第 2 部分阅读
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