“arowingboat？”

  “no。thatdaytherewerepreciselythirteenboatsonhedebyisland。mostofthepleasureboatswerealreadyinstorageonland。downinthesall…boatharbourbythesuercabinsthereweretwopetterssonboatsinthewater。thereweresevenekarowingboats；ofwhichfivewerepulleduponshore。belowtheparsonageonerowingboatwasonshoreandoneinthewater。by？sterg？rdentherewasarowingboatandaotorboat。alltheseboatswerecheckedandwereexactlywheretheyweresupposedtobe。ifshehadrowedacrossandrunaway；shewouldhavehadtoleavetheboatontheotherside。”

  vangerheldupfourfingers。

  “sothere’sonlyonereasonablepossibilityleft；naelythatharrietdisappearedagainstherwill。soeonekilledherandgotridofthebody。”

  lisbethsalanderspentchristasorningreadingmikaelblokvist’scontroversialaboutfinancialjournalis；theknightsteplar：acautionarytaleforfinancialreporters。thecoverhadatrendydesignbychristermalfeaturingaphotographofthestockholstockexchange。malhadworkedinphotoshop；andittookaoenttonoticethatthebuildingwasfloatinginair。itwasadraatioverwithwhichtosetthetoneforwhatwastoe。

  salandercouldseethatblokvistwasafinewriter。thewassetoutinastraightforwardandengagingway；andevenpeoplewithnoinsightintothelabyrinthoffinancialjournaliscouldlearnsoethingfroreadingit。thetonewassharpandsarcastic；butaboveallitwaspersuasive。

  thefirstchapterwasasortofdeclarationofwarinwhichblokvistdidnotincewords。inthelasttwentyyears；swedishfinancialjournalistshaddevelopedintoagroupofinpetentlackeyswhowerepuffedupwithself…iportanceandwhohadnorecordofthinkingcritically。hedrewthisconclusionbecausetieaftertie；withouttheleastobjection；soanyfinancialreportersseeedcontenttoregurgitatethestateentsissuedbyceosandstock…arketspeculators—evenwhenthisrationwasplainlyisleadingorwrong。thesereporterswerethuseithersonaiveandgulliblethattheyoughttobepackedofftootherassignents；ortheywerepeoplewhoquiteconsciouslybetrayedtheirjournalisticfunction。blokvistclaiedthathehadoftenbeenashaedtobecalledafinancialreporter；sincethenhewouldriskbeinglupedtogetherwithpeoplewhohedidnotrateasreportersatall。

  heparedtheeffortsoffinancialjournalistswiththewaycriereportersorforeigncorrespondentsworked。hepaintedapictureoftheoutcrythatwouldresultifalegalcorrespondentbeganuncriticallyreproducingtheprosecutor’scaseasgospelinaurdertrial；withoutconsultingthedefencearguentsorinterviewingthevicti’sfailybeforeforinganopinionofwhatwaslikelyorunlikely。aordingtoblokvistthesaeruleshadtoapplytofinancialjournalists。

  therestoftheconsistedofachainofevidencetosupporthiscase。onelongchapterexainedthereportingofafaousdot…insixdailypapers；aswellasinthefinancialjournal；dagensindustri；and“a…ekonoi；”thebusinessreportonswedishtv。hefirstquotedandsuarisedwhatthereportershadsaidandwritten。thenheadeaparisonwiththeactualsituation。indescribingthedevelopentofthepanyhelistedtieaftertiethesiplequestionsthataseriousreporterwouldhaveaskedbutwhichthewholecorpsoffinancialreportershadneglectedtoask。itwasaneatove。

  anotherchapterdealtwiththeipoofteliastock—itwasthe’sostjocularandironicsection；inwhichsoefinancialwriterswerecastigatedbynae；includingonewilliab；towhoblokvistseeedtobeparticularlyhostile。achapterneartheendoftheparedthelevelofpetenceofswedishandforeignfinancialreporters。hedescribedhowseriousreportersatlondon’sfinancialties；theeconoist；andsoegeranfinancialnewspapershadreportedsiilarsubjectsintheirowncountries。theparisonwasnotfavourabletotheswedishjournalists。thefinalchaptercontainedasketchwithsuggestionsastohowthisdeplorablesituationcouldbereedied。theconclusionoftheechoedtheintroduction：

  ifaparliaentaryreporterhandledhisassignentbyuncriticallytakingupalanceinsupportofeverydecisionthatwaspushedthrough；noatterhowpreposterous；orifapoliticalreporterweretoshowasiilarlackofjudgeent—thatreporterwouldbefiredorattheleastreassignedtoadepartentwhereheorshecouldnotdosouchdaage。intheworldoffinancialreporting；however；thenoraljournalisticandatetoundertakecriticalinvestigationsandobjectivelyreportfindingstothereadersappearsnottoapply。insteadtheostsuessfulrogueisapplauded。inthiswaythefutureofswedenisalsobeingcreated；andallreainingtrustinjournalistsasacorpsofprofessionalsisbeingproised。

  salanderhadnodifficultyunderstandingtheagitateddebatethathadfollowedinthetradepublicationthejournalist；certainfinancialnewspapers；andonthefrontpagesandinthebusinesssectionsofthedailypapers。eventhoughonlyafewreporterswereentionedbynaeinthe；salanderguessedthatthefieldwassallenoughthateveryonewouldknowexactlywhichindividualswerebeingreferredtowhenvariousnewspaperswerequoted。blokvisthadadehiselfsoebittereneies；whichwasalsoreflectedinthealiciousentstothecourtinthewennerstr？affair。

  sheclosedtheandlookedatthephotographontheback。blokvist’sdarkblondshockofhairfellabitcarelesslyacrosshisforehead；asifcaughtinagustofwind。orasifchristermalhadposedhi。hewaslookingintothecaerawithanironicsileandanexpressionperhapsaiingtobecharingandboyish。averygood…lookingan。onhiswaytodothreeonthsintheslaer。

  “hello；kalleblokvist；”shesaidtoherself。“you’reprettypleasedwithyourself；aren’tyou？”

  atlunchtiesalanderbootedupheriandopenedeudoratowriteaneail。shetyped：“haveyougottie？”shesigneditwaspandsentittotheaddresstobeonthesafeside；sherantheessagethroughherpgpencryptionprograe。

  thensheputonblackjeans；heavywinterboots；awarpoloshirt；adarkpeajacketandatchingknittedgloves；cap；andscarf。shetooktheringsoutofhereyebrowsandnostril；putonapalepinklipstick；andexainedherselfinthebathrooirror。shelookedlikeanyotherwoanoutforaweekendstroll；andsheregardedheroutfitasappropriatecaouflageforanexpeditionbehindeneylines。shetookthetunnelbanafrozinkensdato？steralstandwalkeddowntowardsstrandv？gen。shesaunteredalongthecentralreservereadingthenubersonthebuildings。shehadalostgottodjurg？rdsbridgewhenshe. compedandlookedatthedoorshehadbeensearchingfor。shecrossedthestreetandwaitedafewfeetfrothestreetdoor。

  shenoticedthatostpeoplewhowereoutwalkinginthecoldweatheronthedayafterchristaswerewalkingalongthequay；onlyafeereonthepaveentside。

  shehadtowaitforalosthalfanhourbeforeanoldwoanwithacaneapproachedfrothedirectionofdjurg？rden。thewoan. compedandstudiedsalanderwithsuspicion。salandergaveherafriendlysileinreturn。theladywiththecanereturnedhergreetingandlookedasthoughsheweretryingtoreeberwhenshehadlastseentheyoungwoan。salanderturnedherbackandtookafewstepsawayfrothedoor；asthoughshewereipatientlywaitingforsoeone；pacingbackandforth。whensheturned；theladyhadreachedthedoorandwasslowlyputtinginanuberonthecodelock。salanderhadnodifficultyseeingthatthebinationwas1260。

  shewaitedfiveinutesorebeforeshewenttothedoor。shepunchedinthecodeandthelockclicked。shepeeredintothestairwell。therewasasecuritycaerawhichsheglancedatandignored；itwasaodelthatmiltonsecuritycarriedandwasactivatedonlyifanalarforabreak…inoranattackwassoundedontheproperty。fartherin；totheleftofanantiqueliftcage；therewasadoorwithanothercodelock；shetried1260anditworkedfortheentrancetothecellarlevelandrubbishroo。sloppy；verysloppy。shespentthreeinutesinvestigatingthecellarlevel；whereshelocatedanunlockedlaundryrooandarecyclingroo。thensheusedasetofpicklocksthatshehad“borrowed”fromilton’slocksithtoopenalockeddoortowhatseeedtobeaeetingrooforthecondoiniuassociation。atthebackofthecellarwasahobbyroo。finallyshefoundwhatshewaslookingfor：thebuilding’ssallelectricalroo。sheexainedtheeters；fuseboxes；andjunctionboxesandthentookoutacanondigitalcaerathesizeofacigarettepacket。shetookthreepictures。

  onthewayoutshecasthereyedownthelistofresidentsbytheliftandreadthenaefortheapartentonth. comfloor。wennerstr？。

  thensheleftthebuildingandwalkedrapidlytothenationalmuseu；whereshewentintothecafeteriatohavesoecoffeeandwarup。afterabouthalfanhoursheadeherwaybacktos？derandwentuptoherapartent。

  therewasananswerfrowhenshedecodeditinpgpitread：20。

  chapter6

  thursday；deceber26

  thetieliitsetbyblokvisthadbeenexceededbyagoodargin。itwas4：30；andtherewasnohopeofcatchingtheafternoontrain；buthestillhadachanceofakingtheeveningtrainat9：30。hestoodbythewindowrubbinghisneckashestaredoutattheilluinatedfacadeofthechurchontheothersideofthebridge。vangerhadshownhiascrapwitharticlesfroboththelocalnewspaperandthenationaledia。therehadbeenquiteabitofediainterestforawhile—girlfronotedindustrialist’sfailydisappears。butwhennobodywasfoundandtherewasnobreakthroughintheinvestigation；interestgraduallywaned。despitethefactthataproinentfailywasinvolved；thirty…sixyearslaterthecaseofharrietvangerwasallbutfotten。theprevailingtheoryinarticlesfrothelatesixtiesseeedtobethatshedrownedandwassweptouttosea—atragedy；butsoethingthatcouldhappentoanyfaily。

  blokvisthadbeenfascinatedbytheoldan’saount；butwhenvangerexcusedhiselftogotothebathroo；hisscepticisreturned。theoldanhadstillnotgottotheend；andblokvisthadfinallyproisedtolistentothewholestory。

  “whatdoyouthinkhappenedtoher？”hesaidwhenvangercaebackintotheroo。

  “norallythereweresoetwenty…fivepeoplelivinghereyear…round；butbecauseofthefailygatheringtherewereorethansixtyonhedebyislandthatday。ofthese；betweentwentyandtwenty…fivecanberuledout；prettyuchso。ibelievethatofthosereaining；soeone—andinalllikelihooditwassoeonefrothefaily—killedharrietandhidthebody。”

  “ihaveadozenobjectionstothat。”

  “let’shearthe。”

  “well；thefirstoneisthatevenifsoeonehidherbody；itshouldhavebeenfoundifthesearchwasasthoroughastheoneyoudescribed。”

  “totellyouthetruth；thesearchwasevenoreextensivethani’vedescribed。itwasn’tuntilibegantothinkofharrietasaurdervictithatirealisedseveralwaysinwhichherbodycouldhavedisappeared。ican’tprovethis；butit’satleastwithintherealofpossibility。”

  “telle。”

  “harrietwentissingsoetiearound3：00thatafternoon。atabout2：55shewasseenbypastorfalk；whowashurryingtothebridge。atalostexactlythesaetieaphotographerarrivedfrothelocalpaper；andforthenexthourhetookagreatnuberofpicturesofthedraa。we—thepolice；iean—exainedthephotographsandconfiredthatharrietwasnotinanyoneofthe；buteveryotherpersonintownwasseeninatleastone；apartfroverysallchildren。”

  vangertookoutanotheralbuandplaceditonthetable。

  “thesearepicturesfrothatday。thefirstonewastakeninhedestadduringthechildren’sdayparade。thesaephotographertookitaround1：15p。。；andharrietisthereinit。”

  thephotographwastakenfrothesecondfloorofabuildingandshowedastreetalongwhichtheparade—clownsontrucksandgirlsinbathingsuits—hadjustpassed。spectatorsthrongedthepaveents。vangerpointedatafigureinthecrowd。

  “that’sharriet。it’sabouttwohoursbeforeshewilldisappear；she’swithsoeofherschoolfriendsintown。thisisthelastpicturetakenofher。butthere’soneoreinterestingshot。”

  vangerleafedthroughthepages。thealbucontainedabout180pictures—fiverolls—frothecrashonthebridge。afterhavingheardtheaount；itwasalosttoouchtosuddenlyseeitintheforofsharpblack…and…whiteiages。thephotographerwasaprofessionalwhohadanagedtocapturetheturoilsurroundingtheaident。alargenuberofthepicturesfocusedontheactivitiesaroundtheoverturnedtankertruck。blokvisthadnoprobleidentifyingagesticulating；uchyoungerhenrikvangersoakedwithheatingoil。

  “thisisybrotherharald。”theoldanpointedtoaaninshirtsleevesbendingforwardandpointingatsoethinginsidethewreckofaronsson’scar。“mybrotherharaldaybeanunpleasantperson；butithinkhecanbeeliinatedfrothelistofsuspects。exceptforaveryshortwhile；whenhehadtorunbackheretothefartochangehisshoes；hespenttheafternoononthebridge。”

  vangerturnedsoeorepages。oneiagefollowedanother。focusonthetankertruck。focusonspectatorsontheforeshore。focusonaronsson’scar。generalviews。close…upswithatelephotolens。

  “thisistheinterestingpicture；”vangersaid。“asfaraswecoulddeterineitwastakenbetween3：40and3：45；orabout45inutesafterharrietranintofalk。takealookatthehouse；theiddlesecondfloorwindow。that’sharriet’sroo。intheprecedingpicturethewindoasclosed。hereit’sopen。”

  “soeoneusthavebeeninharriet’sroo。”

  “iaskedeveryone；nobodywouldadittoopeningthewindow。”

  “whicheansthateitherharrietdiditherself；andshewasstillaliveatthatpoint；orelsethatsoeonewaslyingtoyou。butwhywouldaurderergointoherrooandopenthewindow？andwhyshouldanyonelieaboutit？”

  vangershookhishead。noexplanationpresenteditself。

  “harrietdisappearedsoetiearound3：00orshortlythereafter。thesepicturesgiveanipressionofwherecertainpeoplewereatthattie。that’swhyicaneliinateanuberofpeoplefrothelistofsuspects。forthesaereasonicanconcludethatsoepeoplewhowerenotinthephotographsatthattieustbeaddedtothelistofsuspects。”

  “youdidn’tansweryquestionabouthowyouthinkthebodywasreoved。irealise；ofcourse；thatthereustbesoeplausibleexplanation。soesortofonoldillusionist’strick。”

  “thereareactuallyseveralverypracticalwaysitcouldhavebeendone。soetiearound3：00thekillerstruck。heorshepresuablydidn’tuseanysortofweapon—orwewouldhavefoundtracesofblood。i’guessingthatharrietwasstrangledandi’guessingthatithappenedhere—behindthewallinthecourtyard；soewhereoutofthephotographer’slineofsightandinablindspotfrothehouse。there’sapath；ifyouwanttotakeashortcut；totheparsonage—thelastplaceshewasseen—andbacktothehouse。todaythere’sasallflowerbedandlawnthere；butinthesixtiesitwasagravelledareausedforparking。allthekillerhadtodowasopenthebootofacarandputharrietinside。whenwebegansearchingtheislandthenextday；nobodywasthinkingthatacriehadbeenitted。wefocusedontheshorelines；thebuildings；andthewoodsclosesttothevillage。”

  “sonobodywascheckingthebootsofcars。”

  “andbythefollowingeveningthekillerwouldhavebeenfreetogetinhiscaranddriveacrossthebridgetohidethebodysoewhereelse。”

  “rightunderthenosesofeveryoneinvolvedinthesearch。ifthat’sthewayithappened；we’retalkingaboutacold…bloodedbastard。”

  vangergaveabitterlaugh。“youjustgaveanaptdescriptionofquiteafewebersofthevangerfaily。”

  theycontinuedtheirdiscussionoversupperat6：00。annaservedroastharewithcurrantjellyandpotatoes。vangerpouredarobustredwine。blokviststillhadplentyoftietoakethelasttrain。hethoughtitwasabouttietosuthingsup。

  “it’safascinatingstoryyou’vebeentellinge；iaditit。butistilldon’tknohyyouwantedetohearit。”

  “itoldyou。iwanttonailtheswinewhourderedharriet。andiwanttohireyoutofindoutwhoitwas。”

  “why？”

  vangerputdownhisknifeandfork。“mikael；forthirty…sixyearsi’vedrivenyselfcrazywonderingwhathappenedtoharriet。i’vedevotedoreandoreofytietoit。”

  hefellsilentandtookoffhisglasses；scrutinisingsoeinvisiblespeckofdirtonthelens。thenheraisedhiseyesandlookedatblokvist。

  “tobepletelyhonestwithyou；harriet’sdisappearancewasthereasonwhygraduallyiwithdrewfrothefir’sanageent。ilostallotivation。iknewthattherewasakillersoewherenearbyandtheworryingandsearchingforthetruthbegantoaffectywork。theworstthingisthattheburdendidn’tgetanylighterovertie—onthecontrary。around1970ihadaperiodwhenijustwantedtobeleftalone。thenmartinjoinedtheboardofdirectors；andhehadtotakeonoreandoreofywork。in1976iretiredandmartintookoverasceo。istillhaveaseatontheboard；butihaven’tsailedanyknotssinceiturnedfifty。forthelastthirty…sixyearsnotadayhaspassedthatihavenotponderedharriet’sdisappearance。youaythinki’obsessedwithit—atleastostofyrelativesthinkso。”

  “itwasahorrificevent。”

  “morethanthat。itruinedylife。that’ssoethingi’vebeeoreawareofastiehaspassed。d