- for which Ronald Niedermann was being sought - would be placed under the jurisdiction of a prosecutor in Goteborg. The rest of the investigation concerning Niedermann would be handled by Ekstrom himself. Niedermann was a suspect in the murders of Dag Svensson and Mia Johansson. No mention was made of Advokat Bjurman. Ekstrom had also to investigate and bring charges against Lisbeth Salander, who was under suspicion for a long list of crimes.
He explained that he had decided to go public with the information in the light of events that had occurred in Goteborg that day, including the fact that Salander's father, Karl Axel Bodin, had been shot dead. The immediate reason for calling the press conference was that he wanted to deny the rumours already being circulated in the media. He had himself received a number of calls concerning these rumours.
"Based on current information, I am able to tell you that Karl Axel Bodin's daughter, who is being held for the attempted murder of her father, had nothing to do with this morning's events."
"Then who was the murderer?" a reporter from Dagens Eko shouted.
"The man who at 1.15 today fired the fatal shots at Karl Axel Bodin before attempting to commit suicide has now been identified. He is a 78-year-old man who has been undergoing treatment for a terminal illness and the psychiatric problems associated with it."
"Does he have any connection to Lisbeth Salander?"
"No. The man is a tragic figure who evidently acted alone, in accordance with his own paranoid delusions. The Security Police recently initiated an investigation of this man because he had written a number of apparently unstable letters to well-known politicians and the media. As recently as this morning, newspaper and government offices received letters in which he threatened to kill Karl Axel Bodin."
"Why didn't the police give Bodin protection?"
"The letters naming Bodin were sent only last night and thus arrived at the same time as the murder was being committed. There was no time to act."
"What's the killer's name?"
"We will not give out that information until his next of kin have been notified."
"What sort of background does he have?"
"As far as I understand, he previously worked as an accountant and tax lawyer. He has been retired for fifteen years. The investigation is still under way, but as you can appreciate from the letters he sent, it is a tragedy that could have been prevented if there had been more support within society."
"Did he threaten anyone else?"
"I have been advised that he did, yes, but I do not have any details to pass on to you."
"What will this mean for the case against Salander?"
"For the moment, nothing. We have Karl Axel Bodin's own testimony from the officers who interviewed him, and we have extensive forensic evidence against her."
"What about the reports that Bodin tried to murder his daughter?"
"That is under investigation, but there are strong indications that he did indeed attempt to kill her. As far as we can determine at the moment, it was a case of deep antagonism in a tragically dysfunctional family."
Cortez scratched his ear. He noticed that the other reporters were taking notes as feverishly as he was.
Gunnar Bjorck felt an almost unquenchable panic when he heard the news about the shooting at Sahlgrenska hospital. He had terrible pain in his back.
It took him an hour to make up his mind. Then he picked up the telephone and tried to call his old protector in Laholm. There was no answer.
He listened to the news and heard a summary of what had been said at the press conference. Zalachenko had been shot by a 78-year-old tax specialist.
Good Lord, seventy-eight years old.
He tried again to call Gullberg, but again in vain.
Finally his uneasiness took the upper hand. He could not stay in the borrowed summer cabin in Smådalaro. He felt vulnerable and exposed. He needed time and space to think. He packed clothes, painkillers, and his wash bag. He did not want to use his own telephone, so he limped to the telephone booth at the grocer's to call Landsort and book himself a room in the old ships' pilot lookout. Landsort was the end of the world, and few people would look for him there. He booked the room for two weeks.
He glanced at his watch. He would have to hurry to make the last ferry. He went back to the cabin as fast as his aching back would permit. He made straight for the kitchen and checked that