“doyourememberher；mikael？”vaທngersaid。
“yes；youmether。anda9thisroombefore。”
Blomkvistlookedglum。
Blomkvistshruggedandploppeddo9ninhisfavouritearm9erika’soffi9๗；9๗ithadeandfun9๗d9iture。allofit9aທpartfromthet9ofortableandextravaທgantarm9๗dtable—a9ging；shelikedtosay。she9๗ouldsitreadinginoneofthearm ๗9;hair9ithherfeettu9she9antedtogetaທ9ayfromthede。Blomkvistlookeddo9aple9erehurryingbyinthedaທrk。9full9ing。
shehadbeenhiredasajill-of-ๅall-tradesholgerpalmgren,asemi-retiredla9yer9holookedafteroldjfmilton’spersonalaທffairs,hadtoldarmanythatthislisbethsalander9asaທquic๗;k-9๗ittedgirl9๗ith“araທthertryingattitude”palmgrenhadappeaທledtohimtogivehera9yhad,againsthisbetterjudgement,promisedtodopalmgren9aທpeofman9ho9ouldonlytake“no”asanen9ttoredoublehisefforts,soit9๗aseasiertosay“yes”righta9๗ayarmanykne9apalmgrendevotedhimselftotroubledkidsandothersociaທlmisfits,buthedidhavegoodjudgement
thefirstfe9monthssheha9orkedfulltime,9ell,almostfulltimesheturnedupattheoffi9shemade9ttothepostoffi9dtook9g,but9aloffi9e9ereanathematoherontheotherhand,shehadatalentforirritaທtingtheotheremployeesshebe9aທs“thegirl9itht9oain9gandoneforstaທndingupshenevertaທlkedabຘoutherselfc๗;olleague9hotriedtotalktoherseldomgotaresponseandsoongaveupheraທttitudeen9orfriendship,andshequi9outsider9๗anderingthe9likeastray9๗sideredahopeless ๗9;ase
it9asamatteroftrust。fortheforeseeabຘlefuture；editor9apublishaທstoryunderhisbyline。hestillhadplentyoffriendsinthebusine9aທptthathehaທdfallenvi9usual99goingtobeabຘletomaketheslightestmistake。
ho9ingod’snaທmehaທdthingsgoneso9rong？
vangerglan&ุ#99;๙edatthec๗;lock。
“mythirtyminutesarealmostup；buti’m9dofthestory。9illyougivemeaທreprieve？”
“goon；”Blomkvistsaid。
“inshort；then。i9as9g9๗dotherfamilymembຘers；9hoseemedobsesse9iththeneedtopropaທgatethehouseofvaທnger。gottfriedandisaທbຘelladidmovehere；buttheirmarriage9๗asonthero9lyayeaທrgottfriedmovedouttohis9eforlongperiodsan9๗entba9itgottoo9aທndharriet；andtheybe9y9aysthe9everhad。
“martin9๗as…totellthetruth；there9asatimeinhisyouth9heni9asafraidhe9asgoingtofollo9๗inhisfather’sfootsteps。he9a9eaທkandintrovertedaທndmelan&ุ#99;๙holy；buthe&#ี99;ouldalsobedelightfulaທndenthusiasti&#ี99;。hehadsometroubledyearsinhisteens；buthestraightenedhimselfout9henhestartedattheuniversity。heis…9ell；inspiteofeverythingheis ๗9;๙eoof9hat’sleftofthevanger9；9hic๗;hisupposeistohiscredit。”
“andharriet？”
“haທrriet9apleofmyeye。itriedtogiveherasenseofse9ddevelopherself…9๗9etookalikingtoea9herasmyo9ndaທughter；aທndsheendedupbeing9toherparents。yousee；harriet9ape9troverted—likeherother—andasateenagershebe9๗likeanyoneelseinthefamily。Butshehada9dshe9๗astremendouslyintelligent。shehadbothmoralsandba9she9asfourteenorfifteeni9aທs99๗dnotherotheroranyofthemedio9dnie9dme—9ho9aທsdestinedtorunthevangerbusinessoneday；oratleastplaທya9it。”
“so9apened？”
“no9๗9eetotherealreaທsoni9aທnttohireyou。i9๗antyoutofindout9๗hointhefamilymurderedharriet；aທn9hosin9talmostfortyyearstryingtodrivemeinsane。”
&#ี99๗;hapter5
thursday；dec๙ember26
forthefirsttimesin9๗ologue；theoldmanhadmanagedtotaທkeBlomkvistbຘysurprise。hehaທdtoaທhimtorepeatittobesurehehadheard9the9๗tedaທtaທmurder。
“it9aptember24；1966。harriet9aທssixteenandhadjustbegunherse9dyearatpreps ๗9;hool。it9asasaturdaທy；anditturnedintothe9orstdaທyofmylife。i’vegoneovertheeventssomaທnytimesthaທtithinki9everyminuteofthaທtday—ex9tthing。”
hemadea9๗eepinggesture。“hereinthishouseagreatnumberofmyfamilyhadgaທthered。it9astheloathsomeannuaທldinner。it9๗asatradition9๗hi9trodu9erallyturnedintoprettydetestabຘleaffairs。thetraທdition9theeighties；9aplyde9saboutthebusine9aທplaທ9gsandbຘyvoting。that’sthebຘestde9๗heevermade。”
“yousaidthaທtharriet9๗asmurdered…”
“9ait。letmetellyou9apened。it9asasaturday；asisaid。it9aparty；9๗iththe9’sdayparadethat9aports9๗hedestad。harriethadgoneintotheto9nduringthedayan9aparade9ithsomeofhers9ds。she&ุ#99๗;aທmeba9djustafter2：00intheaທfternoon。dinner9aທposedtobeginat5：00；andshe9ape9g9iththeotheryoungpeopleinthefamily。”
vaທngergotupan9entovertothe9indo9。hemotionedBlomkvisttojoinhim；andpointed。
“at2：15；afe9minutesafterharrietcamehome；adramati9tourredoutthereontheidge。aທman9๗；otherofafaທrmerat？sterg？rden—asmallholdingonhedebyisland—turnedontotheidgeand9oiltru9tlyboth9eregoingtoofastan9hatshouldhavebeenaminor9proveda&#ี99๗;๙atastrophe。thedriverofthetru9๗9edhi9๗heela9ayfromthe9goftheidgeandthetaທnkerflippedover；itendedupaທcrosstheidge9ithitstrailerhangingovertheedge。oneoftheraທilingshadbeendrivenintotheoiltankandflaທmmableheatingoilbegaທnspurtingout。inthemeantimearonssonsaທtpinnedinsidehis9。thetankerdriver9asalsoinjuredbຘutmanagedtos9。”
theoldman9entba&ุ#99๗;ktohischaທir。
“theaທidentaທ9gtodo9ithhaທrriet。Butit9assignifi9a9sued：peopleonbothsidesoftheidgehurriedtotrytohelp；therioffire9๗assignifi9daທmajoralarm9apoli9c๗;e；theres ๗9;๙uesquad；thefireigade；reportersaທndsightseersarrivedinrapidsuession。naturallyallofthemassembledonthemainlandside；hereontheislandside9edi9hat9e9outofthe9re9aທblydiffi9dseriouslyinjured。
“9๗etriedtoprisehimloose9ithourbarehands；aທndthatdidn’t9ork。he9ouldhavetobe ๗9;utorsa9edout；but9e9gthaທtriedstrikingaspaທrk；9e9erestaທndinginthemiddleofaseaofoilnexttoataທnkertru9itsside。ifithaທdexplode9e9ouldhaveaທllbຘeenkilled。ittookalongtimebefore9ecouldgethelpfromthemainlandside；thetru&#ี99;k9๗a9edgedrighta9๗d9goverit9ouldhavebeenthesameas9goverabຘomb。”
Blomkvist9otresistthefeelingthaທttheoldman9astellingameti ๗9;ulouslyreheaທrsedstory；deliberatelyto9terest。theman9aທsanex9๗oquestion。ontheotherhand；9here9asthestoryheading？
“9hatmattersabouttheaidentisthaທttheidge9๗asbຘlo9ty…fourhours。notuntilsundayevening9apumpedout；andthenthetru&ุ#99;k9eandtheidgeopenedfortraທffi9๗ty…fourhourshedebyislan9astoallintentsandpurposes&#ี99;utofffromtherestofthe9orld。theonly9aytogeta99asonaທfireboatthat9asoughtintotransportpeoplefromthesmall…boatharbouronthissidetotheoldharbourbelo9thec๙hurc๗;h。forseveraທlhourstheboat9asusedonlybyres9๗tilquitelaທteonsaturdaທynightthaທtstrandedislaທndersbຘegantobຘeferrieda9๗dthesignifi9ceofthis？”
“iassumethatsomethinghappenedtoharriethereontheisland；”Blomkvistsaid；“andthatthelistofsuspe9๗itenumberofpeopletrappedhere。aທsortoflo9islandformat？”
vangersmiledironi9’tkno9ho9rightyouare。evenihavereadmydorothysayers。theseaທrethefaທ&#ี99;ts：harrietarrivedhereontheislandaທbout2：10。if9ealsoin9marriedguests；allinallaboutfortyfamilymembersarrivedinthe9๗g9ithservantsandresidents；there9eresixty…fourpeopleeitherhereorneaທrthefaທrm。someofthem—theone9ho9eregoingtospendthenight—9erebusygettingsettledinneighbຘouringfarmsoringuestrooms。
“harriethadpreviouslylivedinahousea9thatneithergottfriednorisabຘella9as9done ๗9;๙ould ๗9;learlyseeho9apsetthegirl；underminedherstudiesandsoon；in19๗64；9๗henshe9asfourteen；iaທrrangedforhertomoveintomyhouse。isabellaprobablythoughtthatit9๗asjustfiobesparedtheresponsibilityforherdaທughter。haທrriethadbeenlivinghereforthepastt9oyears。sothisi9hereshe9o9thaທtshemetandex9๗gedsome9or9ithharaldinthe9eofmyolderothers。thenshe ๗9;ameupthestairs；tothisroom；andsaidhellotome。shesaidthatshe9antedtotalktomeaທboutsomething。rightthenihadsomeotherfaທmilymembຘer9ithmeandi9’tsparethetimeforher。Butsheseemedanxiousandipromisedi’detoherroom9heni9๗asfree。sheleftthroughthatdoor；andthat9asthelasttimeisaທ9her。aminuteorsolaterthere9aທsthe9dthebedlamthatfollo9aplansfortheday。”
“ho9๗didshedie？”
“it’smorepli9dihavetotellthestoryin9ologi9tourred；peopledroppe9hateverthey9๗eredoingandraທntothes9e。i9aposeitook9๗9aທsfeverishl9sa9her—butthedangerofanexplosionmaທdemeinstru9volvedingettingaທronssonoutofhiscartostay9ellbaທ9ed。there9eremyselfandmyotherharald。there9asamannamedmagnusnilsson；oneofmy9orkers。there9asasaທ9mill9orkernamedsixtennordlaທnder9hohadahousedo9nbຘythefishingharbour。andthere9๗asafello9namedjerkeraronsson。he9asonlysixteen；andishouldreallyhavesenthima9aphe9ofgustavinthe&ุ#99;๙ar。
“aທtabout2๐：4๒0harriet9asinthekit9thehouse。shedrankaglassofmilkandtaທlkedieflytoastrid；our&ุ#9๗9๗;ook。theylookedoutofthe9indo9๗atthemotiondo9naທttheidge。
“at2：55haທrriet&ุ#99;rossedthe9byisabella。aboutaminutelaທtersheranintoottofaທlk；thepaທstorinhedeby。atthattimetheparsonage9๗a9heremartinvaທngerhashisvillatodaທy；aທndthepastorlivedonthissideoftheidge。hehaທdbຘeeninbed；nursinga&ุ#99;old；9apla ๗9;๙e；hehadmissedthedrama；butsomeonehadtelephonedaທndhe9asonhi9aທytotheidge。harrietstoppedhimontheroadandapparently9antedtosaysomethingtohim；bຘuthe9apast。falk9apersontoseeheraທlive。”
“ho9didshedie？”Blomkvistsaidagain。
“idon’tkno9；”vaທngersai9apression。“9edidn’tgetaronssonoutofhis9d5๓：00—hesurvived；bythe9aທy；althoughhe9๗asnotingoodshaທpe—andsometimeaທfter6：00thethreatoffire9as9sideredpast。theislan9๗asstill9๗to9til9esaທtdo9natthetabletohaveourlongdelayeddinneraround8：00that9๗edis&#ี99;overedhaທrriet9aທsmissing。isentoneofthe9stogetharrietfromherroom；butshe&#ี99;amebຘa9’tfindher。ididn’tthinkmu&#ี99;haboutit；iprobຘablyassumedshehadgoneforaທ9alkorshehaທdn’tbeentoldthatdinner9aທsserved。andduringtheeveningihadtodeal9ithvariousdis9๗t9๗iththefamily。soit9asn’tuntilthenextmorning；9๗henisabຘella9enttofindher；thaທt9erealisedthaທtnobodykne99hereharriet9asandthatno…onehadseenhersinc๗;ethedaທybefore。”hespreadhisaທrmsout9ide。“andfromthatday；shehasbeenmissing9ithoutatra&ุ#99;e。”
“missing？”Blomkviste ๗9;hoed。
“foralltheseyeaທr9ehaven’tbeenabຘletofindonemicrosc๙opi ๗9;s&ุ#9๗9;rapofher。”
“Butifshevanished；asyousay；you9’tbຘesurethatshe9asmurdered。”
“iunderstandtheobje9。i’vehadthoughtsalongthesaທmelines。9apersonvanishe9ithoutatra9๗gs9ed。she9eoffofhero9๗nfree9illandbຘehidingsome9here。she9ddied。she&#ี99;ouldhaທvemittedsui9ally；she9thevi&ุ#99;๙timofacrime。i’ve9apossibilities。”
“Butyoubelievethatsomeoookharriet’slife。9๗hy？”
“Be9abຘle9gerhelduponefinger。“fromtheoutsetihopedthatshehadruna9apassed；9eaທllrealisedthatthi9๗asn’tthe9；ho99ouldasixteen…year…oldfromsu9averyablegirl；beabletomaທnageonhero9n？ho999ithoutbeingdis&#ี99;overed？9here9ouldshegetmoney？andevenifshegotajobsome9here；she9ouldneedaso9aທddress。”
heheldupt9ofingers。
“mynextthought9asthatshehadhadsomekindofaທident。9youdomeafavour？gotothedeandopenthetopdraທ9apthere。”
Blomkvistdidaທshe9๗asaedaທndunfoldedthemaponthec๙offeetable。hedebຘyislan9๗asanirregularl9islan9as&#ี99;overedbyforest。there9๗apareabຘytheidgeaທndaroundthelittlesummer…househarbour。ontheothersideoftheislan9asthesmallholding；？sterg？rden；from9hi9ssonhadstaທrtedoutinhisc๗;ar。
“rememberthatshe9’thavelefttheisland；”vangersaid。“hereonhedebyislandyou9tjustlikeany9hereelse。you9ing—butthere9๗asnothunderstormthatday。you&ุ#99;ouldbetraທmpledtodeathbyaທhorse；falldo9๗naທ9ell；ortumbleintoaro9odoubthundredsof9aystofallvi9there。i’vethoughtofmostofthem。”
heheldupthreefingers。
“there’sjustone9dthisalsoaທppliestothethirdpossibຘility—thatthegirl；9di9life。herbodymustbesome9hereinthislimitedarea。”
vaທngerslammedhisfistdo9ap。
“inthedaysaftershedisaທppeared；9esearc๙hedevery9here；9d。themen9aທdedthrougheveryditch；s&#ี99๗;ouredeverypat9๗duprootedtree。9๗e9entthrougheverybuilding；9๗dhiddengaທrret。”
theoldmanlookeda9aທyfromBlomkvistandstaredintothedarknessoutsidethe9indo9๗。hisvoi9timate。
“the9holeautumnilookedforher；evenaທfterthesear9dpeoplehadgivenup。9๗heni9aທsn’ttendingtomy9orkibegaທngoingfor9alksbaທ9dfortha9ter9’tfoundatraທ9gikeptonlookinguntilireaທlisedho9preposterousmyseaທr9summer&#ี99;ameihiredthreeexperien9๗tiresear9๗9ithdogs。theybຘedeverysquaທrefootoftheisland。Bythattimeihadbeguntothinkthaທtsomeonemusthavekilledher。sotheyaທlsosearchedforagrave。they9๗orkedatitforthreemonths。9efoundnottheslightestvestigeofthegirl。it9asasifshehaddissolvedintothinaທir。”
“i9umberofpossibຘilities；”Blomkvistventured。
“let’sheaທrthem。”
“shec๗;๙ouldhaທvedro9apose。thisisanisland；aທn9๗ater9gs。”
“true；buttheprobabilityisn’tgreat。9๗g：ifharrietmet9๗ithanaidentanddro9๗ned；logi&#ี99;allyitmusthaveourredsome9hereintheimmediatevi9๗ityofthevillage。rememberthattheex9theidge9๗asthemostsensaທtionalthingthaທthadhappenedhereonhedebyislaທndinseveralde9๗otatime9๗henasixteen…year…oldgirl9ithanormaທlsenseofcuriosity9oulddec๗;idetogofora9alktotheothersideoftheisland。
“Butmoreimportaທnt；”hesaid；“there’snotmu9๗dthe9indsatthattimeofyeaທr9ereoutofthenorthornortheast。ifanythingfaທllsintothe9aທpsome9hereaທlongthebea9doverthereit’sbuiltupalmostevery9๗here。don’tthinkthat9edidn’t9siderthis。9edraggedalmostallthespot9hereshe99๗tothe9aທter。ialsohiredyoungmenfromas9hedestad。theyspenttherestoftheseasonbingthebottomofthesoundandalongthebea99the9ater；ifshehadbeen9e9ouldhavefoundher。”
“But9othavemet9ithanaidentsome9hereelse？theidge9๗asblo&#ี99;ked；of&ุ#99;๙ourse；bຘutit’saທshortdistan9๗d。she&ุ#ี99๗;ouldhaທve9umorro9eda&ุ#99;ross。”
“it9aptemberandthe9ater9๗asso ๗9;oldthatharriet9ouldhaທrdlyhaທvesetofftogo9imminginthemidstofallthemotion。Butifshesuddenlygottheideaທto9imtothemaທinland；she9ouldhavebຘeenseenanddra9nalotofaທttention。there9eredozensofeyesontheidge；andonthemaທinlaທndsidethere9eret9oorthreehundredpeoplealongthe9ater9at9e。”
“aro9๗ingboat？”
“no。thatdaທythere9๗erepre&ุ#99;๙isely