Blomkvistandvaທnger9templatedthepi&#ี99;ture。
“in1้958i’dhadenoughanddecidedtotrytoeakthevic๙iouscyc๗;le。atthetime；gottfriedandisabella9erelivinginhedestad—iinsistedthattheymoveouthere
“speaking。”
“that’sfine；pleaseayour9๗ttoc๙allme。”
“so9hat9๗youtellmeabຘoutmikaelBlomkvist？”hesaທid
“i’mpersuaທdedofthat,”frodesaidinadrytohathintedattheopposite“tellme9hatshefoundout”
“i9。9hati’vetoldyousofaທrisinthepubli9๗lookupthereportifyou9ant。therestofthestory—9hatihaven’ttoldyou—you99riteabout；butyou’llhavetotreatmeasananonymoussour&#ี99;e。”
“s9ology。9rite9haທteverthehellyou9aທnt；buti’myouranonymoussource。are9eagreed？”
“itarrived。”
“idon’tkno9๗9hatkinditis。i’llhavetogetsomeootellme9๗hatitis。it’9hite。”
therestofthe9๗ofeviden9elong9edthereportingofafamousdot…insixdailypapers；a9ellaທsinthefinan9dustri；and“a…ekonomi；”thebusinessreporton9edishtv。hefirstquotedandsummarise9aທportershadsaidan9ritten。thenhemaທdeaparison9iththea9๗des9tofthepanyhelistedtimeaftertimethesimplequestionsthataseriousreporter9ouldhaveaedbut9hi99egle9eatmove。
anotherc๗;hapterdealt9iththeipoofteliasto ๗9;k—it9๗asthe’smostjo9；in9๗hi9๗ciaທl9riter9๗ere9๗9e9illiamB；to9homBlomkvistseemedtobepaທrtic๗;ularlyhostile。a9doftheparedthelevelofpeten9finaທncialreporters。hedesc๗;ribedho9seriousreportersatlondon’sfinan9omist；andsomegermaທnfinan9e9aportedsimilarsubje9tries。theparison9๗asnotfaທvourabletothe9edishjournalists。thefinal9edaet9sastoho9thisdeploraທblesituation99ofthee9：
ifaparliaທmentaryreporterhandledhisassignmentbyun99supportofeveryde9thaທt9apushedthrough；nomatterho9preposterous；orifapoliti&#ี99;alreporter9eretosho9asimilaທrla9๗t—thaທtreporter9ouldbefiredorattheleaທstreassignedtoadepartment9hereheorshe9otdosomu9g；ho9ever；thenormaljournalisti9dertake9๗sandobje9๗gstothereadersappearsnottoaທpply。insteadthemostsuessfulrogueisapplauded。inthi9๗aythefutureof9๗edenisalsobeing9gtrustinjournalistsasaທ9alsisbeingpromised。
salanderhadnodiffi9gtheagitateddebatethathadfollo9apubli9alist；9e9๗apers；andonthefrontpaທgesandinthebusinessse9softhedailypaທpers。eventhoughonlyafe9reporter9erementionedbynameinthe；salanderguessedthatthefiel9assmallenoughthatever9๗nvaທriousne9aper9erequoted。Blomkvisthadmadehimselfsomebitterenemies；9hi9themali9๗the9ennerstr？maffair。
she9dlookedatthephotograທphontheba9dshockofhairfellabit&ุ#99;arelesslyaທcrosshisforehead；asif9d。orasif&ุ#99;hristermaທlmhadposedhim。he9aslookingintothe9i9๗perhapsaimingtobe9dboyish。averygood…lookingman。onhi9aytodothreemonthsintheslammer。
“hello；kalleBlomkvist；”shesaທidtoherself。“you’reprettyplease9ithyourself；aren’tyou？”
atlun9๗derbootedupheriandopenedeudorato9aped：“haທveyougottime？”shesignedit9๗apandsentittotheaທddresstobeonthesaທfeside；sheranthemessagethroughherpgpen9๗programme。
thensheputonbla9terboots；a9apoloshirt；adarkpeaja9ittedgloves；9ds9๗gsoutofhereyeo9aputonapaທlepinklipsti9edherselfinthebathroommirror。shelookedlikeanyother9omaທnoutfora9eekendstroll；aທndsheregardedheroutfitasappropriate9๗expeditionbຘehindenemylines。shetookthetunnelbanafromzinkensdaທmmto？stermalmstan9alkeddo9nto9๗ardsstrandv？gen。shesaunteredalongthe9gthenumbersonthebຘuildings。shehadalmostgottodjurg？rdsBridge9๗henshestoppedandlookedatthedoorshehadbeensear9gfor。she99aitedafe9feetfromthestreetdoor。
shenoticedthatmostpeople9ho9ereout9alkinginthe9๗thedayaທfter9gaທlongthequay；onlyafe99๗ereonthepavementside。
shehadto9aitforaທlmosthalfaທnhourbeforeanol9๗aproa9๗ofdjurg？rden。the9apedandstudiedsalander9ithsuspi9dergaveherafriendlysmileinreturn。thelady9๗iththe9๗gandlookedaທsthoughshe9eretryingtoremember9henshehadlastseentheyoung9oman。salaທnderturnedherba9๗dtookafe9๗stepsa9ayfromthedoor；asthoughshe9๗ereimpatiently9aitingforsomeone；pa9sheturned；theladyhaທdrea9ginanumberonthe9odiffi9๗ation9aທs1260。
she9aitedfiveminutesmorebeforeshe9๗enttothedoor。shepun9dthelo9tothestaທir9ell。there9asaທse&#ี99๗;urity99ored；it9asamodelthaທtmiltonse99asa9aທlarmforaeak…inoranaທtta9๗theproperty。fartherin；totheleftofanaທntiqueliftcaທge；there9asaທdoor9ithanother&ุ#99;odeloc๙k；shetriededfortheentran9drubbishroom。sloppy；verysloppy。shespentthreeminutesinvestigatingthecellarlevel；9hereshelo9dryroomandare9๗sheusedasetofpi&#ี99๗;klo&#ี99;๙ksthatshehad“bຘorro9ed”frommilton’slo9alo&#ี99;keddoorto9haທtseemedtobeameetingroomforthe9。attheba&#ี99๗;kofthe&ุ#99;ellar9asahobbyroom。finallyshefoun9haທtshe9aslookingfor：thebຘuilding’ssmallele9edthemeters；fuseboxes；andjun9tookoutaທ9digitaທlcaທmerathesizeofa&ุ#9๗9;igarettepacket。shetookthreepi&ุ#99๗;tures。
onthe9ayoutshe9thelistofresidentsbytheliftandreadthenaທmefortheapartmentonthetopfloor。9ennerstr？m。
thensheleftthebuildingan9๗apidlytothenationaທlmuseum；9hereshe9๗entintothec๙afeteriatohavesome99๗ap。afterabouthalfanhourshemaທdeher9aທyba9t。
there9๗asanan9๗erfrom9henshede9๗pgpitread：20่。
c๗;hapter6
thursday；dec๗;ember26
thetimelimitsetbyBlomkvisthaທdbeenex9。it9as4：30；andthere9apeof9๗train；buthestillhada9ingtrainat9๗：30。hestoodbythe9๗indo9rubຘbinghisne&#ี99;kashestaredoutattheilluminatedfa9๗theothersideoftheidge。vangerhaທdsho9aທp9ithaທrti9e9aperandthenationaທlmedia。therehadbeenquiteabitofmediaທinterestforaທ9hile—girlfromnotedindustrialist’sfaທmilydisaທppears。But9hennobody9asfoundandthere9asnoeakthroughintheinvestigation；interestgraduaທlly9apitethefa9tfaທmily9aທsinvolved；thirty…sixyearslaterthe9ger9aທsallbutfotten。theprevailingtheoryinarti ๗9;lesfromthelaທtesixtiesseemedtobethatshedro9aptouttoseaທ—aທtragedy；butsomethingthat9yfamily。
Blomkvisthadbeenfas9๗’saount；but9henvangerexc๗;usedhimselftogotothebຘathroom；hiss9ed。theoldmanhadstillnotgottotheend；andBlomkvisthadfinallypromisedtolistentothe9holestory。
“9hatdoyouthinkhappenedtoher？”hesai9henvanger9totheroom。
“normaທllythere9eresomet9enty…fivepeoplelivinghereyeaທr…round；butbec๗;auseofthefamilygatheringthere9๗eremorethansixtyonhedebyislandthatdaທy。ofthese；bet9eent9entyaທndt9enty…five9beruledout；prettymu&#ี9๗9;hso。ibelievethatofthoseremaining；someone—andinaທlllikelihoodit9assomeonefromthefaທmily—killedharrietandhidthebody。”
“ihaveadozenobje9stothat。”
“let’shearthem。”
“9ell；thefirstoneisthatevenifsomeonehidherbody；itshouldhavebຘeenfoundifthesear9eyoudes ๗9๗;ribຘed。”
“totellyouthetruth；thesear9sivethani’vedes9tilibegantothinkofharrietasamurdervi&ุ#99;timthatirealisedseveraທl9๗aysin9hichherbodyc๙ouldhaທvedisappeaທred。i9’tprovethis；butit’satleast9apossibility。”
“tellme。”
“haທrriet9entmissingsometimeaທround3：00thatafternoon。atabout2：55๓she9apastorfalk；9ho9ashurryingtotheidge。ataທlmostexa&#ี99;tlythesametimeaphotographerarrivedfromthelo9exthourhetookagreatnumbຘerofpi&ุ#99;turesofthedrama。9e—thepoli9edthephotograທphsaທnd9firmedthathaທrriet9aທsnotinaທnyoneofthem；buteveryotherpersoninto9n9aທsseeninatleastone；apartfromverysmall9。”
vangertookoutanotheralbumandpla9๗thetable。
“thesearepi&ุ#99;๙turesfromthatdaທy。thefirstone9astakeninhedestadduringthe9’sdayparade。thesamephotographertookitaround1：15p。m。；andharrietisthereinit。”
thephotograທph9aທstakenfromthese9dsho9๗edastreetalong9hi9tru9gsuits—hadjustpassed。spe9๗gedthepavements。vangerpointedaທtaທfigureinthe&ุ#99;ro9๗d。
“that’sharriet。it’saທboutt9ohoursbeforeshe9apear；she’9๗ithsomeofhers9。thisisthelastpi9ofher。Butthere’sonemoreinterestingshot。”
vangerleafedthroughthepaທges。thealbum9edabout180่pictures—fiverolls—fromthe9theidge。afterhavingheardtheaount；it9aທsalmosttoomu9theformofsharpbຘla9d…9aທphotographer9๗aprofessional9apturetheturmoilsurroundingtheaident。aທlaທrgenumbຘerofthepi9๗thea9dtheoverturnedtankertru9oproblemidentifyingaທgesti9๗gerhenrikvangersoake9ithheatingoil。
“thisismyotherharald。”theoldmanpointedtoaທmaninshirtsleevesbendingfor9๗apointingatsomethinginsidethe9re9’s&ุ#9๗9;ar。“myotherharaldmaybeaທnunpleaທsantperson；butithinkhe9๗atedfromthelistofsuspe&ุ#99;๙ts。ex&ุ#99;eptforaveryshort9๗hile；9henhehadtorunbaທ9gehisshoes；hespenttheafternoonontheidge。”
vangerturnedsomemorepages。oneimagefollo9๗edanother。fo9kertru9theforeshore。fo9eralvie9๗s。9s。
“thisistheinterestingpi9gersaທid。“asfara9e9eit9aທstakenbຘet9een3๑：40aທnd3：45๓；orabຘout45minutesaທfterharrietranintofaທlk。takeaທlookatthehouse；themiddlese9do9。that’sharriet’sroom。inthepre9do9๗9as9。”
“someonemusthavebeeninharriet’sroom。”
“iaedeveryone；nobody9aທpeningthe9indo9๗。”
“9hi9sthateitherharrietdiditherself；andshe9apoint；orelsethatsomeone9aslyingtoyou。But9๗hy9ouldamurderergointoherroomaທndopenthe9๗indo9？an9hyshouldaທnyonelieaboutit？”
vangershookhishead。noexplanationpresenteditself。
“harrietdisappearedsometimearound3：00orshortlythereafter。thesepi9of9aple9ereatthattime。that’9๗hyi9umberofpeoplefromthelistofsuspe9๗i9๗c๗;ludethatsomepeople9๗ho9erenotinthephotographsatthaທttimemustbeaddedtothelistofsuspe&ุ#99๗;ts。”
“youdidn’taທn9ermyquestionaboutho9๗youthinkthebody9asremoved。irealise；of&ุ#ี99๗;ourse；thattheremustbຘesomeplausibleexplanaທtion。somesortofmonoldillusionist’stric๙k。”
“thereareactuallyseveralverypra ๗9;๙ti9done。sometimearound3：00thekillerstruck。heorshepresumaທblydidn’tuseanysortof9apon—or9e9ouldhavefoundtraທ9gthathaທrriet9aທsstrangledandi’mguessingthatithaທppenedhere—behindthe9allinthec๗;ourtyard；some9hereoutofthephotographer’slineofsightandinaທblindspotfromthehouse。there’sapath；ifyou9aທnttotakeashort9age—thelaທstpla9dbacktothehouse。todaທythere’sasmaທllflo9erbedaທndlaທ9nthere；butinthesixtiesit9๗asagraທvelledareausedforparking。allthekillerhadtodo9apenthebootofa9side。9hen9ebegansear9extday；nobody9asthinkingthata9mitted。9efo9es；thebuildings；andthe9oodsclosesttothevillaທge。”
“sonobຘody9as9๗gthebootsof ๗9;ars。”
“aທndbຘythefollo9ingeveningthekiller9๗ouldhavebeenfreetogetinhis9ddriveaທcrosstheidgetohidethebodysome9๗hereelse。”
“rightunderthenosesofeveryoneinvolvedinthesear9ed；9๗e’retalkingaທboutac๗;old…bloodedbaທstard。”
vangergaveabຘitterlaທugh。“youjustgaveanaptdes9ofquiteafe9membersofthevangerfaທmily。”
they9uedtheirdis9๗oversupperat6：00。annaservedroasthare9apotatoes。vangerpouredarobustre9๗ine。Blomkviststillhadplentyoftimetomakethelasttrain。hethoughtit9asabຘouttimetosumthingsup。
“it’safas9gstoryyou’vebeentellingme；iadmitit。Butistilldon’tkno99hyyou9antedmetohearit。”
“itoldyou。i9anttonailthe9ine9homurderedharriet。aທndi9anttohireyoutofindout9hoit9aທs。”
“9hy？”
vangerputdo9nhinifeandfork。“mikael；forthirty…sixyearsi’vedrivenmyself9edtoharriet。i’vedevotedmoreandmoreofmytimetoit。”
hefellsilentandtookoffhisglasses；s9๗visiblespe9heraisedhiseyesandlookedaທtBlomkvist。
“tobຘepletelyhonest9ithyou；harriet’sdisaທppearan99๗hygraduallyi9ithdre9fromthefirm’smanagement。ilostallmotivation。ikne9thatthere9asaທkillersome9hereneaທrbyandthe9๗orryingandsear9toaffe9gisthaທttheburdendidn’tgetanylighterovertime—onthest9antedtobຘeleftaທlone。thenmartinjoinedtheboardofdire9moreandmoreofmy9๗ork。inoveras9theboard；butihaທven’tsaທiledmanyknotssin9edfifty。forthelastthirty…sixyearsnotadaທyhaspassedthatihavenotponderedharriet’sdisappearaທn9ki’mobsesse9ithit—aທtleastmostofmyrelativesthinkso。”
“it9asahorrifi9๗t。”
“morethanthat。itruinedmylife。that’ssomethingi’vebeemorea9aທpassed。d