do so ever again.
But Zalachenko was a sly devil. He would understand the problem. He would be able to vanish from the face of the earth. Go abroad and retire. The real catastrophe would be if he were actually caught. Then everything would come crashing down.
He hesitated a long time before he dialled the number.
"Hello. It's Sven Jansson," he said. A name that he had not used in a very long time. Zalachenko remembered instantly who he was.
CHAPTER 28
Wednesday, April 6
Bublanski met Modig for coffee and a bite to eat at Wayne's on Vasagatan at 8:00 in the evening. She had never seen her boss so downcast before. He told her everything that had happened that day. Finally she reached out and put her hand over his. It was the first time she had ever touched Bublanski, and there was no other reason than companionship. He smiled sadly and patted her hand in an equally friendly way.
"Maybe I should retire," he said.
She smiled at him indulgently.
"This investigation is falling apart," he went on. "It's already in pieces. I informed Ekstrom of everything that occurred today, and he just said, 'Do what you think is best.' He seems incapable of action."
"I don't want to bad-mouth a superior, but as far as I'm concerned, Ekstrom can go jump in the lake."
Bublanski nodded. "You're officially back on the case, but don't expect he'll come up with an apology. Also, Faste stormed out this morning and has had his mobile switched off all day. If he doesn't turn up tomorrow I'm going to have to get somebody to look for him."
"Faste can stay out of it too. What's happening with Hedstrom?"
"Nothing. I wanted to have him charged, but Ekstrom doesn't dare. We kicked him out and I had a serious talk with Armansky. We broke off working with Milton, which unfortunately means that we've lost Sonny Bohman too. Which is a shame. He was a talented detective."
"How did Armansky take it?"
"He was crushed. The curious thing is that... "
"What?"
"He said that Salander never liked Hedstrom. He remembered she told him a couple of years ago that Hedstrom should be fired. She said he was a shithead, but apparently wouldn't explain why. Armansky of course didn't do as she suggested."
"Interesting."
"Curt is still down in Sodertalje. They're about to do a search of Carl-Magnus Lundin's place. Jerker is fully occupied digging up bits of Kenneth 'the Vagabond' Gustafsson. And just before I got here he called to say that there's another body in the second grave. From the clothes it's probably a woman. Seems to have been there quite a while."
"A woodland cemetery. Jan, I assume Salander is not a suspect in the murders at Nykvarn."
Bublanski smiled for the first time in hours. "No. She had to be crossed off that one. But she's definitely carrying a weapon and she did shoot Lundin."
"Mind you, she shot him in the foot, not in the head. In Lundin's case there's probably not much difference, but don't forget that whoever committed the murders in Enskede is an excellent shot."
"Sonja... this is totally absurd. Magge Lundin and Sonny Nieminen are two hooligans with long police records. Lundin may have put on a pound or two and he may not be in top form, but he's still dangerous. And Nieminen is a brutal bastard that even the tough guys are afraid of. I simply can't imagine how a skinny little creature like Salander could beat the shit out of them like that. Not that he doesn't deserve a beating, don't get me wrong. It's just that I don't understand how it could have happened."
"We'll have to ask her when we find her. She has been documented as violent, after all."
"Even Curt would have thought twice about taking those guys on. And Curt isn't exactly a pansy."
"The question is whether she had some reason to attack Lundin and Nieminen."
"One little girl with two psychopaths in a deserted summer cabin? I can think of a reason or two," Bublanski said.
"Could she have had help from someone? Could there have been other people involved?"
"There's nothing in the report to indicate that. Salander was inside the cabin. There was a coffee cup on the table. And besides, we have a statement from Anna Viktoria Hansson, who keeps an eye on everyone's movements. She swears that the only people who passed her were Salander and our two heroes from Svavelsjo."
"How did Salander get into the cabin?"
"With a key. I'm guessing she took it from