The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (77 page)

The courtroom was hushed, transfixed.

“Would Dr. Teleborian like to comment on what has just been said?” Judge Iversen asked.

Teleborian shook his head.

“In that case it is my duty to tell you that you risk being charged with perjury and possibly other counts in addition,” Judge Iversen said.

“If you’ll excuse me, your honour,” Blomkvist said.

“Yes?”

“Dr. Teleborian has bigger problems than this. Outside the courtroom are two police officers who would like to bring him in for questioning.”

“I see,” the judge said. “Is it a matter which concerns this court?”

“I believe it is, your honour.”

Judge Iversen gestured to the bailiff, who admitted Inspector Modig and a woman Prosecutor Ekström did not immediately recognize. Her name was Lisa Collsjö, and she was a criminal inspector for the special investigations division, the unit within the National Police Board responsible for investigating cases of child pornography and sexual assault on children.

“And what is your business here?” Judge Iversen said.

“We are here to arrest Peter Teleborian with your permission, and without wishing to disturb the court’s proceedings.”

Judge Iversen looked at Advokat Giannini.

“I’m not quite finished with him . . . but the court may have heard enough of Dr. Teleborian.”

“You have my permission,” Judge Iversen said to the police officers.

Collsjö walked across to Teleborian. “Peter Teleborian, you are under arrest for violation of the law on child pornography.”

Teleborian sat still, hardly breathing. Giannini saw that all the light in his eyes seemed to have been extinguished.

“Specifically, for possession of approximately nine thousand pornographic photographs of children found on your computer.”

She bent down to pick up his laptop, which he had brought with him.

“This is confiscated as evidence,” she said.

As he was being led from the courtroom, Salander’s blazing eyes bored into Teleborian’s back.

Judge Iversen tapped his pen on the edge of his table to quell the murmuring that had arisen in the wake of Teleborian’s departure. He seemed unsure how to proceed. Then he turned to Prosecutor Ekström.

“Do you have any comment to make to the court on what has been seen and heard in the past hour?”

Ekström stood up and looked at Judge Iversen and then at Edklinth before he turned his head and met Salander’s unwavering gaze. He understood that the battle was lost. He glanced over at Blomkvist and realized with sudden terror that he too risked being exposed to
Millennium
’s investigators . . . which could ruin his career.

He was at a loss to comprehend how this had happened. He had come to the trial convinced that he knew everything about the case.

He had understood the delicate balance sought by national security after his many candid talks with Superintendent Nyström. It had been explained to him that the Salander report from 1991 had been fabricated. He had received the inside information he needed. He had asked questions—hundreds of questions—and received answers to all of them. A deception in the national interest. And now Nyström had been arrested, according to Edklinth. He had believed in Teleborian, who had, after all, seemed so . . . so competent. So convincing.

Good Lord. What sort of a mess have I landed in?

And then,
How the hell am I going to get out of it?

He stroked his goatee. He cleared his throat. Slowly he removed his glasses.

“I regret to say that it seems I have been misinformed on a number of essential points in this investigation.”

He wondered if he could shift the blame onto the police investigators. Then he had a vision of Inspector Bublanski. Bublanski would never back him up. If Ekström made one wrong move, Bublanski would call a press conference and sink him.

Ekström met Salander’s gaze. She was sitting there patiently, and in her eyes he read both curiosity and vengeance.

No compromises
.

He could still get her convicted of aggravated assault in Stallarholmen. And he could probably get her convicted for the aggravated assault and attempted murder of her father in Gosseberga. That would mean changing his strategy immediately; he would drop everything that had anything to do with Teleborian. All claims that she was a psychopath had to go, but that meant that her story would be strengthened all the way back to 1991. The whole declaration of incompetence was bogus, and with that . . .

Plus she has that blasted film . . . 

Then it struck him.

Good God. She’s a victim, pure and simple
.

“Judge Iversen, I believe I can no longer rely on the documents I have here in my hand.”

“I suppose not,” Judge Iversen said.

“I’m going to have to ask for a recess, or that the trial be suspended until I am able to make certain adjustments to my case.”

“Advokat Giannini?” the judge said.

“I request that my client be at once acquitted on all counts and be released immediately. I also request that the district court take a definite position on the question of Fröken Salander’s declaration of incompetence. Moreover, I believe that she should be adequately compensated for the violations of her rights that have occurred.”

Lisbeth Salander turned towards Judge Iversen.

No compromises
.

Judge Iversen looked at Salander’s autobiography. He then looked over at Prosecutor Ekström.

“I too believe we would be wise to investigate exactly what has happened that brings us to this sorry pass. I fear that you are probably not the right person to conduct that investigation. In all my years as a jurist and judge, I have never been party to anything even approaching the legal dilemma in this case. I confess that I am at a loss for words. I have never
even heard of a case in which the prosecutor’s chief witness is arrested during a court in session, or of a convincing argument turning out to be an utter fabrication. I honestly do not see what is left of the prosecutor’s case.”

Palmgren cleared his throat.

“Yes?” Iversen said.

“As a representative for the defence, I can only share your feelings. Sometimes one must step back and allow common sense to guide the formal procedures. I’d like to state that you, in your capacity as judge, have seen only the first stage of a scandal that is going to rock the whole establishment. Today twelve police officers from within Säpo have been arrested. They will be charged with murder and a list of crimes so long that it will take quite some time to draw up the report.”

“I presume that I must decide on a suspension of this trial.”

“If you’ll excuse me for saying so, I think that would be an unfortunate decision.”

“I’m listening.”

“Lisbeth Salander is innocent. Her ‘fantastical’ autobiography, as Dr. Teleborian so contemptuously dismissed it, is in fact true. And it can all be proven. She has suffered an outrageous violation of her rights. As a court we could now stick with formal procedure and continue with the trial until finally we arrive at an acquittal, but there is an obvious alternative: to let a new investigation take over everything concerning Lisbeth Salander. An investigation is already under way to sort out an integral part of this mess.”

“I see what you mean.”

“As the judge of this case you have a choice. The wise thing to do would be to reject the prosecutor’s entire preliminary investigation and request that he do his homework.”

Judge Iversen looked long and hard at Ekström.

“The
just
thing to do would be to acquit my client at once. She also deserves an apology, but the redress will take time and will depend upon the rest of the investigation.”

“I understand the points you’re making, Advokat Palmgren. But before I can declare your client innocent I will have to have the whole story clear in my mind. That will probably take a while. . . .”

He hesitated and looked at Giannini.

“If I decide that the court will adjourn until Monday and accommodate your wishes insofar as I see no reason to keep your client in custody any longer—which would mean that you could expect that, no matter what else happens, she will not be given a prison sentence—can you guarantee that she will appear for continued proceedings when summoned?”

“Of course,” Palmgren said quickly.

“No,” Salander said in a sharp voice.

Everyone’s eyes turned to the person who was at the heart of the entire drama.

“What do you mean by that?” Judge Iversen said.

“The moment you release me I’m going to leave the country. I do not intend to spend one more minute of my time on this trial.”

“You would refuse to appear?”

“That is correct. If you want me to answer more questions, then you’ll have to keep me in prison. The moment you release me, this story is settled as far as I’m concerned. And that does not include being available for an indefinite time to you, to Ekström, or to any police officers.”

Judge Iversen sighed. Palmgren looked bewildered.

“I agree with my client,” Giannini said. “It is the government and the authorities who have committed crimes against Lisbeth Salander, not the other way around. At the very least she deserves to be able to walk out that door with an acquittal and the chance to put this whole story behind her.”

No compromises
.

Judge Iversen glanced at his watch.

“It is 3:00. That means that you’re going to force me to keep your client in custody.”

“If that’s your decision, then we accept it. As Fröken Salander’s representative I request that she be acquitted of the charges brought by Prosecutor Ekström. I request that you release my client without restrictions, and without delay. And I request that the previous declaration of incompetence be rescinded and that her civil rights be immediately restored.”

“The matter of the declaration of incompetence is a significantly longer process. I would have to get statements from psychiatric experts after she has been examined. I cannot simply make a snap decision about that.”

“We do not accept that,” Giannini said.

“Why not?”

“Lisbeth Salander must have the same civil rights as any other citizen of Sweden.
She
has been the victim of a crime. She was
falsely
declared incompetent. We have heard evidence of that falsification. The decision to place her under guardianship therefore lacks a legal basis and must be unconditionally rescinded. There is no reason whatsoever for my client to submit to a psychiatric examination. No-one else has to prove that they are not mentally ill if they are the victim of a crime.”

Judge Iversen considered the matter for a moment. “Advokat Giannini, I realize that this is an exceptional situation. I’m calling a recess of fifteen
minutes so that we can stretch our legs and gather our thoughts. I have no wish that your client be kept in custody tonight if she is innocent, but that means that this trial will have to continue today until we are done.”

“That sounds good to me,” said Giannini.

Blomkvist hugged his sister. “How did it go?”

“Mikael, I was brilliant against Teleborian. I annihilated him.”

“I told you you’d be unbeatable. When it comes down to it, this story is not primarily about spies and secret government agencies; it’s about violence against women, and the men who enable it. From what little I heard and saw, you were phenomenal. She’s going to be acquitted.”

“You’re right. There’s no longer any doubt.”

Judge Iversen banged his gavel.

“Could you please sum up the facts from beginning to end, so that I can get a clear picture of what actually happened?”

“Let’s begin,” Giannini said, “with the astounding story of a group within the Security Police who call themselves ‘the Section,’ and who got ahold of a Soviet defector in the mid-seventies. The story was published today in
Millennium
magazine. I imagine it will be the lead story on all the news broadcasts this evening. . . .”

At 6:00 that evening Judge Iversen decided to release Salander and to revoke her declaration of incompetence.

But the decision was made on one condition: Judge Iversen demanded that Salander submit to an interview in which she would formally testify to her knowledge of the Zalachenko affair. At first she refused. This refusal brought about a moment’s wrangling until Judge Iversen raised his voice. He leaned forward and fixed his gaze on Salander.

“Fröken Salander, if I rescind your declaration of incompetence, that will mean that you have exactly the same rights as all other citizens. It also means that you have the same obligations. It is therefore your duty to manage your finances, pay taxes, obey the law, and assist the police in investigations of serious crimes. So I am summoning you to be questioned like any other citizen who has information that might be vital to an investigation.”

The force of this logic seemed to sink in. She pouted and looked angry, but she stopped arguing.

“When the police have interviewed you, the leader of the preliminary investigation—in this case the prosecutor general—will decide whether you will be summoned as a witness in any future legal proceedings. Like any other Swedish citizen, you can refuse to obey such a summons. How you act is none of my concern, but you do not have carte blanche. If you refuse to appear, then like any other adult you may be charged with obstruction of justice or perjury. There are no exceptions.”

Salander’s expression darkened even more.

“So, what is your decision?” Judge Iversen said.

After thinking it over for a minute, Salander gave a curt nod.

OK. A little compromise
.

During her summary of the Zalachenko affair that evening, Giannini launched a savage attack on Prosecutor Ekström. Eventually Ekström admitted that the course of events had proceeded more or less as Giannini had described. He had been helped during the preliminary investigation by Superintendent Nyström, and he had received his information from Dr. Teleborian. In Ekström’s case there was no conspiracy. He had gone along with the Section in good faith in his capacity as leader of the preliminary investigation. When the whole extent of the conspiracy finally dawned on him, he decided to withdraw all charges against Salander, and that decision meant that a raft of bureaucratic formalities could be set aside. Judge Iversen looked relieved.