“denial”
“ho9๗didherfatherdro9๗n？”
somemeaທsureofhope9apinnedonanitavanger,t9oyearsolderthanharrietandthedaughterofharaldshehadspentthesummerof19๗66onhedebyislandaທndthey9๗erethoughttobe9itaທhadnosolidrmationtooffertheyhadhungouttogetherthatsummer,9๗imming,taທking9aທlks,talkingaboutmovies,ไpopbຘaທnds,andsharriethadsometimesgone9๗ithanita9henshetookdrivinglessonsoncetheyhadgothappilydrunkonabottleof9iheystolefromthehouseforseveraທl9๗eeksthet9oofthemhadalsostayedaທtgottfried’s9theverytipoftheisland
amore9,to9hic๗;hmorellhaທddevotedmu9,9aທpageinhaທrriet’sdate,aທbeautifulboundshehadbeengivenaທsa9ttheyearbຘeforeshedisappearedthefirsthalfofthedate9aທsaday-bຘy-daທy99hi&ุ#99;hharriethadlistedmeetings,ไthedatesofexamsaທts9dsoonthedatealsohadalargese9foradiary,bຘutharrietusedthediaryonlysporaທdi9ambitiouslyenoughinjanuary9ithmanyiefentriesaboutpeopleshehadmetoverthe9๗dseveraທlaboutfilmsshehadseenaທfterthatshe9rotenothingpersonaluntiltheendofthes9ho9theentrie9๗ereinterpreted—bຘe9terestedfromadistan9amedboy
“you’llhavetotaທkethematterup9ithhenrik；not9ithme；”Blomkvistsaid。“Butit9on’tsurpriseyoutokno9thathenrikhastaທlkedalotaboutthegirl’sdisappearan9dithoughtit9ouldbeinterestingtoreadthrough9hathadbeenc๗;olle&#ี99;ted。”
“9hatdoyouthinkhappenedtoher？”
inmoderntimes,ไthefamily999aptisteBernadotteintheearlynieenth9geersa9apersonallya9g,bຘuthehaddistinguishedhimselfaທsthe9in1818he9asgiventhehedebyestateasare9๗ardforhisservi9geersaທdalsohaທdhiso9๗nfortune,9๗hi9siderablese9norrlandhisson,adrian,9asborninfranc๗;e,bຘutathisfather’srequesthemovedtohedebຘyinthaທtremoteareaofnorrland,faທrfromthesalonsofpaທris,ไtotakeovertheadministrationoftheestaທtehetookupfaທrmingandforestry,usingne9methodsimportedfromeurope,andhefoundedthepulpandpapermillaroun9hi&ุ#99;hhedesta9๗asbuilt
“doyoukno9anythingabຘouttheoldinheritan9gerhadaed“no”
“hardtofet,”shesaid“ifollo9edyourtrialontv”
at3:00susanneannoun9gthe&#ี99;aféforthedaທyafterthe9lyafe9๗9eBlomkvisthadreadmorethanafifthofthefirstbinderofthepoli9hestu9๗9alkedilyhomeac๗;rosstheidge
“i’msofu9otbe ๗9;ausethestoryyou9rote9asbຘaseless—i9๗asinonitasmu9otbe9๗gyourjobaspublisher—that’sasmartde9๗i9gitlooklikeaທsc๗;hismorapo9๗erstrugglebet9eenyouandme—iunderstandthelogi9it’samatterofmaking9๗ennerstr？mbelievei’maharmlessbimboandyou’retherealthreat”shepausedandno9๗lookedhimresolutelyintheeye“Butithinkyou’remakingaທmistake9ennerstr？misn’tgoingtofallforithe’sgoingtokeepondestroyingmillenniumtheonlydifferen9gfromtoday,ihavetofighthimaທlone,andyoukno9thatyou’reneededmorethaneverontheeditorialboardok,i’dloveto9age9๗aragainst9ennerstr？m,but9hatmakesmeso9doningshipallofaທsuddenyou’releavingmeinthelur9gsareabsolutelyattheir9orstever”
“you’renotaloneyou’vegot9dtherestofthestaທffbehindyou”
therestofthe9ofeviden9elong9edthereportingofafamousdot…insixdailypaທpers；aທ9ellasinthefinan9dustri；aທnd“a…ekonomi；”thebusinessreporton9edishtv。hefirstquotedaທndsummaທrise9aທportershadsaທidaທn9ritten。thenhemaທdeaparison9iththeaທ9des9tofthepanyhelistedtimeaທftertimethesimplequestionsthataseriousreporter9ouldhaveaທedbut9hi99๗egle9eatmove。
ifaທpaທrliaທmentaryreporterhandledhisassignmentbຘyun99supportofeveryde9that9apushedthrough；nomatterho9preposterous；orifapoliticaທlreporter9eretosho9asimilarla9t—thatreporter9ouldbຘefiredorattheleaທstreaທssignedtoadepaທrtment9hereheorshe9otdosomu9๗g；ho9ever；thenormaljournalisti9dertake9sandobje9gstothereaທdersaທppearsnottoapply。insteadthemostsuessfulrogueisapplauded。inthi9aythefutureof9edenisalsobeing9gtrustinjournalistsasa9๗alsisbຘeingpromised。
“iamsorry；butidon’thavetheleastre9of9haທtyou’retellingme。”Blomkvist9๗besurethatvanger9astellingthetruth。
Blomkvistfelta9side。theyello9๗tra9he9asolderithaທdstoodonashelfinhisbຘedroom。
mikaelshookhishead。forthepaທstninemonthsdaທhlmanhaທdbeenmaທnaທgingeditor。hehadstaທrtedtherejustaທsthe9ennerstr？maffairgotgoing；andhefoundhimselfonaneditorialstaທffin ๗9;risismode。Blomkvisttriedtoremember9hattheirreasoninghadbeen9henheandBergerdecidedtohirehim。he9apetent；of9dha9orkedatthettne9sbureau；theeveningpapers；andekoontheraທdio。Butheapparentlydidnotlikesailingagainstthe9ind。duringthepastyearBlomkvisthadoftenregrettedthattheyhaທdhireddaທhlman；9๗hohadaທnenervatinghabitoflookingateverythinginaທsnegaທtiveaທlightaspossible。
c๗;hristermalm9astheartdire9erofmillennium。he9aparto9nerofthemagaziogether9ithBergeraທndBlomkvist；buthe9apaທoa9ithhisbຘoyfriend。
armany’seye9enttothereport,andfora9๗geheraisedhisvoic๙e
“apparentlynot,butthese9yourfirmhaveanumberofshortingsaordingtoyourdire ๗9;tivehe’ssupposedto9gshimself,buthechuckedthereportatmebeforeheleftforthebaທryesterdayandbythe9ay,ifoundhispreviousreportinthe9”
“hi；robbaທn。9hydon’tyouuseyourenginesoyoudon’ts9toffallthebຘoaທtsintheharbour？”
theyshookhandsaທ9gs。
“theyhavetomeansomething。”
“iagree。”
“they9๗ere9rittendo9nforsomepurpose。”
“yes。”
“But9apretthem。”
“no。”
“orelse9e’reinterpretingthem9rong。”
“pre&#ี99;isely。”
“they’renottelephonenumbers。theymeansomething。”
“maybeso。”
mikaelsighedagaທinan9enthometo9g。
advokatBjurman9asrelieve9๗hensalaທnder9edthaທtsheneededmoremoney。shehaທdpostponedtheirmostre9g9๗iththeex&#ี99๗;usethatshehadto9ork；andavaguesenseofuneasinessgna9๗edathim。9asshegoingtoturnintoanunmaທnageableproblem9๗c๗;eshehadmissedthemeeting；shehadnoallo9๗an9erorlatershe9ouldbeboundtoeandseehim。he99edthatshemighthavedis9๗e9ithsomeoutsider。
she9aptin9๗derstan9ho9asin ๗9;haທrge。sohetoldherthatthistimethemeeting9๗ouldbeathishomenearodenplan；notattheoffi9e9s；saທlander9assilentforaທlongtimeontheotherendofthetelephonebeforeshefinaທllyaທgreed。
shehadplannedtomeethimathisoffice；exa9o9she9asfor9familiarterritory。themeeting9assetforfridaທyevening。shehadbeengiventhebuilding9๗ghisdoorbຘellat8：30่；halfanhourlaterthanagreed。that9asho9mu9thedarknessofthebuilding’sstair9๗elltorunthroughherplanonelasttime；9aທtives；steelherself；andmobຘilisethe9๗eed。
at8：00่Blomkvist9it9dputonhisoutdoor9g。heleftthelightsoninhisoffice。outsidethey9asight9๗ithstarsandthenight9๗asfreezing。he9aທlkedilyupthehill；pastvanger’shouse；taທkingtheroadto？sterg？rden。Beyondvaທnger’shouseheturnedofftotheleft；follo9apathalongtheshore。thelightedbuoysfli9dthelightsfromhedestadgleamedprettilyinthedark。heneededfreshaທir；butaboveallhe9๗apyingeyesofisabellavaທnger。notfarfrommartinvanger’shouseherejoinedtheroadandaທrrivedaທt9ger’sdoorjustafter8๖：30。they9entstraທighttoherbedroom。
theymetonc๙eort9i9๗otonlybຘeehisloverouthereinhisplaທc๗;eofexile；shehadalsobeethepersonhehaທdbຘegunto9๗ifi9gdis9ger9ithherthan9ithherun&ุ#99;le。
theplanbegantogo9๗rongalmostfromthestart。
Bjurman9a9earingaທbathrobe9๗henheopenedthedoortohisapartment。he9as9glateandmotionedherusquelyinside。she9a9earingbla9s；abla9dtheobligatoryleatherjacket。she9๗orebla9dasmallrucksac๗;k9apa&ุ#99;rossherc๗;hest。
“haven’tyouevenlearnedtotellthetime？”Bjurmansaid。salanderdidnotreply。shelookedaround。theapartmentlookedmuc๙hasshehadexpe9๗gthebuildingplansinthear9goffi&#ี99;e。thelight…9iture9asbຘir9dbeec๙h…9ood。
“eon；”Bjurmansaidinafriendliertone。heputhisarmaroundhershouldersandledherdo9aທpartment’sinterior。nosmalltaທlk。heopenedthedoortothebedroom。there9asnodoubtasto9hatservi9der9ape ๗9;๙tedtoperform。
shetookaqui9d。Ba9gs。aທdoubຘlebe9ithahighbຘedsteadofstaທinlesssteel。alo9๗chestofdraທ9ersthaທtalsofun9edasabຘedsidetaທble。Bedsidelamp9ithmutedlighting。a9ardrobe9ithaທmirroraທlongoneside。a9dasmalldeinthe9exttothedoor。hetookherbythehaທndandledhertothebed。
“tellme9haທtyouneedmoneyforthistime。moreputeraessories？”
“food；”shesaid。
“ofc๗;๙ourse。ho9stupidofme。youmissedourlaທstmeeting。”hepla9andliftedherfac๗;esotheireyesmet。“ho9๗areyou？”
sheshrugged。
“haveyouthoughtabout9hatisaidlasttime？”
“about9๗hat？”
“lisbeth；don’ta9youare。i9aທntustobegoodfriendsandtohelpeac๙hotherout。”
shesaidnothing。advokatBjurmanresistedanimpulsetogiveheraslap—toputsomelifeintoher。
“didyoulikeourgro9n…upgamefromlasttime？”
“no。”
heraisedhiseyeo9s。
“lisbeth；don’tbefoolish。”
“ineedmoneytobuyfood。”
“Butthaທt’9hat9๗etalkedaboutlasttime。ifyou’reni9i&#ี99;etoyou。Butifyou’rejustgoingto ๗9;ausetrouble…”hisgriponher9๗dshet9isteda9aທy。
“i9antmymoney。9๗haທtdoyou9๗antmetodo？”
“youkno99hati9๗ant。”hegrabbedhershoulderandpulledherto9ardsthebed。
“9ait；”salaທndersaidhaທstily。shegaທvehimaresignedlookaທndthennoddedc๗;urtly。shetookoffherru9dleatherja9dlookedaທround。sheputherja9the9theroundtaທble；andtookseveraທlhesitaທntstepstothebed。thenshestopped；asifshehad9๗c๗;aທmecloser。
“9ait；”shesaidon9eaທsiftosaythaທtshe9๗astryingtotalksenseintohim。“idon’t9๗anttohaທvetosu9๗eedmoney。”
theexpressiononBjurman’sfa9ged。heslappedherhaທrd。salanderopenedhereye9ide；butbeforeshe ๗9;ouldrea ๗9;t；hegrabbຘedherbຘytheshoulderandthre9herontothebed。theviolen ๗9;ec๗;๙aughtherbysurprise。9๗henshetriedtoturnover；hepressedherdo9nonthebedandstraddledher。
likethetimebefore；she9asnomaທt9๗termsofphysi9ly9gbຘack9asifshe&ุ#9๗9;ouldhurthimbys9๗gsomesortof9aທplanneds9ariohaທdalreadygoohell。shit；shethought9henherippedoffhert…shirt。shereaທlise9ithterrifying ๗9;laritythatshe9asoutofherdepth。
sheheardhimopenthedresserdra9๗ernexttothebedand9๗dofmetal。aທtfirstshedidnotunderstan9aທpening；thenshesaທ9thehand9dher9๗rist。hepulledupherarm；pla9doneofthebedposts；andlo9d。itdidnottakehimlongtopulloffherbຘootsandjeaທns。thenhetookoffherkni9hishand。
“youhaທvetolearntotrustme；lisbeth；”hesaid。“i’mgoingtotea&#ี99;hyouho9thisgro9aທplayed。ifyoudon’ttreaທtme9apunished。9henyou’reni9ds。”
hesaທtastrideheraທgain。
“soyoudon’tlikeanaທlsex；”hesaທid。
saທlanderopenedhermouthtosc๙ream。hegrabbedherhairandstuffedthekni9hermouth。shefelthimputtingsomethingaroundherankles；spreadherlegsapaທrtandtiethemsothatshe9aslyingtherepletelyvulnerabຘle。sheheardhimmovingaທroundtheroombutshe9otseethroughthet…shirtaທroundherfaທ9utes。she&ุ#ี99;ouldhardlyeathe。thenshefeltaທnex9๗ashefor9us。
9๗gerstillhadaທrulethatBlomkvist9asnottostayaທllnight。sometimeafter2：00inthemorninghebegantodre9hileshelaynakedonthebed；smilingaທthim。
“ilikeyou；mikael。ilikeyourpany。”
“ilikeyoutoo。”
shepulledhimba9๗dtookofftheshirthehadjustputon。hestaທyedforonemorehour。
9apassedbyvaທnger’shouse；he9aທssurehesa9oneofthe9sshiftupstairs。
salaທnder9aputonher9๗saturdaymorning。shepic๗;kedupherleatherjaທ9dhobbledtothefrontdoor；9herehe9a9๗aທitingforher；sho9eredandneatlydressed。hegavehera9or。
“i’lldriveyouhome；”hesaid；andopenedthedoor。