Лейф Перссон - Another Time, Another Life

In addition she was involved in a number of other radical groups and societies, the Swedish NLF movement of course but also KRUM, which worked for humane treatment of criminals.

“That’s the recurring theme in her life,” Mattei summarized, “her strong political involvement, always to the left.”

“Yeah,” said Johansson with a drawl. “Judging by her upbringing, she sounds like a typical young radical from the happy seventies.”

“No,” said Mattei, shaking her head. “There you’re wrong, Boss. That’s actually a prejudice.”

“I see,” said Johansson, not looking as though he was particularly offended. “How so?”

“It wasn’t the case that the young left of the time was dominated by a few upper-class kids. Those involved were a rather representative selection of the populace,” said Mattei.

“So Stein was an exception,” said Johansson.

“Yes. Her background was unusual within the young left,” said Mattei.

“Her involvement then,” said Johansson, “how genuine was it?” Given her background, thought Johansson.

“I’m completely convinced that her political involvement was genuine,” said Mattei. “Otherwise she never would have thrown herself into it the way she did.”

“You mean the West German embassy,” said Johansson. “Don’t you think that was mostly a desire for adventure? Exciting and romantic, or so she believed. Not at all like what it turned out to be.”

“It’s possible that was part of it,” said Mattei, “but there were other things that might not have been so pleasant for her.”

“Such as?” asked Johansson.

“If I’ve gotten this right, she was pretty badly bullied during her whole time at high school, and the first year she studied law at Uppsala a couple of her male classmates gave her a good beating after a party at the Stockholm student organization,” Mattei said in a serious tone. “According to the police report it was a political discussion that went downhill. If you’re interested in counting her bruises, I’ve placed a copy of the medical examination from Academic Hospital in her background material,” Mattei said.

You’re a lot pluckier than you look, thought Johansson.

“What bastards,” he said. “But after that, where was she in 1989 at the time that she helped Eriksson take down the flag?”

“She was a member of the Social Democratic Party. She became a member as early as 1977, and she still is, as you know. She’s also a member of their women’s caucus and their attorneys group. Belongs to the left wing of the party. Despite her low profile, she is viewed as a very big name.”

“That’s what you see,” said Johansson contentedly, because even he suffered from the unfortunately common weakness of gladly judging others by comparison with himself.

“Excuse me, Boss,” said Mattei amiably. “See what?”

“You see a person who has moved to the right,” said Johansson.

“I guess everyone does when they get older. There are lots of academic dissertations in which that political shift has been analyzed.”

“Nice to hear,” said Johansson. Nice to hear that people are normal, he thought.

“She hasn’t been on the gravy train since she became a Social Democrat in any event,” said Mattei.

“She hasn’t,” said Johansson. Has she had any more beatings, he wondered, but he couldn’t ask that of course. That would be childish.

“She has worked very actively in politics and has a number of responsibilities besides her job as undersecretary,” Mattei continued. “She even served in parliament for a short time in the early nineties, substituting for someone who was sick.”

“But in November 1989 she was working as an attorney?” Johansson asked.

“She got her law degree at Uppsala in 1979, did her internship at the district court, and practiced at a law firm up until 1985, when she became an attorney. She quit in 1991, and since then she has worked more or less full-time in politics and in the government offices since the Social Democrats came back to power in 1994. She’s actually somewhat unusual for a Social Democrat,” said Mattei.

“In what regard?” Johansson asked.

“Well, partly because of her background,” said Mattei. “I guess it’s just like you say, Boss. Helena Stein is an upper-middle-class girl — and I’m sure she’s had to hear plenty about that too. But there are other things.”

“Such as?” said Johansson.

“That she’s viewed as an extraordinarily capable attorney, that she speaks several languages fluently, that it seems to be extremely difficult to find anyone who has worked with her who has anything but good to say about her—”

“Is she married? Does she have children?” Johansson interrupted.

“She was married to a classmate for a few years when she was studying in Uppsala and served at the district court. They divorced in 1981. She has no children. She’s had a few relationships of varying duration over the years, but since she was appointed as undersecretary she seems to have lived alone.”

“Are you quite sure of that?” Johansson asked, and for some reason he was smiling broadly.

“Yes,” said Mattei. “In recent years she has lived alone.”

“Interesting,” said Johansson. “I look forward to going through everything you have compiled once I have some peace and quiet. Is there anything else in particular you think I should look at?”

“That she was appointed as undersecretary in the Ministry of Defense is undeniably interesting,” said Mattei.

“What do you mean?” asked Johansson.

“She’s had a number of opinions over the years about both the military in general and our export of war matériel in particular,” said Mattei. “Not least when she was working in foreign trade. I don’t think the military and the defense lobbyists were particularly happy about her appointment.”

“You don’t say,” said Johansson, suddenly looking as if he was thinking deeply. “A new Maj Britt Theorin perhaps?”

“In an ideological sense I believe that describes her rather well,” said Mattei, “but what her opponents are probably most afraid of is her capacity as an attorney. She seems to be enormously sharp.”

“But nonetheless she becomes undersecretary in the Ministry of Defense,” said Johansson.

“Exactly,” said Mattei, “and the only reasonable interpretation is that the government, or the person or persons in the government who decide this sort of thing, wanted to give the military establishment a tweak on the nose.”

“You don’t say,” said Johansson. I understand what you mean, he thought.

When the meeting was finished, after the usual questions and the usual empty chatter, Johansson wished everyone a pleasant weekend and thanked them for a job well done.

“Go rest up properly, and we’ll meet on Monday to try to make some kind of decision about what we should do,” said Johansson, looking both friendly and bosslike.

Then he took Holt to one side and asked her to compile the essentials and make sure the prosecutor got it all as quickly as possible, no later than the following day.

“Then you can celebrate the weekend too,” said Johansson. “By the way, don’t you have a little boy?”

“Not so little,” said Holt, shrugging her shoulders. “He’s turning seventeen soon.”

“And I’m sure he hates me,” said Johansson, “because I’ve taken his mom away from him.”

“I don’t think so,” said Holt. “If he knew why I haven’t been at home lately you’d probably be his hero.”

“You don’t say,” said Johansson, who just happened to think that it was high time to call his own boy, despite the fact that nowadays the good-for-nothing had a fiancée and a child on the way. “But you must have some guy you have to see,” Johansson continued, having decided to engage in a little personnel care and cultivate his human relations. Since he didn’t have anything better to do.