Then she struck for the third time, just as Martin Vanger was trying to get to his
feet. She hit him with a loud smack on the hip. A horrible cry issued from Martin’s
throat. The fourth blow struck him from behind, between the shoulder blades.
“Lis...uuth...” Blomkvist gasped.
He was about to pass out, and the pain in his temples was almost unbearable.
She turned to him and saw that his face was the colour of a tomato, his eyes were
open wide, and his tongue was popping out of his mouth.
She looked about her and saw the knife on the floor. Then she spared a glance at
Martin Vanger, who was trying to crawl away from her, one arm hanging. He would
not be making any trouble for the next few seconds. She let go of the golf club and
picked up the knife. It had a sharp point but a dull edge. She stood on her toes and
frantically sawed at the leather strap to get it off. It took several seconds before
Blomkvist sank to the floor. But the noose was pulled tighter round his neck.
Salander looked again at Martin Vanger. He was on his feet but doubled over. She
tried to dig her fingers under the noose. At first she did not dare cut it, but finally
she slipped the point of the knife underneath, scoring Blomkvist’s neck as she tried
to expand the noose. At last it loosened and Blomkvist took several shaky,
wheezing breaths.
For a moment Blomkvist had a sensation of his body and soul uniting. He had
perfect vision and could make out every speck of dust in the room. He had perfect
hearing and registered every breath, every rustle of clothing, as if they were
entering his ears through a headset, and he was aware of the odour of Salander’s
sweat and the smell of leather from her jacket. Then the illusion burst as blood
began streaming to his head.
Salander turned her head just as Martin Vanger disappeared out the door. She got
up, grabbed the pistol, checked the magazine and flicked off the safety. She looked
around and focused on the keys to the handcuffs, which lay in plain sight on the
table.
“I’m going to take him,” she said, running for the door. She grabbed the keys as she
passed the table and tossed them backhanded to the floor next to Blomkvist.
He tried to shout to her to wait, but he managed only a rasping sound and by then
she had vanished.