The Girl Who Played With Fire Chapter 26 Summary

How It All Goes Down

Wednesday, April 6

  • In light of the information provided by Miriam and Paolo, the police must reassess their strategy.
  • The police follow Paolo's directions to the warehouse in the country. It's been burned down.
  • The police need to find the identities of the ponytailed man, the blond giant, and Zala.
  • They might all be involved in the sex trade. They decide not to tell the press about Paolo.
  • Hedström promptly leaks the story on Paolo and Miriam to Scala, and Modig is blamed.
  • Salander, dressed as Irene, rides the bus and then walks about a mile to Bjurman's cabin.
  • The blond giant is upset. Things are going wrong. The giant didn't want Zala involved with Bjurman, but Zala sees it as a chance to hurt Salander.
  • Flashback to the night of the murders. The giant is at Bjurman's when Dag calls, asking about Zala.
  • The giant kills Bjurman, because he has too much information, then kills Dag and Mia.
  • By accident, he drops the gun he took from Bjurman at Dag and Mia's apartment.
  • The flashback ends.
  • Meanwhile, at the burned-down warehouse, the police find buried bodies.
  • Salander is in Bjurman's cabin, reading the files he has on her.
  • She finds the police report from 1991, and some letters between Björck and Peter Teleborian.
  • She realizes that Björck told Teleborian to institutionalize Salander.
  • Salander takes the most important papers and leaves the cabin.
  • Meanwhile, Bublanski discovers that Hedström is the leak and exposes him.
  • Mage Lundin and Sonny Nieminen are on motorcycles outside of Bjurman's house, when Salander walks out the door. She tells them to leave her alone. She's in a foul mood.
  • She maces Lundin and kicks him in the crotch, the face, and takes him down.
  • She kicks and tasers Nieminen. After Lundin calls her a "whore" (26.204) she shoots him in the foot with Nieminen's gun. Then she rides away with the gun on Lundin's Harley.