The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

While on a bus ride, Blomkvist suddenly realizes why the photograph of Harriet has been gnawing at him: Harriet’s gaze was directed not on the parade but somewhere off-frame. In contrast to the happy faces of the crowd, her face appears frightened and angry. Blomkvist considers her expression as the first indication that she may have been murdered. He hypothesizes that Harriet had seen someone who had upset her, causing her to leave the parade and want to speak with Vanger.

Blomkvist informs Vanger of his breakthrough and gains access to the photo archives of the Hedestad Courier, a local paper the Vangers own. He scans more images and composites a rudimentary animation from 18 photographs taken consecutively of Harriet at the parade. The sequence captures that Harriet had been enjoying the parade but suddenly stops smiling when she redirects her glance across the street. The final frames confirm that what she saw caused her to harden her expression and leave.

Blomkvist also discovers another image of Harriet’s bedroom window that captured a blurry figure. Based on the figure’s hair and attire, he discerns that Cecilia was the one to open the window. Cecilia had lied about not being in Harriet’s room, and Blomkvist begins to feel uneasy, suspecting that she may be hiding more information. He returns to the photo of Harriet, fixated on what she could have seen to cause her change in expression. Blomkvist notices a couple behind Harriet taking pictures, directly from her eyeline. In hopes of finding them, he searches through his updated photo collection and finds another image of the couple by their car. He transcribes a portion of their license plate and a bumper sticker, which narrows their location to a carpentry shop in Västerbotten.

Blomkvist attempts to confront Cecilia about why she had lied but does not find her at home. Instead, he encounters the bristling Harald Vanger for the first time. The 92-year-old refers to Cecilia as a “whore” (340), and Blomkvist curses at him before heading to Vanger’s home. Vanger informs him that Cecilia has left for London to visit her sister, Anita. He also explains that Harald has resented Cecilia ever since her first relationship with a young man who was part Jewish. Blomkvist shows Vanger his latest developments, and Vanger is stunned to learn that he has new leads.

When he returns to his cabin, Blomkvist is surprised by a visit from his 17-year-old daughter, Pernilla. She believes in her father’s innocence and tells him she loves him. Like Harriet, Pernilla is young and interested in religion. Though he is agnostic, Blomkvist respects his daughter’s choices and does not interfere with her decision to attend a Bible summer camp. When he drops her off at the train station the next day, she encourages him to continue his Bible studies and refers to the five names and numbers from Harriet’s diary he has taped to his wall.

Blomkvist rushes to Gottfried’s cabin with his notes and opens Harriet’s Bible. He confirms that Harriet’s entries are not telephone numbers but citations from the Bible that she had underlined. Blomkvist is alarmed that each Bible notation next to the names refers to a verse describing violent punishment against women. He realizes that the initials “R.J.” refer to the unsolved and grotesque murder of Rebecka Jacobsson in 1949 that Detective Morell had mentioned. Her manner of death matches the cited verse beside her initials. The other names–Magda, Sara, Mari, and the initial R.L.–remain a mystery.

The following day, Vanger has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. Frode takes his place as the contact for Harriet’s case and Blomkvist tells him everything except the discovery that Cecilia was in Harriet’s bedroom. Blomkvist requests a research assistant to help him identify the other names in Harriet’s diary and Frode recommends Lisbeth Salander. Previously unaware that Frode had him investigated, Blomkvist reads her meticulous report and deduces that she is a hacker.

Salander spends the night with her friend and casual lover, Mimmi, who leaves for work early the next morning. Still asleep, Salander is awakened by her doorbell and is startled to see Mikael Blomkvist greeting her. He is jovial and, though they have never met before, he brings her bagels and begins to make coffee and tidy up her kitchen with an air of familiarity. He commends her work on his file and offers her a job as his research assistant. Wary at first, Salander warms up to his strange informality. He briefs her on Harriet’s case and she agrees to the position.

Blomkvist visits the Millennium offices and Berger informs him that she suspects that Janne Dahlman, their managing editor, may be working for Wennerström. When he returns to Hedeby, Blomkvist detects that someone has broken into his cabin and has read his files. He has the lock replaced and, at Frode’s house, he has the lawyer sign Salander’s hiring contract.

In a flashback to their morning conversation, Salander asks Blomkvist if he plans to report her for hacking. He merely suggests that she consider the ethics of her methods and tells her he has no intention of blackmailing her. Salander retorts that she follows “Salander’s Principles” (375), which justify invading people’s privacy and hurting them if they have done something wrong. Salander also notes that she edits her reports when she feels that a person is good by excluding private information that may fall in the wrong hands. Using Blomkvist as an example, she tells him that she “tone[d] down” (375) details of his and Berger’s sex life in her report to Frode.