theyhadlabcutletswithpotatoesincreasauceanddrankredwine。blokvisttriedtotakeupthethreadoftheirearlierconversation；butbergerwasinnooodtodiscussmillenniu。insteadtheytalkedfortwohoursaboutwhatblokvistwasdoingupthereandhowheandvangerweregettingon。latertheywenttoseeifthebedwasbigenoughtoholdbothofthe。

  herthirdeetingwithadvokatnilsbjuranwasrescheduled；andfinallysetfor5：00onthatsaefridayafternoon。atthepreviouseetings；salanderwasgreetedbyaiddle…agedwoanwhoselledofuskandworkedashissecretary。thistieshehadleftfortheday；andbjuranselledfaintlyofdrink。hewavedsalandertoavisitor’schairandleafeddistractedlythroughthedocuentsonhisdeskuntilheseeedsuddenlytobeeawareofherpresence。

  itturnedouttobeanotherinterrogation。thistieheaskedsalanderabouthersexlife—whichshehadnointentionofdiscussingwithanyone。

  aftertheeetingsheknewthatshehadhandleditbadly。atfirstsherefusedtoanswerhisquestions。hisinterpretationofthiswasthatshewasshy；retarded；orhadsoethingtohide；andhepressedherforanswers。salanderrealisedthathewasnotgoingtogiveup；soshestartedgivinghibrief；colourlessanswersofthesortsheassuedwouldfitwithherpsychologicalprofile。sheentioned“magnus”—who；aordingtoherdescription；wasanerdyputerprograerherownagewhotreatedherlikeagentleanshould；tookhertothecinea；andsoetiessharedherbed。“magnus”wasfiction；sheadehiupasshewentalong；butbjurantookheraountasapretextforeticulouslyappingouthersexlife。howoftendoyouhavesex？oasionally。whotakestheinitiative—youorhi？ido。doyouusecondos？ofcourse—sheknewabouthiv。what’syourfavouriteposition？h；usuallyonyback。doyouenjoyoralsex？er；waitasecond…haveyoueverhadanalsex？

  “no；it’snotparticularlynicetobefuckedinthearse—butwhatthehellbusinessisitofyours？”

  thatwastheonlytieshelostherteper。shehadkepthereyesonthefloorsotheywouldnotbetrayherexasperation。whenshelookedathiagain；hewasgrinningatherfroacrossthedesk。shelefthisofficewithafeelingofdisgust。palgrenwouldneverhavedreaedofaskingsuchquestions。ontheotherhand；hehadalwaysbeenthereifshehadwantedtodiscussanything。notthatshedid。

  bjuranwasonhiswaytobeingamajorproble。

  chapter11

  saturday；february1–tuesday；february18

  duringthebriefhoursofdaylightonsaturday；blokvistandbergertookawalkpastthesall…boatharbouralongtheroadto？sterg？rden。hehadbeenlivingonhedebyislandforaonth；buthehadnevertakenawalkinland；thefreezingteperaturesandregularsnowstorshaddeterredhi。butsaturdaywassunnyandpleasant。itwasasifbergerhadbroughtwithherahintofspring。theroadwaslinedwithsnow；ploughedthreefeethigh。assoonastheyleftthesuer…cabinareatheywerewalkingindensefirforest。blokvistwassurprisedbyhowuchhigherandoreinaessibles？derberget；thehillacrossfrothecabins；wasthanitappearedfrothevillage。hethoughtabouthowanytiesharrietvangerusthaveplayedhereasachild；butthenhepushedallthoughtsofheroutofhisind。afteraboutailethewoodsendedatafencewherethe？sterg？rdenfarlandbegan。theycouldseeawhitewoodenstructureandredfarbuildingsarrangedinasquare。theyturnedtoheadbackthesaeway。

  astheypassedthedrivewaytotheestatehouse；vangerknockedontheupstairswindowandgesturedfirlyforthetoeup。blokvistandbergerlookedateachother。

  “wouldyouliketoeetacorporatelegend？”blokvistsaid。

  “doeshebite？”

  “notonsaturdays。”

  vangerreceivedtheatthedoortohisoffice。

  “youustbefr？kenberger；irecogniseyou。”hesaid。“mikaeldidn’tsayawordaboutyouringtohedeby。”

  oneofberger’soutstandingtalentswasherabilitytoinstantlygetonfriendlyterswiththeostunlikelyindividuals。blokvisthadseenherturnonthecharforfive…year…oldboys；whowithinteninuteswerefullypreparedtoabandontheirothers。menovereightyseeednottobeanexception。aftertwoinutesbergerandhenrikvangerwereignoringblokvistastheychatteredon。itwasasiftheyhadknowneachothersincechildhood—well；sinceerika’schildhood；atanyrate。

  bergerstartedoffquiteboldlybyscoldingvangerforluringherpublisherawayintothesticks。theoldanrepliedthatasfarashecouldtell—froassortedpressreports—shehadinfactfiredhi。andhadshenotdoneso；thennowightbehightietogetridofexcessballastintheeditorialoffices。andinthatcase；vangersaid；aperiodofrusticlifewoulddoyoungblokvistsoegood。

  forfiveinutestheydiscussedblokvist’sshortingsintheostirritatingters。blokvistleanedbackandpretendedtobeinsulted；buthefrownedwhenbergeradesoecrypticrearksthatightalludetohisfailingsasajournalistbutightalsohaveappliedtosexualprowess。vangertiltedhisheadbackandroaredwithlaughter。

  blokvistwasastonished。hehadneverseenvangersonaturalandrelaxed。hecouldsuddenlyseethatvanger；fiftyyearsyounger—oreventhirtyyears—usthavebeenquiteacharing；attractiveladies’an。hehadneverrearried。thereusthavebeenwoenwhocrossedhispath；yetfornearlyhalfacenturyhehadreainedabachelor。

  blokvisttookasipofcoffeeandprickeduphisearsagainwhenherealisedthattheconversationhadsuddenlyturnedseriousandhadtodowithmillenniu。

  “mikaelhastoldethatyou’rehavingproblesattheagazine。”bergerglancedatblokvist。“no；hehasn’tdiscussedyourinternaloperations；butapersonwouldhavetobedeafandblindnottoseethatyouragazine；justlikethevangercorporation；isindifficulties。”

  “i’confidentthatwecanrepairthesituation；”bergersaid。

  “idoubtit；”vangersaid。

  “whyisthat？”

  “let’ssee—howanyeployeesdoyouhave？six？aonthlyagazinewithaprintrunof21；000；anufacturingcosts；salaries；distribution；offices…youneedrevenuesofabout10illion。ithinkweknohatpercentageofthataounthastoefroadvertisingrevenue。”

  “so？”

  “sofriendwennerstr？isavengefulandnarrow…indedbastardwhoisn’tgoingtofethisrecentcontretepsinahurry。howanyadvertisershaveyoulostinthepastsixonths？”

  bergerregardedvangerwithawaryexpression。blokvistcaughthiselfholdinghisbreath。onthoseoasionswhenheandtheoldanhadtouchedonthefutureofmillenniu；ithadalwaysconcernedannoyingrearksortheagazine’ssituationinrelationtoblokvist’sabilitytofinishhisworkinhedestad。butvangerwasnowaddressingerikaalone；onebosstoanother。signalspassedbetweenthethatblokvistcouldnotinterpret；whichighthavehadtodowiththefactthathewasbasicallyapoorworking…classboyfronorrlandandshewasanupper…classgirlwithadistinguished；internationalfailytree。

  “couldihavealittleorecoffee？”bergerasked。vangerpouredheracupatonce。“ok；you’vedoneyourhoework。we’rebleeding。”

  “howlong？”

  “we’vegotsixonthstoturnourselvesaround。eightonths；ax。wedon’thaveenoughcapitaltokeepourselvesafloatlongerthanthat。”

  theoldan’sexpressionwasinscrutableashestaredoutofthewindow。thechurchwasstillstandingthere。

  “didyouknowthatiwasonceinthenewspaperbusiness？”hesaid；onceoreaddressingtheboth。

  blokvistandbergerbothshooktheirheads。vangerlaughedagain；ruefully。

  “weownedsixdailynewspapersinnorrland。thatwasbackinthefiftiesandsixties。itwasyfather’sidea—hethoughtitightbepoliticallyadvantageoustohaveasectionoftheediabehindus。we’reactuallystilloneoftheownersofthehedestadcourier。birgeristhechairanoftheboardforthegroupofowners。harald’sson；”headded；forblokvist’sbenefit。

  “andalsoalocalpolitician；”blokvistsaid。

  “martinisontheboardtoo。hekeepsbirgerinline。”

  “whydidyouletgoofthenewspapersyouowned？”blokvistasked。

  “corporaterestructuringinthesixties。publishingnewspaperswasinsoewaysoreahobbythananinterest。whenweneededtotightenthebudget；itwasoneofthefirstassetsthatwesold。butiknohatittakestorunapublication…mayiaskyouapersonalquestion？”

  thiswasdirectedaterika。

  “ihaven’taskedmikaelaboutthis；andifyoudon’twanttoanswer；youdon’thaveto。i’dliketoknowhowyouendedupinthisquagire。didyouhaveastoryordidn’tyou？”

  nowitwasblokvist’sturntolookinscrutable。bergerhesitatedonlyasecondbeforeshesaid：“wehadastory。butitwasaverydifferentstory。”

  vangernodded；asifheunderstoodpreciselywhatbergerwassaying。blokvistdidnot。

  “idon’twanttodiscusstheatter。”blokvistcutthediscussionshort。“ididtheresearchandwrotethearticle。ihadallthesourcesineeded。butthenitallwenttohell。”

  “youhadsourcesforeverylastthingyouwrote？”

  “idid。”

  vanger’svoicewassuddenlysharp。“iwon’tpretendtounderstandhowthehellyoucouldwalkintosuchainefield。ican’trecallasiilarstoryexceptperhapsthelundahlaffairinexpresseninthesixties；ifyouyoungstershaveeverheardofit。wasyoursourcealsoaythoaniac？”heshookhisheadandturnedtobergerandsaidquietly；“i’vebeenanewspaperpublisherinthepast；andicanbeoneagain。whatwouldyousaytotakingonanotherpartner？”

  thequestioncaelikeaboltoutoftheblue；butbergerdidnotseetheleastbitsurprised。

  “telleore；”shesaid。

  vangersaid：“howlongareyoustayinginhedestad？”

  “i’goinghoetoorrow。”

  “wouldyouconsider—youandmikael；ofcourse—huouringanoldanbyjoiningefordinnertonight？would7：00suit？”

  “thatwouldsuitusfine。we’dloveit。butyou’renotansweringthequestioniasked。whywouldyouwanttobeapartnerinmillenniu？”

  “i’notavoidingthequestion。ijustthoughtwecoulddiscussitoverdinner。ihavetotalkwithylawyerbeforeicanputtogetheraconcreteoffer。butinallsiplicityicansaythatihaveoneytoinvest。iftheagazinesurvivesandstartsakingaprofitagain；theni’lleoutahead。ifnot—well；i’vehadsignificantlybiggerlossesinyday。”

  blokvistwasabouttoopenhisouthwhenbergerputherhandonhisknee。

  “mikaelandihavefoughthardsothatwecouldbepletelyindependent。”

  “nonsense。no…oneispletelyindependent。buti’notouttotakeovertheagazine；andidon’tgiveadanaboutthecontents。thatbastardstenbeckgotallsortsofpointsforpublishingmodernties；sowhycan’tibackmillenniu？whichhappenstobeanexcellentagazine；bytheway。”

  “doesthishaveanythingtodowithwennerstr？？”blokvistsaid。

  vangersiled。“mikael；i’eightyyearsplus。therearethingsiregretnotdoingandpeopleiregretnotfightingore。but；aproposthi. comic—”heturnedtobergeragain。“thistypeofinvestentwouldhaveatleastonecondition。”

  “let’shearit；”bergersaid。

  “mikaelblokvistustresuehispositionaspublisher。”

  “no；”blokvistsnapped。

  “butyes；”vangersaid；equallycurt。“wennerstr？willhaveastrokeifwesendoutapressreleasesayingthatthevangercorporationisbackingmillenniu；andatthesaetieyou’rereturningaspublisher。that’sabsolutelytheclearestsignalwecouldsend—everyonewillunderstandthatit’snotatakeoverandthattheeditorialpolicieswon’tchange。andthatalonewillgivetheadvertiserswhoarethinkingofpullingoutreasontoreconsider。wennerstr？isn’tonipotent。hehaseneiestoo；andtherearepaniesnewtoyouthatwillconsidertakingspace。”

  “whatthehellwasthatallabout？”blokvistsaidassoonasbergerpulledthefrontdoorshut。

  “ithinkit’swhatyoucalladvanceprobesforabusinessdeal；”shesaid。“youdidn’ttellethathenrikvangerissuchasweetie。”

  blokvistplantedhiselfinfrontofher。“ricky；youknewexactlywhatthisconversationwasgoingtobeabout。”

  “hey；toyboy。it’sonly3：00；andiwanttobeproperlyentertainedbeforedinner。”

  blokvistwasenraged。buthehadneveranagedtobeenragedaterikabergerforverylong。

  sheworeablackdress；awaist…lengthjacket；andpups；whichshejusthappenedtohavebroughtalonginherlittlesuitcase。sheinsistedthatblokvistwearajacketandtie。heputonhisblacktrousers；agreyshirt；darktie；andgreysportscoat。whentheyknockedpunctuallyonthedoorofvanger’shoe；itturnedoutthatdirchfrodeandmartinvangerwerealsoaongtheguests。everyonewaswearingajacketandtieexceptforvanger。

  “theadvantageofbeingovereightyisthatno…onecancriticisewhatyouwear；”hedeclared。heworeabowtieandabrowncardigan。

  bergerwasinhighspiritsthroughoutthedinner。

  itwasnotuntiltheyovedtothedrawingroowiththefireplaceandcognacwaspouredthatthediscussiontookonaserioustone。theytalkedforalosttwohoursbeforetheyhadtheoutlineforadealonthetable。

  frodewouldsetupapanytobewhollyownedbyhenrikvanger；theboardwouldconsistofhenrikandmartinvangerandfrode。overafour…yearperiod；thispanywouldinvestasuofoneythatwouldcoverthegapbetweenineandexpensesformillenniu。theoneywouldefrovanger’spersonalassets。inreturn；vangerwouldhaveaconspicuouspositionontheagazine’sboard。theagreeentwouldbevalidforfouryears；butitcouldbeterinatedbymillenniuaftertwoyears。butthistypeofpreatureterinationwouldbecostly；sincevangercouldonlybeboughtoutbyrepayentofthesuhehadinvested。

  intheeventofvanger’sdeath；martinvangerwouldreplacehionthemillenniuboardforthereainderoftheperiodduringwhichtheagreeentwasvalid。ifmartinwishedtocontinuehisinvolveentbeyondthisperiod；hecouldakethatdecisionhiselfwhenthetiecae。heseeedausedbytheprospectofgettingevenwithwennerstr？；andblokvistwonderedagainwhattheoriginwasoftheaniositybetweenthosetwo。

  martinrefilledtheirglasses。vangeradeapointofleaningtowardsblokvist；andinalowvoicetoldhithatthisnewarrangeenthadnoeffectwhatsoeverontheagreeentthatexistedbetweenthe。blokvistcouldresuehisdutiesaspublisherfull…tieattheendoftheyear。

  itwasalsodecidedthatthereanisation；inordertohavethegreatestipactintheedia；shouldbepresentedonthesaedaythatblokvistbeganhisprisonsentenceinid…march。biningastronglynegativeeventwithareanisationwas；inprters；suchaclusyerrorthatitcouldnotbutastonishblokvist’sdetractorsandgarneroptiuattentionforhenrikvanger’snewrole。buteveryonealsosawthelogicinit—itwasawayofindicatingthattheyellowplagueflagflutteringovermillenniu’seditorialofficeswasabouttobehauleddown；theagazinehadbackerswhowerewillingtoberuthless。thevangercorporationightbeinacrisis；butitwasstillaproinentindustrialfirwhichcouldgoontheoffenceiftheneedarose。

  thewholeconversationwasadiscussionbetweenberger；ononeside；andhenrikandmartinvangerontheother。no…oneaskedblokvistwhathethought。

  latethatnightblokvistlaywithhisheadrestingonerika’sbreasts；lookingintohereyes。

  “howlonghaveyouandhenrikvangerbeendiscussingthisarrangeent？”

  8

  “aboutaweek；”shesaid；siling。

  “ischristerinagreeent？”

  “ofcourse。”

  “whydidn’tyoutelle？”

  “whyintheworldshouldidiscussitwithyou？youresignedaspublisher；youlefttheeditorialstaffandtheboard；andyouwenttoliveinthewoods。”

  “soideservetobetreatedlikeanidiot。”

  “ohyes；”shesaid。“decidedlyyoudo。”

  “youreallyhavebeenadate。”

  “mikael；i’veneverfeltsofurious；soabandoned；andsobetrayedaswhenyouleft。i’veneverbeenthisupsetwithyoubefore。”shetookafirgriponhishairandthenshovedhifartherdowninthebed。

  bythetiebergerlefthedebyonsunday；blokvistwasstillsoannoyedwithvangerthathedidnotwanttoriskrunningintoeitherhioranyothereberofhisclan。instead；onmondayhetookthebusintohedestadandspenttheafternoonwalkinginthetown；visitingthelibrary；anddrinkingcoffeeinabakery。intheeveninghewenttothecineatoseethelordoftherings；whichhehadneverbeforehadtietosee。hethoughtthatorcs；unlikehuanbeings；weresipleandunplicatedcreatures。

  heendedhisoutingatmcdonald’sinhedestadandcaughtthelastbustohedeby。headecoffee；tookoutabinder；andsatatthekitchentable。hereaduntil4：00intheorning。

  therewereanuberofquestionsregardingtheinvestigationthatseeedincreasinglyoddthefurtherblokvistwentthroughthedocuents。theywerenotrevolutionarydiscoveriesthatheadeallonhisown；theywereproblesthathadpreoupiedinspectormorellforlongperiods；especiallyinhisfreetie。

  duringthelastyearofherlife；harriethadchanged。insoewaysthischangecouldbeexplainedasthechangethateveryonegoesthroughinonefororanotherduringtheirteenageyears。harrietwasgrowingup。classates；teachers；andseveralebersofthefaily；howe