhohaddeliveredthedocuentationhadtobesoeonewithinwennerstr？’sosttrustedcircle。thisledtoadebateaboutwhothe“deepthroat”was：colleagueswithreasontobedissatisfied；lawyers；evenwennerstr？’scocaine…addicteddaughterandotherfailyeberswereputupaspossiblecandidates。neitherblokvistnorbergerentedonthesubject。

  bergersiledhappily；knowingthattheyhadwonwhenaneveningpaperonthethirddayofthefrenzyrantheheadlinemillennium’srevenge。thearticlewasaningratiatingportraitoftheagazineanditsstaff；includingillustrationswithaparticularlyfavourableportraitofberger。shewasnaedthe“queenofinvestigativejournalis。”thatsortofthingwonpointsintherankingsoftheentertainentpages；andtherewastalkofthebigjournalisprize。

  fivedaysaftermillenniufiredthefirstsalvo；blokvist’sthemafiabankerappearedinshops。thehadbeenwrittenduringthosefeverishdaysatsandhaninsepteberandoctober；andingreathasteandundertheutostsecrecyitwasprintedbyhallvigsreklainmong？va。itwasthefirsttobepublishedundermillenniu’sownlogo。itwaseentricallydedicated：tosally；whoshowedethebenefitsofthesportofgolf。

  itwasabrickofa；608pagesinpaperback。thefirsteditionof2；000copieswasvirtuallyguaranteedtobealosingproposition；buttheprintrunactuallysoldoutinacoupleofdays；andbergerordered10；000orecopies。

  thereviewersconcludedthatthistie；atanyrate；mikaelblokvisthadnointentionofholdingbacksinceitwasaatterofpublishingextensivesourcereferences。inthisregardtheywereright。two…thirdsoftheconsistedofappendicesthatwereactualcopiesofthedocuentationfrowennerstr？’sputer。atthesaetieasthewaspublished；millenniuputthetextsfrowennerstr？’sputerassourceaterialindownloadablepdffilesontheirwebsite。

  blokvist’sextraordinaryabsencewaspartoftheediastrategythatheandbergerhadputtogether。everynewspaperinthecountrywaslookingforhi。notuntilthewaslauncheddidhegiveanexclusiveinterviewtosheontv4；onceagainscoopingthestate…runstations。butthequestionswereanythingbutsycophantic。

  blokvistwasespeciallypleasedwithoneexchangewhenhewatchedavideoofhisappearance。theintervieasbroadcastliveattheveryoentwhenthestockholstockexchangefounditselfinfreefallandahandfuloffinancialyuppieswerethreateningtothrowtheselvesoutofwindows。hewasaskedwhatwasmillenniu’sresponsibilitywithregardtothefactthatsweden’seconoywasnowheadedforacrash。

  “theideathatsweden’seconoyisheadedforacrashisnonsense；”blokvistsaid。

  thehostofsheontv4lookedperplexed。hisreplydidnotfollowthepatternshehadexpected；andshewasforcedtoiprovise。blokvistgotthefollow…upquestionhewashopingfor。“we’reexperiencingthelargestsingledropinthehistoryoftheswedishstockexchange—andyouthinkthat’snonsense？”

  “youhavetodistinguishbetweentwothings—theswedisheconoyandtheswedishstockarket。theswedisheconoyisthesuofallthegoodsandservicesthatareproducedinthiscountryeveryday。therearetelephonesfroericsson；carsfrovolvo；chickensfroscan；andshipentsfrokirunatosk？vde。that’stheswedisheconoy；andit’sjustasstrongorweaktodayasitwasaweekago。”

  hepausedforeffectandtookasipofwater。

  “thestockexchangeissoethingverydifferent。thereisnoeconoyandnoproductionofgoodsandservices。thereareonlyfantasiesinwhichpeoplefroonehourtothenextdecidethatthisorthatpanyisworthsoanybillions；oreorless。itdoesn’thaveathingtodowithrealityorwiththeswedisheconoy。”

  “soyou’resayingthatitdoesn’tatterifthestockexchangedropslikearock？”

  “no；itdoesn’tatteratall；”blokvistsaidinavoicesowearyandresignedthathesoundedlikesoesortoforacle。hiswordswouldbequotedanytiesoverthefollowingyear。thenhewenton。

  “itonlyeansthatabunchofheavyspeculatorsarenowovingtheirshareholdingsfroswedishpaniestogeranones。soit’sthefinancialgnoesthatsoetoughreportershouldidentifyandexposeastraitors。they’retheoneswhoaresysteaticallyandperhapsdeliberatelydaagingtheswedisheconoyinordertosatisfytheprofitinterestsoftheirclients。”

  thensheontv4adetheistakeofaskingexactlythequestionthatblokvisthadhopedfor。

  “andsoyouthinkthattheediadon’thaveanyresponsibility？”

  “ohyes；theediadohaveanenorousresponsibility。foratleasttwentyyearsanyfinancialreportershaverefrainedfroscrutinisinghans…erikwennerstr？。onthecontrary；theyhaveactuallyhelpedtobuilduphisprestigebypublishingbrainless；idolatrousportraits。iftheyhadbeendoingtheirworkproperly；wewouldnotfindourselvesinthissituationtoday。”

  blokvist’sappearancearkedaturningpoint。inhindsight；bergerwasconvincedthatitwasonlywhenblokvistwentontvandcallydefendedhisclaisthattheswedishedia；inspiteofthefactthatmillenniuhadbeenallovertheheadlinesforaweek；recognisedthatthestoryreallydidholdup。hisattitudesetthecourseforthestory。

  aftertheinterviewthewennerstr？affairiperceptiblyslippedfrothefinancialsectionovertothedesksofthecriereporters。inthepast；ordinarycriereportershadseldoorneverwrittenaboutfinancialcrie；exceptifithadtodowiththerussianoboryugoslavcigarettesugglers。criereporterswerenotexpectedtoinvestigateintricatedealingsonthestockexchange。oneeveningpapereventookblokvistathiswordandfilledtwospreadswithportraitsofseveralofthebrokeragehouses’ostiportantplayers；whowereintheprocessofbuyingupgeransecurities。thepaper’sheadlinereadsellingouttheircountry。allthebrokerswereinvitedtoentontheallegations。everyoneofthedeclined。butthetradingofsharesdecreasedsignificantlythatday；andsoebrokerswhowantedtolooklikeprogressivepatriotsstartedgoingagainstthestrea。blokvistburstoutlaughing。

  thepressuregottobesogreatthatsobreenindarksuitsputonaconcernedexpressionandbrokewiththeostiportantruleoftheexclusiveclubthatadeuptheinnerostcirclesofswedishfinance—theyentedonacolleague。allofasuddenretiredindustrialleadersandbankpresidentswereappearingontvandansweringquestionsinanatteptatdaagecontrol。everyonerealisedtheseriousnessofthesituation；anditwasaatterofdistancingtheselvesasquicklyaspossiblefrothewennerstr？groupandsheddinganysharestheyighthold。wennerstr？wasnot；afterall；arealindustrialist；andhehadneverbeentrulyaeptedinto“theclub。”soepointedoutthathewasjustasipleworking…classboyfronorrlandwhosesuessayhavegoohishead。soedescribedhisactionsasapersonaltragedy。othersdiscoveredthattheyhadhadtheirdoubtsaboutwennerstr？foryears—hewastooboastfulandheputonairs。

  duringthefollowingweeks；asmillenniu’sdocuentationwasscrutinised；pulledapart；andpiecedtogetheragain；thewennerstr？epireofobscurepanieswaslinkedtotheheartoftheinternationalmafia；includingeverythingfroillegalarsdealingandoneylaunderingforsouthaericandrugcartel. comrostitutioninnewyork；andevenindirectlytothechildsextradeinmexico。onewennerstr？panyregisteredincypruscausedadraaticstirwhenitwasrevealedthatithadatteptedtobuyenricheduraniuontheblackarketinukraine。wennerstr？’sapparentlyinexhaustiblesupplyofobscurepost…office…boxpaniesseeedtobecroppingupeverywhere；linkedtoallannerofshadyenterprises。

  bergerthoughtthatthewasthebestthingblokvisthadeverwritten。itwasunevenstylistically；andinplacesthewritingwasactuallyratherpoor—therehadbeennotieforanyfinepolishing—butthewasaniatedbyafurythatnoreadercouldhelpbutnotice。

  bychanceblokvistranintohisoldadversary；theforerfinancialreporterwilliab；infrontofkvarnenwhenblokvist；berger；andmaltooktheeveningofftocelebratethesantaluciaholidayalongwiththeagazine’sothereployees；goingouttodrinktheselvessenselessatthepany’sexpense。b’spanionwasaverydrunkgirlaboutsalander’sage。

  blokvist’sloathingforbwaspalpable。bergerinterruptedtheachoposturingbytakingblokvistbythearandleadinghiintothebar。

  blokvistdecidedthatwhentheopportunityarose；hewouldasksalandertodooneofherpersonalinvestigationsofb。justforfor’ssake。

  duringthewholeediastortheaincharacterinthedraa；thefinancierwennerstr？；wasfortheostpartinvisible。onthedaythatmillenniupublisheditsarticle；thefinancierwasforcedtoentonthetextatapressconferencethathadbeencalledforadifferentpurpose。hedeclaredtheallegationsunfoundedandsaidthatthedocuentationreferredtowasfabricated。hereindedeveryohatthesaereporterhadbeenconvictedoflibelonlyoneyearbefore。

  afterthatonlywennerstr？’slawyerswouldanswerquestionsfrotheedia。twodaysafterblokvist’scaeout；apersistentruourbegancirculatingthatwennerstr？hadleftsweden。theeveningpapersusedtheword“fled。”duringthesecondweek；whenthesecuritiesfraudpolicetriedtocontactwennerstr？；hewasnowheretobefound。inid…deceberthepoliceconfiredthatwennerstr？wasforallysought；andonthedaybeforenewyear’seve；anall…pointsbulletinwassentoutviatheinternationalpoliceanisations。theverysaedayoneofwennerstr？’sadviserswasseizedatarlandaashewasboardingaplaneforlondon。

  severalweekslateraswedishtouristreportedthathehadseenwennerstr？getintoacarinbridgetown；thecapitalofbarbados。asproofofhisclai；thetouristsubittedaphotograph；takenfroquiteadistanceaway；showingawhiteanwearingsunglasses；anopenwhiteshirt；andlight…colouredslacks。hecouldnotbeidentifiedwithcertainty；buttheeveningpaperscontactedstringerswhotriedwithoutsuesstotrackdownthefugitivebillionaire。

  aftersixonthsthehuntwascalledoff。thenwennerstr？wasfounddeadinanapartentinmarbella；spain；wherehehadbeenlivingunderthenaeofvictorfleing。hehadbeenshotthreetiesintheheadatcloserange。thespanishpolicewereworkingonthetheory；theirstateentsaid；thathehadsurprisedaburglar。

  wennerstr？’sdeathcaeasnosurprisetosalander。shesuspected；withgoodreason；thathisdeisehadtodowiththefactthathenolongerhadaesstotheoneyinacertainbankinthecayanislands；whichheayhaveneede. comayoffcertaindebtsincolobia。

  ifanyonehadaskedforsalander’shelpintrackingwennerstr？；shecouldhavetoldthealostonadailybasiswherehewas。viatheintershehadfollowedhisflightthroughadozencountriesandrearkedagrowingdesperationinhiseails。notevenblokvistwouldhavethoughtthatthefugitiveex…billionairewouldbestupidenoughtotakealongtheputerthathadbeensothoroughlyperated。

  aftersixonthssalandergrewtiredoftrackingwennerstr？。thequestionthatreainedtobeansweredwashowfarherowninvolveentshouldreach。wennerstr？waswithoutadoubtanolypic…classcreep；buthewasnotherpersonaleney；andshehadnointerestininvolvingherselfagainsthi。shecouldtipoffblokvist；buthewouldprobablyjustpublishastory。shecouldtipoffthepolice；buttherewasquiteachancethatwennerstr？wouldbeforewarnedandagaindisappear。besides；onprinciple；shedidnottalktothepolice。

  buttherewereotherdebtsthathadtobepaid。shethoughtabouttheonce…pregnantwaitresswhoseheadhadbeenshovedunderwaterinherownbath。

  fourdaysbeforewennerstr？’sbodywasfound；sheadeupherind。sheswitchedonherobileandcalledalawyerinmiai；whoseeedtobeoneofthepeoplewennerstr？wasakingabigefforttohidefro。shetalkedtoasecretaryandaskedhe. comassonacrypticessage。thenaewennerstr？andanaddressinmarbella。thatwasall。

  sheturnedoffthetvnewshalfwaythroughadraaticreportaboutwennerstr？’sdeise。sheputonsoecoffeeandfixedherselfaliverpatéandcucubersandwich。

  bergerandmalweretakingcareoftheannualchristasarrangeentswhileblokvistsatinerika’schair；drinkinggl？ggandlookingon