Armansky also called in Sonny Bohman and Niklas Hedström. Bohman too was a former policeman. He had received his training in the Norrmalm armed response squad in the eighties and then moved to the violent crimes division, where he had led a dozen dramatic investigations. During the rampage of the “Laser Man” sniper in the early nineties, Bohman had been one of the key players, and in 1997 he had moved to Milton only after a great deal of persuasion and the offer of a significantly higher salary.

Niklas Hedström was regarded as a rookie. He had been trained at the police academy, but just before he was due to take his final exams he learned that he had a congenital heart defect. This not only required a major operation but also meant that his police career was already at an end.

Fräklund, who had been a contemporary of Hedström’s father, had suggested to Armansky that they give him a chance. Since there was a position free in the analysis unit, Armansky approved the recruitment, and he had never had cause to regret it. Hedström had worked for Milton for five years. He might lack field experience, but he stood out as a sharp-witted intellectual asset.

“Good morning, everyone. Take a seat and start reading,” Armansky said. He handed out three folders with some fifty photocopied pages of press cuttings about the hunt for Salander, along with Armansky’s three-page summary of her background. Hedström finished reading first and put the folder down. Armansky waited until Bohman and Fräklund were done.

“I presume none of you gentlemen has missed seeing the headlines in the papers over the weekend.”

“Lisbeth Salander,” Fräklund said in a gloomy voice.

Bohman shook his head.

Hedström stared into space with an inscrutable expression and the hint of a sad smile.

Armansky gave the trio a searching look.

“One of our employees,” he said. “How well did you get to know her when she worked here?”

“I tried a little light banter with her once,” Hedström said, again with a hint of a smile. “It didn’t go so well. I thought she was going to bite my head off. She was a first-class sourpuss, and I hardly exchanged ten sentences with her.”

“I found her seriously odd,” Fräklund said.

Bohman shrugged. “She was a real pain to deal with. I knew she was weird, but not that she was this fucking crazy.”

“She did things her own way,” Armansky said. “She wasn’t easy to handle. But I trusted her because she was the best researcher I’ve ever come across. She delivered results beyond expectation every time.”

“I never understood that,” Fräklund said. “I couldn’t figure out how she could be so incredibly skilled and at the same time so hopeless socially.”

“The explanation, of course, lies in her mental state,” Armansky said, poking at one of the folders. “She was declared incompetent.”

“I didn’t have a clue about that,” Hedström said. “I mean, she didn’t wear a sign on her back. And you never said anything.”

“No,” Armansky said. “I didn’t think she needed to be any more stigmatized than she already was. Everybody deserves a chance.”

“And the result of that experiment is what we saw happen in Enskede,” Bohman said.

“Could be,” Armansky said.

He did not want to betray his weakness for Salander in front of these three professionals who were now watching him expectantly. They had adopted quite a neutral tone during the conversation, but Armansky knew that Salander was in fact detested by all three of them, as well as by the rest of the employees at Milton Security. He did not want to come across as soft or confused. It was important to present the matter in a way that created a measure of enthusiasm and professionalism.

“I’ve decided for the first time ever to utilize some of Milton ’s resources for a purely internal matter,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be a big expense in the budget, but I’m thinking of releasing you two, Bohman and Hedström, from your present duties. Your assignment, although I may be formulating it a bit vaguely, is to ‘establish the truth’ about Lisbeth Salander.”

Both men gave Armansky a sceptical look.

“I want you, Fräklund, to lead and keep track of the investigation. I want to know what happened and what would have induced Salander to murder her guardian as well as the couple in Enskede. There has to be a rational explanation.”

“Forgive my saying so, but this sounds like a job for the police,” Fräklund said.

“No question,” Armansky shot back. “But we have an advantage over the police. We knew Salander, and we have an insight into how she functions.”

“Well, if you say so,” Bohman said, sounding unsure. “I don’t believe anyone here at the firm has any idea what went on in her little head.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Armansky said. “Salander worked for Milton Security. In my view, we have a responsibility to establish the truth.”

“Salander hasn’t worked for us in… what is it, almost two years,” Fräklund said. “I don’t see us as responsible for what she may have done. And I don’t think the police would appreciate it if we interfered in their investigation.”

“On the contrary,” Armansky said. This was his trump card, and he had to play it well.

“How’s that?” Bohman wondered.

“Yesterday I had a couple of long conversations with the preliminary investigation leader, Prosecutor Ekström, and Criminal Inspector Bublanski, who’s in charge of the investigation. Ekström is under pressure. This isn’t some sort of showdown among gangsters; it’s an event with enormous media potential in which a lawyer, a criminologist, and a journalist were all-it would appear-executed. I explained that since the prime suspect is a former employee of Milton Security, we have also decided to start an investigation of our own.” Armansky paused to let this sink in before going on. “Ekström and I agree that the important thing right now is for Lisbeth Salander to be taken into custody as rapidly as possible-before she causes any more harm to herself or to others. Since we have more knowledge of her than the police do, we can contribute to the investigation. Ekström and I decided that you two”-he pointed at Bohman and Hedström-“will move over to Kungsholmen and be seconded to Bublanski’s team.”

All three of his employees looked astonished.

“Pardon me for asking a simple question… but we’re only civilians,” Bohman said. “Do the police really intend to let us into a murder investigation, just like that?”

“You’ll be working under Bublanski, but you’ll also report to me. You will be given full access to the investigation. All the material we have and that you turn up will go to Bublanski. For the police, this means that his team will get free reinforcements. And none of you are ‘only civilians.’ You two, Fräklund and Bohman, worked for the police for longer than you’ve worked here, and even you, Hedström, went to the police academy.”

“But it’s against the principles-”

“Not at all. The police often bring civilian consultants into investigations, whether psychologists in sex crimes or interpreters where foreigners are involved. You will simply participate as civilian consultants with particular knowledge of the prime suspect.”

Fräklund nodded slowly. “OK. Milton is joining the police investigation and trying to help catch Salander. Anything else?”

“Yes. Your principal assignment as far as Milton is concerned is to establish the truth. Nothing else. I want to know if Salander shot these three people-and if so, why.”

“Is there any doubt about her guilt?” asked Hedström.

“The circumstantial evidence the police hold is very damaging to her. But I want to know whether there’s another side to the story-whether there’s some accomplice we don’t know about, someone who may have been the one actually holding the gun, or whether there are any other as yet unknown circumstances.”

“It’s going to be hard work to find mitigating circumstances in a triple murder,” Fräklund said. “If that’s what we’re looking for, we’d have to suppose there’s a possibility she’s innocent. And I don’t believe that.”