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"I get it. But I--"
"You left the material with Holm, who's the news editor. You acted correctly. But let's analyse your article. First of all, why would Faste want to leak this information?"
Frisk shrugged.
"Does that mean that you don't know, or that you don't care?"
"I don't know."
"If I were to tell you that this story is untrue, and that Salander doesn't have a thing to do with anabolic steroids, what would you say then?"
"I can't prove otherwise."
"No indeed. But you think we should publish a story that might be a lie just because we have no proof that it's a lie."
"No, we have a journalistic responsibility. But it's a balancing act. We can't refuse to publish when we have a source who makes a specific claim."
"We can ask why the source might want this information to get out. Let me explain why I gave orders that everything to do with Salander has to cross my desk. I have special knowledge of the subject that no-one else at SMP has. The legal department has been informed that I possess this knowledge but cannot discuss it with them. Millennium is going to publish a story that I am contractually bound not to reveal to SMP, despite the fact that I work here. I obtained the information in my capacity as editor in chief of Millennium, and right now I'm caught between two loyalties. Do you see what I mean?"
"Yes."
"What I learned at Millennium tells me that I can say without a doubt that this story is a lie, and its purpose is to damage Salander before the trial."
"It would be hard to do her any more damage, considering all the revelations that have already come out about her."
"Revelations that are largely lies and distortions. Hans Faste is one of the key sources for the claims that Salander is a paranoid and violence-prone lesbian devoted to Satanism and S & M. And the media as a whole bought Faste's propaganda simply because he appears to be a serious source and it's always cool to write about S & M. Now he's trying a new angle, which will put her at a disadvantage in the public consciousness, and which he wants SMP to help disseminate. Sorry, but not on my watch."
"I understand."
"Do you? Good. Then I can sum up everything I said in one sentence. Your job description as a journalist is to question and scrutinize critically--never to repeat claims uncritically, no matter how highly placed the sources in the bureaucracy. Don't ever forget that. You're a damn good writer, but that talent is completely worthless if you forget your job description."
"Right."
"I intend to kill this story."
"I understand."
"This doesn't mean that I distrust you."
"Thank you."
"So that's why I'm sending you back to your desk with a proposal for a new story."
"All right."
"The whole thing has to do with my contract with Millennium. I'm not allowed to reveal what I know about the Salander story. At the same time, I'm editor in chief of a newspaper that's in danger of skidding because the newsroom doesn't have the information that I have. And we can't allow that to happen. This is a unique situation and applies only to Salander. That's why I've decided to choose a reporter and steer him in the right direction so that we won't end up with our pants down when Millennium comes out."
"And you think that Millennium will be publishing something noteworthy about Salander?"
"I don't think so, I know so. Millennium is sitting on a scoop that will turn the Salander story on its head, and it's driving me crazy that I can't go public with it."
"You say you're rejecting my article because you know that it isn't true. That means there's something in the story that all the other reporters have missed."
"Exactly."
"I'm sorry, but it's difficult to believe that the entire Swedish media has been duped in the same way. . . ."
"Salander has been the object of a media frenzy. That's when normal rules no longer apply, and any drivel can be printed."
"So you're saying that Salander isn't exactly what she seems to be."
"Try out the idea that she's innocent of these accusations, that the picture painted of her in the media is nonsense, and that there are forces at work you haven't even dreamed of."
"Is that the truth?"
Berger nodded.
"So what I just handed in is part of a continuing campaign against her."
"Precisely."
Frisk scratched his head. Berger waited until he had finished thinking.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Go back to your desk and start working on another story. You don't have to stress out about it, but just before the trial begins we might be able to publish a whole feature that examines the accuracy of all the statements that have been made about Salander. Start by reading through the clippings, list everything that's been said about her, and check off the allegations one by one."
"All right."
"Think like a reporter. Investigate who's spreading the story, why it's being spread, and ask yourself whose interests it might serve."
"But I probably won't be at SMP when the trial starts. This is my last week."
Berger took a plastic folder from a desk drawer and laid a sheet of paper in front of him.
"I've extended your assignment by three months. You'll finish off this week with your ordinary duties and report in here on Monday."
"Thank you."
"If you want to keep working at SMP, that is."
"Of course I do."
"You're contracted to do investigative work outside the normal editorial job. You'll report directly to me. You're going to be a special correspondent assigned to the Salander trial."
"The news editor is going to have something to say--"
"Don't worry about Holm. I've talked with the head of the legal department and fixed it so there won't be any hassle there. But you're going to be digging into the background, not news reporting. Does that sound good?"
"It sounds fantastic."
"All right, then. That's all. I'll see you on Monday."
As she waved him out of the glass cage she saw Holm watching her from the other side of the news desk. He lowered his gaze and pretended that he had not been looking at her.
CHAPTER 11
Friday, May 13-Saturday, May 14
Blomkvist made sure that he was not being watched when he walked from the Millennium offices early on Friday morning to Salander's old apartment block on Lundagatan. He had to meet Idris Ghidi in Goteborg. The question was how to travel there without being observed or leaving a trail. He decided against the train, since he didn't want to use a credit card. Normally he would borrow Berger's car, but that was no longer possible. He had thought about asking Cortez or someone else to rent a car for him, but that too would leave a trace.
Finally he came up with the obvious solution. He had the keys to Salander's burgundy Honda. It had been parked outside her building since March. He adjusted the seat and saw that the gas tank was half full. Then he backed out and headed across Liljeholmsbron towards the E4.
At 2:50 he parked on a side street off Avenyn in Goteborg. He had a late lunch at the first cafe he saw. At 4:10 he took the tram to Angered and got off in the centre of town. It took twenty minutes to find Idris Ghidi's address. He was about ten minutes late for their meeting.
Ghidi opened the door, shook hands with Blomkvist, and invited him into a living room with spartan furnishings. He had a limp. He asked Blomkvist to take a seat at the table next to a dresser on which were a dozen framed photographs, which Blomkvist studied.
"My family," Ghidi said.
He spoke with a thick accent. Blomkvist suspected that he would not pass the language test recommended by the People's Party of Sweden.
"Are those your brothers?"
"My two brothers on the left were murdered by Saddam in the eighties. That's my father in the middle. My two uncles were murdered by Saddam in the nineties. My mother died in 2000. My three sisters are still alive. Two are in Syria and my litt
le sister is in Madrid."
