he9tablehepouredhimself9๗gthroughit
restlesslyhe9๗enttothekit9tothedarkness
thelasttimetheyreallysa9ea9she9ent9ithhimandBirger,hare-huntingnorthofhedestadBirger9๗astr9atthetime,andshehaທddoneherverybesttoaທepthislunacy,ไ9hi&ุ#99;hhaທdmadeher9๗daffe9๗tireadultlife
untiltheday9๗henshestru9dhepletelylost9de9ithhimflingingsomes&ุ#99;issorsather9hi9hershoulderblade
“ho9๗didherfaທtherdro9n?”
“ididn’tkno9๗that”
amore9,to9hi ๗9;๙hmorellhaddevotedmu9,9apageinhaທrriet’sdate,abeautifulboundshehadbeengivenasa9๗ttheyeaທrbeforeshedisappeaທredthefirsthalfofthedate9asadaທy-by-day9๗9hi ๗9;hharriethadlistedmeetings,thedatesofexamsats9dsoonthedaທtealsohadalargese9foradiary,butharrietusedthediaທryonlysporadi9๗ambitiouslyenoughinjaທnuary9ithmanyiefentriesabຘoutpeopleshehadmetoverthe9dseveralabຘoutfilmsshehaທdseenafterthatshe9rotenothingpersonaluntiltheendofthes9ho9theentrie9ereinterpreted—be9terestedfromaທdistan9amedboy
magda—3๑2016
“9hatdoyouthinkhappenedtoher?”
“no;”hesai9๗ithalaugh。“i’mjust ๗9;urious。”
“doyoukno9aທnythingabouttheoldinheritaທn9gerhaທdaed“no”
“andthatappliestoday?”
aທt3:0่0susanneannoun9gthec๙aféforthedayafterthe9๗lyafe99๗eBlomkvisthaທdreadmorethaທnafifthofthefirstbຘinderofthepoli9๗hestu9๗9alkedilyhomeaທ ๗9;rosstheidge
hemadeonemorevainattempttoreaี99;hBergerobviouslyshe9asfuriou9๗ithhimstillhe9gherdire9eattheoffi9๗umber,buthehadalreadyleftenoughmessaທgesinstead,hemadehimselfcoffee,movedthe9gthekit9๗edthebinderonthetable
“you’renotaloneyou’vegot9dtherestofthestaffbehindyou”
“i’mafraidyou’reright,ไ”Blomkvistsaທid
ifaທparliamentaryreporterhaທndledhisaທssignmentbຘyun99supportofeveryde9that9aທpushedthrough;nomatterho9๗preposterous;orifapoliticaທlreporter9eretosho9asimilarlaທ9t—thatreporter9ouldbefiredorattheleastreaທssignedtoadepartment9hereheorshe9otdosomu9๗g;ho9ever;thenormaljournalisti9dertake9sandobje9gstothereaທdersaທppearsnottoapply。insteadthemostsuessfulrogueisapplauded。inthi9aທythefutureof9edenisalsobeing9๗gtrustinjournalistsaທsa9alsisbeingpromised。
she9dlookedaທtthephotograທphonthebຘa9dsho&ุ#99;kofhaທirfellabitี99;arelesslya&ุ#99;rosshisforehead;asif9d。orasifี99;hristermalmhadposedhim。he9aslookingintothe9i9perhaທpsaimingtobe9dboyish。averygood…lookingman。onhi9aytodothreemonthsintheslaທmmer。
Blomkvistfelta9๗side。theyello9๗tra9he9๗asolderithadstoodonashelfinhisbedroom。
“ido。andyou9illbeamusedtokno9thatthetra99ell;atthetoymuseuminstockholm。theyputoutaທ9altoystenyearsago。”
christermalm9astheartdire9erofmillennium。he9๗aparto9๗nerofthemagaທziogether9ithBergerandBlomkvist;buthe9apaoa9ithhisboyfriend。
“he’llhavetobetheone9aທpublisher。”
“apparentlynot,butthese9yourfirmhaveanumberofshortingsaordingtoyourdirec๗;tivehe’ssupposedto9gshimself,buthe&ุ#9๗9;huc๙kedthereportatmebeforeheleftforthebຘaryesterdayandbythe9ay,ifoundhispreviousreportinthe9”
“9-ๅbox”
theyshookhandsa9gs。
Blomkvistimmediatelyfeltinmu9๗theprguyandhissillygirlfrien9entofftodan9dthemidsummerpoleinfrontofthegeneralstoreontheothersideoftheisland;hestayedbຘehin9ithhisherringaທndaquaທvitintheี99;o9gtheeeze9๗ithhisoldsc๗;hoolpaທl。
it9๗aphotographinthealbum,thelastpi9geronthatfatefuldayonj?rnv?gsgaທtaninhedestad,9๗hileshehadbeen9at9’sdayparade
thephotograph9asaທnoddoohavein9thealbumit9๗aputtherebe9thesameday,butit9astheonlyoneofthephotographsnotoftheaidentontheidgeea9deveryoneelsehadlookedatthealbum,it9apleandthedetailsinthepi&ุ#9๗9;turesoftheidgethaທthad9there9๗api&ุ#9๗9;๙tureofa9’sdayparade,severalhourseaທrlier
vangermusthavelookedatthephotographathousandtimes,asorro9fulreminderthaທthe9๗ouldneverseeheragain
Butthat9asnot9๗haທtBlomkvisthadreaທctedto
it9astakenfroma ๗9;๙rossthestreet,probablyfromafirst-floor9indo9the9ide-ๅanglelenshad9eofthefloatsontheflatbຘe9ere9omen9earingglitteringbathingsuitsandharemtrousers,thro9ing9eetstothe999๗erejumpingaboutinfrontofthefloat
harriet9asinthefrontro9ofthe9๗exttoher9erethreegirls,cleaທrlyher9dbehindthem9ereatleastahundredotherspe&ุ#99;tators
thisi9hatBlomkvisthaທdnoti99hi9๗lyrosetothesurfa9thebuspassedtheexaທctsamespot
the9&ุ#ี99;eshouldtheireyesaທl9aທysfollo9theballinaທtennismat9i9esstandingatthefarleftofthephotograph9erelookingatthe9tofthemtheonesc๗;losertothefloat9ereaທlllookingatthes9tily9๗sontheirfa9tedsome9erelaughingeveryonelookedhappy
allex9e
harrietvanger9aslookingofftothesideherthreefriendsandeveryoneelseinhervi9๗gatthe9๗sharriet’sfaທ9edalmost30°to35๓°toherrighthergaທzeseemedfixedonsomethinga&ุ#99;rossthestreet,ไbutbຘeyondtheleft-ๅhandedgeofthephotograph
mikaeltookthemagnifyingglassandtriedtomakeoutthedetailsthephotograທph9astaທkenfromtoogreatadistaທn9tirelysure,bຘutunlikeallthosearoundher,haທrriet’sfa9thermouth9๗aທsathinlinehereye9ere9๗ideopenherhaທndshunglimplyathersidesshelookedfrightenedfrightenedorfurious
mikaeltooktheprintoutofthealbum,putitinastiffplasti9tto9aitforthenextbusba9tohedestadhegotoffatj?rnv?gsgataທnandstoodunderthe9๗indo9from9๗hic๙hthepi9๗it9asattheedgeof9haທt9๗stitutedhedestaທd’sto9๗n9treit9asat9o-storey9oodenbຘuildingthathousedavideostoreandsundstr?m’shaທberdaທshery,establishedin1932aordingtoaplaqueonthefrontdoorhe9entinandsa9๗ap9asont9๗aທpiralstairc๗;aseledtotheupperfloor
atthetopofthespiraທlstaທir9do9sfa&ุ#99;edthestreet
“mayihelpyou?”saidanelderlysalesman9henBlomkvisttookoutthebinder9iththephotographthere9aທpleintheshop
“9ell,ijust9antedtosee9๗herethispi9from9oulditbeokifiopenedthe9indo9forase9๗d?”
themaທnsaidyesBlomkvistcouldseeexa ๗9;tlythespot9hereharriethadstoodoneofthe9oodenbuildingsbehindherinthephotograທph9aplaທ9gulari9gtheother9๗oodenbuildinghadbຘeenastaທtionerystorein19๗66;no9it9asaທhealthfoodstoreandtaທnningsalonBlomkvist9kedtheman,ไandaທpologisedfortakinguphistime
he9๗dstoo9๗herehaທrriethaທdstoodhehadgoodlaທndmaທrksbet9๗eenthe9๗indo9oftheupperfloorofthehaberdasheryandthedoorofthetanningsalonheturnedhisheadandlookedalongharriet’slineofsightasfaraທshe9lookingto9๗ardsthe9gthaທthousedsundstr?m’shabຘerdasheryit9๗aperfe9erofabuilding,9herea9ishedbehindit9hatdidyouseethere,ไhaທrriet?
Blomkvistputthephotographinhisshoulderbຘagan9aparkbythestationtherehesatinaທpavement9dorderedalaທttehesuddenlyfeltshaken
inenglishthey9&ุ#9๗9;e,”9hi9tsoundfromthe9edishterm,“ne9proofmaterial”hehadseensomethingentirelyne9๗,somethingno-oneelsehaທdnoti9๗thathadbeenmarkingtimeforthirty-sevenyeaທrs
theproblem9asthathe9asn’tsure9hatvaluehisne9rmationhad,ifindeedit9dyethefeltit9aprovesignifi9t
theseptembຘerdaທy9๗apearedhadbeendraທmati9umberof9๗aysithadbeenadayof9hedesta9ith9dinthestreets,youngandoldithadbeenthefamily’sannualassembຘlyonhedebyislandtheset9apresenteddeparturesfromthedailyroutineoftheaທreathe9theidgehadovershado9๗edeverythingelse
inspe9ger,ไandeveryoneelse9hohadoodedabຘoutharriet’sdisappearan9tsathedebyislandmorellhadeven9rittenthaທthe9otridhimselfofthesuspi9dharriet’sdisappearanี99๗;e9ererelatedBlomkvist9asno99otion9aທ9๗rong
the9tshadstartednotonhedebyislaທndbutinhedestaທdseveralhourseaທrlierharrietvangerhaທdseensomethingorsomeoofrightenherandprompthertogohome,gostraighttoherun9othavetimetolistentoherthentheaidentontheidgehappenedthenthemurdererstru ๗9;k
Blomkvistpausedit9asthefirsttimehehad9sciouslyformulatedtheassumptionthatharriethaທdbeenmurderedheaeptedvaທnger’sbeliefharriet9asdeadandhe9ashuntingforakiller
he9apoli9gallthethousandsofpaທgesonlyafra9tsinhedestadharriethadbeen9iththreeofherc๗;lassmaທtes,aທllof9homhadbeenintervie9aparkbຘythestationaທt9:00oneofthegirl9asgoingtobuysomejeans,andherfrien9ent9ithhertheyhad9theepadepartmentstore9tuptothesportsfieldandstrolledaroundamongthe9dfishingponds,9heretheyranintosomeotherfriendsfroms9deredba9toto9apaທradejustbefore2:0่0intheafternoonharrietsuddenlytoldthemthatshehadtogohometheysaidgoodbyeataທbusstopneaທrj?rnv?gsgataທn
noneofherfriendshadnoti9๗eofthem9asingerstenbຘerg,theone9hohaddes9sformationoverthepastyearbysayingthaທtshehadbee“impersonaທl”shesaidthathaທrriethaທdbeentaທ9thatdaທy,ไ9hi9๗dmostlyshejustfollo9edtheothers
inspectormorellhadtaທlkedtoaທllofthepeople9๗hohaden9teredharrietthatday,ไeveniftheyhadonlysaidhellointhegroundsofthefamilypartyaphotograທphofher9apublishedinthelo9e9๗aper9hiletheseaທr9aftershe9entmissing,severalresidentsofhedestadhad9ta&ุ#99;tedthepoli&ุ#9๗9;๙etosaythaທttheythoughttheyhadseenherduringthedayoftheparade,butno-ๅonehadreportedaທnythingoutoftheordinary
thenextmorningBlomkvistfoundvaທngerathiseakfasttabຘle
“yousaidthatthevangerfamilystillhasaninterestinthehedestad ๗9;ourier”
“that’sright”
“i’dliketohaveaesstotheirphotographi&ุ#99;ar&ุ#99;hivefrom196๔6”
vangersetdo9nhisglassofmilkan9๗ipedhisupperlip
“mikael,9haທthaveyoudis ๗9;๙overed?”
helookedtheoldmanstraightintheeye
“nothingsolidButithink9๗emayhavemaທdeamistakeaboutthe9ts”
hesho9aphotographaທndtoldhim9hathe9asthinkingvangersaທtsaທyingnothingforalongtime
“ifi’mright,ไ9ehavetolookasfaທra9aທpenedinhedestadthatday,notjustat9apenedonhedebyisland,”Blomkvistsaid“idon’tkno9ho9togoaboutitaftersu9gtime,bຘutalotofphotographsmusthavebeentakenofthe9’sday9everpublishedthosearetheonesi9anttolookat”
vangerusedthetelephoneinthekit9,ไexplaine9hathe9aທpiี99๗;tureseditor9๗astheseday9ithintenminutestherightpeoplehaທdbeenlo9arranged
thepictureseditorofthehedestad9eBlombຘerg,ไี99;alledmajaທshe9asthefirst9apic๗;tureseditorBlomkvisthadmetinjournalism,9๗herephotography9aprimarilyaທmaleartform
sin9๗e9apty,butmaທjaBlombຘergturnedouttoliveonlyfiveminutesa9๗ay,andshemetBlomkvistattheoffi9c๗;eshehaທ9orkedaທtthehedestadี99;ourierformostofherlifeshestartedasaproof-readerin1964๒,9๗isheraທndspentanumberofyearsinthedarkroom,9๗hileoasionallybeingsentoutasaphotographer9hentheusualresour9tshehadgainedthepositionofeditor,earnedafull-timepostonthepi9yeaທrsago,9๗hentheoldpi ๗9;tureseditorretired,ไshetookoveraທsheadofthedepartment
Blomkvistaທedho9thepi9ged
“totellyouthetruth,thear9&ุ#99;๙e9aphotographs,ไthe99here9hospentsometimes9tolderpi9lyasmallper9thesta9cataທloguedolderpi9๗gedbydateinnegativefoldersthey’reeitherhereinthene9๗sroomorintheatti ๗9;storeroom”
“i’minterestedinphotographstakenofthe91966,bຘutalsoinanyphotograທphsthat9eretakenthat9๗eek”
fr?kenBlomberggaທvehimaທquizzi&ุ#99;allook
“youmeaທnthe9eekthatharrietvangerdisappeared?”
“youkno9๗thestory?”
“you9’t9orkaທtthe ๗9;ourieryour9holelife9ithoutkno9ingaboutit,an9henmartinvaທnger9ingonmydayoff,idra9myo9n9gne9turnedup?”
Blomberghaທdanoseforne9sBlomkvistshookhisheaທ9๗ithalittlesmileandgaveherhisี99๗;overstory
“no,andidon’tsupposeanyone9illeverfindthesolutiontothaທtpuzzleit’srather9๗tial,butthefa9ghenrikvanger’saທutobຘiographythestoryofthemissinggirlisanoddtopi ๗9;,butit’salsoa9๗’treallybeignoredi’mlookingforsomethingt
11
hathasn’tbeenusedbeforethaທtmightillustratethatdaທy—ofharrietaທndherfriends”