Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The - Stieg Larsson [125]
She waved and was gone. He stood on the platform, baffled, watching the train pull away. Not until it vanished around the bend did the meaning sink in.
Mikael hurried out of the station. It would be almost an hour before the next bus left. He was too much on edge to wait that long. He ran to the taxi stand and found Hussein with the Norrland accent.
Ten minutes later he was in his office. He had taped the note above his desk.
Magda—32016
Sara—32109
R.J.—30112
R.L.—32027
Mari—32018
He looked around the room. Then he realised where he’d be able to find a Bible. He took the note with him, searched for the keys, which he had left in a bowl on the windowsill, and jogged the whole way to Gottfried’s cabin. His hands were practically shaking as he took Harriet’s Bible down from its shelf.
She had not written down telephone numbers. The figures indicated the chapter and verse in Leviticus, the third book of the Pentateuch.
(Magda) Leviticus, 20:16
“If a woman approaches any beast and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.”
(Sara) Leviticus, 21:9
“And the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by playing the harlot, profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire.”
(R.J.) Leviticus, 1:12
“And he shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall lay them in order upon the wood that is on the fire upon the altar.”
(R.L.) Leviticus, 20:27
“A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death; they shall be stoned with stones, their blood shall be upon them.”
(Mari) Leviticus, 20:18
“If a man lies with a woman having her sickness, and uncovers her nakedness, he has made naked her fountain, and she has uncovered the fountain of her blood; both of them shall be cut off from among their people.”
He went out and sat on the porch. Each verse had been underlined in Harriet’s Bible. Helita cigarette and listened to the singing of birds nearby.
He had the numbers. But he didn’t have the names. Magda, Sara, Mari, R.J., and R.L.
All of a sudden an abyss opened as Mikael’s brain made an intuitive leap. He remembered the fire victim in Hedestad that Inspector Morell had told him about. The Rebecka case, which occurred in the late forties. The girl was raped and then killed by having her head placed on smouldering coals. “And he shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall lay them in order upon the wood that is on the fire upon the altar.” Rebecka. R.J. What was her last name?
What in God’s name had Harriet gotten herself mixed up in?
Vanger had been taken ill. He was in bed when Blomkvist knocked on his door. But Anna agreed to let him in, saying he could visit the old man for a few minutes.
“A summer cold,” Henrik explained, sniffling. “What did you want?”
“I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“Did you ever hear of a murder that took place in Hedestad sometime in the forties? A girl called Rebecka—her head was put on a fire.”
“Rebeck a Jacobsson,” Henrik said without a second’ she sitation. “That’s a name I’ll never forget, although I haven’t heard it mentioned in years.”
“But you know about the murder?”
“Indeed I do. Rebecka Jacobsson was twenty-three or twenty-four when she died. That must have been in…It was in 1949. There was a tremendous hue and cry, I had a small part in it myself.”
“You did?”
“Oh yes. Rebecka was on our clerical staff, a popular girl and very attractive. But why are you asking?”
“I’m not sure, Henrik, but I may be on to something. I’m going to have to think this through.”
“Are you suggesting that there’s a connection between Harriet and Rebecka? There were…almost seventeen years separating the two.”
“Let me do my thinking and I’ll come back and see you tomorrow if you’re feeling better.”
Blomkvist did not see Vanger the following day. Just before 1:00 a.m. he was still at the kitchen table, reading Harriet’s Bible, when he heard the sound of a car making its way at high speed