Read The Treacherous Net for Free Online Page B

had been involved with twice before. If the street children attended school, they were allowed to participate in a program of capoeira training, and they also received a meal at the center each day. For many of the children it was their only hot meal. If any of them missed school, they were immediately kicked off the project. It was tough, but it was the approach that worked. The basic philosophy was that education is the only way out of poverty. There are no shortcuts.
    Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that was originally brought to the country by African slaves. They used dance moves to disguise their training, so that the slave owners wouldn’t suspect they were practicing a form of self-defense. In recent years the popularity of the sport has grown all over the world. Both Katarina and Felipe were skilled practitioners. They were working as trainers and leaders at the center in Natal, but it would be good to have them home again before too long.
    And Sammie was gone. One cloudy day in March he had fallen asleep forever, with one front paw resting in Irene’s hand. At the ripe old age of fourteen years, nine months and four days, his heart had stopped beating. Now he was running around the Elysian Fields in doggy heaven, with grilled chicken for dinner and liver paste sandwiches every single day.
    Irene’s throat closed up as she thought of Sammie. She missed him terribly, but she and Krister had agreed that they wouldn’t get another dog. They worked such long, unsociable hours.
    Almost two years ago, Irene’s mother, Gerd, had slipped on a patch of ice and broken her hip. She had also hit the back of her head and sustained a severe injury to her skull, which was the reason for the constant dizziness that plagued her these days. The hip hadn’t healed properly, and the operation had to be done all over again. The result was better, but far from perfect. At about the same time, her partner, Sture, had died of a heart attack. It had all been too much for Gerd; she had lost her spark. She still lived in her apartment in Guldheden, but she no longer went out on her own. She was afraid of falling again because she was dizzy and unsteady on her feet. Irene and Krister did the shopping for her, and every other week someone from the home care service came to clean the apartment. In between times she was terribly lonely. “I’ve been around for too long. I’m nearly eighty. All my friends are dead or gaga or too feeble to come and see me,” she would say. Irene tried to jolly her out of it, but she realized there was a lot of truth to what Gerd said. Admittedly the various clubs and societies her mother had been a member of sometimes got in touch, but that was usually around Christmastime. The person who called in most often was a lively lady of about the same age who lived in a neighboring apartment. They had known each other for forty-five years, ever since Irene’s parents had moved to Doktor Bex Gata. Irene had grown up there; she hadn’t left home until she moved to Stockholm to study at the police academy in Ulriksdal.
    Irene walked into her silent house. Krister was working the evening shift, and was unlikely to be home before midnight.
    The only positive thing about the fact that her daughters had moved out was that Irene no longer had to eat Jenny’s vegan food. She hadn’t escaped completely, however; Krister had started to take an interest in vegetarian cuisine. As a professional master chef, he could turn the dullest root vegetables into a delicious delicacy. It was a talent she definitely lacked. Since she was married to a chef, she had never bothered to learn how to cook, and it wasn’t something that interested her.
    She would make a sandwich and a pot of tea. While the water was heating up she defrosted two rolls in the microwave. A few slices of cheese and two dutiful slices of cucumber on each; that would have to do. She put everything on a tray and carried it upstairs to the TV room.
    The local