Liza Marklund - The Bomber

"I spent many years learning to draw buildings. But when I graduated, I realized that I had made the wrong choice. Houses on paper don't speak to you; a sketched house is only a template for the real thing. So I went back to the university after only half a year at work and did a degree in constructional engineering. That took several years. When I finished, they were recruiting people for the municipal partnership building the new Olympic stadium in Hammarby Dock. I got a job, and that's how I first came to meet Christina Furhage."

Again, Beata fell silent. Annika waited a long time for her to continue.

"Do you want to read it?" she asked in the end, but Beata shook her head.

"I know you'll make it sound good. I'll read it later, when you've finished." She sniffed and then continued:

"Of course, I knew who she was already. I'd seen her in the paper lots of times, ever since the campaign to get the Olympics to Stockholm was mounted, which she won and was appointed MD of the entire project.

"Where did I live during that time? Oh, yes, where I still am now, in an absolutely adorable little house by Skinnarviksparken on South Island. Are you familiar with the area around Yttersta Tvärgränd? The house is listed, so I've had to renovate it very gently. My home is important to me, the house I live and breathe in. We talk to each other every day, my house and I; exchanging experiences and wisdom. Do I need to point out that I'm the novice out of the two of us? My house has stood on the hill since the end of the eighteenth century, so in our conversations, I'm usually the one listening and learning. Christina Furhage visited me once. It felt good that my house got to know her a bit; it helped me later on in my difficult decision."

The woman again fell silent.

"Tell me about your work."

"Is that really relevant?" Beata asked with surprise.

No, not one bit, but it'll buy me time, Annika thought to herself.

"Yes, of course," she said. "A lot of people work. They will want to know what your job was like, what was on your mind when you were doing it, things like that…"

Beata straightened up. "Oh, yes, I can see that," she said.

Self-centered little shit, Annika thought to herself and managed a smile.

"I don't know how versed you are in the building trade. Maybe you don't know how the process of procurement is carried out? Actually, it doesn't really matter in this case, since the building of Victoria Stadium was so special that no general rules applied.

"Stockholm was chosen to host the Summer Olympic Games under the leadership of Christina Furhage, you know that. The decision wasn't a straightforward one. She really had to fight for her post.

"Christina really was amazing. She pushed the Olympic suits around something wonderful! We women really enjoyed having a boss like that. Not that I met her very often, but since she kept an eye on every single detail in the entire organization, I did run in to her now and then.

"I admired her a lot. When she came around, everyone pulled their socks up and did their best. She had that effect on people. What she didn't know about the Olympic planning and the building of the arena wasn't worth knowing.

"Anyway, I was employed by Arena Bygg AB. As I was both an architect and a constructional engineer, I was given several major administrative assignments straight away. I took part in negotiations, made construction drawings and calculations, visited subcontractors, and drew up contracts- a kind of general factotum in a semi-important position.

"The actual construction of Victoria Stadium was supposed to begin five years before the Games. Christina herself appointed me project manager. I remember clearly the day she asked me. I'd been called to her office, a grandiose place next door to Rosenbad with a view over the Stockholm Canal. She asked what I had been doing so far and if I was happy. I didn't think I'd done very well and stuttered a bit- my hands were all clammy. She was so impressive behind her polished desk: tall, yet slim; sharp, yet beautiful. She asked me whether I was willing to take responsibility for the building of the Olympic stadium in Hammarby Dock. My head was spinning when she uttered the words. I wanted to shout 'Oh yes!' but just nodded and said it would be a challenge. An exciting responsibility I felt ready to shoulder. She quickly added that I would have several managers and other people above me, and at the top, her. But she needed someone on site who was responsible for the operation, someone who would see to it that it ran according to schedule, that we weren't over budget, and that deliveries of building material arrived in the right place at the right time. I would of course have a team of foremen under me with responsibility for specific sections where they led the work. These foremen would be reporting to me, so that I in my turn could do my job and report to Christina and the board.

" 'I need loyalty,' Christina said and leaned toward me. 'I need your unwavering conviction that what I do is right. That's a prerequisite for anyone taking this job. Can I trust you?'

"I remember her radiance at that precise moment, how she brought me into her light, filling me with her strength and power. I wanted to scream 'YES!' but instead I just nodded. Because I knew what had happened- she had included me in her circle. She had made me her crown princess. I was chosen."

Beata started crying. She bent her head and her whole body was shaking. The rope lay by her feet, her hands holding the battery and the fuse in a desperate grip. I hope her tears don't short-circuit the battery so the charge is set off, Annika thought.

"I'm sorry," Beata said and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her coat. "This is hard for me."

Annika didn't say anything.

"It was a big responsibility, but it wasn't really a difficult job. First there was the clearing, the blasting, the excavating, and subsequent filling in and moulding. Then the builders and carpenters would arrive. It all had to be done in four years. The arena was to be ready for trial competitions a year ahead of the Games.

"It went all right at first. The workers drove their machines around and did what they were supposed to be doing. I had my office in one of the sheds down by the canal. Maybe you saw them when you came to have a look? No?

"Anyway, I did my job, talking to the coordinators down in the pit, making sure they carried out their tasks. The men who did the actual work weren't very talkative, but at least they listened to me when I gave them directions.

"Once a month, I went to Christina's office and told her how the work was coming on. She always received me with warmth and interest. After every meeting, I felt as if she knew beforehand what I was going to tell her and that she just wanted to check up on my loyalty. I always left her office with a churning feeling in the pit of my stomach and a peculiar sense of exhilaration. I was still in her circle, the power was mine, but I would have to continue fighting for it.

"I really loved my work. Sometimes, in the evening, I would stay behind after the men had gone home. On my own, I would climb around among the remains of the old Hammarby ski slope, imagining the finished arena: the enormous stands, the 75,000 spectator seats in green, the sweep of the arched openwork steel roof. I would caress the construction drawings. I even put up a large-scale picture of the model on the wall in my office. From the very beginning, I talked to the stadium. Just like a newborn baby, it didn't answer, but I'm sure it listened. I observed every detail in its development, like a breastfeeding mother marveling at the progress in her child.

"The problems started when the foundation was laid and the carpenters arrived. Several hundred men were going to perform the work I was responsible for. They were supervised by thirty-five team leaders, all men between forty and fifty-five. At this point, my workload quadrupled. On my advice, three supervisors were hired who were to share the responsibility with me, all men.