1

  提供

  hegirlwiththedragontattoo

  larssonstieg

  prologue

  afridayinnoveber

  ithappenedeveryyear；wasalostaritual。andthiswashiseighty…secondbirthday。when；asusual；theflowerwasdelivered；hetookoffthewrappingpaperandthenpickedupthetelephoocalldetectivesuperintendentmorellwho；whenheretired；hadovedtolakesiljanindalarna。theywerenotonlythesaeage；theyhadbeenbornonthesaeday—whichwassoethingofanironyunderthecircustances。theoldpoliceanwassittingwithhiscoffee；waiting；expectingthecall。

  “itarrived。”

  “whatisitthisyear？”

  “idon’tknohatkinditis。i’llhavetogetsoeootellewhatitis。it’swhite。”

  “noletter；isuppose。”

  “justtheflower。thefraeisthesaekindaslastyear。oneofthosedo…it…yourselfones。”

  “postark？”

  “stockhol。”

  “handwriting？”

  “saeasalways；allincapitals。upright；neatlettering。”

  withthat；thesubjectwasexhausted；andnotanotherwordwasexchangedforalostainute。theretiredpoliceanleanedbackinhiskitchenchairanddrewonhispipe。heknewhewasnolongerexpectedtoeupwithapithyentoranysharpquestionwhichwouldshedanewlightonthecase。thosedayshadlongsincepassed；andtheexchangebetweenthetwoenseeedlikearitualattachingtoaysterywhichno…oneelseinthewholeworldhadtheleastinterestinunravelling。

  thelatinnaewasleptosperurubite。itwasaplantaboutfourincheshighwithsall；heather…likefoliageandawhiteflowerwithfivepetalsaboutoneinchacross。

  theplantwasnativetotheaustralianbushanduplands；whereitwastobefoundaongtussocksofgrass。thereitwascalleddesertsnow。soeoneatthebotanicalgardensinuppsalawouldlaterconfirthatitwasaplantseldocultivatedinsweden。thebotanistwroteinherreportthatitwasrelatedtotheteatreeandthatitwassoetiesconfusedwithitsoreoncousinleptosperuscopariu；whichgrewinabundanceinnewzealand。whatdistinguishedthe；shepointedout；wasthatrubitehadasallnuberoficroscopicpinkdotsatthetipsofthepetals；givingtheflowerafaintpinkishtinge。

  rubitewasaltogetheranunpretentiousflower。ithadnoknownedicinalproperties；anditcouldnotinducehallucinatoryexperiences。itwasneitheredible；norhadauseintheanufactureofplantdyes。ontheotherhand；theaboriginalpeopleofaustraliaregardedassacredtheregionandthefloraaroundayersrock。

  thebotanistsaidthatsheherselfhadneverseenonebefore；butafterconsultinghercolleaguesshewastoreportthatatteptshadbeenadetointroducetheplantatanurserying？teb；andthatitight；ofcourse；becultivatedbyaateurbotanists。itwasdifficulttogrowinswedenbecauseitthrivedinadrycliateandhadtoreainindoorshalfoftheyear。itwouldnotthriveincalcareoussoilandithadtobewateredfrobelow。itneededpapering。

  thefactofitsbeingsorareafloweroughttohaveadeiteasiertotracethesourceofthisparticularspecien；butinpracticeitwasanipossibletask。therewasnoregistrytolookitupin；nolicencestoexplore。anywherefroahandfultoafewhundredenthusiastscouldhavehadaesstoseedsorplants。andthosecouldhavechangedhandsbetweenfriendsorbeenboughtbyailorderfroanywhereineurope；anywhereintheantipodes。

  butitwasonlyoneintheseriesofystifyingflowersthateachyeararrivedbypostonthefirstdayofnoveber。theywerealwaysbeautifulandfortheostpartrareflowers；alwayspressed；ountedonwater…colourpaperinasiplefraeeasuringsixinchesbyeleveninches。

  thestrangestoryoftheflowershadneverbeenreportedinthepress；onlyaveryfewpeopleknewofit。thirtyyearsagotheregulararrivaloftheflowerwastheobjectofuchscrutiny—atthenationalforensiclaboratory；aongfingerprintexperts；graphologists；criinalinvestigators；andoneortworelativesandfriendsoftherecipient。nowtheactorsinthedraawerebutthree：theelderlybirthdayboy；theretiredpolicedetective；andthepersonwhohadpostedtheflower。thefirsttwoatleasthadreachedsuchanagethatthegroupofinterestedpartieswouldsoonbefurtherdiinished。

  thepoliceanwasahardenedveteran。hewouldneverfethisfirstcase；inwhichhehadhadtotakeintocustodyaviolentandappallinglydrunkworkeratanelectricalsubstationbeforehecausedothershar。duringhiscareerhehadbroughtinpoachers；wifebeaters；conen；carthieves；anddrunkdrivers。hehaddealtwithburglars；drugdealers；rapists；andonederangedbober。hehadbeeninvolvedinnineurderoranslaughtercases。infiveofthesetheurdererhadcalledthepolicehiselfand；fullofreorse；confessedtohavingkilledhiswifeorbrotherorsoeotherrelative。twoothersweresolvedwithinafewdays。anotherrequiredtheassistanceofthenationalcriinalpoliceandtooktwoyears。

  theninthcasewassolvedtothepolice’ssatisfaction；whichistosaythattheyknehotheurdererwas；butbecausetheevidencewassoinsubstantialthepublicprosecutordecidedno. comroceedwiththecase。tothedetectivesuperintendent’sdisay；thestatuteofliitationseventuallyputanendtotheatter。butallinallhecouldlookbackonanipressivecareer。

  hewasanythingbutpleased。

  forthedetective；the“caseofthepressedflowers”hadbeennaggingathiforyears—hislast；unsolved；andfrustratingcase。thesituationwasdoublyabsurdbecauseafterspendingliterallythousandsofhoursbrooding；ondutyandoff；hecouldnotsaybeyonddoubtthatacriehadindeedbeenitted。

  thetwoenknewthatwhoeverhadountedtheflowerswouldhaveworngloves；thattherewouldbenofingerprintsonthefraeortheglass。thefraecouldhavebeenboughtincaerashopsorstationerystorestheworldover。therewas；quitesiply；noleadtofollow。mostoftentheparcelwaspostedinstockhol；butthreetiesfrolondon；twicefroparis；twicefrocopenhagen；oncefromadrid；oncefrobonn；andoncefropensacola；florida。thedetectivesuperintendenthadhadtolookitupinanatlas。

  afterputtingdownthetelephoheeighty…two…year…oldbirthdayboysatforalongtielookingattheprettybuteaninglessflowerwhosenaehedidnotyetknow。thenhelookedupatthewallabovehisdesk。therehungforty…threepressedflowersintheirfraes。fourrowsoften；andoneatthebottowithfour。inth. comrowonewasissingfrotheninthslot。desertsnoouldbenuberforty…four。

  withoutwarninghebegantoweep。hesurprisedhiselfwiththissuddenburstofeotionafteralostfortyyears。

  part1

  incentive

  december20–january3

  eighteenpercentofthewoeninswedenhaveatoiebeenthreatenedbyaan。

  chapter1

  friday；deceber20

  thetrialwasirretrievablyover；everythingthatcouldbesaidhadbeensaid；buthehadneverdoubtedthathewouldlose。thewrittenverdictwashandeddownat10：00onfridayorning；andallthatreainedwasasuingupfrothereporterswaitinginthecorridoroutsidethedistrictcourt。

  “carl”mikaelblokvistsawthethroughthedoorwayandslowedhisstep。hehadnowishtodiscusstheverdict；butquestionswereunavoidable；andhe—ofallpeople—knewthattheyhadtobeaskedandanswered。thisishowitistobeacriinal；hethought。ontheothersideoftheicrophone。hestraightenedupandtriedtosile。thereportersgavehifriendly；alostebarrassedgreetings。

  “let’ssee…aftonbladet；expressen；ttwireservice；tv4；and…whereareyoufro？…ahyes；dagensnyheter。iustbeacelebrity；”blokvistsaid。

  “giveusasoundbite；kalleblokvist。”itwasareporterfrooneoftheeveningpapers。

  blokvist；hearingthenicknae；forcedhiselfasalwaysnottorollhiseyes。once；whenhewastwenty…threeandhadjuststartedhisfirstsuerjobasajournalist；blokvisthadchanceduponagangwhichhadpulledofffivebankrobberiesoverthepasttwoyears。therewasnodoubtthatitwasthesaegangineveryinstance。theirtradearkwastoholduptwobanksatatiewithilitaryprecision。theyworeasksfrodisneyworld；soinevitablypolicelogicdubbedthethedonaldduckgang。thenewspapersrenaedthethebeargang；whichsoundedoresinister；oreappropriatetothefactthatontwooasionstheyhadrecklesslyfiredwarningshotsandthreatenedcuriouspassersby。

  theirsixthoutingwasatabankin？sterg？tlandattheheightoftheholidayseason。areporterfrothelocalradiostationhappenedtobeinthebankatthetie。assoonastherobbersweregonehewenttoapublictelephoneanddictatedhisstoryforlivebroadcast。

  blokvistwasspendingseveraldayswithagirlfriendatherparents’suercabinnearkatrinehol。exactlywhyheadetheconnectionhecouldnotexplain；eventothepolice；butashewaslisteningtothenewsreporthereeberedagroupoffoureninasuercabinafewhundredfeetdowntheroad。hehadseentheplayingbadintonoutintheyard：fourblond；athletictypesinshortswiththeirshirtsoff。theywereobviouslybodybuilders；andtherehadbeensoethingaboutthethathadadehilooktwice—aybeitwasbecausethegaewasbeingplayedinblazingsunshinewithwhatherecognisedasintenselyfocusedenergy。

  therehadbeennogoodreasontosuspecttheofbeingthebankrobbers；butneverthelesshehadgooahilloverlookingtheircabin。itseeedepty。itwasaboutfortyinutesbeforeavolvodroveupandparkedintheyard。theyoungengotout；inahurry；andwereeachcarryingasportsbag；sotheyighthavebeendoingnothingorethaningbackfroaswi。butoneofthereturnedtothecarandtookoutfrothebootsoethingwhichhehurriedlycoveredwithhisjacket。evenfroblokvist’srelativelydistantobservationposthecouldtellthatitwasagoodoldak4；theriflethathadbeenhisconstantpanionfortheyearofhisilitaryservice。

  hecalledthepoliceandthatwasthestartofathree…daysiegeofthecabin；blanketcoveragebytheedia；withblokvistinafront…rowseatandcollectingagratifyinglylargefeefroaneveningpaper。thepolicesetuptheirheadquartersinacaravaninthegardenofthecabinwhereblokvistwasstaying。

  thefallofthebearganggavehithestarbillingthatlaunchedhiasayoungjournalist。thedownsideofhiscelebritywasthattheothereveningnewspapercouldnotresistusingtheheadline“kalleblokvistsolvesthecase。”thetongue…in…cheekstorywaswrittenbyanolderfealecolunistandcontainedreferencestotheyoungdetectiveinastridlindgren’ssforchildren。toakeattersworse；thepaperhadrunthestorywithagrainyphotographofblokvistwithhisouthhalfopenevenasheraisedanindexfinge. comoint。

  itadenodifferencethatblokvisthadneverinlifeusedthenaecarl。frothatoenton；tohisdisay；hewasnicknaedkalleblokvistbyhispeers—anepitheteployedwithtauntingprovocation；notunfriendlybutnotreallyfriendlyeither。inspiteofhisrespectforastridlindgren—whosesheloved—hedetestedthenicknae。ittookhiseveralyearsandfarweightierjournalisticsuessesbeforethenicknaebegantofade；buthestillcringedifeverthenaewasusedinhishearing。

  rightnowheachievedaplacidsileandsaidtothereporterfrotheeveningpaper：“oheon；thinkofsoethingyourself。youusuallydo。”

  histonewasnotunpleasant。theyallkneweachother；oreorless；andblokvist’sostviciouscriticshadnotethatorning。oneofthejournaliststherehadatoieworkedwithhi。andatapartysoeyearsagohehadnearlysueededinpickinguponeofthereporters—thewoanfrosheontv4。

  “youtookarealhitintheretoday；”saidtheonefrodagensnyheter；clearlyayoungpart…tier。“howdoesitfeel？”

  despitetheseriousnessofthesituation；neitherblokvistnortheolderjournalistscouldhelpsiling。heexchangedglanceswithtv4。howdoesitfeel？thehalf…wittedsportsreportershoveshisicrophoneinthefaceofthebreathlessathleteonthefinishingline。

  “icanonlyregretthatthecourtdidnotetoadifferentconclusion；”hesaidabitstuffily。

  “threeonthsingaoland150；000kronordaages。that’sprettysevere；”saidshefrotv4。

  “i’llsurvive。”

  “areyougoingtoapologisetowennerstr？？shakehishand？”

  “ithinknot。”

  “soyoustillwouldsaythathe’sacrook？”dagensnyheter。

  thecourthadjustruledthatblokvisthadlibelledanddefaedthefinancierhans…erikwennerstr？。thetrialwasoverandhehadnoplanstoappeal。sowhatwouldhappenifherepeatedhisclaionthecourthousesteps？blokvistdecidedthathedidnotwanttofindout。

  “ithoughtihadgoodreaso. comublishtherationthatwasinypossession。thecourthasruledotherwise；andiustaeptthatthejudicialprocesshastakenitscourse。thoseofusontheeditorialstaffwillhavetodiscussthejudgeentbeforewedecidewhatwe’regoingtodo。ihavenooretoadd。”

  “buthowdidyouetofetthatjournalistsactuallyhavetobackuptheirassertions？”shefrotv4。herexpressionwasneutral；butblokvistthoughthesawahintofdisappointedrepudiationinhereyes。

  thereportersonsite；apartfrotheboyfrodagensnyheter；wereallveteransinthebusiness。forthetheanswertothatquestionwasbeyondtheconceivable。“ihavenothingtoadd；”herepeated；butwhentheothershadaeptedthistv4stoodhiagainstthedoorstothecourthouseandaskedherquestionsinfrontofthecaera。shewaskinderthanhedeserved；andtherewereenoughclearanswerstosatisfyallthereportersstillstandingbehindher。thestorywouldbeintheheadlinesbuthereindedhiselfthattheywerenotdealingwiththeediaeventoftheyearhere。thereportershadwhattheyneededandheadedbacktotheirrespectivenewsroos。

  heconsideredwalking；butitwasablusterydeceberdayandhewasalreadycoldaftertheinterview。ashewalkeddownthecourtroosteps；hesawwilliabgettingoutofhiscar。heusthavebeensittingthereduringtheinterview。theireyeset；andthenbsiled。

  “itwasworthingdownherejusttoseeyouwiththatpaperinyourhand。”

  blokvistsaidnothing。bandblokvisthadknowneachotherforfifteenyears。theyhadworkedtogetherascubreportersforthefinancialsectionofaorningpaper。maybeitwasaquestionofcheistry；butthefoundationhadbeenlaidthereforalifelongenity。inblokvist’seyes；bhadbeenathird…ratereporterandatroublesoepersonwhoannoyedeveryonearoundhiwithcrassjokesandadedisparagingrearksabouttheoreexperienced；olderreporters。heseeedtodisliketheolderfealereportersinparticular。theyhadtheirfirstquarrel；thenothers；andanontheantagonisturnedpersonal。

  overtheyears；theyhadrunintoeachotherregularly；butitwasnotuntilthelateniiesthattheybecaeseriouseneies。blokvisthadpublishedaaboutfinancialjournalisandquotedextensivelyanuberofidioticarticleswrittenbyb。bcaeacrossasapopousasswhogotanyofhisfactsupsidedownandwrotehoagestodot…paniesthatwereonthebrinkofgoingunder。whenthereaftertheyetbychanceinabarins？dertheyhadallbutetoblows。bleftjournalis；andnowheworkedinpr—foraconsiderablyhighersalary—atafirthat；toakethingsworse；waspartofindustrialisthans…erikwennerstr？’ssphereofinfluence。

  theylookedateachotherforalongoentbeforeblokvistturnedonhisheelandwalkedaway。itwastypicalofbtodrivetothecourthousesiplytositthereandlaughathi。

  thenuber40busbrakedtoa. cominfrontofb’scarandblokvisthoppedontoakehisescape。hegotoffatfridhesplan；undecidedwhattodo。hewasstillholdingthejudgeentdocuentinhishand。finallyhewalkedovertokaféanna；nexttothegarageentranceleadingunderneaththepolicestation。

  halfainuteafterhehadorderedacaffelatteandasandwich；thelunchtienewscaeontheradio。thestoryfollowedthatofasuicidebobinginjerusaleandthenewsthatthegovernenthadappointedaissiontoinvestigatetheallegedforationofanewcartelwithintheconstructionindustry。

  journalistmikaelblokvistoftheagazinemillenniuwassentencedthisorningto90daysingaolforaggravatedlibelofindustrialisthans…erikwennerstr？。inanarticleearlierthisyearthatdrewattentiontotheso…calledminosaffair；blokvistclaiedthatwennerstr？hadusedstatefundsintendedforindustrialinvestentinpolandforarsdeals。blokvistwasalsosentence. comay150；000sekindaages。inastateent；wennerstr？’slawyerbertilcanerarkersaidthathisclientwassatisfiedwiththejudgeent。itwasanexceptionallyoutrageouscaseoflibel；hesaid。

  thejudgeentwastwenty…sixpageslong。itsetoutthereasonsforfindingblokvistguiltyonfifteencountsofaggravatedlibelofthebusinessanhans…erikwennerstr？。soeachcountcosthitenthousandkronorandsixdaysingaol。andthentherewerethecourtcostsandhisownlawyer’sfee。hecouldnotbringhiselftothinkaboutalltheexpenses；buthecalculatedtoothatitighthavebeenworse；thecourthadacquittedhionsevenothercounts。

  ashereadthejudgeent；hefeltagrowingheavinessanddisfortinhisstoach。thissurprisedhi。asthetrialbeganheknewthatitwouldtakeairacleforhitoescapeconviction；andhehadbeereconciledtotheoute。hesatthroughthetwodaysofthetrialsurprisinglycal；andforelevenoredayshewaited；withoutfeelinganythinginparticular；forthecourttofinishdeliberatingandtoeupwiththedocuenthenowheldinhishand。itwasonly