Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, The - Stieg Larsson [175]
“And the chief has since died.”
“But Fälldin is alive and willing to talk about the matter.”
“Have you—”
“No, I haven’t. But someone else has. I can’t give you the name. Source protection.”
Blomkvist explained how Fälldin had reacted to the information about Zalachenko and how he had travelled to the Hague to interview Janeryd.
“So the Zalachenko club is somewhere in this building,” Blomkvist said, pointing at the photograph.
“Partly. We think it’s an organization inside the organization. What you call the Zalachenko club cannot exist without the support of key people in this building. But we think that the so-called Section for Special Analysis set up shop somewhere outside.”
“So that’s how it works? A person can be employed by Säpo, have his salary paid by Säpo, and then in fact report to another employer?”
“Something like that.”
“So who in the building is working for the Zalachenko club?”
“We don’t know yet. But we have several suspects.”
“Mårtensson,” Blomkvist suggested.
Edklinth nodded.
“Mårtensson works for Säpo, and when he’s needed by the Zalachenko club he’s released from his regular job,” Figuerola said.
“How does that work in practice?”
“That’s a very good question,” Edklinth said with a faint smile. “Wouldn’t you like to come and work for us?”
“Not on your life,” Blomkvist said.
“I jest, of course. But it’s a good question. We have a suspect, but we’re unable to verify our suspicions just yet.”
“Let’s see … it must be someone with administrative authority.”
“We suspect Chief of Secretariat Albert Shenke,” Figuerola said.
“And here we are at our first stumbling block,” Edklinth said. “We’ve given you a name, but we have no proof. So how do you intend to proceed?”
“I can’t publish a name without proof. If Shenke is innocent he would sue Millennium for libel.”
“Good. Then we are agreed. This co-operative effort has to be based on mutual trust. Your turn. What have you got?”
“Three names,” Blomkvist said. “The first two were members of the Zalachenko club in the ’80s.”
Edklinth and Figuerola were instantly alert.
“Hans von Rottinger and Fredrik Clinton. Von Rottinger is dead. Clinton is retired. But both of them were part of the circle closest to Zalachenko.”
“And the third name?” Edklinth said.
“Teleborian has a link to a person I know only as Jonas. We don’t know his last name, but we do know that he was with the Zalachenko club in 2005 … We’ve actually speculated a bit that he might be the man with Mårtensson in the pictures from Café Copacabana.”
“And in what context did the name Jonas crop up?”
Salander hacked Teleborian’s computer, and we can follow the correspondence that shows how Teleborian is conspiring with Jonas in the same way he conspired with Björck in 1991.
“He gives Teleborian instructions. And now we come to another stumbling block,” Blomkvist said to Edklinth with a smile. “I can prove my assertions, but I can’t give you the documentation without revealing a source. You’ll have to accept what I’m saying.”
Edklinth looked thoughtful.
“Maybe one of Teleborian’s colleagues in Uppsala. O.K. Let’s start with Clinton and von Rottinger. Tell us what you know.”
*
Borgsjö received Berger in his office next to the boardroom. He looked concerned.
“I heard that you hurt yourself,” he said, pointing to her foot.
“It’ll pass,” Berger said, leaning her crutches against his desk as she sat down in the visitor’s chair.
“Well … that’s good. Erika, you’ve been here a month and I want us to have a chance to catch up. How do you feel it’s going?”
I have to discuss Vitavara with him. But how? When?
“I’ve begun to get a handle on the situation. There are two sides to it. On the one hand, S.M.P. has financial problems and the budget is strangling the newspaper. On the other, S.M.P. has a huge amount of dead meat in the newsroom.”
“Aren’t there any positive aspects?”
“Of course there are. A whole bunch of experienced professionals who know how to do their jobs. The problem is the ones who won’t let them do their jobs.”