d.“ArmanskymaynotbepletelyawareofwhatIwanttohireyoufor…”
“Somehistoricalresearch,hesaid.”
“Well,yes,that’sright.Iwantyoutohelpmetoidentifyamurderer.”
IttookBlomkvistanhourtoexplainalltheintricatedetailsintheHarrietVangercase.Heleftnothingout.HehadFrode’spermissiontohireher,andtodothathehadtobeabletotrustherpletely.
HetoldhereverythingaboutCeciliaVangerandthathehadfoundherfaceinHarriet’swindow.HegaveSalanderasgoodadescriptionofhercharacterashecould.Shehadmovedhighuponthelistofsuspects,hislist.Buthewasstillfarfrombelievingthatshecouldbeinanywayassociatedwithamurdererwhowasactivewhenshewasstillayoungwoman.
HegaveSalanderacopyofthelistinthedate:“Magda—32016;Sara—32109;R.J.—30112;R.L.—32027;Mari—32018.”AndhegaveheracopyoftheversesfromLeviticus.
“Whatdoyouwantmetodo?”
“I’veidentifiedtheR.J.,RebeckaJacobsson.”Hetoldherwhatthefive-figurenumbersstoodfor.“IfI’mright,thenwe’regoingtofindfourmorevictims—Magda,Sara,Mari,andR.L.”
“Youthinkthey’reallmurdered?”
“WhatIthinkisthatwearelookingforsomeonewho—iftheothernumbersandinitialsalsoprovetobeshorthandforfourmorekillings—isamurdererwhowasactiveinthefiftiesandmaybealsointhesixties.AndwhoisinsomewaylinkedtoHarrietVanger.I’vegohroughbackissuesoftheHedestadCourier.Rebecka’smurderistheonlygrotesquecrimethatIcouldfindwithaconnectiontoHedestad.Iwantyoutokeepdigging,alloverSwedenifnecessary,untilyoumakesenseoftheothernamesandverses.”
SalanderthoughtinexpressionlesssilenceforsuchalongtimethatBlomkvistbegantogrowimpatient.Hewaswonderingwhetherhehadchosenthewrongpersonwhensheatlastraisedherhead.
“I’lltakethejob.ButfirstyouhavetosignacontractwithArmansky.”
ArmanskyprintedoutthecontractthatBlomkvistwouldtakebacktoHedestadforFrode’ssignature.WhenhereturnedtoSalander’soffice,hesawhowsheandBlomkvistwereleaningoverherPower.Hehadhishandonhershoulder—hewastouchingher—andpointing.Armanskypausedinthecorridor.
BlomkvistsaidsomethingthatseemedtosurpriseSalander.Th