Salander thought over whether she had anything to add. She fixed her gaze on
Armansky, saying not a word. Instead she just nodded and then stood up and left,
as usual with no farewell greeting.
She got the answer she wanted and instantly lost interest in Armansky. He smiled
to himself. That she had even asked him for advice marked a new high point in her
socialisation process.
He opened a folder with a report on security at a museum where a big exhibition of
French Impressionists was opening soon. Then he put down the folder and looked
at the door through which Salander had just gone. He thought about how she had
laughed with Blomkvist in her office and wondered if she was finally growing up or
whether it was Blomkvist who was the attraction. He also felt a strange uneasiness.
He had never been able to shake off the feeling that Lisbeth Salander was a perfect
victim. And here she was, hunting a madman out in the back of beyond.
On the way north again, Salander took on impulse a detour by way of Äppelviken
Nursing Home to see her mother. Except for the visit on Midsummer Eve, she had
not seen her mother since Christmas, and she felt bad for so seldom taking the
time. A second visit within the course of a few weeks was quite unusual.
Her mother was in the day room. Salander stayed a good hour and took her mother
for a walk down to the duck pond in the grounds of the hospital. Her mother was
still muddling Lisbeth with her sister. As usual, she was hardly present, but she
seemed troubled by the visit.
When Salander said goodbye, her mother did not want to let go of her hand.
Salander promised to visit her again soon, but her mother gazed after her sadly and
anxiously.
It was as if she had a premonition of some approaching disaster.
Blomkvist spent two hours in the garden behind his cabin going through the
Apocrypha without gaining a single insight. But a thought had occurred to him.
How religious had Harriet Vanger actually been? Her interest in Bible studies had
started the last year before she vanished. She had linked a number of Bible quotes