The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Millennium 3)

"Ask the boss?" said Bublanski.

"Thorbjorn Falldin. He was prime minister at the time."

"So we'll just cruise up to wherever he lives and ask the former prime minister if he faked identity documents for a defecting Russian spy. I don't think so."

"Falldin lives in As, in Harnosand. I grew up a few miles from there. My father's a member of the Centre Party and knows Falldin well. I've met him several times, both as a kid and as an adult. He's a very approachable person."

Three inspectors gave Holmberg an astonished look.

"You know Falldin?" Bublanski said dubiously.

Holmberg nodded. Bublanski pursed his lips.

"To tell the truth," said Holmberg, "it would solve a number of issues if we could get the former prime minister to give us a statement--at least we'd know where we stand in all this. I could go up there and talk to him. If he won't say anything, so be it. But if he does, we might save ourselves a lot of time."

Bublanski weighed the suggestion. Then he shook his head. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that both Modig and Andersson were nodding thoughtfully.

"Holmberg, it's nice of you to offer, but I think we'll put that idea on the back burner for now. So, back to the case. Sonja."

"According to Blomkvist, Zalachenko came here in 1976. As far as I can work out, there's only one person he could have gotten that information from."

"Gunnar Bjorck," said Andersson.

"What has Bjorck told us?" Holmberg asked.

"Not much. He says it's all classified and that he can't discuss anything without permission from his superiors."

"And who are his superiors?"

"He won't say."

"So what's going to happen to him?"

"I arrested him for violation of the prostitution laws. We have excellent documentation in Dag Svensson's notes. Ekstrom was upset, but since I had already filed a report, he could get himself into trouble if he closes the preliminary investigation," Andersson said.

"I see. Violation of the prostitution laws. That might result in a fine of ten times his daily income."

"Probably. But we have him in the system and can call him in again for questioning."

"But now we're getting a little too involved in Sapo's business. That might cause a bit of turbulence."

"The problem is that none of this could have happened if Sapo weren't involved somehow. It's possible that Zalachenko really was a Russian spy who defected and was granted political asylum. It's also possible that he worked for Sapo as an expert or source or whatever title you want to give him, and that there was good reason to offer him a false identity and anonymity. But there are three problems. First, the investigation carried out in 1991 that led to Lisbeth Salander's being locked away was illegal. Second, Zalachenko's activities since then have nothing whatsoever to do with national security. Zalachenko is an ordinary gangster who's probably mixed up in several murders and other criminal activities. And third, there is no doubt that Lisbeth Salander was shot and buried alive on his property in Gosseberga."

"Speaking of which, I'd really like to read the infamous report," said Holmberg.

Bublanski's face clouded over.

"Jerker, this is how it is: Ekstrom laid claim to it on Friday, and when I asked for it back he said he'd make me a copy, which he never did. Instead he called me and said that he had spoken with the prosecutor general and there was a problem. According to the PG, the 'top secret' classification means that the report may not be disseminated or copied. The PG has called in all copies until the matter is investigated. Which meant that Sonja had to relinquish the copy she had too."

"So we no longer have the report?"

"No."

"Damn," said Holmberg. "The whole thing stinks."

"I know," said Bublanski. "Worst of all, it means that someone is acting against us, and acting very quickly and efficiently. The report was what finally put us on the right track."

"So we have to work out who's acting against us," said Holmberg.

"Just a moment," said Modig. "We also have Peter Teleborian. He contributed to our investigation by profiling Lisbeth Salander."

"Exactly," said Bublanski in a darker tone of voice. "And what did he say?"

"He was very concerned about her safety and wished her well. But when the discussion was over, he said she was lethally dangerous and might well resist arrest. We based a lot of our thinking on what he told us."

"And he got Hans Faste all worked up," said Holmberg. "Have we heard anything from Faste, by the way?"

"He took some time off," Bublanski replied curtly. "The question now is how we should proceed."

They spent the next two hours discussing their options. The only practical decision they made was that Modig should return to Goteborg the next day to see whether Salander had anything to say. When they finally broke up, Modig and Andersson walked together down to the garage.

"I was just thinking . . ." Andersson stopped.

"Yes?"

"It's just that when we talked to Teleborian, you were the only one in the group who offered any opposition when he answered our questions."

"Yes?"

"Well . . . er . . . good instincts," he said.

Andersson was not known for handing out praise, and it was definitely the first time he had ever said anything positive or encouraging to Modig. He left her standing by her car in astonishment.

CHAPTER 5

Sunday, April 10

Blomkvist had spent Saturday night with Berger. They lay in bed and talked through the details of the Zalachenko story. Blomkvist trusted Berger implicitly and was never for a second inhibited by the fact that she was going to be working for a rival paper. Nor had Berger any thought of taking the story with her. It was Millennium's scoop, even though she may have felt a certain frustration that she was not going to be the editor of that particular issue. It would have been a fine ending to her years at Millennium.

They also discussed the future structure of the magazine. Berger was determined to retain her shares in Millennium and to remain on the board, even if she had no say over the magazine's contents.

"Give me a few years at the daily and then, who knows? Maybe I'll come back to Millennium before I retire," she said.

And as for their own complicated relationship, why should it be any different? Except that of course they would not be meeting so often. It would be as it was in the eighties, before Millennium was founded and when they worked in separate offices.

"I imagine we'll have to book appointments with each other," Berger said with a faint smile.

On Sunday morning they said a hasty goodbye before Berger drove home to her husband, Greger Beckman.

After she was gone Blomkvist called the hospital in Sahlgrenska and tried to get some information about Salander's condition. Nobody would tell him anything, so finally he called Inspector Erlander, who took pity on him and vouchsafed that, given the circumstances, Salander's condition was fair and the doctors were cautiously optimistic. He asked if he would be able to visit her. Erlander told him that Salander was officially under arrest and that the prosecutor would not allow any visitors, but in any case she was in no condition to be questioned. Erlander said he would call if her condition took a turn for the worse.

When Blomkvist checked his mobile, he saw that he had forty-two messages and texts, almost all of them from journalists. There had been wild speculation in the media after it was revealed that Blomkvist was the one who had found Salander, and had probably saved her life. He was obviously closely connected with the development of events.

He deleted all the messages from reporters and called his sister, Annika, to invite himself for Sunday lunch. Then he called Dragan Armansky, CEO of Milton Security, who was at his home in Lidingo.

"You certainly have a way with headlines," Armansky said.

"I tried to reach you earlier this week. I got a message that you were looking for me, but I just didn't have time--"

"We've bee

n doing our own investigation at Milton. And I understood from Holger Palmgren that you had some information. But it seems you were far ahead of us."

Blomkvist hesitated before he said: "Can I trust you?"

"How do you mean exactly?"

"Are you on Salander's side or not? Can I believe that you want the best for her?"