was now. A nurse replied that Pastor Falk had first been diagnosed three years
earlier and that alas the disease had taken an aggressive course. Falk could
communicate, but he had a very feeble short-term memory, and did not recognise
all of his relatives. He was on the whole slipping into the shadows. He was also
prone to anxiety attacks if he was confronted with questions he could not answer.
Falk was sitting on a bench in the garden with three other patients and a male
nurse. Blomkvist spent an hour trying to engage him in conversation.
He remembered Harriet Vanger quite well. His face lit up, and he described her as a
charming girl. But Blomkvist was soon aware that the pastor had forgotten that she
had been missing these last thirty-seven years. He talked about her as if he had
seen her recently and asked Blomkvist to say hello to her and urge her to come and
see him. Blomkvist promised to do so.
He obviously did not remember the accident on the bridge. It was not until the end
of their conversation that he said something which made Blomkvist prick up his
ears.
It was when Blomkvist steered the talk to Harriet’s interest in religion that Falk
suddenly seemed hesitant. It was as though a cloud passed over his face. Falk sat
rocking back and forth for a while and then looked up at Blomkvist and asked who
he was. Blomkvist introduced himself again and the old man thought for a while. At
length he said: “She’s still a seeker. She has to take care of herself and you have to
warn her.”
“What should I warn her about?”
Falk grew suddenly agitated. He shook his head with a frown.
“She has to read sola scriptura and understand sufficientia scripturae. That’s the only
way that she can maintain sola fide. Josef will certainly exclude them. They were
never accepted into the canon.”
Blomkvist understood nothing of this, but took assiduous notes. Then Pastor Falk
leaned towards him and whispered, “I think she’s a Catholic. She loves magic and
has not yet found her God. She needs guidance.”
The word “Catholic” obviously had a negative connotation for Pastor Falk.
“I thought she was interested in the Pentecostal movement?”