any applications for visits must also be referred in advance to Salander’s lawyer.”
“Yes, yes, I know. I thought we might be able to cut through all the red tape in this case. I’m a physician, so you could let me have the opportunity to visit her on medical grounds.”
“Yes, there might be a case for that, but I can’t see what your objective is.”
“For several years I was Lisbeth Salander’s psychiatrist when she was institutionalized at St Stefan’s. I followed up with her until she turned eighteen, when the district court released her back into society, albeit under guardianship. I should perhaps mention that I opposed that action. Since then she has been allowed to drift aimlessly, and the consequences are there for all to see today.”
“Indeed?”
“I feel a great responsibility towards her still, and would value the chance to gauge how much deterioration has occurred over the past ten years.”
“Deterioration?”
“Compared with when she was receiving qualified care as a teenager. I thought we might be able to come to an understanding here, as one doctor to another.”
“While I have it fresh in my mind, perhaps you could help me with a matter I don’t quite understand… as one doctor to another, that is. When she was admitted to Sahlgrenska hospital I performed a comprehensive medical examination on her. A colleague sent for the forensic report on the patient. It was signed by a Dr Jesper H. Loderman.”
“That’s correct. I was Dr Loderman’s assistant when he was in practice.”
“I see. But I noticed that the report was vague in the extreme.”
“Really?”
“It contains no diagnosis. It almost seems to be an academic study of a patient who refuses to speak.”
Teleborian laughed. “Yes, she certainly isn’t easy to deal with. As it says in the report, she consistently refused to participate in conversations with Dr Loderman. With the result that he was bound to express himself rather imprecisely. Which was entirely correct on his part.”
“And yet the recommendation was that she should be institutionalized?”
“That was based on her prior history. We had experience with her pathology compiled over many years.”
“That’s exactly what I don’t understand. When she was admitted here, we sent for a copy of her file from St Stefan’s. But we still haven’t received it.”
“I’m sorry about that. But it’s been classified Top Secret by order of the district court.”
“And how are we supposed to give her the proper care here if we can’t have access to her records? The medical responsibility for her right now is ours, no-one else’s.”
“I’ve taken care of her since she was twelve, and I don’t think there is any other doctor in Sweden with the same insight into her clinical condition.”
“Which is what…?”
“Lisbeth Salander suffers from a serious mental disorder. Psychiatry, as you know, is not an exact science. I would hesitate to confine myself to an exact diagnosis, but she has obvious delusions with distinct paranoid schizophrenic characteristics. Her clinical status also includes periods of manic depression and she lacks empathy.”
Jonasson looked intently at Dr Teleborian for ten seconds before he said: “I won’t argue a diagnosis with you, Dr Teleborian, but have you ever considered a significantly simpler diagnosis?”
“Such as?”
“For example, Asperger’s syndrome. Of course I haven’t done a psychiatric evaluation of her, but if I had spontaneously to hazard a guess, I would consider some form of autism. That would explain her inability to relate to social conventions.”
“I’m sorry, but Asperger’s patients do not generally set fire to their parents. Believe me, I’ve never met so clearly defined a sociopath.”
“I consider her to be withdrawn, but not a paranoid sociopath.”
“She is extremely manipulative,” Teleborian said. “She acts the way she thinks you would expect her to act.”
Jonasson frowned. Teleborian was contradicting his own reading of Salander. If there was one thing Jonasson felt sure about her, it was that she was certainly not manipulative. On the contrary, she was a person who stubbornly kept her distance from those around her and showed no emotion at all. He tried to reconcile the picture that Teleborian was painting with his own image of Salander.
“And you have seen her only for a short period when she has been forced to be passive because of her injuries. I have witnessed her violent outbursts and unreasoning hatred. I have spent years trying to help Lisbeth Salander. That’s why I’m here. I propose a co-operation between Sahlgrenska hospital and St Stefan’s.”
“What sort of co-operation are you talking about?”
“You’re responsible for her medical condition, and I’m convinced that it’s the best care she could receive. But I’m extremely worried about her mental state, and I would like to be included at an early stage. I’m ready to offer all the help I can.”
“I see.”
“So I do need to visit her to do a first-hand evaluation of her condition.”
“There, unfortunately, I cannot help you.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“As I said, she’s under arrest. If you want to initiate any psychiatric treatment of her, you’ll have to apply to Prosecutor Jervas here in Goteborg. She’s the one who makes the decisions on these things. And it would have to be done, I repeat, in co-operation with her lawyer, Annika Giannini. If it’s a matter of a forensic psychiatric report, then the district court would have to issue you a warrant.”
“It was just that sort of bureaucratic procedure I wanted to avoid.”
“Understood, but I’m responsible for her, and if she’s going to be taken to court in the near future, we need to have clear documentation of all the measures we have taken. So we’re bound to observe the bureaucratic procedures.”
“Alright. Then I might as well tell you that I’ve already received a formal commission from Prosecutor Ekstrom in Stockholm to do a forensic psychiatric report. It will be needed in connection with the trial.”
“Then you can also obtain formal access to visit her through the appropriate channels without side-stepping regulations.”
“But while we’re going backwards and forwards with bureaucracy, there is a risk that her condition may continue to deteriorate. I’m only interested in her wellbeing.”
“And so am I,” Jonasson said. “And between us, I can tell you that I see no sign of mental illness. She has been badly treated and is under a lot of pressure. But I see no evidence whatsoever that she is schizophrenic or suffering from paranoid delusions.”
When at long last he realized that it was fruitless trying to persuade Jonasson to change his mind, Teleborian got up abruptly and took his leave.
Jonasson sat for a while, staring at the chair Teleborian had been sitting in. It was not unusual for other doctors to contact him with advice or opinions on treatment. But that usually happened only with patients whose doctors were already managing their treatment. He had never before seen a psychiatrist land like a flying saucer and more or less demand to be given access to a patient, ignoring all the protocols, and a patient, at that, whom he obviously had not been treating for several years. After a while Jonasson glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost 7.00. He picked up the telephone and called Martina Karlgren, the psychologist at Sahlgrenska who had been made available to trauma patients.
“Hello. I’m assuming you’ve already left for the day. Am I disturbing you?”
“No problem. I’m at home, but just pottering.”
“I’m curious about something. You’ve spoken to our notorious patient, Lisbeth Salander. Could you give me your impression of her?”
“Well, I’ve visited her three times and offered to talk with her. Every time she declined in a friendly but firm way.”
“What’s your impression of her?”
