The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest

also appeared?”

“Not that I know of, but it’s possible. This thing about steroids has to do with her connection to boxers. Paolo Roberto and his pals.”

“Paolo Roberto uses steroids?”

“What? No, of course not. It’s more about the boxing world in general. Salander used to train at a gym in Soder. But that’s the angle the police are taking. Not me. And somewhere the idea seems to have popped up that she might have been involved in selling steroids.”

“So there’s no actual substance to this story at all, just a rumour?”

“It’s no rumour that the police are looking into the possibility. Whether they’re right or wrong, I have no idea yet.”

“O.K., Johannes. I want you to know that what I’m discussing with you now has nothing to do with my dealings with Holm. I think you’re an excellent reporter. You write well and you have an eye for detail. In short, this is a good story. My problem is that I don’t believe it.”

“I can assure you that it’s quite true.”

“And I have to explain to you why there’s a fundamental flaw in the story. Where did the tip come from?”

“From a source within the police.”

“Who?”

Frisk hesitated. It was an automatic response. Like every other journalist the world over, he was unwilling to name his source. On the other hand, Berger was editor-in-chief and therefore one of the few people who could demand that information from him.

“An officer named Faste in the Violent Crimes Division.”

“Did he call you or did you call him?”

“He called me.”

“Why do you think he called you?”

“I interviewed him a couple of times during the hunt for Salander. He knows who I am.”

“And he knows you’re twenty-seven and a temp and that you’re useful when he wants to plant information that the prosecutor wants put out.”

“Sure, I understand all that. But I get a tip from the police investigation and go over and have a coffee with Faste and he tells me this. He is correctly quoted. What am I supposed to do?”

“I’m persuaded that you quoted him accurately. What should have happened is that you should have taken the information to Holm, who should have knocked on the door of my office and explained the situation, and together we would have decided what to do.”

“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 do 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 S.M.P. 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 S.M.P., 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. And now he’s trying a new angle which will put her at a disadvantage in the public consciousness, and which he wants S.M.P. to help disseminate. Sorry, but not on my watch.”

“I understand.”

“Do you? Good. Then I can sum up everything I said in two sentences. Your job description as a journalist is to question and scrutinize most critically. And never to repeat claims uncritically, no matter how highly placed the sources in the bureaucracy. Don’t ever forget that. You’re a terrific 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.”

“Alright.”

“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 trousers 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 posted on a billboard.”

“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 on the billboards 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.”