“Yes. We installed a steel safety door. Don’t worry… it’s painted white and looks just like a normal bedroom door. The difference is that it locks automatically when you close it. To open the door from the inside you just have to press down the handle as on any normal door. But to open the door from the outside, you have to enter a three-digit code on a plate on the door handle.”
“And you’ve done all this today…”
“If you’re threatened in your home then you have a safe room into which you can barricade yourself. The walls are sturdy and it would take quite a while to break down that door even if your assailant had tools at hand.”
“That’s a comfort.”
“Third, we’re going to install surveillance cameras, so that you’ll be able to see what’s going on in the garden and on the ground floor when you’re in the bedroom. That will be done later this week, at the same time as we install the movement detectors outside the house.”
“It sounds like the bedroom won’t be such a romantic place in the future.”
“It’s a small monitor. We can put it inside a wardrobe or a cabinet so that it isn’t in full view.”
“Thank you.”
“Later in the week I’ll change the doors in your study and in a downstairs room too. If anything happens you should quickly seek shelter and lock the door while you wait for assistance.”
“Alright.”
“If you trip the burglar alarm by mistake, then you’ll have to call Milton’s alarm centre immediately to cancel the emergency vehicle. To cancel it you’ll have to give a password that will be registered with us. If you forget the password, the emergency vehicle will come out anyway and you’ll be charged a fee.”
“Understood.”
“Fourth, there are now attack alarms in four places inside the house. Here in the kitchen, in the hall, in your study upstairs, and in your bedroom. The attack alarm consists of two buttons that you press simultaneously and hold down for three seconds. You can do it with one hand, but you can’t do it by mistake. If the attack alarm is sounded, three things will happen. First, Milton will send cars out here. The closest car will come from Adam Security in Fisksatra. Two strong men will be here in ten to twelve minutes. Second, a car from Milton will come down from Nacka. For that the response time is at best twenty minutes but more likely twenty-five. Third, the police will be alerted automatically. In other words, several cars will arrive at the scene within a short time, a matter of minutes.”
“O.K.”
“An attack alarm can’t be cancelled the same way you would cancel the burglar alarm. You can’t call and say that it was a mistake. Even if you meet us in the driveway and say it was a mistake, the police will enter the house. We want to be sure that nobody’s holding a gun to your husband’s head or anything like that. So you use the attack alarm, obviously, only when there is real danger.”
“I understand.”
“It doesn’t have to be a physical attack. It could be if someone is trying to break in or turns up in the garden or something like that. If you feel threatened in any way, you should set off the alarm, but use your good judgement.”
“I promise.”
“I notice that you have golf clubs planted here and there around the house.”
“Yes. I slept here alone last night.”
“I myself would have checked into a hotel. I have no problem with you taking safety precautions on your own. But you ought to know that you could easily kill an intruder with a golf club.”
“Hmm.”
“And if you did that, you would most probably be charged with manslaughter. If you admitted that you put golf clubs around the place with the intent of arming yourself, it could also be classified as murder.”
“If someone attacks me then the chances are that I do intend to bash in that person’s skull.”
“I understand you. But the point of hiring Milton Security is so that you have an alternative to doing that. You should be able to call for help, and above all you shouldn’t end up in a situation where you have to bash in someone’s skull.”
“I’m only too happy to hear it.”
“And, by the way, what would you do with the golf clubs if an intruder had a gun? The key to good security is all about staying one step ahead of anyone who means you harm.”
“Tell me how I’m supposed to do that if I have a stalker after me?”
“You see to it that he never has a chance to get close to you. Now, we won’t be finished with the installations here for a couple of days, and then we’ll also have to have a talk with your husband. He’ll have to be as safety-conscious as you are.”
“He will be.”
“Until then I’d rather you didn’t stay here.”
“I can’t move anywhere else. My husband will be home in a couple of days. But both he and I travel fairly often, and one or other of us has to be here alone from time to time.”
“I understand. But I’m only talking about a couple of days until we have all the installations ready. Isn’t there a friend you could stay with?”
Berger thought for a moment about Blomkvist’s apartment but remembered that just now it was not such a good idea.
“Thanks, but I’d rather stay here.”
“I was afraid of that. In that case, I’d like you to have company here for the rest of the week.”
“Well…”
“Do you have a friend who could come and stay with you?”
“Sure. But not at 7.30 in the evening if there’s a nutcase on the prowl outside.”
Rosin thought for a moment. “Do you have anything against a Milton employee staying here? I could call and find out if my colleague Susanne Linder is free tonight. She certainly wouldn’t mind earning a few hundred kronor on the side.”
“What would it cost exactly?”
“You’d have to negotiate that with her. It would be outside all our formal agreements. But I really don’t want you to stay here alone.”
“I’m not afraid of the dark.”
“I didn’t think you were or you wouldn’t have slept here last night. Susanne Linder is also a former policewoman. And it’s only temporary. If we had to arrange for bodyguard protection that would be a different matter – and it would be rather expensive.”
Rosin’s seriousness was having an effect. It dawned on her that here he was calmly talking of the possibility of there being a threat to her life. Was he exaggerating? Should she dismiss his professional caution? In that case, why had she telephoned Milton Security in the first place and asked them to install an alarm?
“O.K. Call her. I’ll get the spare room ready.”
It was not until after 10.00 p.m. that Figuerola and Blomkvist wrapped sheets around themselves and went to her kitchen to make a cold pasta salad with tuna and bacon from the leftovers in her fridge. They drank water with their dinner.
Figuerola giggled.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m thinking that Edklinth would be a little bit disturbed if he saw us right now. I don’t believe he intended for me to go to bed with you when he told me to keep a close eye on you.”
“You started it. I had the choice of being handcuffed or coming quietly,” Blomkvist said.
“True, but you weren’t very hard to convince.”
“Maybe you aren’t aware of this – though I doubt that – but you give off the most incredible sexual vibrations. Who on earth do you think can resist that?”
“You’re very kind, but I’m not that sexy. And I don’t have sex quite that often either.”
“You amaze me.”
