throughthewindowinthegablethedeskhadaviewofthebridgeandthechurch。therewasasofaandcoffeetablewherethehousekeeperhadsetoutatheros；rolls；andpastries。

  vangergesturedtowardsthetray；butblokvistpretendednottosee；insteadheadeatouroftheroo；firststudyingtheshelfandthenthewalloffraedflowers。thedeskwasorderly；onlyafewpapersinoneheap。atitsedgewasasilver…fraedphotographofadark…hairedgirl；beautifulbutwithaischievouslook；ayoungwoanonherwaytobeingdangerous；hethought。itwasapparentlyaconfirationportraitthathadfadedovertheyearsithadbeenthere。

  “doyoureeberher；mikael？”vangersaid。

  “reeber？”

  “yes；youether。andactuallyyouhavebeeninthisroobefore。”

  blokvistturnedandshookhishead。

  “no；howcouldyoureeber？iknewyourfather。ihiredkurtfirstasaninstallerandachinistseveraltiesinthefiftiesandsixties。hewasatalentedan。itrie. comersuadehitokeepstudyingandbeeanengineer。youwereherethewholesuerof1963；whenweputnewachineryinthepaperillinhedestad。itwashardtofindaplaceforyourfailytolive；sowesolveditbylettingyouliveinthewoodenhouseacrosstheroad。youcanseeitfrothewindow。”

  vangerpickedupthephotograph。

  “thisisharrietvanger；granddaughterofybrotherrichard。shetookcareofyouanytiesthatsuer。youweretwo；goingonthree。maybeyouwerealreadythreethen—idon’trecall。shewasthirteen。”

  “iasorry；butidon’thavetheleastrecollectionofwhatyou’retellinge。”blokvistcouldnotevenbesurethatvangerwastellingthetruth。

  “iunderstand。butireeberyou。youusedtorunaroundeverywhereonthefarwithharrietintow。icouldhearyourshriekswheneveryoufell。ireeberigaveyouatoyonce；ayellow；sheet…etaltractorthatihadplayedwithyselfasaboy。youwerecrazyaboutit。ithinkthatwasthecolour。”

  blokvistfeltachillinside。theyellowtractorhedidreeber。whenhewasolderithadstoodonashelfinhisbedroo。

  “doyoureeberthattoy？”

  “ido。andyouwillbeausedtoknowthatthetractorisstillaliveandwell；atthetoymuseuinstockhol。theyputoutacallforoldoriginaltoystenyearsago。”

  “really？”vangerchuckledwithdelight。“leteshowyou…”

  theoldanwentovertotheshelfandpulledaphotographalbufrooneofthelowershelves。blokvistnoticedthathehaddifficultybendingoverandhadtobracehiselfontheshelfwhenhestraightenedup。helaidthealbuonthecoffeetable。heknehathewaslookingfor：ablack…and…whitesnapshotinwhichthephotographer’sshadowshowedinthebottoleftcorner。intheforegroundwasafair…hairedboyinshorts；staringatthecaerawithaslightlyanxiousexpression。

  “thisisyou。yourparentsaresittingonthegardenbenchinthebackground。harrietispartlyhiddenbyyourother；andtheboytotheleftofyourfatherisharriet’sbrother；martin；whorunsthevangerpanytoday。”

  blokvist’sotherwasobviouslypregnant—hissisterwasontheway。helookedatthephotographwithixedfeelingsasvangerpouredcoffeeandpushedovertheplateofrolls。

  “yourfatherisdead；iknow。isyourotherstillalive？”

  “shediedthreeyearsago；”blokvistsaid。

  “shewasanicewoan。ireeberherverywell。”

  “buti’sureyoudidn’tasketoeheretotalkaboutoldtiesyouhadwithyparents。”

  “you’reright。i’vebeenworkingonwhatiwantedtosaytoyouforseveraldays；butnowthatyou’reactuallyhereidon’tquiteknoheretobegin。isupposeyoudidsoeresearch；soyouknowthationcewieldedsoeinfluenceinswedishindustryandthejobarket。todayi’anoldanwhowillprobablydiefairlysoon；anddeathperhapsisanexcellentstartingpointforourconversation。”

  blokvisttookaswallowofblackcoffee—plainlyboiledinapanintruenorrlandstyle—andwonderedwherethiswasgoingtolead。

  “ihavepaininyhipandlongwalksareathingofthepast。onedayyou’lldiscoverforyourselfhowstrengthseepsaway；buti’neitherorbidnorsenile。i’notobsessedbydeath；buti’atanagewhenihavetoaeptthatytieisaboutup。youwanttoclosetheaountsandtakecareofunfinishedbusiness。doyouunderstandwhatiean？”

  blokvistnodded。vangerspokeinasteadyvoice；andblokvisthadalreadydecidedthattheoldanwasneithersenilenorirrational。“i’ostlycuriousaboutwhyi’here；”hesaidagain。

  “becauseiwanttoaskforyourhelpwiththisclosingofaounts。”

  “whye？whatakesyouthinki’dbeabletohelpyou？”

  “becauseasiwasthinkingabouthiringsoeone；yournaecroppedupinthenews。iknehoyouwere；ofcourse。andaybeit’sbecauseyousatonykneewhenyouwerealittlefellow。don’tisunderstande。”hewavedthethoughtaway。“idon’tlooktoyoutohelpeforsentientalreasons。itwasjustthatihadtheipulsetocontactyouspecifically。”

  mikaelgaveafriendlylaugh。“well；idon’treeberbeingperchedonyourknee。buthowcouldyouaketheconnection？thatwasintheearlysixties。”

  “youisunderstoode。yourfailyovedtostockholwhenyourfathergotthejobastheworkshopforeanatzarinder’smechanical。iwastheonewhogothithejob。iknewhewasagoodworker。iusedtoseehiovertheyearswhenihadbusinesswithzarinder’s。weweren’tclosefriends；butwewouldchatforawhile。thelasttieisawhiwastheyearbeforehedied；andhetoldethenthatyouhadgotintojournalisschool。hewasextreelyproud。thenyoubecaefaouswiththestoryofthebankrobbergang。i’vefollowedyourcareerandreadanyofyourarticlesovertheyears。asaatteroffact；ireadmillenniuquiteoften。”

  “ok；i’withyou；butwhatisitexactlythatyouwantetodo？”

  vangerlookeddownathishands；thensippedhiscoffee；asifheneededapausebeforehecouldatlastbegintobroachwhathewanted。

  “beforeigetstarted；mikael；i’dliketoakeanagreeentwithyou。iwantyoutodotwothingsfore。oneisapretextandtheotherisyrealobjective。”

  “whatforofagreeent？”

  “i’goingtotellyouastoryintwoparts。thefirstisaboutthevangerfaily。that’sthepretext。it’salong；darkstory；andi’lltrytosticktotheunvarnishedtruth。thesecondpartofthestorydealswithyactualobjective。you’llprobablythinksoeofthestoryis…crazy。whatiwantisforyoutoheareout—aboutwhatiwantyoutodoandalsowhatiaoffering—beforeyouakeupyourindwhethertotakeonthejobornot。”

  blokvistsighed。obviouslyvangerwasnotgoingtolethigointietocatchtheafternoontrain。hewassurethatifhecalledfrodetoaskforalifttothestation；thecarwouldsoehowrefusetostartinthecold。

  theoldanusthavethoughtlongandhardhowhewasgoingtohookhi。blokvisthadthefeelingthateverylastthingthathadhappenedsincehearrivedwasstaged：theintroductorysurprisethatasachildhehadethishost；thepictureofhisparentsinthealbu；andtheephasisonthefactthathisfatherandvangerhadbeenfriends；alongwiththeflatterythattheoldanknehomikaelblokvistwasandthathehadbeenfollowinghiscareerforyearsfroadistance…。nodoubtithadacoreoftruth；butitwasalsoprettyeleentarypsychology。vangerwasapractisedanipulator—howelsehadhebeeoneofsweden’sleadingindustrialists？

  blokvistdecidedthatvangerwantedhitodosoethingthathewasnotgoingtohavetheslightestdesiretodo。hehadonlytowrestfrohiwhatthiswasandthensaynothankyou。andjustpossiblybeintietocatchtheafternoontrain。

  “fivee；herrvanger；”hesaid；“i’vebeenherealreadyfortwentyinutes。i’llgiveyouexactlythirtyinutesoretotellewhatyouwant。theni’callingataxiandgoinghoe。”

  foraoenttheaskofthegood…naturedpatriarchslipped；andblokvistcoulddetecttheruthlesscaptainofindustryfrohisdaysofpowerconfrontedbyasetback。hisouthcurledinagrisile。

  “iunderstand。”

  “youdon’thavetobeataroundthebushwithe。tellewhatyouwantetodo；sothaticandecidewhetheriwanttodoitornot。”

  “soifican’tconvinceyouinhalfanhourtheniwouldn’tbeabletodoitinaontheither—that’swhatyouthink。”

  “soethingalongthatline。”

  “butystoryislongandplicated。”

  “shortenandsiplifyit。that’swhatwedoinjournalis。twenty…nineinutes。”

  vangerheldupahand。“enough。igetyourpoint。butit’snevergoodpsychologytoexaggerate。ineedsoebodywhocandoresearchandthinkcritically；butwhoalsohasintegrity。ithinkyouhaveit；andthat’snotflattery。agoodjournalistough. comossessthesequalities；andireadyourtheknightsteplarwithgreatinterest。it’struethatipickedyoubecauseiknewyourfatherandbecauseiknohoyouare。ifiunderstoodtheattercorrectly；youleftyouragazineasaresultofthewennerstr？affair。whicheansthatyouhavenojobattheoent；andprobablyyou’reinatightfinancialspot。”

  “soyouightbeabletoexploitypredicaent；isthatit？”

  “perhaps。butmikael—ifiaycallyoumikael？—iwon’tlietoyou。i’toooldforthat。ifyoudon’tlikewhatisay；youcantelletojupinthelake。theni’llhavetofindsoeoneelsetoworkwithe。”

  “ok；tellewhatthisjobinvolves。”

  “howuchdoyouknowaboutthevangerfaily？”

  “well；onlywhatianagedtoreadonthesincefrodecalledeonmonday。inyourdaythevangercorporationwasoneoftheostiportantindustrialfirsinsweden；todayit’ssoewhatdiinished。martinvangerrunsit。iknowquiteabitore；butwhatareyougettingat？”

  “martinis…he’sagoodanbutbasicallyhe’safair…weathersailor。he’sunsuitedtobetheanagingdirectorofapanyincrisis。hewantstooderniseandspecialise—whichisgoodthinking—buthecan’tpushthroughhisideasandhisfinancialanageentisweaktoo。twenty…fiveyearsagothevangerconcernwasaseriouspetitortothewallenberggroup。wehadfortythousandeployeesinsweden。todayanyofthesejobsareinkoreaorbrazil。wearedowntoabouttenthousandeployeesandinayearortwo—ifmartindoesn’tgetsoewindintohissails—we’llhavefivethousand；priarilyinsallanufacturingindustries；andthevangerpanieswillbeconsignedtothescrapheapofhistory。”

  blokvistnodded。hehadetoroughlythisconclusiononthebasisofthepieceshehaddownloaded。

  “thevangerpaniesarestillaongthefewfaily…heldfirsinthecountry。thirtyfailyebersareinorityshareholders。thishasalwaysbeenthestrengthofthecorporation；butalsoourgreatestweakness。”vangerpausedandthensaidinatoneofountingurgency；“mikael；youcanaskquestionslater；butiwantyoutotakeeatywordwhenisaythatidetestostoftheebersofyfaily。theyarefortheostpartthieves；isers；bullies；andinpetents。iranthepanyforthirty…fiveyears—alostallthetieintheidstofrelentlessbickering。theywereyworsteneies；farworsethanpetingpaniesorthegovernent。

  “isaidthatiwantedtoissionyoutodotwothings。first；iwantyoutowriteahistoryorbiographyofthevangerfaily。forsiplicity’ssake；wecancallityautobiography。iwillputyjournalsandarchivesatyourdisposal。youwillhaveaesstoyinnerostthoughtsandyoucanpublishallthedirtyoudigup。ithinkthisstorywillakeshakespeare’stragediesreadlikelightfailyentertainent。”

  “why？”

  “whydoiwan. comublishascandaloushistoryofthevangerfaily？orwhydoiaskyoutowriteit？”

  “both；isuppose。”

  “totellyouthetruth；idon’tcarewhethertheiseverpublished。butidothinkthatthestoryshouldbewritten；ifonlyinasinglecopythatyoudeliverdirectlytotheroyallibrary。iwantthisstorytobethereforposteritywhenidie。myotiveisthesiplestiaginable：revenge。”

  “whatdoyouwanttorevenge？”

  “i’proudthatynaeisabywordforaanwhokeepshiswordandreebershisproises。i’veneverplayedpoliticalgaes。i’veneverhadproblesnegotiatingwithtradeunions。evenprieministererlanderhadrespectforeinhisday。foreitwasaatterofethics；iwasresponsibleforthelivelihoodsofthousandsofpeople；andicaredaboutyeployees。oddlyenough；martinhasthesaeattitude；eventhoughhe’saverydifferentperson。hetoohastriedtodotherightthing。sadlymartinandiarerareexceptionsinourfaily。thereareanyreasonswhythevangercorporationisontheropestoday；butoneofthekeyonesistheshort…terisandgreedofyrelatives。ifyouaepttheassignent；i’llexplainhowyfailywentabouttorpedoingthefir。”

  “iwon’tlietoyoueither；”blokvistsaid。“researchingandwritingalikethiswouldtakeonths。idon’thavetheotivationortheenergytodoit。”

  “ibelieveicantalkyouintoit。”

  “idoubtit。butyousaidthereweretwothings。theisthepretext。whatistherealobjective？”

  vangerstoodup；laboriouslyagain；andtookthephotographofharrietvangerfrothedesk。hesetitdowninfrontofblokvist。

  “whileyouwritethebiographyiwantyoutoscrutinisethefailywiththeeyesofajournalist。itwillalsogiveyouanalibiforpokingaroundinthefailyhistory。whatiwantisforyoutosolveaystery。that’syourrealassignent。”

  “whatystery？”

  “harrietwasthegranddaughterofybrotherrichard。therewerefivebrothers。richardwastheeldest；bornin1907。iwastheyoungest；bornin1920。idon’tunderstandhowgodcouldcreatethisflockofchildrenwho…”forseveralsecondsvangerlostthethread；iersedinhisthoughts。thenhewentonwithnewdecisiveness。“letetellyouaboutybrotherrichard。thinkofthisasasallsaplefrothefailychronicleiwantyoutowrite。”

  hepouredorecoffeeforhiself。

  “in1924；nowseventeen；richardwasafanaticalnationalistandantiseite。hejoinedtheswedishnationalsocialistfreedoleague；oneofthefirstnazigroupsinsweden。isn’titfascinatingthatnazisalwaysanagetoadoptthewordfreedo？”

  vangerpulledoutanotheralbuandleafedthroughituntilhefoundthepagehewaslookingfor。“here’srichardwiththeveterinarianbirgerfurug？rd；soontobeetheleaderoftheso…calledfurug？rdoveent；thebignazioveentoftheearlythirties。butricharddidnotstaywithhi。hejoined；afewyearslater；theswedishfascistbattleanisation；thesfbo；andtherehegottoknowperengdahlandotherswhowouldbethedisgraceofthenation。”

  heturnedthepageinthealbu：richardvangerinunifor。

  “heenlisted—againstourfather’swishes—andduringthethirtiesheadehiswaythroughostofthenazigroupsinthecountry。anysickconspiratorialassociationthatexisted；youcanbesurehisnaewasontheirroster。in1933thelindholoveentwasfored；thatis；thenationalsocialistworkers’party。hoelldoyouknowthehistoryofswedishnazis？”

  “i’nohistorian；buti’vereadafews。”

  “in1939thesecondworldwarbegan；andin1940thewinterwarinfinland。alargenuberofthelindholoveentjoinedasfinlandvolunteers。richardwasoneoftheandbythenacaptainintheswedishary。hewaskilledinfebruary1940—justbeforethepeacetreatywiththesovietunion—andtherebybecaeaartyrinthenazioveentandhadabattlegroupnaedafterhi。evennowahandfulofidiotsgatherataceeteryinstockholontheanniversaryofhisdeathtohonourhi。”

  “iunderstand。”

  “in1926；whenhewasnieen；hewasgoingoutwithawoancalledmargareta；thedaughterofateacherinfalun。theyetinsoepoliticalcontextandhadarelationshipwhichresultedinason；gottfried；whowasbornin1927。thecouplearriedwhentheboywasborn。duringthefirsthalfofthethirties；ybrothersenthiswifeandchildheretohedestadwhilehewasstationedwithhisregienting？vle。inhisfreetiehetravelledaroundanddidproselytisingfornazis。in1936hehadahugefightwithyfatherwhichresultedinyfathercuttinghioff。afterthatrichardhadtoakehisownliving。heovedwithhisfailytostockholandlivedinrelativepoverty。”

  “hehadnooneyofhisown？”

  “theinheritancehehadinthefirwastiedup。hecouldn’tselloutsidethefaily。worsethantheirstraitenedcircustances；richardwasabrutaldoestic。hebeathiswifeandabusedhisson。gottfriedgrewupcowedandbullied。hewasthirteenwhenrichardwaskilled。isuspectitwasthehappiestdayofhislifeuptothatpoint。myfathertookpityonthewidowandchildandbroughttheheretohedestad；wherehefoundanapartentformargaretaandsawtoitthatshehadadecentlife。

  “ifrichardpersonifiedthefaily’sdark；fanaticalside；gottfriedebodiedtheindolentone。whenhereachedtheageofeighteenidecidedtotakehiunderywing—hewasydeadbrother’sson；afterall—andyouhavetoreeberthattheagedifferencebetweengottfriedandewasnotsogreat。iwasonlysevenyearsolder；butbytheniwasonthefir’sboard；anditwasclearthatiwastheonewhowouldtakeoverfroyfather；whilegottfriedwasoreorlessregardedasanoutsider。”

  vangerthoughtforaoent。

  “myfatherdidn’treallyknowhowtodealwithhisgrandson；soiwastheonewhogavehiajobinthepany。thiswasafterthewar。hedidtrytodoareasonablejob；buthewaslazy。hewasacharerandgood…tiecharlie；hehadawaywithwoen；andtherewereperiodswhenhedranktoouch。itisn’teasytodescribeyfeelingsforhi…hewasn’tagood…