Let the Right One In

Though the murderer has been the topic of conversation at school—many kids lie by saying they’ve seen the murderer—everyone now focuses on the gossip that the Russians are purportedly invading Sweden. Oskar and a boy named Johan talk about Russian nuclear weapons, then pretend to decimate a “town” with weapons by hurling rocks into a sandbox. When Jonny and Micke show up, they taunt Oskar and tell him to clean up the rocks. Shockingly, Oskar refuses. Because of this, however, the boys threaten to make his punishment worse at a later date and leave. Oskar can’t really explain why he stood up to them, though the jungle gym on the sandbox might have reminded him of the one in his courtyard.

Oskar copies out Morse code after school, hoping he and Eli can use it to communicate. It has been two hours since school ended, and he hopes that his bullies have gone home. Having decided to clean up the rocks to hopefully lessen his punishment, his bullies appear. Tomas, another bully, told Jonny and Micke that Oskar was still at school. Tomas and Oskar used to be friends when they were younger, but Tomas started hanging with the cool kids and now dislikes Oskar immensely. The boys take a tree branch and Jonny whips Oskar on the thigh, but Tomas suddenly takes the branch and strikes Oskar in the face, causing Oskar to bleed. The bullies flee. Oskar has peed on himself again, and he imagines killing his bullies while cleaning himself up. He then hurries home and wonders what he should tell his mother.

Near Oskar’s apartment, an old man named Gösta talks to the unhealthy amount of cats he has in his apartment (which reeks of cat piss), most of which have deformities from genetic defects. Gösta witnessed Jocke’s murder and saw that the murderer resembled a child, but he doesn’t know who to tell about it.

Oskar returns home and goes into the basement trash area to scavenge for goods. The apartments all connect via basement spaces that include storage rooms, safety shelters, and trash rooms. Oskar reaches the building that Tommy lives in via the basement and sneaks into Tommy’s hideout/ clubhouse. He notes the paraphernalia that Tommy and his friends use to sniff glue, then finds porno magazines and glances at female genitalia. Oskar knows he’ll get in trouble if caught, so when he hears footsteps he panics. Luckily, it’s only Tommy. Tommy queries him about his injuries and is so genuinely nice that Oskar feels like crying. Oskar leaves, but not before Tommy warns him not to get involved with glue sniffing and to never return to the clubhouse. Tommy then waits for his friends to arrive while wishing he could do something to help Oskar at school. When Lasse and Robban arrive, Tommy gives them more stolen merchandise to sell while revealing that he’s going to be having dinner with Staffan and his mother.

Oskar lies to his mother about where he got his wound, and she believes him. He then thinks about Eli and delights in the possibility of their friendship: “Eli was new to him and therefore he had the opportunity to be someone else, say something different from what he said to other people” (104). Having given Eli the Morse code previously, Oskar taps out a message, and after Eli responds, they meet outside. Eli notices his bruises and implores him to fight back. As she does so, her eyes look like they’re glowing, though Oskar insists that he’s imagining it. Around Eli, however, Oskar feels strong, like he can in fact stand up to his bullies. He briefly wonders—and asks—about greater retaliation on their part should he defend himself with, and Eli promises to help him if it comes to that. 

As Eli bathes, Håkan sits outside listening and lets his jealousy cloud his vision. He loves Eli, and he thought she was the perfect person because she has a youthful body with a wizened mind. Now, however, she’s allowing herself to act like a 12-year-old, all because of Oskar. Håkan overheard Oskar and Eli saying goodbye to one another, and he found the Morse code paper in his room (it’s Håkan’s bed on the other side of the wall from Oskar’s bed). Though hurt, Håkan asks Eli to let him look at her naked body when she emerges from the bathroom. When Eli assents, Håkan then promises to get blood again. If things go badly, he has a special plan for silencing himself that involves a jar of clear liquid (it’s not revealed what the liquid is). Though Eli protests this plan, Håkan insists.

Lacke and the others hang out at the Chinese restaurant, and though the others make small talk about the submarine, Lacke is obsessed with Jocke’s disappearance. He reminds them that Jocke always tells them when he’s going to vacation, so it’s not like him to just disappear. Elsewhere, Håkan tries searching a few popular areas for someone to kill, then settles on the Vällingby pool. He pays for a private changing table and hopes he can make Eli proud.

While Lacke worries about Jocke and Håkan lies in wait, Tommy and his mother have dinner with Staffan. Staffan’s house unnerves Tommy. He collects barometers, and he has Christian iconography everywhere. Tommy’s mother scolds him when he focuses on Staffan’s pistols—Staffan is a prized pistol shooter and has many trophies for the sport. Back at the pool, three young boys enter the changing room. When they undress and bend over, Håkan prematurely ejaculates. Two of the boys dress and leave. When the last one, Mattias, prepares to leave, Håkan rushes out of the changing room and places the gas mask over his mouth, silencing his scream.

Back in Blackeberg, Oskar taps out a message to Eli, and they meet outside. Eli’s appearance, however, shocks Oskar. Eli looks “as if the bones were threating to protrude through the skin, as if the skin had become thinner […] he saw that a few thick white strands ran through her hand. Like on an old person” (120-21). Oskar is also surprised because, though Eli looks so sick, when they agree to visit The Lover’s Kiosk, Eli begins running and easily outpaces Oskar.

At the kiosk, they make jokes at the man behind the desk, then Oskar buys candy. When he offers it to Eli, she refuses because she can’t eat it. Oskar notes that, like other things, she offers no real excuse. Instead, she simply says things like “that’s just the way it is” (123) and doesn’t explain further. When they return home, Oskar hugs Eli. She nudges against his neck until her breathing becomes ragged. Her muscles also tense, but when Oskar steps back, she shakes her head and rushes home. Before leaving, Eli asks Oskar if he’d still like her if she wasn’t a girl. Though a strange question, Oskar says he would. He wants to query her further but his mother interrupts them. Eli hides and then leaves.

Back at the pool, Håkan drags the docile boy into the private changing room, then realizes that he can’t easily extract the blood because he needs to hoist the boy upside down. Moreover, the gas will wear off soon so he has to work fast. To his dismay, a group of men enter the changing room and begin talking about sports. While Håkan quietly adjusts the boy on a rope he has hoisted, the boy suddenly comes to and screams loudly. Håkan drops the knife, and the men rush to the room and demand for him to open the door. Realizing that he’s caught, Håkan pours the clear liquid—which is concentrated acid—all over his face.

Tommy’s mother and Staffan inform Tommy that they’re engaged, but their merriment ends when Staffan gets a call that the murderer is at the pool. Staffan dresses in his police gear and rushes to work while Tommy steals one of Staffan’s pistol-shooting trophies and throws it over the balcony.

Karlsson, another member of the group of friends, arrives at the restaurant. He and Morgan begin arguing with one another in their usual manner. While Lacke and Larry listen, Gösta suddenly enters. Though the bartender prepares to throw him out, Gösta tells the group that he saw Jocke murdered by a child but he’s too scared to go to the police. The news hits Lacke hardest, as he has believed all along that something has happened to Jocke. Everyone accompanies Gösta to the spot where he claims the murder took place. Though nothing looks out of the ordinary, and though the others think Gösta is probably just a drunk imagining things, they agree to avenge Jocke—mostly for Lacke’s sake.

Tommy gets angry at his mother for “forgetting” about his dad, despite her telling Tommy that she has to move on. Tommy leaves, angry. Staffan, meanwhile, rushes to the pool. There, he meets up with Larsson (a new recruit) and Holmberg (the policeman from Chapter 1). The men slowly enter the changing room. Once inside, the policemen are horrified to see Håkan, whose face and upper body are unrecognizable from the acid. The only things still visible is one of his eyes, amidst a mass of bones, blood, and sinew. Staffan falls and hurts himself, and tries not to throw up, while Håkan moans, repeatedly, “…eeiiieeeeiii…” (140).

Back in Blackeberg, Oskar taps out Eli’s name in Morse code but receives no answer.