Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, The - Stieg Larsson [57]
“Our activity is completely legal … we’re actually working under the auspices of the government.”
“Spare me the bullshit,” Gullberg said. “You know as well as I do that a loosely formulated document that was written in the mid-’60s isn’t worth a damn today. I don’t think any one of us could even imagine what would happen if Zalachenko talked.”
Silence descended once again.
“So our starting point has to be to persuade Zalachenko to keep his mouth shut,” Nyström said at last.
“And to be able to persuade him to keep his mouth shut, we have to be able to offer him something substantial. The problem is that he’s unpredictable. He would scorch us out of sheer malice. We have to think about how we can keep him in check.”
“And what about his demand …,” Sandberg said, “that we make the whole thing disappear and put Salander back in an asylum?”
“Salander we can handle. It’s Zalachenko who’s the problem. But that leads us to the second part – damage control. Teleborian’s report from 1991 has been leaked, and it’s potentially as serious a threat as Zalachenko.”
Nyström cleared his throat. “As soon as we realized that the report was out and in the hands of the police, I took certain measures. I went through Forelius, our lawyer in S.I.S., and he got hold of the Prosecutor General. The P.G. ordered the report confiscated from the police – it’s not to be disseminated or copied.”
“How much does the P.G. know?” Gullberg said.
“Not a thing. He’s acting on an official request from S.I.S. It’s classified material and the P.G. has no alternative.”
“Who in the police has read the report?”
“There were two copies which were read by Bublanski, his colleague Inspector Modig, and finally the preliminary investigation leader, Richard Ekström. We can assume that another two police officers …,” Nyström leafed through his notes, “… that Curt Andersson and Jerker Holmberg at least, are aware of the contents.”
“So, four police officers and one prosecutor. What do we know about them?”
“Prosecutor Ekström, forty-two, regarded as a rising star. He’s been an investigator at Justice and has handled a number of cases that got a fair bit of attention. Zealous. P.R.-savvy. Careerist.”
“Social Democrat?” Gullberg said.
“Probably. But not active.”
“So Bublanski is leading the investigation. I saw him in a press conference on T. V. He didn’t seem comfortable in front of the cameras.”
“He’s older and has an exceptional record, but he also has a reputation for being crusty and obstinate. He’s Jewish and quite conservative.”
“And the woman … who’s she?”
“Sonja Modig. Married, thirty-nine, two kids. Has advanced rather quickly in her career. I talked to Teleborian, who described her as emotional. She asks questions non-stop.”
“Next.”
“Andersson is a tough customer. He’s thirty-eight and comes from the gangs unit in Söder. He landed in the spotlight when he shot dead some hooligan a couple of years ago. Acquitted of all charges, according to the report. He was the one Bublanski sent to arrest Björck.”
“I see. Keep in mind that he shot someone dead. If there’s any reason to cast doubt on Bublanski’s group, we can always single him out as a rogue policeman. I assume we still have relevant media contacts. And the last guy?”
“Holmberg, fifty-five. Comes from Norrland and is in fact a specialist in crime scene investigation. He was offered supervisory training a few years ago but turned it down. He seems to like his job.”
“Are any of them politically active?”
“No. Holmberg’s father was a city councillor for the Centre Party in the ’70s.”
“It seems to be a modest group. We can assume they’re fairly tight-knit. Could we isolate them somehow?”
“There’s a fifth officer involved,” Nyström said. “Hans Faste, forty-seven. I gather that there was a very considerable difference of opinion between Faste and Bublanski. So much so that Faste took sick leave.”
“What do we know about him?”
“I get mixed reactions when I ask. He has an