violent argument and a spectacular fight between the sisters."
"Then what?"
"We kept close track of Lisbeth during those months. We had also informed Camilla that her sister was violent and mentally ill. She was the one who got in touch with us after Lisbeth's unexpected visit, and thereafter we increased our surveillance of her."
"So the sister was your informant?"
"Camilla was mortally afraid of her sister. Lisbeth had aroused attention in other quarters as well. She had several run-ins with people from the social welfare agency, and in our estimation she still represented a threat to Zalachenko's anonymity. Then there was the incident in the tunnelbana."
"She attacked a paedophile - "
"Precisely. She was obviously prone to violence and mentally disturbed. We thought that it would be best for all concerned if she disappeared into some institution again and availed herself of the opportunities there, so to speak. Clinton and von Rottinger were the ones who took the lead. They engaged the psychiatrist Teleborian again and through a representative filed a request in the district court to get her institutionalized for a second time. Palmgren stood up for Salander, and against all odds the court decided to follow his recommendation - so long as she was placed under guardianship."
"But how did Bjurman get involved?"
"Palmgren had a stroke in the autumn of 2002. We still flag Salander for monitoring whenever she turns up in any database, and I saw to it that Bjurman became her new guardian. Bear in mind that he had no clue she was Zalachenko's daughter. The brief was simply for Bjurman to sound the alarm if she started blabbing about Zalachenko."
"Bjurman was an idiot. He should never have been allowed to have anything to do with Zalachenko, even less with his daughter." Gullberg looked at Wadensjoo. "That was a serious mistake."
"I know," Wadensjoo said. "But he seemed the right choice at the time. I never would have dreamed that - "
"Where's the sister today? Camilla Salander."
"We don't know. When she was nineteen she packed her bag and ran away from her foster family. We haven't found hide nor hair of her since."
"O.K., go on..."
"I have a man in the regular police who has spoken with Prosecutor Ekstrom," Sandberg said. "The officer running the investigation, Inspector Bublanski, thinks that Bjurman raped Salander."
Gullberg looked at Sandberg with blank astonishment.
"Raped?" he said.
"Bjurman had a tattoo across his belly which read I am a sadistic pig, a pervert, and a rapist."
Sandberg put a colour photograph from the autopsy on the table. Gullberg stared at it with distaste.
"Zalachenko's daughter is supposed to have given him that?"
"It's hard to find another explanation. And she's not known for being a shrinking violet. She spectacularly kicked the shit out of two complete thugs from Svavelsjo M.C."
"Zalachenko's daughter," Gullberg repeated. He turned to Wadensjoo. "You know what? I think you ought to recruit her for the Section."
Wadensjoo looked so startled that Gullberg quickly explained that he was joking.
"O.K. Let's take it as a working hypothesis that Bjurman raped her and that she somehow took her revenge. What else?"
"The only one who could tell us exactly what happened, of course, is Bjurman, and he's dead. But the thing is, he shouldn't have had a clue that she was Zalachenko's daughter; it's not in any public records. But somehow, somewhere along the way, Bjurman discovered the connection."
"But, Goddamnit Wadensjoo! She knew who her father was and could have told Bjurman at any time."
"I know. We... that is, I simply wasn't thinking straight."
"That is unforgivably incompetent," Gullberg said.
"I've kicked myself a hundred times about it. But Bjurman was one of the very few people who knew of Zalachenko's existence and my thought was that it would be better if he discovered that she was Zalachenko's daughter rather than some other unknown guardian. She could have told anyone at all."
Gullberg pulled on his earlobe. "Alright... go on."
"It's all hypothetical," Nystrom said. "But our supposition is that Bjurman assaulted Salander and that she struck back and did that..." He pointed at the tattoo in the autopsy photograph.
"Her father's daughter," Gullberg said. There was more than a trace of admiration in his voice.
"With the result that Bjurman made contact with Zalachenko, hoping to get rid of the daughter. As we know, Zalachenko had good reason to hate the girl. And he gave the contract to Svavelsjo M.C. and this Niedermann that he hangs out with."
"But how did Bjurman get in touch - " Gullberg fell silent. The answer was obvious.