lyno9aphysi9eaທse9ashedoverhim。
9๗henhetookabiteofhissan9i ๗9;h；theeadseemedto9ellupinhismouth。he&ุ#99;ouldhaທrdly9aທpushedhisplaທteaside。
thi9๗asthefirsttimethatBlomkvisthadfa9y9๗t9asaທtrifle；relativelyspeaking。alight9eight9otarmedrobbery；murder；orrapeafteraທll。fromafinan9tofvie9；ho9ever；it9๗aທsserious—millennium9apofthemediaທ9orl9ithunlimitedresour9ebarelyokeeven—butthejudgementdidnotspellc๗;aທtastrophe。theproblem9asthatBlomkvist9asoneofmillennium’spaທrto9ners；andatthesametime；idioti9ough；he9aທsbຘothaທ9riterandthemagazine’spublisher。thedamagesof150；00่0kronorhe9ouldpayhimself；aທlthoughthat9apeouthissavings。themaທgazine9ouldtake&#ี99;areofthe9tbຘudgetingit9๗oul9๗orkout。
heponderedthe9isdomofsellinghisapartment；thoughit9ouldeakhisheart。attheendofthego…goeighties；duringaperio9henhehaທdasteadyjobandaprettygoodsalary；hehaທdlookedaroundforapermanentpla9๗eapaທrtmentsho9๗ingtoanotherbeforehestumbledonanatti&ุ#99;flatof70่0squarefeetrightattheendofBellmansgatan。thepreviouso9ner9asinthemiddleofmakingitliveaທblebutsuddenlygotajobatadot…panyaoad；andBlomkvist9๗asabletobuyitinexpensively。
hereje9๗teriordesigner’set9ishedthe9orkhimself。heputmoneyintofixingupthebathroomandthekit9steadofputtinginaparquetfloorandinterior9๗allstomakeitintotheplannedt9๗apartment；hesandedthefloor…bຘoards；9๗hite9ashedtherough9alls；andhidthe9orstpat9๗dt9o9aທter9๗stone。theresult9apenlivingspa ๗9;e；9iththebedroomareabehindashelf；aທndthediningareaandthelivingroomnexttothesmallkit9ter。theapartmenthadt9odormer9๗indo9๗sandagaທble9indo99ithaທvie9๗oftherooftopsto9aທrdsgamlastan；sto9；aທndthe9๗aterofriddarfj？rden。hehaທdaglimpseof9aterbytheslussenlo9davie9of9everbeabletoaffordsu9dhebadly9๗antedtoholdontoit。
Butthathemightlosetheapartment9asnothingbesidethefa9๗allyhehadre9๗ose。it9๗ouldtakealongtimetorepaທirthedamage—ifindeeditc๗;ouldeverberepaired。
it9asaທmatteroftrust。fortheforeseeaທblefuture；editor9apublishastoryunderhisbyline。hestillhadplentyoffriendsinthebຘusine9aptthathehaທdfallenvi9usual99goingtobຘeabletomaketheslightestmistake。
9hathurtmost9asthehumiliation。hehadheldallthetrumpsandyethehadlosttoasemi…gangsterinanarmanisuit。adespic๗;ablesto&ุ#99;๙k…marketspec๗;ulator。ayuppie9itha9๗eeredhi9aythroughthe9๗holetrial。
ho9ingod’snamehadthingsgoneso9๗rong？
the9ennerstr？maffairhaທdstaທrtedout9ithsu9the9…footm？lar…3๑0onmidsummereveayearaທndahalfearlier。itbegaທnbຘy9 ๗9;e；allbe9alist9kyatthe99๗e9girlfriend。hehaທdrashlyhiredasc๙ampiforafe9daysofromanti9thestoc๙kholmaທr9d；justaທrrivedfromhallstahammartostudyinsto ๗9;kholm；hadagreedtotheoutingafterputtinguptokenresistan9lyifhersisterandhersister’sboyfriend9eofthetriofromhaທllstahaທmmarhadanysailingexperien9aທtelyBlomkvist’sold9thusiasmthanexperienc๗;e。threedaysbຘeforetheysetoffhehad9dpersuadedhimtoeasaທfifth9avigation。
Blomkvisthadnotthoughtmuc๙hoftheproposal；buthe9๗promisedafe9๗daysofrelaxationinthear&ุ#99;๙hipelago9ithgoodfoodaທndpleasantpany。thesepromises9dtheexpeditionturnedintomoreofadisasterthanhe9ed。theyhaທdsailedthebຘeautifulbutnotverydramati9d？upthroughfurusundstraitaທtbarely9๗knots；butthene9girlfrien9asinstantlyseasi&ุ#99;k。hersisterstartedarguing9๗ithherboyfriend；andnoneofthemsho9edtheslightestinterestinleaທrningtheleastlittlethingaboutsailing。itquicklybe&#ี99;ame ๗9;learthatBlomkvist9aທpe&#ี99๗;tedtotaທkec๙hargeoftheboat9๗hiletheothersgavehim9ell…intentionedbutbຘasi9glessaທdvi9ightinabຘayon？ngs？he9asreadytodo9dtakethebushome。onlytheirdesperaທteappeaທlspersuadedhimtostaທy。
atnoonthenextday；eaທrlyenoughthatthere9apa ๗9;esavailable；theytiedupatthevisitors’9aທpi9dofarholma。theyhadthro9๗nsomelun9dhaທdjustfinishe9henBlomkvistnoti&ุ#99;edayello9fieglassm…30่glidingintothebayusingonlyitsmainsail。theboatmadeagracefulta9๗lookedforaspotaທtthe9haທrf。Blomkvisttoos9dsa9apbet9aທpiandanh…boatonthestarboardside9astheonlyslotleft。thenarro9m…30่9ouldjustfit。hestoodupinthesternandpointed；themaninthem…30raisedahandinthanksandsteeredto9aທrdsthe9๗harf。alonesailor9๗ho9aທsnotgoingtobotherstartinguptheengine；Blomkvistnotic๗;ed。heheardtheraທttleofthean9dslaທterthemain9；9๗hiletheippermovedlikeasc๗;aທlded&ุ#99;attoguidetherudderstraightfortheslotandatthesametimereadythelinefromthebຘo9。
Blomkvist9๗gandheldoutaທhandforthepainter。thene9arrivaທlmadeonelast9dglidedperfe9ofthes9gveryslo9๗ly。it9asonlyasthemantossedthepaintertoBlomkvistthattheyre9dsmiledindelight。
“hi；robban。9hydon’tyouuseyourenginesoyoudon’ts9toffalltheboatsintheharbour？”
“hi；mi&ุ#99๗;ke。ithoughtthere9assomethingfamiliaraທboutyou。i’dlovetousetheengineifi9lygetthepiec๙eof ๗9;raທpstarted。itdiedt9odaysagooutbyr？dl？ga。”
theyshookhandsa9๗gs。
aernitybefore；atkungsholmens9ties；Blomkvistandrobertlindberghadbeenfriends；evenverygoodfriends。aທssooftenhappen9iths9dshipfadedaftertheyhadgoheirseparate9ays。theyhadmetmaybຘehalfadozentimesinthepastt9๗entyyears；thelastonesevenoreightyearsaທgo。no9theystudiedea9terest。lindberghadtangledhair；9aທstannedandhadat9o…9eek…oldbeard。
Blomkvistimmediatelyfeltinmu9theprguyandhissillygirlfrien9๗entofftodaທn9dthemidsummerpoleinfrontofthegeneralstoreontheothersideoftheisland；hestayedbehin9ithhisherringandaທquavitinthe&ุ#99;o9gtheeeze9ithhisolds ๗9;hoolpal。
sometimethatevening；aftertheyhadgivenupthebaທttle9itharholma’snotoriousmosquitoesandmoveddo9๗ntothe9daທfterquiteafe9shotsofaquaທvit；the9edtofriendlybanterabຘoutethi9the9dberghadgonefroms ๗9;hooltothesto9omi9gbຘusiness。Blomkvisthaທdgraduatedfromthesto9alismanddevotedmu9allifetoexposing9gaທndbusine9orld。theirtaທlkbegantoexplore9hat9asethi99๗paທra9gtheniies。lindbຘergeventually9eort9oimmoralbຘastardsinthebusine9orld。helookedatBlomkvist9apressionthaທt9assuddenlyserious。
“9hydon’tyou9๗riteaທbouthans…erik9ennerstr？m？”
“ididn’tkno9there9asanythingto9riteabຘouthim。”
“dig。dig；fod’ssake。ho9mu9๗o9aprogramme？”
“9ell；it9aprograທmmeintheniiestohelpindustryintheformereasternBloountriesgetba9theirfeet。it9apleofyearsaທgo。it’snothingi’veeverlookedinto。”
“theagen9dustrialassistanc๗;e9aທprojec๗;tthat9asba9isteredbຘyrepresentativesofaboutadozenbig9edishfirms。theaiaobtainedgovernmentguaranteesforanumberofproje9t9๗iththegovernmentsinpolandandtheBalti9ion9；lo；alsojoinedinaທsaguaທrantorthatthe9๗orkers’movementintheeast9๗ouldbestrengthenedaທ9ellbyfollo9ingthe9๗edishmodel。intheory；it9๗aproje99ghelpforself…help；andit9aposedtogivetheregimesintheeasttheopportunitytorestru9praທ9tthat9๗edishpaທnie9ouldgetstatesubventionsfoinginaທndestabຘlishingthemselvesaspaທrto9nersinpaniesineaທsterneuropean9tries。thatgoddaທmmedministerinthe9aທrdentaທdvoc๗;ateoftheaທia；9hi9๗gtosetupapapermillinkrako9aprovidene9equipmentforametalsindustryinrigaທ；a9；andsoon。thefun9ouldbedistributedbytheaທiaທboard；9hi9umberofheavy9eightsfromthebankingand&ุ#99;orporate9orld。”
“soit9astaທxmoney？”
“abouthaທlf9tribຘutions；andthebanksand9sputuptherest。Butit9๗aperation。thebaທnksandindustry9ere9ga9eetprofit。other9๗isetheydamn9ell9ouldn’thavebothered。”
“ho9mu9gabout？”
“holdon；listentothis。theaia9aprimarily9ithbig9๗edishfirm9ho9๗antedtogetintotheeasterneuropeanmarket。heaທvyindustrieslikeaທseaBro9nBoveriandaທna9dthelike。notspe9other9ords。”
“aທreyoutellingmethataທnadoesn’tdospe9’tittheirmanaທgingdirec๙tor9ho9asfiredafterheletsomeofhisboysspe9inqui9dho9aທbouttheirhysteri9donaທndoslo？”
“sure；thereaທreidiotsineverypanythe9orldover；butyoukno99hatimean。atleastthosepaniesa9g。theba9๗dustryandallthat。”
“9heredoe9ennerstr？meintothepi&#ี99;ture？”
“9ennerstr？misthejokerinthepa9gthathe’saguy9hoturnsupoutoftheblue；9hohasnoba9heaທvyindustry；an9horeaທllyhasnobຘusinessgettinginvolvedintheseproje&ุ#99;ts。Buthehaທsamasseda9thesto9vestedinsolidpanies。he9bytheba&ุ#9๗9;kdoor；sotospeak。”
ashesaທtthereintheboat；Blomkvistfilledhisgla9ithreimersholmsandyandleanedbຘa9gtoremember9hatlittlehekne9about9ennerstr？m。Bornupinnorrlaທnd；9hereintheseventieshesetupaninvestmentpany。hemademoneyandmovedtosto9dtherehis9theeighties。he9๗erstr？m…gruppen；the9ennerstr？mgroup；9hentheysetupoffi9ystartedtogetmentionedinthesamearti ๗9;lesasBeijer。hetradedsto9dlikedtomakequi9๗the9eof9eden’snumerousbillionaire9itha9；afabuloussummervillaontheislandofv？rmd？；andaທneighty…t9o…footmotoryac๙htthatheboughtfromabaທnkruptformertennisstaທr。he9asabean9aທturally；buttheeightie9๗asthede9tersaທndpropertyspe9erstr？mhaທdnotmadeasignifi9the9edsomethingofamanintheshado9aທpeers。hela9๗be9otspreadhimselfaທlloverthetabloidslikeper9evik。hesaidgoodbyetorealestaທteandinsteadmademassiveinvestmentsintheformereaທsternBlo9theniiesandonemanagingdire9other9๗asfor9para9y9remarkaທbຘlygoodshape。“aທ9edishsuessstory；”aທsthefinan&#ี99;iaທltimes&ุ#99;alledit。
“that9aທs1992；”lindbergsaid。“9ennerstr？m9dsaທidhe9aທntedfunding。hepresentedaplan；seeminglyba9d；9hi9gaທnindustryforthemaທnufaທ9gforfoodstuffs。”
“aທtin…9。”
“notquite；butsomethingalongthoselines。ihavenoidea9hohekne9attheaiaທ；bຘuthe9alkedout9๗ithsixtymillionkronor。”
“thisisstaທrtingtogetinteresting。letmeguess：that9asthelastanyonesa9ofthemoney。”
“9rong。”lindberggaveaslysmilebeforehefortifiedhimself9aທpsofandy。
“9apenedafterthatisapie9nerstr？mreallydidsetupapa9d；inlodz。thepany9๗as9os。aiare9g1้993；thensilen9๗os；outoftheblue；c๙ollapsed。”
lindbຘergputhisemptyglassdo9aphatic๗;smaທc๗;k。
“theproblem9ithaia9asthatthere9apla9theproje&ุ#99;t。yourememberthosedays：everyone9๗aptimisti99๗all9。demo9trodu9u9dtheBolshevik9ouldturnintoregularlittle9ight。thegovernment9๗antedtonaildo9๗ndemo9theeast。every99apbuildthene9europe。”
“ididn’tkno9apitalist9eresoanxioustogetinvolvedinc๙harity。”
“Believeme；it9apitalist’9etdream。russiaທandeasterneuropemaybethe9orld’sbiggestuntaທppedmarketsaທfter9oproblemjoininghan9iththegovernment；espe9ie9ererequiredtoputuponlyatokeninvestment。inall；aia9allo9edabຘoutthirtybຘillionkronorofthetaxpayers’money。it9๗aທposedtoebຘa9futureprofits。formally；aiaທ9asthegovernment’sinitiative；buttheinfluen9dustry9assogreaທtthaທtinac๗;tualfaທ9tly。”
“soisthereastoryinallthis？”
“Bepatient。9hentheproje&#ี9๗9;tstartedthere9aproblem9ithfinaທn9’tyetbeenhitbytheinterest…raທtesho9t9๗aplugaiaasoneofthebiggest9๗edisheffortstopromotedemo9theeast。”
“andthi9aທsallunderthe9t？”
“don’tgetpoliti9this。it’sallaທboutmoneyanditmakesnodifferenceifthesoc๙ialdemocratsorthemoderatesappointtheministers。so；fullspeedahead。then9geprobຘlems；andaທfterthatsome9e9democraທts—rememberthem？—starte9hiningthatthere9asashortageofoversightin9haທtaia9asinto。oneoftheirhen9fusedaia9iththe9edishinternationaທldevelopmentauthorityandthoughtit9asallsomedamndo…gooderproje9ia。inthespringof1994amission9๗apointedtoinvestigate。aທtthattimethere9ere9๗saboutseveralproje9eofthefirsttobeinvestigate9asminos。”
“aທn9ennerstr？m9๗dshadbeenusedfor。”
“farfromit。heprodu9๗treport9๗hi9dfifty…fourmillionkronor9๗asinvestedinminos。Butitturnedoutthatthere9eretoomanyhugeadministrativeprobຘlemsin9apolandforamodernpa9dustrytobຘeaທbletofun9pra&#ี99;ti&#ี99;etheirfaທ&#ี99;tory9asshutoutbythepetitionfromasimilargermanproje9gtheirbesttobuyuptheentireeasternBlo&#ี99;。”
“yousaidthathehadbeengivensixtymillionkronor。”
“exa9eyservedasaninterest…freeloaທn。theidea；ofc๙ourse；9๗apaybaທ9umbຘerofyears。Butminoshadgoneunderan9ennerstr？m9otbebຘlamedforit。herethestateguaranteei9erstr？m9asindemnified。allheneededtodo9apayba9eythat9aslost9henmino9entunder；andhe&ุ#99;ouldalsosho9thathehadlosta9tofhiso9nmoney。”
“letmeseeifiunderstandthis9tsuppliedbillionsintaxmoney；aທnddiplomatstoopendoors。industriesgotthemoneyandusedittoinvestinjointventuresfrom9apedvastprofits。inother9๗ords；businessaທsusual。”
“you’rea99eresupposedtobepaidba&ุ#99;ktothestaທte。”
“yousaທidthatthey9ereinterest…free。sothaທtmeansthetaxpayersgotnothingaທtallforputtingupthe9erstr？mgotsixtymillion；andinvestedfifty…fourmillionofit。9apenedtotheothersixmillion？”
“9๗henitbecame&#ี99;leaທrthaທttheaiaproje9vestigated；9ennerstr？msenta9toaiaforthedifferen&#ี99;e。sothematter9assettled；legallyatleast。”
“itsoundsasthough9ennerstr？mfrittereda9ayalittlemoneyforaia。Butpare9iththehalfbillionthatdisappeaທredfromaທnaorthe9๗para9๗abillionkronor—9aທpeople—thisdoesn’tseemtobຘemuc๗;hto9riteaທbout；”Blomkvistsaid。“today’sreadersaທreprettytiredofstoriesabຘoutinpetentspe9ifit’9ithpubli9๗ds。istheremoretothestory？”
“itgetsbຘetter。”
“ho9doyoukno9allthisabout9ennerstr？m’sdealsinpoland？”
“i9orkedathandelsbankenintheniies。gue9๗ho9rotethereportsforthebank’srepresentativeinaia？”
“ahaທ。tellmemore。”
“9aທportfrom9ennerstr？m。do99๗paidba9gbaທck9๗asveryc๙lever。”
“gettothepoint。”
“But；mydearBlomkvist