early this morning. The trail ends there for the moment. We have to suppose that he switched vehicles, but we've had no report of a car being stolen thereabouts."
"Media?" Modig asked, with an apologetic glance at Blomkvist.
"It's a police killing and the press is out in force. We'll be holding a press conference at 10.00."
"Does anyone have any information on Lisbeth Salander's condition?" Blomkvist said. He felt strangely uninterested in everything to do with the hunt for Niedermann.
"She was operated on during the night. They removed a bullet from her head. She hasn't regained consciousness yet."
"Is there any prognosis?"
"As I understand it, we won't know anything until she wakes up. But the surgeon says he has high hopes that she'll survive, barring unforeseen complications."
"And Zalachenko?"
"Who?" Erlander's colleague said. He had not yet been brought up to date with all the details.
"Karl Axel Bodin."
"I see... yes, he was operated on last night too. He had a very deep gash across his face and another just below one kneecap. He's in bad shape, but the injuries aren't life-threatening."
Blomkvist absorbed this news.
"You look tired," Modig said.
"You got that right. I'm into my third day with hardly any sleep."
"Believe it or not, he actually slept in the car coming down from Nossebro," Erlander said.
"Could you manage to tell us the whole story from the beginning?" Holmberg said. "It feels to us as though the score between the private investigators and the police investigators is about 3 - 0."
Blomkvist gave him a wan smile. "That's a line I'd like to hear from Officer Bubble."
They made their way to the police canteen to have breakfast. Blomkvist spent half an hour explaining step by step how he had pieced together the story of Zalachenko. When he had finished, the detectives sat in silence.
"There are a few holes in your account," Holmberg said at last.
"That's possible," Blomkvist said.
"You didn't say, for example, how you came to be in possession of the Top Secret Sapo report on Zalachenko."
"I found it yesterday at Lisbeth Salander's apartment when I finally worked out where she was. She probably found it in Bjurman's summer cabin."
"You'll have to find out for yourselves where it is. Salander put a lot of effort into establishing a secret address for herself, and I have no intention of revealing its whereabouts."
Modig and Holmberg exchanged an anxious look.
"Mikael... this is a murder investigation," Modig said.
"You still haven't got it, have you? Lisbeth Salander is in fact innocent and the police have violated her and destroyed her reputation in ways that beggar belief. 'Lesbian Satanist gang'... where the hell do you get this stuff? Not to mention her being sought in connection with three murders she had nothing to do with. If she wants to tell you where she lives, then I'm sure she will."
"But there's another gap I don't really understand," Holmberg said. "How does Bjurman come into the story in the first place? You say he was the one who started the whole thing by contacting Zalachenko and asking him to kill Salander. Why would he do that?"
"I reckon he hired Zalachenko to get rid of Salander. The plan was for her to end up in that warehouse in Nykvarn."
"He was her guardian. What motive would he have had to get rid of her?"
"It's complicated."
"I can do complicated."
"He had a hell of a good motive. He had done something that Salander knew about. She was a threat to his entire future and well-being."
"What had he done?"
"I think it would be best if you gave Salander a chance to explain the story herself." He looked Holmberg steadily in the eye.
"Let me guess," Modig said. "Bjurman subjected his ward to some sort of sexual assault..."
Blomkvist shrugged and said nothing.
"You don't know about the tattoo Bjurman had on his abdomen?"
"What tattoo?" Blomkvist was taken aback.
"An amateurish tattoo across his belly with a message that said: I am a sadistic pig, a pervert and a rapist. We've been wondering what that was about."
Blomkvist burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"I've always wondered what she did to get her revenge. But listen... I don't want to discuss this for the same reason I've already given. She's the real victim here. She's the one who has to decide what she is willing to tell you. Sorry."
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