compos mentis. It would be your word against mine. Whose word do you think
would carry more weight?”
He sighed when still she did not speak. He was annoyed at the way she just sat
there in silence, looking at him—but he controlled himself.
“We’re going to be good friends, you and I,” he said. “I think you were smart to
come and see me today. You can always come to me.”
“I need 10,000 kronor for my computer,” she said, precisely, as if she were
continuing the conversation they were having before the interruption.
Bjurman raised his eyebrows. Hard-nosed bitch. She really is fucking retarded. He
handed her the cheque he had written when she was in the bathroom. This is better
than a whore. She gets paid with her own money. He gave her an arrogant smile.
Salander took the cheque and left.
CHAPTER 12
Wednesday, February 19
If Salander had been an ordinary citizen, she would most likely have called the
police and reported the rape as soon as she left Advokat Bjurman’s office. The
bruises on her neck, as well as the DNA signature of his semen staining her body
and clothing, would have nailed him. Even if the lawyer had claimed that she
wanted to do it or she seduced me or any other excuse that rapists routinely used, he
would have been guilty of so many breaches of the guardianship regulations that
he would instantly have been stripped of his control over her. A report would have
presumably resulted in Salander being given a proper lawyer, someone well-versed
in assaults on women, which in turn might have led to a discussion of the very
heart of the problem—meaning the reason she had been declared legally
incompetent.
Since 1989, the term “legally incompetent” has no longer been applied to adults.
There are two levels of social welfare protection—trusteeship and guardianship.