• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

“Why?”

“Because Blomkvist asked Armansky to keep an eye on the factory until the magazine was distributed. They probably saw the car from Milton Security. I thought you’d want to know straightaway.”

“You’re right. It means that they’ve begun to smell a rat.”

“Alarm bells must have gone off in their heads when they saw the car. Sandberg dropped Faulsson off in town and then went back to Artillerigatan. We know that Clinton is there. Nyström arrived at about the same time. The question is, what are they going to do?”

“The trial starts on Wednesday … Can you reach Blomkvist and urge him to double up on security at Millennium? Just in case.”

“They already have good security. And they blew smoke rings round their tapped telephones – like old pros. Blomkvist is so paranoid already that he’s using diversionary tactics we could learn from.” “I’m happy to hear it, but call him anyway.”

Figuerola closed her mobile and put it on the bedside table. She looked up and studied Blomkvist as he lay naked with his head against the foot of the bed.

“I’m to call you and tell you to beef up security at Millennium,” she said.

“Thanks for the suggestion,” he said wryly.

“I’m serious. If they start to smell a rat, there’s a danger that they’ll go and do something without thinking. They might break in.”

“Henry’s sleeping there tonight. And we have a burglar alarm that goes straight to Milton Security, three minutes away.”

He lay in silence with his eyes shut.

“Paranoid,” he muttered.

CHAPTER 24

Monday, 11.vii

It was 6.00 on Monday morning when Linder from Milton Security called Blomkvist on his T10.

“Don’t you people ever rest?” Blomkvist said, drunk with sleep.

He glanced at Figuerola. She was up already and had changed into jogging shorts, but had not yet put on her T-shirt.

“Sure. But the night duty officer woke me. The silent alarm we installed at your apartment went off at 3.00.”

“Did it?”

“I drove down to see what was going on. This is a bit tricky. Could you come to Milton this morning? As soon as possible, that is.”

“This is serious,” Armansky said.

It was just after 8.00 when Armansky, Blomkvist and Linder were gathered in front of a T. V. monitor in a conference room at Milton Security. Armansky had also called in Johan Fräklund, a retired criminal inspector in the Solna police, now chief of Milton’s operations unit, and the former inspector Sonny Bohman, who had been involved in the Salander affair from the start. They were pondering the surveillance video that Linder had just shown them.

“What we see here is Säpo officer Jonas Sandberg opening the door to Mikael’s apartment at 3.17. He has his own keys. You will recall that Faulsson the locksmith made copies of the spare set when he and Göran Mårtensson broke in several weeks ago.”

Armansky nodded sternly.

“Sandberg is in the apartment for approximately eight minutes. During that time he does the following things. First, he takes a small plastic bag from the kitchen, which he fills. Then he unscrews the back plate of a loudspeaker which you have in the living room, Mikael. That’s where he places the bag. The fact that he takes a bag from your kitchen is significant.”

“It’s a Konsum bag,” Blomkvist said. “I save them to put cheese and stuff in.”

“I do the same. What matters, of course, is that the bag has your fingerprints on it. Then he takes a copy of S.M.P. from the recycling bin in the hall. He tears off a page to wrap up an object which he puts on the top shelf of your wardrobe. Same thing there: the paper has your fingerprints on it.”

“I get you,” Blomkvist said.

“I drive to your apartment at around 5.00,” Linder said. “I find the following items: in your loudspeaker there are now approximately 180 grams of cocaine. I’ve taken a sample which I have here.”

She put a small evidence bag on the conference table.

“What’s in the wardrobe?” Blomkvist said.

“About 120,000 kronor in cash.”

Armansky motioned to Linder to turn off the T. V. He turned to Fr