inthelastbuildingontheeastsideoftheroadlivedgerdavanger；widowofhenrik’sbrothergreger；andherson；alexander。

  “gerdaissickly。shesuffersfrorheuatis。alexanderownsasallshareofthevangercorporation；butherunsanuberofhisownbusinesses；includingrestaurants。heusuallyspendsafewonthseachyearinbarbados；wherehehasinvestedaconsiderablesuinthetouristtrade。”

  betweengerda’sandhenrik’shouseswasaplotoflandwithtwosaller；eptybuildings。theywereusedasguesthousesforfailyebers。ontheothersideofhenrik’shousestoodaprivatedwellingwhereanotherretiredeployeelivedwithhiswife；butitwaseptyinthewinterwhenthecouplerepairedtospain。

  theyreturnedtothecrossroads；andwiththatthetourwasover。duskwasbeginningtofall。blokvisttooktheinitiative。

  “henrik；i’lldowhati’vebeenhiredtodo。i’llwriteyourautobiography；andi’llhuouryoubyreadingalltheaterialaboutharrietascarefullyandcriticallyasican。ijustwantyoutorealisethati’notaprivatedetective。”

  “iexpectnothing。”

  “fine。”

  “i’anightowl；”vangersaid。“soi’atyourdisposalanytieafterlunch。i’llarrangeforyoutohaveanofficeuphere；andyoucanakeuseofitwheneveryoulike。”

  “no；thankyou。ihaveanofficeintheguesthouse；andthat’swherei’lldoywork。”

  “asyouwish。”

  “ifineedtotalktoyou；we’lldoitinyouroffice；buti’notgoingtostartthrowingquestionsatyoutonight。”

  “iunderstand。”theoldanseeediprobablytiid。

  “it’sgoingtotakeacoupleofweekstoreadthroughthepapers。we’llworkontwofronts。we’lleetforafewhourseachdaysothaticaninterviewyouandgatheraterialforyourbiography。whenistarthavingquestionsaboutharrietwhichineedtodiscusswithyou；i’llletyouknow。”

  “thatsoundssensible。”

  “i’goingtorequireafreehandtodoywork；andiwon’thaveanysetworkhours。”

  “youdecideforyourselfhowtheworkshouldbedone。”

  “isupposeyou’reawarethatihavetospendacoupleofonthsinprison。idon’tknowexactlywhen；buti’notgoingtoappeal。it’llprobablybesoetiethisyear。”

  vangerfrowned。“that’sunfortunate。we’llhavetosolvethatproblewhenitesup。youcanalwaysrequestapostponeent。”

  “ifit’sperittedandihaveenoughaterial；iightbeabletoworkonyourinprison。oneorething：i’stillpartownerofmillenniuandasofnowit’saagazineincrisis。ifsoethinghappensthatrequiresypresenceinstockhol；iwouldhavetodropwhati’doingandgothere。”

  “ididn’ttakeyouonasaserf。iwantyoutodoathoroughjobontheassignenti’vegivenyou；but；ofcourse；youcansetyourownscheduleanddotheworkasyouseefit。ifyouneedtotakesoetieoff；feelfreetodoit；butififindoutthatyou’renotdoingthework；i’llconsiderthatabreachofcontract。”

  vangerlookedovertowardsthebridge。hewasagauntan；andblokvistthoughtthathelookedatthatoentlikeaelancholyscarecrow。

  “asfarasmillenniuisconcerned；weoughttohaveadiscussionaboutwhatkindofcrisisit’sinandwhethericanhelpinsoeway。”

  “thebestassistanceyoucanofferistogiveewennerstr？’sheadonaplatterrighthereandnow。”

  “ohno；i’notthinkingofdoingthat。”theoldangaveblokvistahardlook。“theonlyreasonyoutookthisjobwasbecauseiproisedtoexposewennerstr？。ifigiveyoutherationnow；youcould. comworkonthejobwheneveryoufeltlikeit。i’llgiveyoutherationayearfronow。”

  “henrik；fiveeforsayingthis；butican’tbesurethatayearfronowyou’llbealive。”

  vangersighedandcastathoughtfulgazeoverthefishingharbour。

  “fairenough。i’lltalktofrodeandseeifwecanworksoethingout。butasfarasmillenniuisconcerned；iightbeabletohelpinanotherway。asiunderstandit；theadvertisershavebegu. comullout。”

  “theadvertisersaretheiediateproble；butthecrisisgoesdeeperthanthat。it’saatteroftrust。itdoesn’tatterhowanyadvertiserswehaveifno…onewantstobuytheagazine。”

  “irealisethat。i’stillontheboardofdirectorsofquitealargecorporation；albeitinapassiverole。wehav. comlaceadvertiseentssoewhere。let’sdiscusstheatteratsoestage。wouldyouliketohavedinner…”

  “no。iwanttogetsettled；buysoegroceries；andtakealookaround。toorrowi’llgotohedestadandshopforwinterclothes。”

  “goodidea。”

  “i’dlikethefilesaboutharriettobeovedovertoyplace。”

  “theyneedtobehandled…”

  “withgreatcare—iunderstand。”

  blokvistreturnedtotheguesthouse。histeethwerechatteringbythetiehegotindoors。thetheroeteroutsidethewindowsaid5°f；andhecouldn’treebereverfeelingsocoldasafterthatwalk；whichhadlastedbarelytwentyinutes。

  hespentanhoursettlinghiselfintowhatwastobehishoefortheingyear。heputhisclothesinthewardrobeinthebedroo；histoiletrieswentinthebathroocabi。hissecondsuitcasewasactuallyatrunkonwheels。froithetooks；cdsandacdplayer；notes；asanyotaperecorder；amicrotekscanner；aportableink…jetprinter；aminoltadigitalcaera；andanuberofotheritesheregardedasessentialkitforayearinexile。

  hearrangedthesandthecdsontheshelfintheofficealongsidetwobinderscontainingresearchaterialonhans…erikwennerstr？。theaterialwasuseless；buthecouldnotletitgo。soehowhehadtoturnthosetwofoldersintobuildingblocksforhiscontinuingcareer。

  finallyheopenedhisshoulderbagandputhisionthedeskintheoffice。thenhe. compedandlookedabouthiwithasheepishexpression。thebenefitsoflivinginthecountryside；forsooth。therewasnowher. comluginthebroadbandcable。hedidnotevenhaveatelephonejacktoconnectanolddial…upode。

  blokvistcalledtheteliatelephonepanyfrohisobile。afteraslighthassle；heanagedtogetsoeoofindtheorderthatvangerhadplacedfortheguesthouse。hewantedtoknohethertheconnectioncouldhandleadslandwastoldthatitwouldbepossiblebywayofarelayinhedeby；andthatitwouldtakeseveraldays。

  itwasafter4：00bythetieblokvistwasdone。heputonapairofthicksocksandtheborrowedbootsandpulledonanextrasweater。atthefrontdoorhe. compedshort；hehadbeengivennokeystothehouse；andhisbig…cityinstinctsrebelledattheideaofleavingthefrontdoorunlocked。hewentbacktothekitchenandbeganopeningdrawers。finallyhefoundakeyhangingfroanailinthepantry。

  theteperaturehaddroppedto…1°f。hewalkedbrisklyacrossthebridgeandupthehillpastthechurch。thekonsustorewasconvenientlylocatedaboutthreehundredyardsaway。hefilledtwopaperbagstooverflowingwithsuppliesandthencarriedthehoebeforereturningacrossthebridge。thistiehe. compedatsusanne’sbridgecafé。thewoanbehindthecounterwasinherfifties。heaskedwhethershewassusanneandthenintroducedhiselfbysayingthathewasundoubtedlygoingtobearegularcustoer。hewasforthetiebeingtheonlycustoer；andsusanneofferedhicoffeewhenheorderedsandwichesandboughtaloafofbread。hepickedupacopyofthehedestadcourierfrothenewspaperrackandsatatatablewithaviewofthebridgeandthechurch；itsfacadenowlitup。itlookedlikeachristascard。ittookhiaboutfourinutestoreadthenewspaper。theonlynewsofinterestwasabriefiteexplainingthatalocalpoliticianbythenaeofbirgervangerwasgoingtoinvestin“ittechcent”—atechnologydevelopentcentreinhedestad。mikaelsatthereuntilthecaféclosedat6：00。

  at7：30hecalledberger；butwasadvisedthatthepartyatthatnuberwasnotavailable。hesatonthekitchenbenchandtriedtoreadanovelwhich；aordingtothebackcovertext；wasthesensationaldebutofateenagefeinist。thenovelwasabouttheauthor’sattepttogetahandleonhersexlifeduringatriptoparis；andblokvistwonderedwhetherhecouldbecalledafeinistifhewroteanovelabouthisownsexlifeinthevoiceofahigh…schoolstudent。probablynot。hehadboughtthebecausethepublisherhadhailedthefirst…tienovelistas“anewcarinarydberg。”hequicklyascertainedthatthiswasnotthecaseineitherstyleorcontent。heputtheasideforawhileandinsteadreadahopalongcassidystoryinanissueofrekordagasifrotheid…fifties。

  everyhalfhourheheardthecurt；utedclangofthechurchbell。lightswerevisibleinthewindowsatthehoeofthecaretakeracrosstheroad；butblokvistcouldnotseeanyoneinsidethehouse。haraldvanger’shousewasdark。around9：00acardroveacrossthebridgeanddisappearedtowardsthepoint。atidnightthelightsonthefacadeofthechurchwereturnedoff。thatwasapparentlythefullextentoftheentertainentinhedebyonafridaynightinearlyjanuary。itwaseerilyquiet。

  hetriedagaintocallbergerandgothervoiceail；askinghitoleavehisnaeandaessage。hedidsoandthenturnedoffthelightandwenttobed。thelastthinghethoughtaboutbeforehefellasleepwasthathewasgoingtorunahighriskofgoingstir…crazyinhedeby。

  itwasstrangetoawaketouttersilence。blokvistpassedfrodeepsleeptototalalertnessinafractionofasecond；andthenlaystill；listening。itwascoldintheroo。heturnedhisheadandlookedathiswristwatchonastoolnexttothebed。itwas7：08—hehadneverbeenuchofaorningperson；anditusedtobehardforhitowakeupwithouthavingatleasttwoalarclocks。todayhehadwokenallbyhiself；andheevenfeltrested。

  heputsoewateronforcoffeebeforegettingintotheshower。hewassuddenlyausedathissituation。kalleblokvist—onaresearchtripinthebackofbeyond。

  theshowerheadchangedfroscaldingtoice…coldattheslightesttouch。therewasnoorningpaperonthekitchentable。thebutterwasfrozen。therewasnocheeseslicerinthedrawerofkitchenutensils。itwasstillpitchdarkoutside。thetheroetershowed6belowzero。itwassaturday。

  thebus. comforhedestadwasovertheroadfrokonsu；andblokviststartedoffhisexilebycarryingouthisplantogoshoppingintown。hegotoffthebusbytherailwaystationandadeatourofthecentreoftown。alongthewayheboughtheavywinterboots；twopairsoflongunderwear；severalflannelshirts；aproperthigh…lengthwinterjacket；awarcap；andlinedgloves。attheelectronicsstorehefoundasallportabletvwithrabbitears。thesalesclerkassuredhithathewouldatleastbeabletogetsvt；thestatetvchannel；outathedeby；andblokvistproisedtoaskforhisoneybackifthatturnedoutnottobethecase。

  he. compedatthelibrarytogethiselfacardandborrowedtwoysteriesbyelizabethgee。heboughtpensandnotes。healsoboughtarucksackforcarryinghisnewpossessions。

  finallyheboughtapackofcigarettes。hehad. compedsokingtenyearsago；butoasionallyhewouldhavearelapse。hestuckthepackinhisjacketpocketwitho. comeningit。hislast. comwastheoptician’s；andthereheboughtcontactlenssolutionandorderednewlenses。

  by2：00hewasbackinhedeby；andhewasjustreovingthepricetagsfrohisnewclotheswhenheheardthefrontdooropen。ablondewoan—perhapsinherfifties—knockedontheopenkitchendoorasshesteppedacrossthethreshold。shewascarryingaspongecakeonaplatter。

  “hello。ijustwantedtoeovertointroduceyself。mynaeishelenanilsson；andiliveacrosstheroad。ihearwe’regoingtobeneighbours。”

  theyshookhandsandheintroducedhiself。

  “ohyes；i’veseenyouontv。it’sgoingtobenicetoseelightsoverhereintheevening。”

  blokvistputonsoecoffee。shebegantoobjectbutthensatatthekitchentable；castingafurtiveglanceoutthewindow。

  “hereeshenrikwithyhusband。itlookslikesoeboxesforyou。”

  vangerandgunnarnilssondrewupoutsidewithadolly；andblokvistrushedouttogreettheandtohelpcarrythefourpackingcratesinside。theysettheboxesonthefloornexttothestove。blokvistgotoutthecoffeecupsandcutintofr？kennilsson’sspongecake。

  thenilssonswerepleasantpeople。theydidnotseecuriousaboutwhyblokvistwasinhedestad—thefactthathewasworkingforhenrikvangerwasevidentlyenoughofanexplanation。blokvistobservedtheinteractionbetweenthenilssonsandvanger；concludingthatitwasrelaxedandlackinginanysortofgulfbetweenasterandservants。theytalkedaboutthevillageandtheanwhohadbuilttheguesthousewhereblokvistwasliving。thenilssonswouldproptvangerwhenhiseoryfailedhi。he；ontheotherhand；toldafunnystoryabouthownilssonhadehoeonenighttodiscoverthevillageidiotfroacrossthebridgetryingtobreakawindowattheguesthouse。nilssonwentovertoaskthehalf…witteddelinquentwhyhedidn’tgointhroughtheunlockedfrontdoor。nilssoninspectedblokvist’slittletvwithisgivingandinvitedhitoeacrosstotheirhouseiftherewaseveraprograehewantedtosee。

  vangerstayedonbrieflyafterthenilssonsleft。hethoughtitbestthatblokvistsortthroughthefileshiself；andhecouldetothehouseifhehadanyprobles。

  whenhewasaloneonceore；blokvistcarriedtheboxesintohisofficeandadeaninventoryofthecontents。

  vanger’sinvestigationintothedisappearanceofhisbrother’sgranddaughterhadbeengoingonforthirty…sixyears。blokvistwonderedwhetherthiswasanunhealthyobsessionorwhether；overtheyears；ithaddevelopedintoanintellectualgae。whatwasclearwasthattheoldpatriarchhadtackledthejobwiththesysteaticapproachofanaateurarchaeologist—theaterialwasgoingtofilltwentyfeetofshelving。

  thelargestsectionofitconsistedoftwenty…sixbinders；whichwerethecopiesofthepoliceinvestigation。hardtobelieveanordinaryissing…personcasewouldhaveproducedsuchprehensiveaterial。vangernodoubthadenoughclouttokeepthehedestadpolicefollowingupbothplausibleandiplausibleleads。

  thentherewerescraps；photographalbus；aps；textsabouthedestadandthevangerfir；harriet’sdiary；herschools；edicalcertificates。thereweresixteenbounda4voluesofonehundredorsopageseach；whichwerevanger’slogoftheinvestigations。inthesenoteshehadrecordedinanipeablehandhisownspeculations；theories；digressions。blokvistleafedthroughthe。thetexthadaliteraryquality；andhehadthefeelingthatthesetextswerefaircopiesofperhapsanyorenotes。thereweretenbinderscontainingaterialonebersofthevangerfaily；thesepagesweretypedandhadbeenpiledovertheinterveningyears；vanger’sinvestigationsofhisownfaily。

  around7：00heheardaloudeowingatthefrontdoor。areddish…browncatslippedswiftlypasthiintothewarth。

  “wisecat；”hesaid。

  thecatsniffedaroundtheguesthouseforawhile。mikaelpouredsoeilkintoadish；andhisguestlappeditup。thenthecathoppedontothekitchenbenchandcurledup。andthereshestayed。

  itwasafter10：00beforeblokvisthadthescopeoftheaterialclearinhisindandhadarrangeditontheshelves。heputonapotofcoffeeandadehiselftwosandwiches。hehadnoteatenaproperealallday；buthewasstrangelyuninterestedod。heofferedthecatapieceofsausageandsoeliverwurst。afterdrinkinghiscoffee；hetookthecigarettesoutofhisjacketpocketandopenedthepack。

  hecheckedhisobile。bergerhadnotcalled。hetriedheronceore。againonlyhervoiceail。

  oneofthefirststepsblokvisthadtakenwastoscanintheapofhedebyislandthathehadborrowedfrovanger。whileallthenaeswerestillfreshinhisind；hewrotedownwholivedineachhouse。thevangerclanconsistedofsuchanextensivecastthatitwouldtaketietolearnwhowaswho。

  justbeforeidnightheputonwarclothesandhisnewshoesandwalkedacrossthebridge。heturnedofftheroadandalongthesoundbelowthechurch。icehadforedonthesoundandinsidetheoldharbour；butfartherouthecouldseeadarkerbeltofopenwater。ashestoodthere；thelightsonthefacadeofthechurchwentout；anditwasdarkallaroundhi。itwasicycoldandstarsfilledthesky。

  allofasuddenblokvistfeltdepressed。hecouldnotforthelifeofhiunderstandhowhehadallowedvangertotalkhiintotakingonthisassignent。bergerwasright：heshouldbeinstockhol—inbedwithher；forinstance—andplanninghiscapaignsagainstwennerstr？。buthefeltapatheticaboutthattoo；andhedidn’tevenhavethefaintestideahowtobeginplanningacounter…strategy。

  haditbeendaylight；hewouldhavewalkedstraighttovanger’shouse；cancelledhiscontract；andgonehoe。butfrotherisebesidethechurchhecouldakeoutallthehousesontheislandside。haraldvanger’shousewasdark；buttherewerelightsonincecilia’shoe；aswellasinmartin’svillaoutbythepointandinthehousethatwasleased。inthesall…boatharbourtherewerelightsoninthedraughtycabinoftheartistandlittlecloudsofsparkswererisingfrohischiney。therewerealsolightsoninth. comfloorofthecafé；andblokvistwonderedwhethersusannelivedthere；andifso；whethershewasalone。

  onsundayorningheawokeinpanicattheincredibledinthatfilledtheguesthouse。ittookhiasecondtogethisbearingsandrealisethatitwasthechurchbellssuoningparishionerstoorningservice。itwasnearly11：00。hestayedinbeduntilheheardanurgenteowinginthedoorwayandgotuptoletoutthecat。

  bynoonhehadshoweredandeatenbreakfast。hewentresolutelyintohisofficeandtookd