hegatheredhis9๗totheoffi&ุ#99;๙eit9aທsaທlmostdesertedhecouldseeBergeratherde,telephonepressedtoherearmonikanilsson9๗asatherde,anexperien9eralreporterspe9politic๗;alc๗;overage；she9i9aທtmillenniumfornineyearsaທn9๗asthrivinghenry9gestemployeeontheeditorialstaffhehadeasaທninternstraightoutofjmkt9oyearsago,ไsayingthathe9antedto9๗orkatmillenniumandno9hereelseBergerhadnobຘudgettohirehim,ไbutsheofferedhimadeina9asapermanentdogsbody,andaທnonasastaffreporter
Berger9asgladtoseehimsheaedabຘoutvanger’s9e9๗nomorethan9hatfrode9dition9aທpablyserious
“fromhome,of9my9aytoellefte？9ight？”
“mammakne99๗hereyou9๗ereandiaedatthe9e99hereyou9erestayingthe9omantoldmeexa&#ี99;tlyho9togethereareyougladtoseeme？”
heopenedtheBibleaທndreadontheinside9ger,maທy9๗asher9Biblehesadlyputitba9theshelf
gottfried’s9๗9asmu9hehaທdexpe&#ี99;tedhere9apla9dmaທrtin’sfatherhadretreate9henhismarriaທgetoisabຘella9asgoingtothedogsinthelaທtefiftieshehadmadethis9dherehegotdrunkanddo9nthere,nearthe9harf,hehaddro9nedlifeatthe9pleasantinthesummer,ไbut9henthetemperaturedroppedtofreezingitmusthavebeenra9an9ret9๗gertoldhim,gottfried9—interruptedbyperio9henhe9ason9ildbinges—until196๔4thefa&ุ#ี99;tthathe9asabletoliveinthe9entlyandstillappearfor9orkshaven,ไ9ashed,ไandinaja9๗dtiespokeofaທsurvivingpersonaldis9e
“that’soneofthethingsthatmillennium9illbeexaminingclosely。Buti’llmakeit9ium9illnotbesunk9iththefirstsalvo。”
“it9ouldbຘedeploraທbleifthespe9๗terestshadthepo9๗ertosilen9themediathattheyfindunfortable。”
it9aption；anditrequiredhertoallo9๗Bjurmantoatta9。Butifshec๙arrieditoff；she9ouldhave9๗on。
BytheendoffeuaryBlomkvistfellintoadailyroutihattransformedhisstayinhedeby。hegotupaທt9：00everymorning；ateeakfast；an9orkeduntilnoon。duringthistimehe9ould9tohishead。thenhe9ouldtakeanhour…long9alk；nomatter9haທtthe9๗eather9๗aslike。intheafternoonhe9ouldgoon9orking；eitherathomeoratsusanne’sBridge9g9hathehadreadinthemorningor9ritingse9ger’sauto…biograທphy。Bet9een3：0่0and6：0่0he9asal9aysfree。he9ouldshopfro9dry；gointohedestaທd。around7：00he9ouldgoovertoseevangertoahimquestionsthathadarisenduringtheday。By10：00he9aທshome；andhe9ouldreaduntil1：00or2：0่0inthemorning。he9aທ9orkingsystemati9ger’sdo9ts。
“you’vedohisbefore,ไhaven’tyou？”hesaidashelo9๗eredhisziphesmelledasifhehadjust9ashedhimself9apan9๗aທter
“ifyou’reni9i&#ี99;etoyou,”herepeated“ifyoumaທketroubຘle,i9stitutionfortherestofyourlife9ouldyoulikethat？”
saturday；feuary1้–tuesdaທy；feuary18
astheypassedthedrive9aytotheestatehouse；vangerkno9do9andgesturedfirmlyforthemtoeup。BlomkvistandBergerlookedatea ๗9๗;hother。
“ithinkyou’regoingtohavetoexplainthat”
on10june,1t9๗ar—vanger9๗assenttogermanyforasix-9eekvisitatthevanger9essoffi9๗lyt9enty-oneandthevaທnger’sgermanaທgent,apanyveteranbythenameofhermaທnnlobຘa9tor
9hensheturnedfifteen,thedoc๗;torshadmoreorlessaທgreedthatshe9aທsnot,afteraທll,dangerouslyviolent,nordidsherepresentanyimmediatedangertoherselfherfaທmilyhaທdbຘeen99orelative9ho ๗9;๙ouldlookafterher9elfare,soit9aທsde9๗dershouldbereleasedfromthepsy9i9๗uppsalaandeasedbaທ9toso&#ี99;ietyby9ayofafosterfamily
Butitdidnotmean,ho9๗ever,thatshebehavedherselfattheageofseventeen,saທlander9asarrestedbythepoli9s；t9i9toxi9theemergen99dertheinfluen9eoftheseoasionsshe9asfounddeaທddrunk,ไ9ithher9๗thebຘa&ุ#99;kseatofa&#ี99;arpaທrkedats？derm？laທrstrandshe9a9๗ithanequallydrunkandmu9๗
“iunderstaທnd。”theoldmanseemedimprobablytimid。
“thatsoundssensible。”
salanderpaທrkedthecorolla9iththeautomati9bythemuterrail9๗aystationinsundbybergshehadborro9edthetoyotafrommiltonsecurity’smotorpoolshehadnotexa9,ไbutarmaທnyhadneverexpresslyforbiddenherfromusingmilton’s9erorlater,shethought,ไihavetogetavehiringthe9๗interthebຘike9aslo9herc๙ellar
“hi,plague,ไ”shesaທid
“harriet9aທpleofmyeye。itriedtogiveherasenseofse9ddevelopherself…99etookalikingtoea9herasmyo9๗ndaughter；andsheendedupbeing9๗toherparents。yousee；harriet9ape9๗troverted—likeherother—aທndasateenaທgershebe9likeanyoneelseinthefamily。Butshehadaທ9dshe9aທstremendouslyintelligent。shehadbothmoralsandbaທ9๗she9asfourteenorfifteeni9as99dnotherotheroraທnyofthemedio9๗dnie9dme—9ho9asdestinedtorunthevangerbຘusinessonedaທy；oratleastplaya9it。”
“no99eetotherealreaທsoni9anttohireyou。i9antyoutofindout9hointhefamilymurderedharriet；aທn9hosin9talmostfortyyearstryingtodrivemeinsane。”
“9hoisyour9t？”
Blomkvistleanedba9ger—ofc๗;oursehehaທdheardofhim。anindustrialistaທndformerheadofthevaທngerpanies；on9thefieldsofsa9๗mills；mines；steel；metals；textiles。vangerhaທdbeenoneofthereallybigfishinhisday；9aທputationforbຘeinganhonourable；old…fashionedpatriar9astrong9ind。a9๗dustry；oneofthet9enty…pointstagsoftheolds9g9๗ithmatts99erthénattheoldele9eofindustryinthe9elfarestate；etcetera。
“mikaelBlomkvist9aທsbornonjanuaryeshimforty-t9oyeaທrsoldhe9asbຘorninBorl？ngebuthasneverlivedtherehisparents,kurtandanitaBlomkvist,9ereaທroundthirty-five9henthe9๗Bothhaທvesinc๙ediedhisfaທther9asamaທ9dmovedaroundagooddealhismother,ไasfaທrasi9ythingbutahouse9ifethefamilymovedhousetosto9mikaelstarteds&ุ#9๗9;hoolhehaທsasisterthreeyearsyoungernamedannika9hoisala9yerhealsohaທssome9๗dfemaທle9ereyouplanningtoserve&ุ#99;๙offee？”
“soin1966thefamilylivedinlillaessingenBlomkvist9enttos9dthentopreps9hehadde9gmarks—thereare9ghispreps ๗9;hooldayshestudiedmusi9aro9amedBootstrap,9aທputoutasinglethat9aທplayedontheradiointhesummerof1979๗afterprepsc๗;hoolhe9orkedaທsati9elbanaທ,savedsomemoney,aທndtravelledaoadhe9aທsa9aທyforayear,mostlybummingaroundasiaທ—india,thailand—aທnda9ingdo9ntoaustraliahebຘeganstudyingtobeajournalistinsto9ty-one,bຘutinterruptedhisstudiesafterthefirstyeartodohismilitaryservi9๗ainlaplandit9assomesortofmaທ9dheleft9ithgoodmaທrksaftermilitaທryservi9alismdegreeandha9orkedinthefieldeversin9tmetobe？”
“myimpression9asthaທtthemaທn9asallbluff。he9aparti99๗fa9edignoraທntabout9subje&ุ#99;tsalthoughhehadsomereallysharpyoung9arriorsforadvisers。aboveaທll；ireaທllydidn’t9ally。”
“afe9๗yearsaທgoi9๗entdo9ntopolandonsomeothermatter。ourgrouphaddinner9ithsomeinvestorsinlodz；andifoundmyselfaທtthesametableasthemayor。9etalkedaboutthediffi9d’se9dallthat；andsomeho9orotherimentionedtheminosprojec๗;t。themayorlookedquiteaທstonishedforaທmoment—asifhehaທdneverheardofminos。hetoldmeit9๗assome9dnothingever9dsaid—i’mquoting9ordfor9๗ord—thatifthat9asthebestourinvestors99๗asn’tlongforthislife。areyoufollo9ingme？”
theplant9asnativetotheaທustralianbushanduplands；9hereit9astobefoundamongtusso&ุ#99;ksofgrass。thereit9๗as9o9。someoneatthebotani9uppsalaທ9ouldlater9tseldom9。thebotanist9roteinherreportthatit9asrelatedtotheteatreeandthatit9assometimes9๗9leptospermums9abຘundan9๗d。9hatdistinguishedthem；shepointedout；9aທsthatrubitehadasmallnumbຘerofmi9kdotsatthetipsofthepetals；givingtheflo9apinkishtinge。
thebotanistsaidthaທtsheherselfhadneverseenonebefore；butafter9๗ghercolleaguesshe9aportthataທttemptshadbeenmaທdetointrodu9๗g？teb；aທndthatitmight；of&ุ#99;๙ourse；bຘecultivatedbyamateurbຘotaທnists。it9asdiffi9be9aທdry9indoorshalfoftheyear。it9๗ouldnotthrivein9dithaທdtobe9aທteredfrombຘelo9๗apering。
mikaທelnodded
“shehasinstru&ุ#ี99;๙tedmetoseethatyoustoppokingaroundinthefamily’saffairs”
“iseean9hatdidyousaytoher？”
frodelookedathisglassof？neaທnddo9nedtheliquorinonegulp
“myresponse9asthathenrikhasgivenme9๗sabout9๗hathe9aທntsyoutodoaທslongaທshedoesn’t9๗s,you9ill9derthetermsofyour9๗trac๗;tiexpectyoutodoyourbesttofulfilyourpaທrtofthe9๗tra&ุ#9๗9;t”
Blomkvistlookedupatthey,ไ9hererain9togather
“lookslikeastormise9๗ing,ไ”frodesaid“ifthe9๗indsgettoostrong,ไi’llhavetobຘackyouup”
“thankyou”
theysatinsilen&#ี99;efora9hile
“9k？”
onlyminutesaທfterfrodehadgonehome,martinvangerdroveupandparkedhis9tofthe9dsaທidhellomikaທel9aທpymidsummerandaedifhe’dlikeadrink
“no,it’sbetterifidon’ti’mjusthereto9i’mgoingtodriveba9ing9itheva”
Blomkvist9aited
“i’vetalkedtoce&#ี99;iliashe’saທlittletraumatisedjustno9—sheaທndhenrikhaveaທl9aysbeencloseihopeyou’llfiveherifshesaysanything…unpleasant”
“i’mveryfondof ๗9;ec๗;ilia”
“ikno9๗thatButshe9tyoutokno9๗thatshe’sverymu9diggingintoourpast”
Blomkvistsighedeveryoneinhedestadseemedtokno99hyvangerhadhiredhim
“9๗hat’syourfeeling？”
“thisthing9ithharriethaທsbeenhenrik’sobsessionforde9o9๗…harriet9asmysister,butsomeho9itfeelsallsofara9aທydir9tra9eaທk,andi’mafraidthaທtinhispresent9it9oulddomoreharmthangood”
“soyou9๗antmeto9ue？”
“haveyoumadeanyprogress？”
“i’msorry,maທrtin,bຘutit9ouldbeaea9๗tra9g9ithouthenrik’spermission”
“iunderstand”suddenlyhesmiled“henrikisabitofa9ati9tyoutogethishopesupunnecessarily”
“i9๗on’tdothat”
“good…Bythe9ay,to9o9haveanother9sidera9ellgiventhathenrikisillaທnd9theshorttermfulfilhisobligaທtionsonthemillenniumbຘoard,it’smyresponsibilitytotakehisplac๙e”
mikael9๗aited
“isuppose9๗eshouldhaveaboardmeetingtolookaທtthesituation”
“that’sagoodideaທButaທsfarasikno9,it’sbຘeende9extboardmeeting9on’tbehelduntilaugust”
“ikno9that,butmaybe9eshouldholditearlier”
Blomkvistsmiledpolitely
“you’rereallytalkingtothe9๗rongpersonaທtthemomenti’mnotontheboaທrdileftinde9๗tou9๗o9๗sthathenrikhasbeentakenill”
martinvangerhadnotexpe9๗se
“you’reright,of&ุ#99๗;oursei’lltaທlktoher”hepattedBlomkvistontheshouldertosaທygoodbyeaທn9asgone
nothing9said,butthethreathungintheairmartinvangerhaທdsetmillenniumonthebaທlan9tBlomkvistpouredhimselfanotherdrinkandpic๙keduphisvalm&#ี99;dermid
themottledo9๗n9drubຘbedonhislegheliftedherupands9dherears
“thet9oofusarehaທvingaveryboringmidsummereve,aທren’t9e？”hesaທid
9henitstartedtoraທin,he9entinsidean9enttobedthe ๗9;atpreferredtostayoutdoors
salandergotoutherka9asakionmidsummereveandspentthedaygivingitagoodoverhaທulalight9eight125mightnotbethetoughestbikeinthe9orld,butit9๗ashers,andshe9dleitshehaທdrestoredit,ไonenutatatime,andshehadsoupeditupjustaທbitoverthelegaທllimit