"Well... No, I'm not sure. He had a secretary, Britt Karlsson, or Nilsson, something like that. An older woman. He let her go, and she was the one who told me that he was ill. That was in the spring of 2003. I didn't see him again until December of that year. He looked ten years older, gaunt and grey-haired. I drew my own conclusions."
They went back to the apartment. Still no answer. Bublanski took out his mobile and dialled Bjurman's mobile number. He got an automated message: The subscriber you are calling cannot be reached at present. Please try again later.
He tried the number at the apartment. On the landing they could hear a faint ringing from the other side of the door before an answering machine clicked on and asked the caller to leave a message.
It was 1:00 p.m.
"Coffee?"
"I need a burger."
At Burger King on Odenplan Modig had a Whopper and Bublanski a veggie burger. Then they returned to police headquarters.
***
Prosecutor Ekstrom called the meeting to order at the conference table in his office at 2:00. Bublanski and Modig took seats next to each other by the wall near the window. Andersson arrived two minutes later and sat down opposite them. Holmberg came in with a tray of coffee in paper cups. He had paid a brief visit to Enskede and intended to return later in the afternoon when the techs were finished.
"Where's Faste?" Ekstrom asked.
"He's with the social welfare agency. He called five minutes ago and said he'd be a little late," Svensson said.
"We'll get started anyway. What have we got?" Ekstrom began without ceremony. He pointed first to Bublanski.
"We've been looking for Nils Bjurman, the registered owner of what is probably the murder weapon. He isn't at home or at his office. According to another lawyer in the same building, he fell ill two years ago and has more or less shut down his practice."
Modig said: "Bjurman is fifty-five, not listed in the criminal register. He is mainly a business lawyer. I haven't had time to research his background beyond that."
"But he does own the gun that was used in Enskede."
"That's correct. He has a licence for it and he's a member of the police shooting club," Bublanski said. "I talked to Gunnarsson in weapons - he's the chairman of the club and knows Bjurman well. He joined in 1978 and was treasurer from 1984 to 1992. Gunnarsson describes Bjurman as an excellent shot with a pistol, calm and collected, and no funny stuff."
"A gun freak?"
"Gunnarsson thinks Bjurman was more interested in club life than in the shooting itself. He liked to compete, but he didn't stand out, at least not as a gun fanatic. In 1983 he participated in the Swedish championships and came in thirteenth. For the past ten years he's cut back on shooting practice and just shows up for annual meetings and such."
"Does he own any other weapons?"
"He has had licences for four handguns since he joined the shooting club. In addition to the Colt, he's had a Beretta, a Smith&Wesson, and a competition pistol made by Rapid. The other three were sold within the club ten years ago, and the licences were transferred to other members."
"And we have no idea where he is."
"That's correct. But we've only been looking for him since 10:00 this morning. He may be out walking in Djurgården or in hospital or whatever."
At that moment Faste burst in. He seemed out of breath.
"Sorry I'm late. May I jump right in?"
Ekstrom motioned "be my guest."
"Lisbeth Salander is a very interesting character. I've spent the morning at the social welfare agency and the Guardianship Agency." He took off his leather jacket and hung it over the back of his chair before he sat down and opened a notebook.
"The Guardianship Agency?" Ekstrom said with a frown.
"This is one very disturbed lady," Faste said. "She was declared incompetent and put under guardianship. Guess who's her guardian." He paused for effect. "Nils Bjurman, the owner of the weapon that was used in Enskede."
This announcement certainly had the effect Faste had anticipated. It took him fifteen more minutes to brief the group on all he had learned about Salander.
"To sum up," Ekstrom said when Faste was finished, "we have fingerprints on the probable murder weapon from a woman who during her teens was in and out of psychiatric units, who is understood to make her living as a prostitute, who was declared incompetent by the district court, and