Scene 6

The coordinates indicated a point right in the middle of a nature preserve, Björndalens Naturreservat. The GPS gadget in his hand helped Maille to negotiate the forest. Spruce trees, beeches and birches fought for a place in the sunlight; the forest floor was full of puddles, squelchy and swampy, in which the mud would sometimes suddenly acquire deep indents under his tread. He reached a small pond that was a dark rusty-black in colour and surrounded by trees. And that, according to Maille's gadget, was precisely the point of intersection between length and breadth – bang in the middle of the water, roughly 2 or 3 metres away from the banks. So that was it. That was the place for which he had spent 2 days sitting in airplanes and airports, spent long hours cruising through the Baltic Sea in ferries and taxis and ultimately wading through a partial swamp. That was the «proof», as it was called on Zhang's banknote. That was it. However, what was it? There was nothing other than the dark water-pond and the few water lilies rising from its surface – colourful vagaries in an otherwise stark nature preserve.

The pond was far from inviting – but perhaps the solution lay below its surface, on the floor of the dark pool. Maille braced his heart, promised himself a luxurious evening meal and plunged into the water.

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