on a shelf. Her CD collection was a pitiful total of ten CDs by groups he had never
heard of, and the musicians on the covers looked like vampires from outer space.
Music was probably not her big interest.
Salander saw that Armansky had called her seven times the night before and twice
this morning. She punched in his number while Blomkvist leaned against the door
frame and listened to the conversation.
“It’s me...sorry...yes...it was turned off...I know, he wants to hire me...no, he’s
standing in the middle of my fucking living room, for Christ’s sake...” She raised her
voice. “Dragan, I’m hung over and my head hurts, so please, no games, did you OK
this job or not?...Thanks.”
Salander looked through the door to the living room at Blomkvist pulling out CDs
and taking books off the bookshelf. He had just found a brown pill bottle that was
missing its label, and he was holding it up to the light. He was about to unscrew the
top, so she reached out and took the bottle from him. She went back to the kitchen
and sat down on a chair, massaging her forehead until he joined her.
“The rules are simple,” she said. “Nothing that you discuss with me or with
Armansky will be shared with anyone at all. There will be a contract which states
that Milton Security pledges confidentiality. I want to know what the job is about
before I decide whether I want to work for you or not. That also means that I agree
to keep to myself everything you tell me, whether I take the job or not, provided
that you’re not conducting any sort of serious criminal activity. In which case, I’ll
report it to Dragan, who in turn will report it to the police.”
“Fine.” He hesitated. “Armansky may not be completely aware of what I want to
hire you for...”
“Some historical research, he said.”
“Well, yes, that’s right. I want you to help me to identify a murderer.”
It took Blomkvist an hour to explain all the intricate details in the Harriet Vanger
case. He left nothing out. He had Frode’s permission to hire her, and to do that he
had to be able to trust her completely.