“It probably wouldn’t have helped in this case. But we’ll talk it all the way through,
Sis, some other time when all the dust is settled.”
She gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek before they carried out the
Christmas cake and the coffee. Then Blomkvist excused himself and asked to use
the telephone in the kitchen. He called the lawyer in Hedestad and could hear
there too the buzz of voices in the background.
“Merry Christmas,” Frode said. “Dare I hope you have made up your mind?”
“I really don’t have any immediate plans and I am curious to know more. I’ll come
up the day after Christmas if that suits you.”
“Excellent, excellent. I am incredibly pleased. You will forgive me, I’ve got children
and grandchildren visiting and can hardly hear myself think. Can I call you
tomorrow to agree on a time? Where can I reach you?”
Blomkvist regretted his decision before even he left for home, but by then it was
too awkward to call and cancel. So on the morning of December 26 he was on the
train heading north. He had a driver’s license, but he had never felt the need to
own a car.
Frode was right, it was not a long journey. After Uppsala came the string of small
industrial towns along the Norrland coast. Hedestad was one of the smaller ones, a
little more than an hour north of Gävle.
On Christmas night there had been a big snowstorm, but the skies had now cleared
and the air was ice-cold when Blomkvist alighted at Hedestad. He realised at once
that he wasn’t wearing enough clothes for winter in Norrland. Frode knew what he
looked like and kindly collected him from the platform and led him straight to the
warmth of his Mercedes. In the centre of Hedestad, snow clearing was in full swing,
and Frode wove his careful way through the narrow streets. High banks of snow
presented a picturesque contrast to Stockholm. The town seemed almost like
another planet, yet he was only a little more than three hours from Sergels Torg in
downtown Stockholm. He stole a glance at the lawyer: an angular face with sparse,
bristly white hair and thick glasses perched on an impressive nose.
“First time in Hedestad?” Frode said.