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motive, there it is – five million kronor.’
    Harald pointed triumphantly at Gustav, whose face had turned so white that it seemed almost transparent.
    ‘Ha! What do you have to say for yourself now?’ Harald shook off Britten’s hand and folded his arms. He looked like the proverbial cat who’d swallowed a very plump canary.
    ‘It was … it was a loan,’ stammered Gustav. ‘I was going to pay the money back. On my word of honour. Every single öre. I only borrowed it because … I …’ He turned to look at Vivi who, like Britten, was standing beside her husband. She was staring at him wide-eyed.
    ‘Gustav?’ Again Vivi raised her hand to her throat. ‘What … what is Harald talking about? Five million kronor? Gustav?’
    With a look of despair he stretched out a hand to his wife, who quickly took a step back to avoid his touch.
    ‘Sweetheart … I …’ Gustav turned towards the window, as if trying to find a way out, but the blizzard had not let up in the slightest, and it had effectively cut off all escape routes. Then he sank into a chair and buried his face in his hands. In utter silence the others stared at him. Vivi in disbelief, Harald with a triumphant expression, Bernard with obvious glee, and Britten with a certain amount of sympathy.
    ‘What did you do with the money?’ Vivi was the first to break the silence, her voice quavering. When she received no reply, she repeated her question. ‘Gustav, what did you do with the money?’
    First they heard a deep sigh, then came his answer, the words barely intelligible.
    ‘I … gambled it all away.’
    Vivi inhaled sharply. Bernard laughed. Martin saw Miranda give him a sharp jab in the side as she hissed: ‘Stop that!’
    ‘You … gambled the money away?’ Vivi shook her head and seemed unable to comprehend what she’d heard. ‘Gambled on what?’
    Still with his face buried in his hands, Gustav muttered: ‘Horses, Internet poker games – you name it. Anything that would give me that adrenalin rush. And in the beginning I won. I won big time. But then I started losing. I thought that if I kept going for a little while, I’d win it all back. Then I could return the money to the company.’
    ‘What a bloody loser you are,’ said Harald with disgust.
    Gustav abruptly raised his head and glared at his brother with hatred.
    ‘I don’t see why you’re so proud of yourself. You’ve been a total failure as CEO, and Father was ready to sack you. And you know it. What would you have done then? No management job, no money from Father, nothing. You’ve taken advantage of Father’s generosity all your life, and you never had to make it on your own. So if we’re going to talk about motive, that’s a strong motive too!’ Gustav turned to look at Martin as he uttered this last remark. Then he got up and stormed out of the library.
    For a moment the silence almost echoed in the room, until Bernard said cheerfully, ‘Well, the entertainment seems to be over. How about some coffee?’
    It never ceased to amaze him how self-destructive they were. To think that his father had actually been enterprising enough to embezzle five million kronor – and then gamble all the money away! Bernard could scarcely believe it. He chuckled to himself as he took a cinnamon bun. He supposed he ought to feel sorry for the old man, but he’d never had much time for empathy. It was a constant marvel to him that someone as decisive and strong as he was could have come from such pitiful parents. There must be some truth in the theory of environment versus genetics.
    He sat down at a table where his sister was sitting alone, listlessly stirring her coffee.
    ‘Don’t you want anything sweet with your coffee?’ he asked, pointing behind him to the platter that was piled high with baked goods.
    ‘No. I’m on a diet,’ she told him in a tone of voice that indicated this was a standard phrase of hers.
    ‘Suit yourself.’ Bernard took a big bite of a cinnamon