with you. For some years I'd tried to be Lisbeth's friend, but I have never once made her smile."
"Well... I haven't really been that successful either."
They sat in silence once again.
"Great that all this is over," Armansky said.
"Amen to that," Blomkvist said, and they raised their glasses in salute.
Inspectors Bublanski and Modig conducted the formal interview with Salander. They had both been at home with their families after a particularly taxing day but were immediately summoned to return to police headquarters.
Salander was accompanied by Giannini. She gave precise responses to all the questions that Bublanski and Modig asked, and Giannini had little occasion to comment or intervene.
Salander lied consistently on two points. In her description of what had happened in Stallarholmen, she stubbornly maintained that it was Nieminen who had accidentally shot "Magge" Lundin in the foot at the instant that she nailed him with the taser. Where had she got the taser? She had confiscated it from Lundin, she explained.
Bublanski and Modig were both sceptical, but there was no evidence and no witnesses to contradict her story. Nieminen was no doubt in a position to protest, but he refused to say anything about the incident; in fact he had no notion of what had happened in the seconds after he was stunned with the taser.
As far as Salander's journey to Gosseberga was concerned, she claimed that her only objective had been to convince her father to turn himself in to the police.
Salander looked completely guileless; it was impossible to say whether she was telling the truth or not. Giannini had no reason to arrive at an opinion on the matter.
The only person who knew for certain that Salander had gone to Gosseberga with the intention of terminating any relationship she had with her father once and for all was Blomkvist. But he had been sent out of the courtroom shortly after the proceedings were resumed. No-one knew that he and Salander had carried on long conversations online by night while she was confined to Sahlgrenska.
The media missed altogether her release from custody. If the time of it had been known, a huge contingent would have descended on police headquarters. But many of the reporters were exhausted after the chaos and excitement that had ensued when Millennium reached the news-stands and certain members of the Security Police were arrested by other Security Police officers.
The presenter of She at T.V.4 was the only journalist who knew what the story was all about. Her hour-long broadcast became a classic, and some months later she won the award for Best T.V. News Story of the Year.
Modig got Salander away from police headquarters by very simply taking her and Giannini down to the garage and driving them to Giannini's office on Kungholm's Kyrkoplan. There they switched to Giannini's car. When Modig had driven away, Giannini headed for Sodermalm. As they passed the parliament building she broke the silence.
"Where to?" she said.
Salander thought for a few seconds.
"You can drop me somewhere on Lundagatan."
"Miriam isn't there."
Salander looked at her.
"She went to France quite soon after she came out of hospital. She's staying with her parents if you want to get hold of her."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You never asked. She said she needed some space. This morning Mikael gave me these and said you'd probably like to have them back."
She handed her a set of keys. Salander took it and said: "Thanks. Could you drop me somewhere on Folkungagatan instead?"
"You don't even want to tell me where you live?"
"Later. Right now I want to be left in peace."
"O.K."
Giannini had switched on her mobile when they left police headquarters. It started beeping as they were passing Slussen. She looked at the display.
"It's Mikael. He's called every ten minutes for the past couple of hours."
"I don't want to talk to him."
"Tell me... Could I ask you a personal question?"
"Yes."
"What did Mikael do to you that you hate him so much? I mean, if it weren't for him, you'd probably be back on a secure ward tonight."
"I don't hate Mikael. He hasn't done anything to me. I just don't want to see him right now."
Giannini glanced across at her client. "I don't mean to pry, but you fell for him, didn't you?"
Salander looked out of the window and did not answer.
"My brother is completely irresponsible when it comes to relationships. He screws his way through life and doesn't seem to grasp how much it can hurt those women who think of him as more than a casual affair."