Girl Who Played with Fire, The - Stieg Larsson [116]
Ekström looked at the assembled journalists. The murders in Enskede were big news, and getting bigger. He was pleased to note that Aktuellt, Rapport, and TV4 were all there, and he recognized reporters from the TT wire service and the evening and morning papers. There were also quite a few reporters he did not recognize.
“As you know, two people were murdered in Enskede last night. A weapon was found at the crime scene, a Colt .45 Magnum. Today the National Forensics Laboratory established that this gun was the murder weapon. The owner of the weapon was identified, and we went looking for him today.”
Ekström paused for effect.
“At 4:15 this afternoon the owner of the weapon was found dead in his apartment in the vicinity of Odenplan. He had been shot. He is believed to have been dead at the time of the killings in Enskede. The police”—Ekström here gestured towards Bublanski—“have reason to believe that the same person was responsible for all three murders.”
A murmur broke out among the reporters. Several of them began talking in low voices on their mobile telephones. “Have you got a suspect?” a reporter from Swedish Radio called out.
Ekström raised his voice. “If you would refrain from interrupting my statement, we’ll get to that. This evening a person has been named whom the police want to question in connection with these three murders.”
“Will you give us his name, please?”
“It’s not a he, but a she. The police are looking for a twenty-six-year-old woman who has a connection to the owner of the weapon, and whom we know to have been at the scene of the murders in Enskede.”
Bublanski frowned and then looked sullen. They had reached the point in the agenda over which he and Ekström had disagreed, namely the question of whether they should name their suspect.
Ekström had maintained that according to all available documentation, Salander was a mentally ill, potentially violent woman and that something had apparently triggered a murderous rage. There was no guarantee that the violence was at an end, and therefore it was in the public interest that she be named and apprehended as soon as possible.
Bublanski held that there was reason to wait at least for results of the technical examination of Bjurman’s apartment before the investigative team committed itself unequivocally to one approach. But Ekström had prevailed.
Ekström held up a hand to interrupt the buzzing of the assembled reporters. The revelation that a woman was being sought for three murders would go off like a bomb. He passed the microphone to Bublanski, who cleared his throat twice, adjusted his glasses, and stared hard at the paper with the wording they had agreed on.
“The police are searching for a twenty-six-year-old woman by the name of Lisbeth Salander. A photograph from the passport office will be distributed. We do not know where she is at present, but we believe that she is in the greater Stockholm area. The police would like the public’s assistance in finding this woman as soon as possible. Lisbeth Salander is four feet eleven inches tall, with a slim build.”
He took a deep, nervous breath. He could feel the dampness under his arms.
“Lisbeth Salander has previously been in the care of a psychiatric clinic and is regarded as dangerous to herself and to the public. We would emphasize that we cannot say unequivocally that she is the killer, but circumstances dictate that we question her immediately to ascertain what knowledge she may have about the murders in Enskede and at Odenplan.”
“You can’t have it both ways,” shouted a reporter from an evening paper. “Either she’s a murder suspect or she isn’t.”
Bublanski gave Ekström a helpless look.
“The police are investigating on a broad front, and of course we’re looking at various scenarios. But there is reason to suspect the woman we have named, and the police consider it extremely urgent that she is taken into custody. She is a suspect due to forensic evidence which emerged during the