The Girl Who Played With Fire Chapter 15 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Maundy Thursday, March 24

  • Bublanski, Faste, and Prosecutor Ekström meet.
  • Bublanski tells Ekström that they believe Miriam Wu lives in the apartment, not Salander.
  • Miriam Wu doesn't have a police record. But, Faste tells Ekström he thinks Miriam might be a prostitute, because of the erotic clothing and sex toys in the apartment.
  • Ekström says that Salander's social welfare files indicate she might have been involved in prostitution. Bublanski says these claims have never been investigated by the police.
  • Ekström says that since Mia's thesis concerns sex trafficking, maybe Salander and Miriam were threatened by their research and killed Dag and Mia to quiet them.
  • Bublanski says there's no evidence to back up that theory. The important thing is to find the two women. That evening, Bublanski and Ekström give a press conference.
  • Ekström, who loves playing to the media for publicity, reveals that Salander is the prime suspect in the three murders.
  • It's also revealed that Salander was in a psychiatric clinic, and that she's "prone to violence in stressful situations" (15.108).
  • Bublanski and Modig are at Bjurman's apartment, investigating that crime scene.
  • Bublanski tells Modig that he isn't convinced that Salander is the killer. He can't see the motive.
  • Gunnar Samuelsson, on the forensics team, asks Bublanski and Modig to come look at Bjurman's body.
  • He shows them Bjurman's tattoo that says "I AM A SADISTIC PIG, A PERVERT, AND A RAPIST" (15.156). Modig wonders if this might suggest a motive.
  • Blomkvist is at home. He's exhausted and hasn't slept for thirty-six hours.
  • He realizes he knows even less about Salander than he'd thought.
  • He decides to give her the benefit of the doubt. He can't assume she's a murderer so easily.
  • Finally, he falls into a hard sleep.