In terms of hardware, it was the Rolls-Royce of portable computers, but what really
triggered Salander’s need to have it was the simple feature that the keyboard was
equipped with backlighting, so that she could see the letters even if it was pitch
dark. So simple. Why had no-one thought of that before?
It was love at first sight.
It cost 38,000 kronor, plus tax.
That was the problem.
Come what may, she put in her order at MacJesus. She bought all her computer
accessories there, so they gave her a reasonable discount. She tallied up her
expenses. The insurance on her ruined computer would cover a good part of the
price, but with the warranty and the higher price of her new acquisition, she was
still 18,000 kronor short. She had 10,000 kronor hidden in a coffee tin at home but
that was all. She sent evil thoughts to Herr Bjurman, but then she bit the bullet and
called her guardian to explain that she needed money for an unexpected expense.
Bjurman’s secretary said that he had no time to see her that day. Salander replied
that it would take the man twenty seconds to write out a cheque for 10,000 kronor.
She was told to be at his office at 7:30 that evening.
Blomkvist might have no experience of evaluating criminal investigations, but he
reckoned that Inspector Morell had been exceptionally conscientious. When
Blomkvist had finished with the police investigation, Morell still kept turning up as
a player in Vanger’s own notes. They had become friends, and Blomkvist wondered
whether Morell had been as obsessed as the captain of industry became.
It was unlikely, in his view, that Morell had missed anything. The solution to the
mystery was not going to be found in the police records. Every imaginable
question had been asked, and all leads followed up, even some that seemed
absurdly far-fetched. He had not read every word of the report, but the further into
the investigation he got, the more obscure the subsequent leads and tips became.
He was not going to find anything that his professional predecessor and his
experienced team had missed, and he was undecided what approach he should
adopt to the problem. Eventually it came to him that the only reasonably practical
route for him to take was to try to find out the psychological motives of the
individuals involved.