Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The - Stieg Larsson [173]
Blomkvist grimaced and tried to shift his body into a more comfortable position. He was defenceless. All he had was his voice.
“I assume you mean that the opportunity has passed,” Blomkvist said.
Martin Vanger laughed.
“I’m sorry, Mikael. But, of course, you know perfectly well that you’re going to die down here.”
Blomkvist nodded.
“How the hell did you find me, you and that anorexic spook that you dragged into this?”
“You lied about what you were doing on the day that Harriet disappeared. You were in Hedestad at the Children’s Day parade. You were photographed there, looking at Harriet.”
“Was that why you went to Norsjö?”
“To get the picture, yes. It was taken by a honeymoon couple who happened to be in Hedestad.”
He shook his head.
“That’s a crass lie,” Martin said.
Blomkvist thought hard: what to say to prevent or postpone his execution.
“Where’s the picture now?”
“The negative? It’s in a safe-deposit box at Handelsbanken here in Hedestad…You didn’t know that I have a safe-deposit box?” He lied easily. “There are copies in various places. In my computer and in the girl’s, on the server at Millennium, and on the server at Milton Security, where the girl works.”
Martin waited, trying to work out whether or not Blomkvist was bluffing.
“How much does the girl know?”
Blomkvist hesitated. Salander was right now his only hope of rescue. What would she think when she came home and found him not there? He had put the photograph of Martin Vanger wearing the padded jacket on the kitchen table. Would she make the connection? Would she sound the alarm? She is not going to call the police. The nightmare was that she would come to Martin Vanger’s house and ring the bell, demanding to know where Blomkvist was.
“Answer me,” Martin said, his voice ice-cold.
“I’m thinking. She knows almost as much as I do, maybe even a little more. Yes, I would reckon she knows more than I do. She’s bright. She’s the one who made the link to Lena Andersson.”
“Lena Andersson?” Martin sounded perplexed.
“The girl you tortured and killed in Uppsala in 1966. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But for the first time he sounded shaken. It was the first time that anyone had made that connection—Lena Andersson was not included in Harriet’s date book.
“Martin,” Blomkvist said, making his voice as steady as he could. “It’s over. You can kill me, but it’s finished. Too many people know.”
Martin started pacing back and forth again.
I have to remember that he’s irrational. The cat. He could have brought the cat down here, but he went to the family crypt. Martin stopped.
“I think you’re lying. You and Salander are the only ones who know anything. You obviously haven’t talked to anyone, or the police would have been here by now. A nice little blaze in the guest cottage and the proof will be gone.”
“And if you’re wrong?”
“If I’m wrong, then it really is over. But I don’t think it is. I’ll bet that you’re bluffing. And what other choice do I have? I’ll give that some thought. It’s that anorexic little cunt who’s the weak link.”
“She went to Stockholm at lunchtime.”
Martin laughed.
“Bluff away, Mikael. She has been sitting in the archives at the Vanger Corporation offices all evening.”
Blomkvist’s heart skipped a beat. He knew. He’s known all along.
“That’s right. The plan was to visit the archive and then go to Stockholm,” Blomkvist said. “I didn’t know she stayed there so long.”
“Stop all this crap, Mikael. The archives manager rang to tell me that Dirch had let the girl stay there as late as she liked. Which means she’ll certainly be home. The night watchman is going to call me when she leaves.”
PART 4
Hostile Takeover
JULY 11 TO DECEMBER 30
Ninety-two percent of women in Sweden who have been subjected to sexual assault have not reported the most recent violent incident to the police.
CHAPTER 24
Friday, July 11–Saturday, July 12