itright.I’mthinkingofhavingroastWennerstr?mfortheChristmaspartyandvariouscriticsfordessert.”
Themoodturnedcheerful.Blomkvistwonderedhowhewouldhavefeltifhewereoneofthemsittinglisteningtoallthis.Dubious?Mostlikely.Butapparentlyhestillhadsome“trustcapital”amongMillennium’ssmallgroupofemployees.Hehelduphishand.
“Ifthisisgoingtowork,it’simportantthatWennerstr?mbelievesthatMillenniumisonthevergeofcollapsebecauseIdon’twanthimtostartsomesortofretaliationorindeedgetridoftheevidencewhichwemeantoexpose.Sowe’regoingtostartwritingascriptthatyou’llfollowduringtheingmonths.Firstofall,it’simportantthatnothingwediscussheretodayiswrittendownorisreferredtoinemails.Wedon’tknowtowhatifanyextentDahlmanhasbeendiggingaroundinourputers,andI’vebeeawarethatit’salarminglysimpletoreadcoworkers’privateemail.So—we’regoingtodothisorally.Ifyoufeeltheneedtoairanything,goandseeChristerathome.Verydiscreetly.”
Blomkvistwrote“noemail”onthewhiteboard.
“Second,Iwantyoutostartsquabblingamongyourselves,plainingaboutmewhenDahlmanisaround.Don’texaggerate.Justgiveyournaturalbitchyselvesfullrein.Christer,IwantyouandErikatohaveaseriousdisagreement.Useyourimaginationandbesecretiveaboutthecause.”
Hewrote“startbitching”onthewhiteboard.
“Third,whenErikaeshome,herjobwillbetoseetoitthatJanneDahlmanthinksouragreementwiththeVangerCorporation—whichisinfactgivingusitsfullsupport—hasfallenthroughbecauseHenrikVangerisseriouslyillandMartinVangerdiedinacarcrash.”
Hewrotetheword“disrmation.”
“Buttheagreementreallyissolid?”Nilssonsaid.
“Believeme,”Blomkvistsaid,“theVangerCorporationwillgotogreatlengthstoensurethatMillenniumsurvives.Inafewweeks,let’ssayattheendofAugust,Erikawillcallameetingtowarnyouaboutlayoffs.Youallknowthatit’sascam,andthattheonlyonewho’sgoingtobeleavingisDahlman.ButstarttalkingaboutlookingfornewjobsandsaywhatalousyreferenceitistohaveMillenniumonyourC.V.”
“AndyoureallythinkthatthisgamewillendupsavingMillennium?”Magnussonsaid.
“Iknowit