“You’ll have to work that out for yourself. Only leave me and Mikael out of it.”
Frode was deathly pale.
“Look at it this way: the only thing you know is that Martin Vanger died in a traffic
accident. You have no idea that he was also an insane, nauseating serial killer, and
you’ve never heard about the room in his basement.”
She put the key on the table between them.
“You’ve got time—before anyone is going to clean out Martin’s house and discover
the basement.”
“We have to go to the police about this.”
“Not we. You can go to the police if you like. It’s your decision.”
“This can’t be brushed under a carpet.”
“I’m not suggesting that it should be brushed anywhere, just that you leave me and
Mikael out of it. When you discover the room, you draw your own conclusions and
decide for yourself who you want to tell.”
“If what you say is true, it means that Martin has kidnapped and murdered
women...there must be families that are desperate because they don’t know
where their children are. We can’t just...”
“That’s right. But there’s just one problem. The bodies are gone. Maybe you’ll find
passports or ID cards in some drawer. Maybe some of the victims can be identified
from the videotapes. But you don’t need to decide today. Think it over.”
Frode looked panic-stricken.
“Oh, dear God. This will be the death blow for the company. Think of how many
families will lose their livelihood if it gets out that Martin...”
Frode rocked back and forth, juggling with a moral dilemma.
“That’s one issue. If Isabella Vanger is to inherit, you may think it would be
inappropriate if she were the first one to light upon her son’s hobby.”