He looked almost apologetic.

“Rapes should always be reported to the police,” Modig said.

“I’m with you on that. But this rape took place two years ago, and Lisbeth still hasn’t talked to the police about it. Which means that she doesn’t intend to. It doesn’t matter how much I disagree with her about the matter; it’s her decision. Anyway…”

“Yes?”

“She had no good reason to trust the police. The last time she tried explaining what a pig Zalachenko was, she was locked up in a mental hospital.”

Richard Ekström, the leader of the preliminary investigation, had butterflies in his stomach as he asked his team leader Inspector Bublanski to take a seat opposite him. Ekström straightened his glasses and stroked his well-groomed goatee. He felt that the situation was chaotic and ominous. For several weeks they had been hunting Lisbeth Salander. He himself had proclaimed her far and wide to be mentally imbalanced, a dangerous psychopath. He had leaked information that would have backed him up in an upcoming trial. Everything had looked so good.

There had been no doubt in his mind that Salander was guilty of three murders. The trial should have been a straightforward matter, a pure media circus with himself at centre stage. Then everything had gone haywire, and he found himself with a completely different murderer and a chaos that seemed to have no end in sight. That bitch Salander.

“Well, this is a fine mess we’ve landed in,” he said. “What have you come up with this morning?”

“A nationwide A.P.B. has been sent out on this Ronald Niedermann, but there’s no sign of him. At present he’s being sought only for the murder of Officer Gunnar Ingemarsson, but I anticipate we’ll have grounds for charging him with the three murders here in Stockholm. Maybe you should call a press conference.”

Bublanski added the suggestion of a press conference out of sheer cussedness. Ekström hated press conferences.

“I think we’ll hold off on the press conference for the time being,” he snapped.

Bublanski had to stop himself from smiling.

“In the first instance, this is a matter for the Göteborg police,” Ekström said.

“Well, we do have Modig and Holmberg on the scene in Göteborg, and we’ve begun to co-operate-”

“We’ll hold off on the press conference until we know more,” Ekström repeated in a brittle tone. “What I want to know is: how certain are you that Niedermann really is involved in the murders in Stockholm?”

“My gut feeling? I’m 100 per cent convinced. On the other hand, the case isn’t exactly rock solid. We have no witnesses to the murders, and there is no satisfactory forensic evidence. Lundin and Nieminen of the Svavelsjö M.C. are refusing to say anything – they’re claiming they’ve never heard of Niedermann. But he’s going to go to prison for the murder of Officer Ingemarsson.”

“Precisely,” said Ekström. “The killing of the police officer is the main thing right now. But tell me this: is there anything at all to even suggest that Salander might be involved in some way in the murders? Could she and Niedermann have somehow committed the murders together?”

“I very much doubt it, and if I were you I wouldn’t voice that theory in public.”

“So how is she involved?”

“This is an intricate story, as Mikael Blomkvist claimed from the very beginning. It revolves around this Zala… Alexander Zalachenko.”

Ekström flinched at the mention of the name Blomkvist.

“Go on,” he said.

“Zala is a Russian hit man – apparently without a grain of conscience – who defected in the ’70s, and Lisbeth Salander was unlucky enough to have him as her father. He was sponsored or supported by a faction within Säpo that tidied up after any crimes he committed. A police officer attached to Säpo also saw to it that Salander was locked up in a children’s psychiatric clinic. She was twelve and had threatened to blow Zalachenko’s identity, his alias, his whole cover.”

“This is a bit difficult to digest. It’s hardly a story we can make public. If I understand the matter correctly, all this stuff about Zalachenko is highly classified.”

“Nevertheless, it’s the truth. I have documentation.”

“Could I see it?”

Bublanski pushed across the desk a folder containing a police report dated 1991. Ekström surreptitiously scanned the stamp, which indicated that the document was Top Secret, and the registration number, which he at once identified as belonging to the Security Police. He leafed rapidly through the hundred or so pages, reading paragraphs here and there. Eventually he put the folder aside.

“We have to try to tone this down, so that the situation doesn’t get completely out of our control. So Salander was locked up in an asylum because she tried to kill her father… this Zalachenko. And now she has attacked him with an axe. By any interpretation that would be attempted murder. And she has to be charged with shooting Magge Lundin in Stallarholmen.”

“You can arrest whoever you want, but I would tread carefully if I were you.”

“There’s going to be an almighty scandal if Säpo’s involvement gets leaked.”

Bublanski shrugged. His job was to investigate crimes, not to clean up after scandals.

“This bastard from Säpo, this Gunnar Björck. What do you know about his role?”

“He’s one of the major players. He’s on sick leave for a slipped disc and lives in Smådalarö at present.”

“O.K… we’ll keep the lid on Säpo’s involvement for the time being. The focus right now is to be on the murder of a police officer.”

“It’s going to be hard to keep this under wraps.”

“What do you mean?”

“I sent Andersson to bring in Björck for a formal interrogation. That should be happening…” – Bublanski looked at his watch – “… yes, about now.”

“You what?”

“I was rather hoping to have the pleasure of driving out to Smådalarö myself, but the events surrounding last night’s killing took precedence.”

“I didn’t give anyone permission to arrest Björck.”

“That’s true. But it’s not an arrest. I’m just bringing him in for questioning.”

“Whichever, I don’t like it.”

Bublanski leaned forward, almost as if to confide in the other man.

“Richard… this is how it is. Salander has been subjected to a number of infringements of her rights, starting when she was a child. I do not mean for this to continue on my watch. You have the option to remove me as leader of the investigation… but if you did that I would be forced to write a harsh memo about the matter.”

Ekström looked as if he had just swallowed something very sour.

Gunnar Björck, on sick leave from his job as assistant chief of the Immigration Division of the Security Police, opened the door of his summer house in Smådalarö and looked up at a powerfully built, blond man with a crewcut who wore a black leather jacket.

“I’m looking for Gunnar Björck.”

“That’s me.”

“Curt Andersson, County Criminal Police.” The man held up his I.D.

“Yes?”

“You are requested to accompany me to Kungsholmen to assist the police in their investigations into the case involving Lisbeth Salander.”

“Uh… there must be some sort of misunderstanding.”

“There’s no misunderstanding,” Andersson said.

“You don’t understand. I’m a police officer myself. Save yourself making a big mistake: check it out with your superior officers.”

“My superior is the one who wants to talk to you.”

“I have to make a call and-”

“You can make your call from Kungsholmen.”

Björck felt suddenly resigned. It’s happened. I’m going to be arrested. That goddamn fucking Blomkvist. And fucking Salander.

“Am I being arrested?” he said.

“Not for the moment. But we can arrange for that if you like.”

“No… no, of course I’ll come with you. Naturally I’d want to assist my colleagues in the police force.”