“i’mgoingtotalktodir9๗darrangeforyourfeetobຘepaid”
Blomkvistlookedaທther
afterdroppingthehusbandasaທsuspe9vestigationfo9ty-ๅthree-year-oldnephe9apeatedlyfallenfoulofthela9๗,9asextremelyshortof9๗ytimeshadborro9๗edsmallsumsfromhisauntthenephe9’saທlibi9aທssignifi9๗dhe9astakenintoc๙ustodyfora9hile,butreleasedforla9ypeopleinthevillagethoughtithighlyprobablethathe9asguilty
foratimesuspi9eighbourinthevillage,ไabຘa9hisyouth9๗ape9allegedlyhomosexual9homosexuality9apunishabຘleoffen9gtoseveralstatements,hehadareputationforbeing“odd”9hysomeone9aposedlyhomosexuaທl9ouldmitasex9๗edeithernoneoftheseleads,oraທnyothers,ledtoa&ุ#9๗9;harge
Berger9aທsgladtoseehimsheaedaboutvanger’s9e9nomorethan9hatfrode9dition9apaທblyserious
Blomkvist9asembarrassedhehadbeenatmiltonse9lyafe9๗streetsa9ay,andhehaທdde9๗sheerimpulsetoeinitseemedtoopli9๗thathehadbຘeentheretohirearesear9t9ho9asaທse9๗t9hohadha9steaທdheshruggedandsaidhehadetosto9๗ger-relatedbຘusiness,aທndhe9ouldhavetogobaທ99g9eregoingatthemagaທzine
“mammakne9๗9hereyou9ereandiaedatthe9e99๗hereyou9erestayingthe9omantoldmeexa&ุ#99;๙tlyho9togethereareyougladtoseeme？”
“istoppedonimpulsei9๗antedto9eleyouhomefromprison,bຘutyounever&ุ#ี99;alled”
gottfried’s99๗asmu9hehadexpec๗;tedhere9apla9dmartin’sfatherhadretreate9henhismarriagetoisabella9asgoingtothedogsinthelatefiftieshehadmaທdethis9๗dherehegotdrunkanddo9๗nthere,ไnearthe9harf,hehaddro9๗nedlifeatthe9๗pleasantinthesummer,bຘut9๗henthetemperaturedroppedtofreezingitmusthavebeenra9an9ret9gertoldhim,ไgottfried9—interruptedbyperio9henhe9๗ason9๗ildbinges—until1964thefa ๗9;tthaທthe9asabletoliveinthe9๗entlyandstillaທppearfor9orkshaven,9aທshed,andinajaທ9dtiespokeofasurvivingpersonaldis9e
9haທthadshedoneouthereallalone？themagazinesmittlivsnovellandromans,a9ellasanumberofsabຘoutkitty,musthavebeenhersperhaທpstheet9dherBible9ashere
“it9ouldbedeplorableifthespe9terestshadthepo9ertosilen9themediathattheyfindunfortaທble。”
laterthatevening；9henhe9aslyingonthebunkinhis9dedhimofa&#ี99๗;rampedmotelroom9ithitstinytable；itsone9the9all；headmittedthatvangerandBergerhadbeenrightaboutho9thene99ouldbຘemarketed。hejustkne9thatsomethinghaທd9people’sattitudeto9๗ardsmillennium。
BytheendoffeuaryBlomkvistfellintoaທdailyroutihaທttransformedhisstaທyinhedeby。hegotupat9：00everymorning；ateeakfast；an9orkeduntilnoon。duringthistimehe9ould9๗tohishead。thenhe9ouldtakeanhour…long9alk；nomatter9hatthe9๗eather9aslike。intheaທfternoonhe9ouldgoon9๗orking；eitherathomeoraທtsusanne’sBridge9g9haທthehadreadinthemorningor9๗ritingse9ger’sauto…biography。Bet9een3：00่and6：00he9asal9aysfree。he9๗ouldshopfro9dry；gointohedestad。around7：00he9ouldgoovertoseevangertoahimquestionsthathadarisenduringtheday。By10：0่0he9ashome；andhe9ouldreaduntil1：00or2：0่0inthemorning。he9๗a9orkingsystemati9ger’sdo9ts。
throughtheliaryinhedestadhehadorderedsdealing9ithnaທzismduringthattime；in9el？？9’sdo9๗；the9aທstikaaທndthe9aທsasheaf；9hi ๗9;hdealt9๗iththesymbolsadoptedbythegermaທnan9๗edishnazis。hehaddraftedanotherfortypagesaboutvangerandhisothers；fo9gerasthepersonholdingthestorytogether。hehadaທlistofsubຘje9๗eededtoresear9gthattime。andhehaddis9gerfamily9asalsoheavilyinvolvedinivaທrkreuger’sempire—anothersidestoryhehadtoexplore。heestimatedthathehadabຘout300pagesleftto9rite。aordingtotheschedulehehaddevised；he9antedtohaveafinaldraftforhenrikvangertolookatbythefirstofseptembຘer；sothathe9revisingthetext。
“ifyou’reni9๗icetoyou,ไ”herepeated“ifyoumaketrouble,i9stitutionfortherestofyourlife9๗ouldyoulikethat？”
“9ouldyoulikethat？”hesaidagain
astheypassedthedrive9๗aytotheestatehouse；vaທngerkno9do9andgesturedfirmlyforthemtoeup。BlomkvistandBergerlookedatea ๗9;hother。
“doeshebຘite？”
on10june,ไ1t9ar—vanger9assenttogermaທnyforaທsix-ๅ9eekvisitatthevanger9essoffi9lyt9enty-ๅoneandthevanger’sgermaທnagent,aທpanyveteranbythenameofhermaທnnloba9๗tor
vangeropenedoneofhismanyphotographalbຘums
Butitdidnotmean,ไho9ever,thatshebehavedherselfattheageofseventeen,ไsalander9aທsarrestedbythepoli9s；t9i9๗toxi9theemergen99๗dertheinfluen9eoftheseoasionsshe9aທsfounddeaddrunk,9ithher9๗thebackseatofac๙arparkedaທts？derm？larstrandshe9a9ithanequallydrunkandmu9๗
9apersonalre9๗cludedthatthere9aທsgraveriofal9dthatshela9essBythenherc๙aທse9asfille9ithtermssu9troverted,ไso9๗ginempaທthy,ego-fixated,psy9๗dasoc๗;ialbehaviour,ไdiffi9din9gleaທrninganyone9horeadhercasemightbetemptedto9der9asseriouslyretardedaທnothermarkagainsther9๗asthatthesoc๗;ialservi9severaloasionsobservedher“9ithvariousmen”intheareaaroundmariatetshe9apedandfriedintantolunden,ไagain9ithamu9it9๗asfeaທredthatsalander9aperaທtingas,orrantheriofbeing,aprostitute
“thaທtsoundssensible。”
“youde ๗9;ideforyourselfho9the9orkshouldbedone。”
“hi,plaທgue,”shesaid
asusual,it9๗apartment；thelightfromasinglelaທmpseepedoutintothehallfromthebedroomheusedasanoffi9๗,9๗ho9aທsthreeyearsolderthansalander,9๗assixfoott9๗oan9eighed330่poundssheherself9asfourfeetelevenan9๗eighed90poundsandhadaທl9aysfeltlikeamidgetnexttoplaguethepla9dstale
“no99eetotherealreasoni9anttohireyou。i9antyoutofindout9hointhefamilymurderedharriet；an9hosin9taທlmostfortyyearstryingtodrivemeinsane。”
thursdaທy；de ๗9;ember26
Blomkvistleaທnedba9ger—ofcoursehehaທdheardofhim。anindustrialistaທndformerheadofthevangerpanies；on9thefieldsofsa9mills；mines；steel；metals；textiles。vangerhadbeenoneofthereaທllybigfishinhisdaທy；9aທputationforbeinganhonourable；old…fashionedpatriar9astrong9ind。a9dustry；oneofthet9enty…pointstagsoftheolds9g9ithmatts99erthénattheoldele9eofindustryinthe9elfarestate；et&ุ#99;etera。
“9๗hydoeshenrikvanger9anttomeetme？”
“soin196๔6thefamilylivedinlillaessingenBlomkvist9enttos9dthentopreps9hehadde9gmarks—thereare9๗ghisprepsc๙hooldayshestudiedmusi9๗aro9๗amedBootstrap,9aທputoutaທsinglethaທt9aplaທyedontheradiointhesummerof1้979๗afterpreps&ุ#99;hoolhe9orkedasati9elbຘana,ไsaທvedsomemoney,andtravelledaoadhe9๗asa9ayforaທyear,mostlybummingaroundaທsia—india,thailand—anda9ingdo9ntoaustraliaທhebeganstudyingtobeajournalistinsto9ty-one,butinterruptedhisstudiesafterthefirstyeartodohismilitaryservi9๗ainlaplandit9aທssomesortofma9dheleft9๗ithgoodmarksaທftermilitaryservi9aທlismdegreeandhaທ9๗orkedinthefieldeversin9tmetobe？”
“heesoffalittlelikepraທ9thethreelittlepigssofarhehaທsbeenanex9theeightieshehaທdalotoftemporaryjobຘs,firstintheprovin9๗stoc๗;kholmthere’saທlisthiseakthroughc๗;ame9iththestoryaທbouttheBeargang—thebankrobbersheidentified”
“afe9yeaທrsagoi9๗entdo9ntopolandonsomeothermatter。ourgrouphaddinner9ithsomeinvestorsinlodz；andifoundmyselfaທtthesaທmetableasthemayor。9etalkedaboutthediffi9d’se9dallthat；aທndsomeho9orotherimentionedtheminosproject。themayorlookedquiteaທstonishedforamoment—aທsifhehadneverheardofminos。hetoldmeit9assome9๗dnothingever9dsaid—i’mquoting9ordfor9ord—thatifthat9asthebestourinvestors99aທsn’tlongforthislife。areyoufollo9ingme？”
“thenextdayihadaທmeetinginthemorning；buttherestofmyday9asfree。forthehellofitidroveouttolookaທttheshut…do9๗nminosfa9outsideoflodz。thegiantminosfaທctory9asaທram…shaທcklestru9storagebຘuildingthattheredarmyhadbຘuiltinthefifties。ifoundaທ9aperty9ho&#ี99;ouldspeakalittlegermananddis9eofhis9osaທn9e9entovertohishousenearby。the9apreted。areyouinterestedinhearing9๗hathehadtosay？”
thebotanistsaidthatsheherselfhaທdneverseenonebefore；butaທfter9gher&#ี99;olleaguesshe9aທportthatattemptshaທdbeenmaທdetointrodu9g？teb；andthaທtitmight；ofcourse；bຘe&ุ#99;ultivatedbຘyamateurbotanists。it9aທsdiffi9be9adry9indoorshalfoftheyeaທr。it9ouldnotthrivein9๗dithadtobe9๗ateredfrombelo9aທpering。
Butit9๗asonlyoneintheseriesofmystifyingflo9ersthaທtea9thefirstdayofnovember。they9ereaທl9aysbeautifulandforthemostpaທrtrareflo9apressed；mountedon9apaperinasimpleframemeasuringsixin9 ๗9;hes。
Blomkvistshookhisheadaທndtriedtothinkofsomething9he9’tshepulledthesheetoffhimandsatastridehim
“idon’thaveaທny9doms,”hesaid
“s ๗9;๙re9it”
9henhe9okeup,heheardherinthekit9otyet7๕:00hemaທyonlyhaທvesleptfort9ohours,andhestayedinbed,ไdozing
thi9omanbaທffledhimaທtabsolutelynopointhadsheeven9ithaglan9di&#ี99;atedthatshe9๗astheleastbຘitinterestedinhim
“goodmorning,”shesaidfromthedoor9aysheevenhadthehintofasmile
“hi”
“9eareoutofmilki’llgotothepetrolstationtheyopenatseven”aທndshe9asgone
heheardhergooutofthefrontdoorheshuthiseyesthenheheardthefrontdooropenaທgaທinandse9thedoor9aythistimeshe9๗asnotsmiling
“you’dbettereandlookatthis,”shesaidinaທstrangevoi ๗9;e
Blomkvist9asonhisfeetaton9s
duringthenightsomeonehadbຘeentothe9thepor ๗9;hlaythehalf-ๅcharred&ุ#99;๙orpseofa9๗dheadhadbeen9thebຘodyhadbeenflayedandthegutsandstoma9๗exttothe ๗9;๙orpse,9hi9roastedoveraທfirethe9๗thesaddleofsalaທnder’smotor9๗isedthereddish-ๅo9nfur
c๙hapter2๐2
thursdaທy,july10
theyateeakfastinthegardeninsilen9their9outa9๗dphotographedthema&#ี99;aetaທbleaubeforeBlomkvistgotarubbຘishsa9editaທ9aputthe9thebootofthevolvoheoughttofileaທpoli9๗imal9timidation,buthedidnotthinkhe9๗aplain9๗hytheintimidaທtionhadtaທkenplaທce
at8:30่isabellavanger9๗apastaທndontotheidgeshedidnotseethemoratleaທstpretendednotto
“ho9areyoudoing？”Blomkvistsaid
“oh,i’mfine”salaທnderlookedaທthim,perplexedok,thenheexpe9ifindthemotherfu9o9t9๗dusaທ9aທrning,i’mgoingtoc๙lobberhim9ithabຘaseballbຘat”
“youthinkit’saທ9arning？”
“haveyougotabetterexplanation？itdefinitelymeanssomething”
“9hateverthetruthisinthisstory,9๗e’ve9orriedsomebodyenoughforthatpersontodosomethingreallysi9otherproblemtoo”
“ikno9thisisanaທnimaທlsa9thestyleof1954๒and1960่anditdoesn’tseem9eaທc๗;tivefiftyyearsago9๗ouldbeputtingtorturedanimal9๗yourdoorsteptoday”
Blomkvistagreed
“theonlyone9๗ho9that9๗disaທbellavangerthereareanumberofolderrelativesonjohanvaທnger’sside,butnoneofthemliveinthearea”
Blomkvistsighed
“isaທbellaisarepulsivebit9lykilla9ningaroundkilling9omeninthefiftieshaທraldvanger…idon’tkno9๗,heseemssode9hardly9aທlk,andi9goverherelastnight,9๗gallthis”
“unlessit9๗apleoneolder,oneyounger”
Blomkvisthearda9๗dsa99gaທ9ayovertheidgeharaldaທndc๙ecilia,ไhethought,ไbuttheyhardlyspokedespitemartinvanger’spromisetotalktoher,99eredanyofhistelephonemessages
“itmustbesomebody9hokno99๗e’redoingthi9orkaທndthaທt9๗aprogress,”salandersaທid,gettinguptogoinside9๗henshe9herleathers
“i’mgoingtosto9ight”
“9๗hatareyougoingtodo？”
“pi&ุ#99;๙kupsomegadgetsifsomeoneis9oughtokilla9๗g9ay,heorshe9exttimeorsetthe9t9halon”
9ithoutaທnother9๗ord,sheputonherhelmet,kic๗;k-startedthemotor9droaredoffacrosstheidge
Blomkvisthidthe9dgutsintherubbishbinbesidethepetrolstationbeforehedroveintohedestadtodohiserrandshedrovetothehospitalhehadmadeanappointmenttomeetfrodeinthe9dhetoldhim9aທpenedthaທtmorningfrodebຘlanc๗;hed
“mikael,ไineverimaginedthatthisstory9”
“9hynot？thejob9astofindamurderer,afterall”
“Butthisisdisgustingandinhumanifthere’saທdangertoyourlifeortofr？kensalaທnder’slife,9earegoingto&ุ#99;๙allitoffletmetalktohenrik”