The space was approximately ten by twenty feet. Blomkvist assumed that it was
situated along the north side of the house.
Martin Vanger had contrived his private torture chamber with great care. On the
left were chains, metal eyelets in the ceiling and floor, a table with leather straps
where he could restrain his victims. And then the video equipment. A taping
studio. In the back of the room was a steel cage for his guests. To the right of the
door was a bench, a bed, and a TV corner with videos on a shelf.
As soon as they entered the room, Martin Vanger aimed the pistol at Blomkvist and
told him to lie on his stomach on the floor. Blomkvist refused.
“Very well,” Martin said. “Then I’ll shoot you in the kneecap.”
He took aim. Blomkvist capitulated. He had no choice.
He had hoped that Martin would relax his guard just a tenth of a second—he knew
he would win any sort of fight with him. He had had half a chance in the passage
upstairs when Martin put his hand on his shoulder, but he had hesitated. After that
Martin had not come close. With a bullet in his kneecap he would have lost his
chance. He lay down on the floor.
Martin approached from behind and told him to put his hands on his back. He
handcuffed him. Then he kicked Mikael in the crotch and punched him viciously
and repeatedly.
What happened after that seemed like a nightmare. Martin swung between
rationality and pure lunacy. For a time quite calm, the next instant he would be
pacing back and forth like an animal in a cage. He kicked Blomkvist several times.
All Blomkvist could do was try to protect his head and take the blows in the soft
parts of his body.
For the first half hour Martin did not say a word, and he appeared to be incapable
of any sort of communication. After that he seemed to recover control. He put a
chain round Blomkvist’s neck, fastening it with a padlock to a metal eyelet on the
floor. He left Blomkvist alone for about fifteen minutes. When he returned, he was
carrying a litre bottle of water. He sat on a chair and looked at Blomkvist as he
drank.