船说；thebreadseeedtoswellupinhisouth。 Hecouldhardlyswallowitandpushedhispteaside。
ThiswasthefirsttiethatBlokvisthadfacedanycharge。Thejudgeentwasatrifle；retivelyspeaking。Alightweightcrie。Notaredrobbery；urder；orrapeafterall。Froafinancialpointofview；however；itwasseriousMillenniuwasnotafgshipoftheediaworldwithunliitedresources；theagazinebarelybrokeevenbutthejudgeentdidnotspellcatastrophe。TheproblewasthatBlokvistwasoneofMillenniuspartowners；andatthesaetie；idioticallyenough；hewasbothawriterandtheagazinespublisher。Thedaagesof150；000kronorhewouldpayhiself；althoughthatwouldjustaboutwipeouthissavings。Theagazinewouldtakecareofthecourtcosts。Withprudentbudgetingitwouldworkout。
Heponderedthewisdoofsellinghisapartent；thoughitwouldbreakhisheart。Attheendofthegogoeighties；duringaperiodwhenhehadasteadyjobandaprettygoodsary；hehadlookedaroundforaperanentpcetolive。Heranfrooneapartentshowingtoanotherbeforehestubledonanatticftof700squarefeetrightattheendofBelnsgatan。Thepreviousownerwasintheiddleofakingitliveablebutsuddenlygotajobatadotpanyabroad；andBlokvistwasabletobuyitinexpensively。
Herejectedtheoriginalinteriordesignerssketchesandfinishedtheworkhiself。Heputoneyintofixingupthebathrooandthekitchenarea；butinsteadofputtinginaparquetfloorandinteriorwallstoakeitintothepnnedtworooapartent；hesandedthefloorboards；whitewashedtheroughwalls；andhidtheworstpatchesbehindtwowatercoloursbyEanuelBestone。Theresultwasanopenlivingspace；withthebedrooareabehindashelf；andthediningareaandthelivingroonexttothesallkitchenbehindacounter。TheapartenthadtwodorerwindowsandagablewindoithaviewoftheroostowardsGaStan；Stockholsoldestsection；andthewaterofRiddarfjrden。HehadaglipseofwaterbytheSlussenlocksandaviewofCityHall。Todayhewouldneverbeabletoaffordsuchanapartent；andhebadlywantedtoholdontoit。
Butthatheightlosetheapartentwasnothingbesidethefactthatprofessionallyhehadreceivedarealsackinthenose。Itwouldtakealongtietorepairthedaageifindeeditcouldeverberepaired。
Itwasaatteroftrust。Fortheforeseeablefuture；editorswouldhesitatublishastoryunderhisbyline。Hestillhadplentyoffriendsinthebusinesswhowouldaeptthathehadfallenvictitobadluckandunusualcircustances；buthewasneveragaingoingtobeabletoaketheslightestistake。
Whathurtostwasthehuiliation。HehadheldallthetrupsandyethehadlosttoaseigangsterinanAranisuit。Adespicablestockarketspecutor。Ayuppiewithacelebritywyerwhosneeredhiswaythroughthewholetrial。
HowinGodsnaehadthingsgonesowrong
TheWennerstraffairhadstartedoutwithsuchproiseinthecockpitofathirtysevenfootMr30onMidsuerEveayearandahalfearlier。Itbeganbychance；allbecauseaforerjoualistcolleague；nowaPRflunkyatthecountycouncil；wantedtoipresshisnewgirlfriend。HehadrashlyhiredaScapiforafewdaysofroanticsailingintheStockhorchipego。Thegirlfriend；justarrivedfroHallstahaartostudyinStockhol；hadagreedtotheoutingafterputtinguptokenresistance；butonlyifhersisterandhersistersboyfriendcouldetoo。NoneofthetriofroHallstahaarhadanysailingexperience；andunfortunatelyBlokvistsoldcolleaguehadoreenthusiasthanexperience。Threedaysbeforetheysetoffhehadcalledindesperationandpersuadedhitoeasafifthcreweber；onewhoknewnavigation。
Blokvisthadnotthoughtuchoftheproposal；buthecaearoundwhenproisedafewdaysofrexationinthearchipegowithgoodfoodandpleasantpany。Theseproisescaetonaught；andtheexpeditiontuedintooreofadisasterthanhecouldhaveiagined。TheyhadsailedthebeautifulbutnotverydraaticroutefroBulndupthroughFurusundStraitatbarely9knots；butthenewgirlfriendwasinstantlyseasick。Hersisterstartedarguingwithherboyfriend；andnoneoftheshowedtheslightestinterestinleaingtheleastlittlethingaboutsailing。ItquicklybecaeclearthatBlokvistwasexpectedtotakechargeoftheboatwhiletheothersgavehiwellintentionedbutbasicallyeaninglessadvice。AfterthefirstnightinabayonngshewasreadytodocktheboatatFurusundandtakethebushoe。Onlytheirdesperateappealspersuadedhitostay。
Atnoonthenextday；earlyenoughthattherewerestilfewspacesavaible；theytiedupatthevisitorswharfonthepicturesqueisndofArho。TheyhadthrownsoelunchtogetherandhadjustfinishedwhenBlokvistnoticedayellowfibregssM30glidingintothebayusingonlyitsainsail。Theboatadeagracefultackwhilethehelsanlookedforaspotatthewharf。BlokvisttooscannedthespacearoundandsawthatthegapbetweentheirScapiandanHboatonthestarboardsidewastheonlyslotleft。ThenarrowM30wouldjustfit。Hestoodupinthesteandpointed；theanintheM30raisedahandinthanksandsteeredtowardsthewharf。Alonesailorwhowasnotgoingtobotherstartinguptheengine；Blokvistnoticed。Heheardtherattleoftheanchorchainandsecondstertheaincaedown；whiletheskipperovedlikeascaldedcattoguidetherudderstraightfortheslotandatthesaetiereadythelinefrothebow。
Blokvistclibedupontherailingandheldoutahandforthepainter。ThenewarrivadeonestcoursecorrectionandglidedperfectlyuptothesteoftheScapi；bynowovingveryslowly。ItwasonlyastheantossedthepaintertoBlokvistthattheyrecognisedeachotherandsiledindelight。
“Hi；Robban。Whydontyouuseyourenginesoyoudontscrapethepaintoffalltheboatsintheharbour”
“Hi；Micke。Ithoughttherewassoethingfailiaraboutyou。IdlovetousetheengineifIcouldonlygetthepieceofcrapstarted。ItdiedtwodaysagooutbyRdlga。”
Theyshookhandsacrosstherailings。
Aeitybefore；atKungsholenschoolintheseventies；BlokvistandRobertLindberghadbeenfriends；evenverygoodfriends。Assooftenhappenswithschoolbuddies；thefriendshipfadedaftertheyhadgoheirseparateways。Theyhadetaybehalfadozentiesinthepasttwentyyears；thestonesevenoreightyearsago。Nowtheystudiedeachotherwithinterest。Lindberghadtangledhair；wastannedandhadatwoweekoldbeard。
Blokvistiediatelyfeltinuchbetterspirits。WhenthePRguyandhissillygirlfriendwentofftodancearoundtheMidsuerpoleinfrontofthegeneralstoreontheothersideoftheisnd；hestayedbehindwithhisherringandaquavitinthecockpitoftheM30；shootingthebreezewithhisoldschoolpal。
Soetiethatevening；aftertheyhadgivenupthebattlewithArhosnotoriousosquitoesandoveddowntothecabin；andafterquiteafewshotsofaquavit；theconversationtuedtofriendlybanteraboutethicsinthecorporateworld。LindberghadgonefroschooltotheStockholSchoolofEconoicsandintothebankingbusiness。BlokvisthadgraduatedfrotheStockholSchoolofJoualisanddevoteduchofhisprofessionallifetoexposingcorruptioninthebankingandbusinessworld。Theirtalkbegantoexplorewhatwasethicallysatisfactoryincertaingoldenparachuteagreeentsduringtheniies。Lindbergeventuallyconcededtherewereoneortwoioralbastardsinthebusinessworld。HelookedatBlokvistwithanexpressionthatwassuddenlyserious。
“WhydontyouwriteaboutHansErikWennerstr”
“Ididntknowtherewasanythingtowriteabouthi。”
“Dig。Dig；forGodssake。HowuchdoyouknowabouttheAIAprograe”
“Well；itwasasortofassistanceprograeintheniiestohelpindustryintheforerEasteBloountriesgetbackontheirfeet。Itwasshutdownacoupleofyearsago。ItsnothingIveeverlookedinto。”
“TheAgencyforIndustrialAssistancewasaprojectthatwasbackedbythestateandadinisteredbyrepresentativesofaboutadozenbigSwedishfirs。TheAIAobtainedgoveentguaranteesforanuberofprojectsinitiatedinagreeentwiththegoveentsinPondandtheBaltics。TheSwedishTradeUnionConfederation；LO；alsojoinedinasaguarantorthattheworkersoveentintheEastwouldbestrengthenedaswellbyfollowingtheSwedishodel。Intheory；itwasanassistanceprojectthatbuiltontheprincipleofofferinghelpforselfhelp；anditwassupposedtogivetheregiesintheEasttheopportunitytorestructuretheireconoies。Inpractice；however；iteantthatSwedishpanieswouldgetstatesubventionsoinginandestablishingtheselvesaspartownersinpaniesinEasteEuropeancountries。ThatgoddaedinisterintheChristianpartywasanardentadvocateoftheAIA；whichwasgoingtosetupapaperillinKrakowandprovidenewequipentforaetalsindustryinRiga；aceentfactoryinTallinn；andsoon。ThefundswouldbedistributedbytheAIAboard；whichconsistedofanuberofheavyweightsfrothebankingandcorporateworld。”
“Soitwastaxoney”
“Abouthalfcaefrogoveentcontributions；andthebanksandcorporationsputuptherest。Butitwasfarfroanidealoperation。Thebanksandindustrywerecountingonakingasweetprofit。Otherwisetheydanwellwouldnthavebothered。”
“Howuchoneyarewetalkingabout”
“Holdon；listentothis。TheAIAwasdealingpriarilywithbigSwedishfirswhowantedtogetintotheEasteEuropeanarket。HeavyindustrieslikeASEABrownBoveriandSkanskaConstructionandthelike。Notspecutionfirs；inotherwords。”
“AreyoutellingethatSkanskadoesntdospecutionWasntittheiranagingdirectorwhowasfiredafterheletsoeofhisboysspecuteawayhalfabillioninquickstocktuoversAndhowabouttheirhystericalpropertydealsinLondonandOslo”
“Sure；thereareidiotsineverypanytheworldover；butyouknohatIean。Atleastthosepaniesactuallyproducesoething。ThebackboneofSwedishindustryandallthat。”
“WheredoesWennerstreintothepicture”
“Wennerstristhejokerinthepack。Meaningthathesaguywhotusupoutoftheblue；whohasnobackgroundwhatsoeverinheavyindustry；andwhoreallyhasnobusinessgettinginvolvedintheseprojects。Buthehasaassedacolossalfortuneonthestockarketandhasinvestedinsolidpanies。Hecaeinbythebackdoor；sotospeak。”