"What was your reason for going to Stallarholmen? Had you arranged a meeting there with Carl-Magnus Lundin and his friend Sonny Nieminen?"

"No."

"How was it that they showed up there?"

"You'll have to ask them that."

"I'm asking you."

Salander did not reply.

Judge Iversen cleared his throat. "I presume that Froken Salander is not answering because--purely semantically--you have once again made an assertion," the judge said helpfully.

Giannini suddenly snickered just loud enough to be heard. She pulled herself together at once and studied her papers again. Ekstrom gave her an irritated glance.

"Why do you think Lundin and Nieminen went to Bjurman's summer cabin?"

"I don't know. I suspect that they went there to commit arson. Lundin had half a gallon of gasoline in a plastic bottle in the saddlebag of his Harley-Davidson."

Ekstrom pursed his lips. "Why did you go to Advokat Bjurman's summer cabin?"

"I was looking for information."

"What sort of information?"

"The information that I suspect Lundin and Nieminen were there to destroy, and which could contribute to clarifying who murdered the bastard."

"Is it your opinion that Advokat Bjurman was a bastard? Is that correctly construed?"

"Yes."

"And why do you think that?"

"He was a sadistic pig, a pervert, and a rapist--and therefore a bastard."

She was quoting the text that had been tattooed on the late Advokat Bjurman's stomach and thus indirectly admitting that she was responsible for it. This incident, however, was not included in the charges against Salander. Bjurman had never filed a report of assault, and it would be impossible now to prove whether he had allowed himself to be tattooed or whether it had been done against his will.

"In other words, you are alleging that your guardian forced himself on you. Can you tell the court when these assaults are supposed to have taken place?"

"They took place on Tuesday, February 18, 2003, and again on Friday, March 7, of the same year."

"You have refused to answer every question asked by the police in their attempts to interview you. Why?"

"I had nothing to say to them."

"I have read the so-called autobiography that your lawyer delivered without warning a few days ago. I must say it is a strange document, and we'll come back to it in more detail later. But in it you claim that Advokat Bjurman allegedly forced you to perform oral sex on the first occasion, and on the second subjected you to an entire night of repeated rape and severe torture."

Lisbeth did not reply.

"Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you report the rapes to the police?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"The police never listened before when I tried to tell them something. So there seemed no point in reporting anything to them then."

"Did you discuss these assaults with any of your acquaintances? A girlfriend?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's none of their business."

"Did you try to contact a lawyer?"

"No."

"Did you go to a doctor to be treated for the injuries you claim to have sustained?"

"No."

"And you didn't go to any women's crisis centre either."

"Now you're making an assertion again."

"Excuse me. Did you go to any women's crisis centre?"

"No."

Ekstrom turned to the judge. "I want to make the court aware that the defendant has stated that she was subjected to sexual assaults on two occasions, the second of which should be considered exceptionally severe. The person she claims committed these rapes was her guardian, the late Nils Bjurman. The following facts should be taken into account at this juncture." Ekstrom consulted the papers in front of him. "In the investigation carried out by the violent crimes division, there was nothing in Advokat Bjurman's past to support the credibility of Lisbeth Salander's account. Bjurman was never convicted of any crime. He has never been reported to the police or been the subject of an investigation. He had previously been a guardian or trustee to several other young people, none of whom have claimed that they were subjected to any sort of attack. On the contrary, they assert that Bjurman invariably behaved correctly and kindly towards them."

Ekstrom turned a page.

"It is also my duty to remind the court that Lisbeth Salander has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. This is a young woman with a documented violent tendency, who since her early teens has had serious problems in her interactions with society. She spent several years in a children's psychiatric institution and has been under guardianship since the age of eighteen. However regrettable this may be, there are reasons for it. Lisbeth Salander is a danger to herself and to those around her. It is my conviction that she does not need a prison sentence. She needs psychiatric care."

He paused for effect.

"Discussing a young person's mental state is an innately disagreeable task. So much is an invasion of privacy, and her mental state becomes the subject of interpretation. In this case, however, we have Lisbeth Salander's own confused worldview on which to base our decision. It becomes manifestly clear in what she has termed her 'autobiography.' Nowhere is her want of a foothold in reality as evident as it is here. In this instance we need no witnesses or interpretations to invariably contradict one another. We have her own words. We can judge for ourselves the credibility of her assertions."

His gaze fell on Salander. Their eyes met. She smiled. She looked malicious. Ekstrom frowned.

"Does Advokat Giannini have anything to say?" Judge Iversen said.

"No," Giannini said. "Other than that Prosecutor Ekstrom's conclusions are nonsensical."

The afternoon session began with the cross-examining of witnesses. The first was Ulrika von Liebenstaahl from the guardianship agency. Ekstrom had called her to the stand to establish whether complaints had ever been lodged against Advokat Bjurman. This was strongly denied by von Liebenstaahl. Such assertions were defamatory.

"There exists a rigorous supervision of guardianship cases. Advokat Bjurman had been active on behalf of the guardianship agency for almost twenty years before he was so shockingly murdered."

She gave Salander a withering look, despite the fact that Salander was not accused of murder; it had already been established that Bjurman was murdered by Ronald Niedermann.

"In all these years there has not been a single complaint against Advokat Bjurman. He was a conscientious person who evidenced a deep commitment to his wards."

"So you don't think it's plausible that he would have subjected Lisbeth Salander to aggravated sexual assault?"

"I think that statement is ridiculous. We have monthly reports from Advokat Bjurman, and I personally met him on several occasions to go over the assignment."

"Advokat Giannini has presented a request that Lisbeth Salander's guardianship be rescinded, effective immediately."

"No-one is happier than we who work at the agency when a guardianship can be rescinded. Unfortunately, we have a responsibility, which means that we have to follow the appropriate regulations. For the agency's part, we are required in accordance with normal protocol to see to it that Lisbeth Salander is declared fit by a psychiatric expert before there can be any talk of changes to her legal status."

"I understand."

"This means that she has to submit to a psychiatric examination. Which, as everyone knows, she has refused to do."

The questioning of Ulrika von Liebenstaahl lasted for about forty minutes, during which time Bjurman's monthly reports were examined.

Giannini asked only one question before Ulrika von Liebenstaahl was dismissed.

"Were you in Advokat Bjurman's bedroom on the night of March 7, 2003?"

"Of course not."

Tags: Stieg Larsson Millennium Thriller
Source: readsnovelonline.net