“itwasahorrificevent.”

“morethanthat.itruinedylife.that’ssoethingi’vebeeoreawareofastiehaspassed.doyouhaveagoodsenseofyourself？”

“ithinkso,yes.”

“idotoo.ican’tfetwhathappened.butyotiveshavechangedovertheyears.atfirstitwasprobablygrief.iwantedtofindherandatleasthaveachancetoburyher.itwasaboutgettingjusticeforharriet.”

“inwhatwayhasthatchanged？”

“nowit’soreaboutfindingthebastardwhodidit.butthefunnythingis,theolderiget,theoreofanall-absorbinghobbyithasbee.”

“hobby？”

“yes,iwouldusethatword.whenthepoliceinvestigationpeteredoutikeptgoing.i’vetrie. comroceedsysteaticallyandscientifically.i’vegatheredalltherationthatcouldpossiblybefound—thephotographs,thepolicereport,i’vewrittendowneverythingpeopletoldeaboutwhattheyweredoingthatday.soineffecti’vespentalosthalfylifecollectingrationaboutasingleday.”

“yourealise,isuppose,thatafterthirty-sixyearsthekillerhiselfightbedeadandburied？”

“idon’tbelievethat.”

blokvistraisedhiseyebrowsattheconvictioninhisvoice.

“let’sfinishdinnerandgobackupstairs.there’soneoredetailbeforeystoryisdone.andit’stheostperplexingofall.”

salanderparkedthecorollawiththeautoatictransissionbytheuterrailwaystationinsundbyberg.shehadborrowedthetoyotafromiltonsecurity’sotorpool.shehadnotexactlyaskedperission,butaranskyhadneverexpresslyforbiddenherfrousingmilton’scars.soonerorlater,shethought,ihavetogetavehicleofyown.shedidownasecond-handkawasaki125,whichsheusedinthesuertie.duringthewinterthebikewaslockedinhercellar.

shewalkedtoh？gklintav？genandrangthebellat6:00onthedot.secondslaterthelockonthestreetdoorclickedandshewentuptwoflightsandrangthedoorbellnexttothenaeofsvensson.shehadnoideawhosvenssonightbeorifanysuchpersonevenlivedinthatapartent.

“hi,plague,”shesaid.

“wasp.youonlypopinwhenyouneedsoething.”

asusual,itwasdarkintheapartent；thelightfroasinglelapseepedoutintothehallfrothebedrooheusedasanoffice.thean,whowasthreeyearsolderthansalander,wassixfoottwoandweighed330pounds.sheherselfwasfourfeetelevenandweighed90poundsandhadalwaysfeltlikeaidgetnexttoplague.theplaceselledstuffyandstale.

“it’sbecauseyounevertakeabath,plague.itsellslikeaonkeyhouseinhere.ifyoueverwentouticouldgiveyousoetipsonsoap.theyhaveitatthekonsu.”

hegaveherawansile,butsaidnothing.heotionedhertofollowhiintothekitchen.heploppeddownonachairbythekitchentablewithoutturningonalight.theonlyilluinationcaefrothestreetlightbeyondthewindow.

“iean,iaynotholdtherecordincleaninghouseeither,butifi’vegotoldilkcartonsthatselllikeaggotsibundletheupandputtheout.”

“i’onadisabilitypension,”hesaid.“i’sociallyinpetent.”

“sothat’swhythegovernentgaveyouaplacetoliveandfotaboutyou.aren’tyoueverafraidthatyourneighboursaregoin. comlaintotheinspectors？thenyouightfetchupinthefunnyfar.”

“haveyousoethingfore？”

salanderunzippedherjacketpocketandhandedhifivethousandkronor.

“it’sallicanspare.it’syownoney,andican’treallydeductyouasadependant.”

“whatdoyouwant？”

“theelectroniuffyoutalkedabouttwoonthsago.didyougetit？”

hesiledandlaidaboxonthetable.

“showehowitworks.”

forthenextfewinutesshelistenedintently.thenshetestedthecuff.plagueightbeasocialinpetent,buthewasunquestionablyagenius.

vangerwaiteduntilheonceorehadblokvist’sattention.blokvistlookedathiswatchandsaid,“oneperplexingdetail.”

vangersaid:“iwasbornonnoveber1.whenharrietwaseightshegaveeabirthdaypresent,apressedflower,fraed.”

vangerwalkedaroundthedeskandpointedtothefirstflower.bluebell.ithadanaateurishounting.

“thatwasthefirst.igotitin1958.”hepointedtothenextone.“1959.”buttercup.“1960.”daisy.“itbecaeatradition.shewouldakethefraesoetieduringthesuerandsaveituntilybirthday.ialwayshungtheonthewallinthisroo.in1966shedisappearedandthetraditionwasbroken.”

vangerpointedtoagapintherowoffraes.blokvistfeltthehairsriseonthebackofhisneck.thewallwasfilledwithpressedflowers.

“1967,ayearaftershedisappeared,ireceivedthisfloweronybirthday.it’saviolet.”

“howdidthefloweretoyou？”

“wrappedinwhattheycallgiftpaperandpostedinapaddedenvelopefrostockhol.noreturnaddress.noessage.”

“youeanthat…”blokvistadeasweepinggesture.

“precisely.onybirthdayeverydanyear.doyouknowhowthatfeels？it’sdirectedate,preciselyasiftheurdererwantstotorturee.i’veworriedyselfsickoverwhetherharrietighthavebeentakenawaybecausesoeonewantedtogetate.itwasnosecretthatsheandihadaspecialrelationshipandthatithoughtofherasyowndaughter.”

“sowhatisityouwantetodo？”blokvistsaid.

whensalanderreturnedthecorollatothegarageundermiltonsecurity,sheadesuretogotothetoiletupstairsintheoffice.sheusedhercardkeyinthedoorandtooktheliftstraightuptothethirdfloortoavoidgoinginthroughtheainentranceonthesecondfloor,wherethedutyofficerworked.sheusedthetoiletandgotacupofcoffeefrotheespressoachihataranskyhadboughtwhenatlonglastherecognisedthatsalanderwouldneverakecoffeejustbecauseitwasexpectedofher.thenshewenttoherofficeandhungherleatherjacketoverthebackofherchair.

theofficewasa61/2-by-10-footglasscubicle.therewasadeskwithanoldodeldelldes. compc,atelephone,oneofficechair,aetalwastepaperbasket,andashelf.theshelfcontainedanassortentofdirectoriesandthreeblanknotes.thetwodeskdrawershousedsoeballpoints,paperclips,andanote.onthewindowsillstoodapottedplantwithbrown,witheredleaves.salanderlookedthoughtfullyattheplant,asifitwerethefirsttieshehadseenit,thenshedepositeditfirlyinthewastepaperbasket.

sheseldohadanythingtodoinherofficeandvisiteditnoorethanhalfadozentiesayear,ainlywhensheneededtositbyherselfandprepareareportjustbeforehandingitin.aranskyhadinsistedthatshehaveherownspace.hisreasoningwasthatshewouldthenfeellikepartofthepanyalthoughsheworkedasafreelancer.shesuspectedthataranskyhopedthatthiswayhewouldhaveachancetokeepaneyeonherandeddleinheraffairs.atfirstshehadbeengivenspacefartherdownthecorridor,inalargerroothatshewasexpectedtosharewithacolleague.butsinceshewasnevertherearanskyfinallyovedherintothecubbyholeattheendofthecorridor.

salandertookoutthecuff.shelookedatit,editativelybitingherlowerlip.

itwaspast11:00andshewasaloneonthefloor.shesuddenlyfeltexcruciatinglybored.

afterawhileshegotupandwalkedtotheendofthehallandtriedthedoortoaransky’soffice.locked.shelookedaround.thechancesofanyourningupinthecorridoraroundidnightondeceber26werealostnonexistent.sheopenedthedoorwithapiratecopyofthepany’scardkey,whichshehadtakenthetroubletoakeseveralyearsbefore.

aransky’sofficewasspacious:infrontofhisdeskwereguestchairs,andaconferencetablewithrooforeightpeoplewasinthecorner.itwasipeablyneat.shehadnotsnoopedinhisofficeforquitesoetie,butnowthatshewashere…shespentawhileathisdesktobringherselfuptodateregardingthesearchforasuspectedoleinthepany,whichofhercolleagueshadbeenplantedundercoverinafirwhereatheftringwasoperating,andwhateasureshadbeentakeninallsecrec. comrotectaclientwhowasafraidherchildwasindangerofbeingkidnappedbythefather.

atlastsheputthepapersbackpreciselythewaytheywere,lockedaransky’sdoor,andwalkedhoe.shefeltsatisfiedwithherday.

“idon’tknohetherwe’llfindoutthetruth,butirefusetogotoygravewithoutgivingitonelasttry,”theoldansaid.“isiplywanttoissionyoutogothroughalltheevidenceonelasttie.”

“thisiscrazy,”blokvistsaid.

“whyisitcrazy？”

“i’veheardenough.henrik,iunderstandyourgrief,butihavetobehonestwithyou.whatyou’reaskingetodoisawasteofytieandyouroney.youareaskingetoconjureupasolutiontoaysterythatthepoliceandexperiencedinvestigatorswithconsiderablygreaterresourceshavefailedtosolvealltheseyears.you’reaskingetosolveacriegettingonforfortyyearsafteritwasitted.howcouldipossiblydothat？”

“wehaven’tdiscussedyourfee,”vangersaid.

“thatwon’tbenecessary.”

“ican’tforceyou,butlistentowhati’offering.frodehasalreadydrawnupacontract.wecannegotiatethedetails,butthecontractissiple,andallitneedsisyoursignature.”

“henrik,thisisabsurd.ireallydon’tbelieveicansolvetheysteryofharriet’sdisappearance.”