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 close to poaching on Sapo's preserves. 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 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 P.G., the Top Secret classification means that the report may not be disseminated or copied. The P.G. 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 that 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, 10.IV
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 shareholding 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