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venture for an undisclosed sum to European Mining & Exploration (EME), a UK-listed junior mining company.
    The next several articles gave more or less the same account. All mentioned the fact that the joint venture was never very stable and all speculated about the reasons behind the sudden sale. One of the last clippings contained a comment from Prism’s CEO.
    When asked if it was true that the Canadians had decided to pull out because the relationship between the partners had deteriorated too much, and if the Russian company had proven too difficult to work with, CEO Bruce Jennings and his head of Operations, Carl Riverton, denied the rumour and would only say that the deal no longer made sense when considered as part of their other operations.
    ‘It is simply not true. We felt very honoured to work with Sibraz, but when it became clear that this specific JV would not complement our long-term goals for the company, Sibraz agreed that we could sell our stake to the party of their choice. It was a difficult decision to make, but it was a step we took in the interest of Prism and its shareholders. We are confident that this will be a flourishing partnership and we wish them every success.’
    The final articles contained comments from industry analysts. Almost all of them pointed out that forming joint ventures required a significant amount of work and were never entered into lightly.
    These things typically take several years to get off the ground and it is unusual for this one to collapse so soon after formation, especially given that exploration activities in northern Russia are limited to the summer months each year , one commentary read. Others went further and asserted that Prism would have lost a lot of money by exiting the partnership prematurely, and that shareholders would not be satisfied with the limited explanation given so far.
    Amelia sighed. The stack of articles contained depressingly scant details; in fact, they just added more questions. The only positive thing about them was that she felt somewhat justified about her own suspicions. If so many industry insiders smelled a rat, surely there had to be one. But how was she ever going to be able to unearth all that was hidden?
    Finally, reluctantly, she pulled an envelope from the bottom of the pile of articles. She knew what was inside, knew its contents only too well, but pulled out the single clipping anyway. It was dated a little over a year before and the words were no easier to read now than they’d been then:
    The Canadian Embassy in Moscow issued a statement yesterday confirming the disappearance of the Canadian ambassador, Robert Preston, on Thursday night of last week. Their statement added few details to what is already known about the shocking incident. All that has been acknowledged at this stage is that Ambassador Preston was apparently kidnapped on his way home after a function at the Marriott Grand Hotel on Tverskaya Street. His deserted car was found only a few blocks away from the Canadian Embassy and ambassador’s residence. Both the Ambassador and his driver are missing. No one has claimed responsibility and no demands have been made. The lack of communication from the kidnappers has caused security specialists to fear the worst, but according to detective Alexander Kiriyenko, who is currently in charge of the investigation, all leads will be pursued vigorously.
    Several statements were released by members of the international community in Moscow today, all expressing shock and dismay and all praising Mr Preston as a valuable leader in the diplomatic community in Russia.
    The Ambassador’s wife, Amelia Preston, has issued no statement and was not available for comment.
    Amelia stared at the clipping. She never did comment. Not then and not later either. What did one say anyway when the unthinkable happened? When your partner – the man who, just that morning, in his state of exhaustion, had spilled coffee on a new white shirt – was