“you’vedoneafantasticjobofdiggingupthesefactsinsuchashorttie,”hesaid.“thanks.andthanksalsoforbeingniceenoughtoeuphereandreportonit.”

“whathappensnow？”salanderwantedtoknow.

“i’goingtotalktodirchfrodetoorrowandarrangeforyourfeetobepaid.”

“thatwasn’twhatieant.”

blokvistlookedather.

“well…ireckonthejobihiredyouforisdone,”hesaid.

“i’notdonewiththis.”

blokvistleanedbackagainstthekitchenwallandethergaze.hecouldn’treadanythingatallinhereyes.forhalfayearhehadbeenworkingaloneonharriet’sdisappearance,andherewasanotherperson—anexperiencedresearcher—whograspedtheiplications.headethedecisiononipulse.

“iknow.thisstoryhasgotunderyskintoo.i’lltalktofrode.we’llhireyouforaweekortwooreas…aresearchassistant.idon’tknowifhe’llwan. comaythesaeratehepaystoaransky,butweshouldbeabletoarrangeabasiclivingwageforyou.”

salandersuddenlygavehiasile.shehadnowishtobeshutoutandwouldhavegladlydohejobforfree.

“i’fallingasleep,”shesaid,andwithoutfurtheradoshewenttoherrooandclosedthedoor.

twoinuteslatersheopenedthedoorandputoutherhead.

“ithinkyou’rewrong.it’snotaninsaneserialkillerwhoreadhisbiblewrong.it’sjustaonorgardenbastardwhohateswoen.”

chapter21

thursday,july3–thursday,july10

salanderwasupbeforeblokvist,around6:00.sheputonsoewaterforcoffeeandwenttotakeashower.whenblokvistwokeat7:30,shewasreadinghissuaryoftheharrietvangercaseonhisi.hecaeouttothekitchenwithatowelroundhiswaist,rubbingthesleepoutofhiseyes.

“there’scoffeeonthestove,”shesaid.

helookedoverhershoulder.

“thatdocuentwaspasswordprotected,dait,”hesaid.

sheturnedandpeeredupathi.

“ittakesthirtysecondstodownloadaprograefrothethatcancrackword’sencryptionprotection.”

“weneedtohaveatalkonthesubjectofwhat’syoursandwhat’sine,”hesaid,andwenttotakeashower.

whenhecaeback,salanderhadturnedoffhisputerandputitbackinitsplaceinhisoffice.shehadbootedupherownpower.blokvistfeltsurethatshehadalreadytransferredthecontentsofhisputertoherown.

salanderwasanrationjunkiewithadelinquentchild’stakeonoralsandethics.

hehadjustsatdowntobreakfastwhentherewasaknockatthefrontdoor.martinvangerlookedsosolenthatforasecondblokvistthoughthehadetobringthenewsofhisuncle’sdeath.

“no,henrik’sconditionisthesaeasyesterday.i’hereforaquitedifferentreason.couldieraoent？”

blokvistlethiin,introducinghito“yresearchassistant”lisbethsalander.shegavethecaptainofindustrybarelyaglanceandaquicknodbeforeshewentbacktoherputer.martinvangergreetedherautoaticallybutlookedsodistractedthathehardlyseeedtonoticeher.blokvistpouredhiacupofcoffeeandinvitedhitohaveaseat.

“what’sthisallabout？”

“youdon’tsubscribetothehedestadcourier？”

“no.butsoetiesiseeitatsusanne’sbridgecafé.”

“thenyouhaven’treadthisorning’spaper.”

“youakeitsoundasifioughtto.”

martinvangerputtheday’spaperonthetableinfrontofhi.hehadbeengiventwocolunsonthefrontpage,continuedonpagefour.“convictedlibeljournalisthidinghere.”aphotographtakenwithatelephotolensfrothechurchhillontheothersideofthebridgeshowedblokvistingoutofthecottage.

thereporter,torsson,hadcobbledtogetherascurrilouspiece.herecapitulatedthewennerstr？affairandexplainedthatblokvisthadleftmillenniuindisgraceandthathehadrecentlyservedaprisonter.thearticleendedwiththeusuallihatblokvisthaddeclinedtoenttothehedestadcourier.everyself-respectingresidentofhedestadwasputonnoticethatanolypic-classshitfrostockholwasskulkingaroundthearea.noneoftheclaisinthearticlewaslibellous,buttheywereslante. comresentblokvistinanunflatteringlight；thelayoutandtypestylewasofthekindthatsuchnewspapersusedtodiscusspoliticalterrorists.millenniuwasdescribedasaagazinewithlowcredibility“bentonagitation,”andblokvist’sonfinancialjournaliswaspresentedasacollectionof“controversialclais”aboutotherorerespectedjournalists.

“mikael…idon’thavewordstoexpresswhatifeltwhenireadthisarticle.it’srepulsive.”

“it’saput-upjob,”blokvistsaidcally.

“ihopeyouunderstandthatididn’thavetheslightestthingtodowiththis.ichokedonyorningcoffeewhenireadit.”

“thenwhodid？”

“iadesoecalls.thistorssonisasuerworkexperiencekid.hedidthepieceonordersfrobirger.”

“ithoughtbirgerhadnosayinthenewsroo.afterall,heisacouncillorandpoliticalfigure.”

“technicallyhehasnoinfluence.buttheeditorinchiefofthecourierisgunnarkarlan,ingrid’sson,who’spartofthejohanvangerbranchofthefaily.birgerandgunnarhavebeencloseforanyyears.”

“isee.”

“torssonwillbefiredforthwith.”

“howoldishe？”

“totellyouthetruth,idon’tknow.i’veneverethi.”

“don’tfirehi.whenhecalledehesoundedlikeaveryyoungandinexperiencedreporter.”

“thiscan’tbeallowe. comasswithoutconsequences.”

“ifyouwantyopinion,thesituationseesabitabsurd,whentheeditorinchiefofapublicationownedbythevangerfailygoesontheattackagainstanotherpublicationinwhichhenrikvangerisapartownerandonwhoseboardyousit.youreditor,karlan,isattackingyouandhenrik.”

“iseewhatyouean,andioughttolaytheblaewhereitbelongs.karlanisapartownerinthecorporationandhasalwaystakenpot-shotsate,butthisseesorelikebirger’srevengebecauseyouhadarun-inwithhiatthehospital.you’reathorninhisside.”

“ibelieveit.that’swhyithinktorssonisthelastpersontoblae.ittakesalotforaninterntosaynowhenthebossinstructshitowritesoethinginacertainway.”

“icoulddeandthatyoubegivenanapologytoorrow.”

“betternot.itwouldjustturnintoalong,drawn-outsquabblethatwouldakethesituationworse.”

“soyoudon’tthinkishoulddoanything？”

“itwouldn’tbeanyuse.karlanwouldkickupafussandintheworstcaseyou’dbepaintedasavillainwho,inhiscapacityasowner,istryingtostaponthefreedoofexpression.”

“pardone,mikael,butidon’tagreewithyou.asaatteroffact,ialsohavetherighttoexpressyopinion.myviewisthatthisarticlestinks—andiintendtoakeyownpointofviewclear.howeverreluctantly,i’henrik’sreplaceentonmillenniu’sboard,andinthatroleianotgoingtoletanoffensivearticlelikethisonepassunchallenged.”

“fairenough.”

“soi’goingtodeandtherighttorespond.andifiakekarlanlooklikeanidiot,hehasonlyhiselftoblae.”

“youustdowhatyoubelieveisright.”

“fore,it’salsoiportantthatyouabsolutelyunderstandthatihavenothingwhatsoevertodowiththisvitriolicattack.”

“ibelieveyou,”blokvistsaid.

“besides—ididn’treallywanttobringthisupnow,butthisjustservestoillustratewhatwe’vealreadydiscussed.it’siportanttore-installyouonmillenniu’seditorialboardsothatwecanshowaunitedfronttotheworld.aslongasyou’reaway,thegossipwillcontinue.ibelieveinmillenniu,andi’convincedthatwecanwinthisfighttogether.”

“iseeyourpoint,butnowit’syturntodisagreewithyou.ican’tbreakycontractwithhenrik,andthefactisthatiwouldn’twanttobreakit.yousee,ireallylikehi.andthisthingwithharriet…”

“yes？”

“iknowit’sarunningsoreforyouandirealisethathenrikhasbeenobsessedwithitforanyyears.”

“justbetweenthetwoofus—idolovehenrikandheisyentor—butwhenitestoharriet,he’salostoffhisrocker.”