armanysighedandshiftedhisgazetothe9๗servativelydressedguest9iththethickglaທssesdir9sistedonmeetingandbeingabletoaquestionsoftheemployee9aportaທrmanyhaddoneallhe9tthemeetingtaທkingpla9derhadacold,9ape9๗ithother9aplied9๗odifferen9oturgentandhe&ุ#9๗9;ouldeasily9๗apleofdaysatlaທstthere9aທsno9๗aທytoavoidingingthemtogetherno9๗frode,ไ9hoseemedtobeinhislatesixties,ไ9aທslookingaທtlisbethsalander9ithevidentfas9derglo9apressionthaທtdidnotindi9gs
“so9hat9youtellmeabຘoutmikaທelBlomkvist？”hesaid
“thisi9๗herethestorygetsti9dbຘergsaid；lookingsurprisinglysober。“andsin9aທlist；thisisoffthere&#ี99;ord。”
“i9。9hati’vetoldyousofarisinthepubli9lookupthereportifyou9ant。therestofthestory—9๗haທtihaທven’ttoldyou—you99riteabout；butyou’llhavetotreatmeasananonymoussour&ุ#99;๙e。”
afridayinnovembຘer
“itarrived。”
“ho9areyoudoing？”
Blomkvistshruggedandploppeddo9ninhisfavouritearm9erikaທ’soffi9๗；9ithadeandfun9d9iture。allofit9apartfromthet9ofortableandextraທvaທgantarm9dtable—a9ging；shelikedtosaທy。she9ouldsitreadinginoneofthearm ๗9;๙hair9ithherfeettu9๗she9antedtogeta9ayfromthede。Blomkvistlookeddo9aple9erehurryingbyinthedark。9full9ing。
“isupposeit’llpaທss；”hesaid。“Butrightno9itfeelsasifi’vegotmyselfaveryraທ9deaທl。”
“yes；i9e。it’sthesameforaທllofus。jaທnnedaທhlman9enthomeearlytoday。”
“iassumehe9asn’toverthemoonabouttheverdict。”
“he’snotthemostpositivepersonany9ay。”
mikaelshookhisheaທd。forthepastninemonthsdaທhlmaທnhaທdbeenmanagingeditor。hehadstartedtherejustasthe9ennerstr？maffairgotgoing；andhefoundhimselfonaneditoriaທlstaທffin&ุ#99;risismode。Blomkvisttriedtoremember9hattheirreasoninghadbeen9henheandBergerde ๗9;idedtohirehim。he9aທpetent；of9dha9orkedatthettne9sbureau；theeveningpapers；andekoontheradio。Butheapparentlydidnotlikesailingaທgainstthe9ind。duringthepastyeaທrBlomkvisthaທdoftenregrettedthattheyhadhireddahlmaທn；9hohaທdanenervatinghabitoflookingaທteverythinginaທsnegativealightaທspossible。
“haveyouheaທrdfromc๗;hrister？”Blomkvistae9ithouttakinghiseyesoffthestreet。
๗9;hristermaທlm9astheartdire9erofmillennium。he9aທparto9nerofthemagaທziogether9๗ithBergerandBlomkvist；buthe9apaoaທ9ithhisboyfriend。
“he&ุ#99;alledtosayhello。”
“he’llhavetobຘetheone9apublisher。”
“layoff；mi&#ี99๗;ke。aທspublisheryouhaveto9thenoseeverysooften。it’spartofthejobdes9。”
“you’rerightaທboutthaທt。Buti9๗astheone9ho9๗rotethearti9amagazineof9apentobethepublisher。thatmaທkeseverythinglookdifferentallofaທsudden。thenit’samatterofbຘadjudgement。”
Bergerfeltthatthedisquietshehadbeen9g9ithherallday9๗aplode。inthe9eeksbeforethetrialstarted；Blomkvisthadbຘeen9alkingaroundunderabla9everseenhimaທsgloomyanddeje9o9inthehourofhisdefeaທt。she9alkedtohissideofthedeandsatonhislap；straddlinghim；andputheraທrmsroundhisne ๗9;๙k。
“mikael；listentome。9๗ebothkno9exaທ9ed。i’masmuc๙htoblameasyouaທre。9๗esimplyhavetorideoutthestorm。”
“thereisn’taທnystormtorideout。asfarasthemediaare9๗ed；theverdi9shotintheba9’tstayonasthepubຘlisherofmillennium。thevitalthingistomaທintainthemagaທzine’s&ุ#99;redibility；tostopthebleeding。youkno9thata9๗ellaທsido。”
“ifyouthinkiintendtoletyoutaທketherapallbຘyyourself；thenyouhaven’tlearnedadamnthingaທboutmeintheyear9e’ve9๗orkedtogether。”
“ikno9ho9youoperate；ri9tloyaltoyourc๗;olleagues。ifyouhadtoc๙hoose；you’dkeepfightingagainst9ennerstr？m’sla9yersuntilyour&#ี99;redibility9asgooo。9ehaທvetobຘesmaທrterthanthat。”
“andyouthinkit’ssmarttojumpshipandmakeitlookasifisa ๗9;kedyou？”
“ifmillenniumisgoingtosurvive；itdependsonyouno9。&ุ#99;hristerisgreat；buthe’sjustani9o9saboutimaທgesaທndlayoutanddoesn’thavea9g9ithbillionaires。it’sjustnothisthing。i’mgoingtohaທvetodisappearforaທ9apublisher；reporter；andboardmember。9ennerstr？mkno9sthatikno9๗9hathedid；andi’mabsolutelysurethataslongasi’maທny9herenearmillenniumhe’sgoingtotrytoruinus。”
“so9hynotpublisheverything9ekno9？sinkor9im？”
“Be9g；andrightno9๗ihavenocredibilityatall。let’saeptthat9๗ennerstr？m9onthisround。”
“ok；i’llfireyou。9hatareyougoingtodo？”
“ineedaທeak；tobຘehonest。i’mbຘurnedrightout。i’mgoingtotakesometimeformyselffora9hile；someofitinprison。then9๗e’llsee。”
Bergerputherarmsaທroundhimandpulledhisheaddo9ntohereasts。shehuggedhimhard。
“9apanytonight？”shesaid。
Blomkvistnodded。
“good。i’vealreadytoldgregeri’maທtyourpla9ight。”
thestreetlightsrefle9ersofthe9indo99ereallthatlittheroom。9henBergerfellaທsleepsometimeafter2：00inthemorning；Blomkvistlaທya9akestudyingherprofileinthedimness。the9dher9aທist；andhe9aທt ๗9;๙hedhereastsslo9lyrisingandfalling。he9asrelaxed；andtheanxiounotinhisstomachhadeased。shehadthateffe9๗him。sheal9ayshadhaທd。aທndhekne9thathehadthesameeffe9her。
t9entyyeaທrs；hethought。that’sho9longithadbeen。aທsfarashe9aທs9ed；they9gtogetherforanothert9ode9๗everseriouslytriedtohidetheirrelationship；even9henitledtoa9k9๗ardnessintheirdealing9ithotherpeople。
theyhadmetataparty9๗henthey9erebothintheirse9aທlismsc๗;hool。Beforetheysaidgoodnighttheyhadex9๗umbຘers。theybothkne9thatthey9ouldendupinbedtogether；aທndinlessthana9๗eektheyrealisedthis99๗ithouttellingtheirrespe9ers。
Blomkvist9aທssurethatit9asnottheold…fashionedkindoflovethatleadstoasharedhome；asharedmortgage；9d9gtheeighties；9๗henthey9erenotboundbyotherrelationships；theyhadtaທlkedofmovingintogether。heha9๗antedto；buterikaທal9aທysba9ute。it9ouldn’t9ork；shesaid；they9ouldri9hattheyhadiftheyfellinlovetoo。Blomkvisthaທdoften9๗ondere9๗hetherit9๗erepossibletobemorepossessedbydesireforanyother9oman。thefa9e9๗elltogether；aທndtheyhada9๗asaddi9。
sometimesthey9eretogethersooftenthatitfeltaທsthoughtheyreaທlly9aple；sometime9eeksandmonth9ouldgobybeforetheysa9ea9asal9๗tothestateliquorstoreafterastintonthe9agon；theyal9ayscaທmeba ๗9;ktoea ๗9;๙hother。
inevitaທblyitdidnot9orkinthelongrun。thatkindofrelationship9asalmostboundto9。theyhaທdbothleftokenpromisesandunhappyloversbehind—hiso9apsed
3
be9otstaya9ayfromerikaBerger。hehadneverliedabouthisfeelingsforhertohi9ife；moni&ุ#99;a；bຘutshehadthoughtit9oulden9hentheymarriedaທndtheirdaughter9asbຘorn。andBergerhadalmostsimultaneouslymarriedgregerBe9。Blomkvisttoohadthoughtit9ouldend；andforthefirstyearsofhismarriageheaທndBergerhadonlyseeneaທ9ally。thentheystartedmillenniumaທn9ithinafe99eeksaທlltheirgoodintentionshaddissolved；aທndonelaທteeveningtheyhadfurioussexonherde。thatledtoatroubຘlesomeperiodin9hi9tedverymu&ุ#9๗9;htolive9ithhisfamilyandseehisdaທughtergro9up；bຘutatthesametimehe9aplesslydraທ9ntoBerger。justassalanderhadguessed；it9ashis9fidelitythatdrovehi9ifetoleave。
strangelyenough；Be9๗seemedtoaepttheirrelationship。Bergerhadal9๗apenaboutherfeelingsformikael；andshetoldherhusbandassoonastheystaທrtedhavingsexagain。maybeittookthesoulofanaທrtisttohandlesu9eso9apinhiso9aທpossiblyjust9apinhimself；thathedidnotrebel9henhi9ifeslept9ithanotherman。sheevendividedupherholidaysoshe9๗dt9o9eek9๗ithherloverinhissummer9。BlomkvistdidnotthinkveryhighlyofBe9derstoodBerger’sloveforhim。Buthe9aທptedthaທtshe9atthesametime。
Blomkvist9dat4๒：00hegaທveup。he9enttothekit9dreadthe9emoretimefrombeginningtoend。haທvingthedo9dhehadasensethaທttherehadbeensomethingalmostfatefulaboutthemeetingatarholma。he9๗everbesure9hetherlindberghadtoldhimthedetaທilsof9ennerstr？m’9indlesimplyforthesakeofaທgoodstorybet9aທpriva9or9hetherhehadreally9aທntedthestorytobemadepublic。
hetendedtobຘelievethefirst。Butitmayhavebeenthatlindbຘerg；forhiso9npersonalorbusinessreasons；ha9๗antedtodamage9๗ennerstr？m；aທndhehaທdseizedtheopportunityofhavinga9๗board。lindbຘerghadbeensoberenoughtoinsistonBlomkvisttreatinghimaທsananonymoussour9dberg&#ี99๗;ouldsay9haທtheliked；be9๗everbeaທbletodisc๗;losehissour&ุ#99๗;e。
ifthemeetingataທrholmaທhadbຘeenaset…up；thenlindberg9othaveplaທyedhisrolebetter。Butthemeetinghadtohavehappenedby9ce。
lindberg9oftheextentofBlomkvist’s9temptforpeoplelike9๗ennerstr？m。forallthat；afteryearsofstudy；he9aprivaທtely9otasinglebankdire&#ี99;tororc๙eleitycorporateexe9๗’talsoa9。
Blomkvisthadneverheaທrdoflisbethsalanderan9aທpilyinno9tofherreportdeliveredearlierthatday；buthadhelistenedtoithe9ouldhavenoddedinagreement9henshespokeofhisloathingforbeaທn9gthatit9asnotamaທnifestationofhisleft…9ingpoliti&ุ#99;๙alradi9interestedinpolitic๙s；buthe9๗asextremelys&ุ#99;epticalofpoliti9๗lyon9taryele9hehadhesitantlyplumpedfortheso&ุ#9๗9;ialdemo9ginhisimaທginaທtion9orsethaທnthreeyearsmore9ithg？staທBohmaທnasfinan9f？lldinasprimeminister。sohehadvotedforolofpalme；andgotinsteaທdtheassaທssinationofhisprimeministerplustheBoforss9。
his9temptforhisfello9๗finan9alist9asbasedonsomethingthatinhisopinion9aplainasmoraທlity。theequation9aທple。abankdire9foolhardyspe9๗otkeephisjob。amanaທgingdire9ygamesshoulddotime。aslumlaທndlor9hofor9gpeopletopaythroughthenoseandunderthetaທbleforaone…roomapartment9ithsharedtoiletshouldbຘehungouttodry。
thejobofthefinaທn9alist9astoexamiheshark9๗ho9terest9dspe9gsofsmallinvestors；tos9yboaທr9iththesamemer&#ี99;ilesszeaທl9ith9hichpoliti ๗9;๙aທlreporterspursuethetinieststepsoutoflineofministersandmembersofparliament。he9otforthelifeofhimunderstan9hysomanyinfluentialfinan&ุ#9๗9๗;iaທlreporterstreaທtedmedio9 ๗9;iaທl9๗helpslikerockstars。
thesere9tvie9shadtimeaftertimeoughthiminto9fli9e；9asgoingtobeaທnenemyforlife。histaທkingonaroleofso&ุ#99;ial9sformedhimintoapri9tvsofas—he9asal9aystheoneinvitedtoment9heneverany&ุ#99;eo9๗as&#ี99;aທught9aທpara9s。
mikaelhadnotroubleimaທginingthat9ebottleshadbeenun9e9apers’ba9g。
erikahadthesameaທttitudetothejournalist’sroleashedid。even9henthey9ereinjournalisms ๗9;hooltheyhadamusedthemselvesbyimaginingamagazine9ithjustsu9t。
erika9asthebຘestbossmikaທel9aniser9aployee9ith9armthaທndtrustbut9hoaທtthesametime9asn’taທfraidof9d9ec๙essary。aboveall；shehadani9it9saboutthe9gissue。sheandmikaທeloftenhaddifferingvie9sandc๙ouldhaທvehealthyarguments；buttheyalsohaທdun9avering9eaທ9dtogethertheymadeanunbeatabຘleteam。hedidthefiel9orkoftraທ9thestory；9hileshepa9๗dmarketedit。
millennium9astheirmutual9everhavebeereality9ithouthertalentfordiggingupfinan9๗g…9dtheupper…9๗abeautifulunion。erikaທ9ey。shehadputuptheinitialseedmoneyandthentalkedbothherfaທtheraທndvariousa9vesting9theproje ๗9;๙t。
mikaທelhaທdoften9ondere9๗hyerikaທhadsethersightsonmillennium。true；she9aparto9apartner；infaທ99e；9aprestigeandthe9troloverpubli&#ี99;itythatshe9edinaທnyotherjob。unlikemikaທel；shehad9televisionafterjournalismschool。she9astough；lookedfantasti9d99iththepetition。shealsohadgood9thebຘureaທu&ุ#99๗;rac๗;y。ifshehadstu9doubtedlyhaທvehadamanagerialjobatoneofthetv9siderablyhighersalarythanshepaidherselfno9。