prussicacidwasusedasaponentincertaincheicalindustries；includingtheanufactureofdyes。afewilligraswereenoughtokillaperson；onelitreinareservoircouldwipeoutaediu…sizedcity。

  obviouslysuchalethalsubstancewaskeptunderstrictcontrol。butitcouldbeproducedinalostunliitedquantitiesinanordinarykitchen。allthatwasneededwasaodestaountoflaboratoryequipent；andthatcouldbefoundinacheistrysetforchildrenforafewhundredkronor；alongwithseveralingredientsthatcouldbeextractedfroordinaryhouseholdproducts。theanualfortheprocesswasontheinter。

  anotheroptionwasnicotine。froacartonofcigarettesshecouldextractenoughilligrasofthesubstanceandheatittoakeaviscoussyrup。anevenbettersubstance；althoughslightlyoreple. comroduce；wasnicotinesulphate；whichhadthepropertythatitcouldbeabsorbedthroughtheskin。allshewouldhavetodowasputonrubbergloves；fillawaterpistol；andspraybjuranintheface。withintwentysecondsheshouldbeunconscious；andwithinafewinuteshewouldbedeadasadoor…nail。

  salanderhadhadnoideathatsoanyhouseholdproductscouldbetransforedintodeadlyweapons。afterstudyingthesubjectforseveraldays；shewaspersuadedthattherewerenotechnicalipedientstoakingshortworkofherguardian。

  thereweretwoprobles：bjuran’sdeathwouldnotofitselfgiveherbackcontrolofherownlife；andtherewasnoguaranteethatbjuran’ssuessorwouldbeaniproveent。analysisoftheconsequences。

  whatsheneededwasawaytocontrolherguardianandthusherownsituation。shesatonthewornsofainherlivingrooforonewholeeveningrunningthroughthesituationinherind。bytheendofthenight；shehadscrappedtheideaofurderbypoisonandputtogetheranewplan。

  itwasnotanappealingoption；anditrequiredhertoallowbjurantoattackheragain。butifshecarrieditoff；shewouldhavewon。

  atleast；soshethought。

  bytheendoffebruaryblokvistfellintoadailyroutihattransforedhisstayinhedeby。hegotupat9：00everyorning；atebreakfast；andworkeduntilnoon。duringthistiehewouldcranewaterialintohishead。thenhewouldtakeanhour…longwalk；noatterwhattheweatherwaslike。intheafternoonhewouldgoonworking；eitherathoeoratsusanne’sbridgecafé；processingwhathehadreadintheorningorwritingsectionsofwhatwouldbevanger’sauto…biography。between3：00and6：00hewasalwaysfree。hewouldshopforgroceries；dohislaundry；gointohedestad。around7：00hewouldgoovertoseevangertoaskhiquestionsthathadarisenduringtheday。by10：00hewashoe；andhewouldreaduntil1：00or2：00intheorning。hewasworkingsysteaticallythroughvanger’sdocuents。

  theworkofshapingtheautobiographywasovingsoothly。hehadwritten120pagesofthefailychronicleinroughdraft。hehadreachedthe1920s。beyondthispointhewouldhavetooveoreslowlyandstartweighinghiswords。

  throughthelibraryinhedestadhehadorderedsdealingwithnazisduringthattie；includinghelenel？？w’sdoctoraldissertation；theswastikaandthewasasheaf；whichdealtwiththesybolsadoptedbythegeranandswedishnazis。hehaddraftedanotherfortypagesaboutvangerandhisbrothers；focusingonvangerasthepersonholdingthestorytogether。hehadalistofsubjectsheneededtoresearchonthewaythepanyoperatedduringthattie。andhehaddiscoveredthatthevangerfailywasalsoheavilyinvolvedinivarkreuger’sepire—anothersidestoryhehadtoexplore。heestiatedthathehadabout300pageslefttowrite。aordingtotheschedulehehaddevised；hewantedtohaveafinaldraftforhenrikvangertolookatbythefirstofsepteber；sothathecouldspendtheautunrevisingthetext。

  forallhisreadingandlistening；blokvisthadadenotaninchofprogressintheharrietvangercase。noatterhowuchhebroodedoverthedetailsinthefiles；hecouldfindnotasinglepieceofrationthatcontradictedtheinvestigativereport。

  onesaturdayeveninginlatefebruaryhehadaconversationwithvangerinwhichhereportedonhislackofprogress。theoldanlistenedpatientlyasblokvistlistedallthedeadendshehadruninto。

  “nocrieisperfect；”vangersaid。“i’sureweusthaveissedsoething。”

  “westillcan’tsaywhetheracriewasitted。”

  “keepatit；”vangersaid。“finishthejob。”

  “it’spointless。”

  “maybeso。butdon’tgiveup。”

  blokvistsighed。

  “thetelephonenubers；”hesaidatlast。

  “yes。”

  “theyhavetoeansoething。”

  “iagree。”

  “theywerewrittendownforsoepurpose。”

  “yes。”

  “butwecan’tinterpretthe。”

  “no。”

  “orelsewe’reinterpretingthewrong。”

  “precisely。”

  “they’renottelephonenubers。theyeansoething。”

  “maybeso。”

  mikaelsighedagainandwenthoetocontinuereading。

  advokatbjuranwasrelievedwhensalandercalledagainandexplainedthatsheneededoreoney。shehadpostponedtheirostrecentscheduledeetingwiththeexcusethatshehadtowork；andavaguesenseofuneasinessgnawedathi。wasshegoingtoturnintoanunanageableproblechild？butsinceshehadissedtheeeting；shehadnoallowance；andsoonerorlatershewouldbeboundtoeandseehi。hecouldnothelpbutbeconcernedthatsheighthavediscussedwhathadhappenedwithsoeoutsider。

  shewasgoingtohavetobekeptincheck。shehadtounderstandwhowasincharge。sohetoldherthatthistietheeetingwouldbeathishoenearodenplan；notattheoffice。uponhearingthisnews；salanderwassilentforalongtieontheotherendofthetelephonebeforeshefinallyagreed。

  shehadplannedtoeethiathisoffice；exactlylikelasttie。nowshewasforcedtoseehiinunfailiarterritory。theeetingwassetforfridayevening。shehadbeengiventhebuildingcode；andsheranghisdoorbellat8：30；halfanhourlaterthanagreed。thatwashowuchtieshehadneededinthedarknessofthebuilding’sstairwelltorunthroughherplanonelasttie；consideralternatives；steelherself；andobilisethecourageshewouldneed。

  at8：00blokvistswitchedoffhisputerandputonhisoutdoorclothing。heleftthelightsoninhisoffice。outsidetheskywasbrightwithstarsandthenightwasfreezing。hewalkedbrisklyupthehill；pastvanger’shouse；takingtheroadto？sterg？rden。beyondvanger’shouseheturnedofftotheleft；followinganuglierpathalongtheshore。thelightedbuoysflickeredoutonthewater；andthelightsfrohedestadgleaedprettilyinthedark。heneededfreshair；butaboveallhewantedtoavoidthespyingeyesofisabellavanger。notfarfromartinvanger’shouseherejoinedtheroadandarrivedatceciliavanger’sdoorjustafter8：30。theywentstraighttoherbedroo。

  theyetonceortwiceaweek。ceciliahadnotonlybeehisloverouthereinhisplaceofexile；shehadalsobeethepersonhehadbeguntoconfidein。itwassignificantlyorerewardingdiscussingharrietvangerwithherthanwithheruncle。

  theplanbegantogowrongalostfrothestart。

  bjuranwaswearingabathrobewhenheopenedthedoortohisapartent。hewascrossatherarrivinglateandotionedherbrusquelyinside。shewaswearingblackjeans；ablackt…shirt；andtheobligatoryleatherjacket。sheworeblackbootsandasallrucksackwithastrapacrossherchest。

  “haven’tyouevenlearnedtotellthetie？”bjuransaid。salanderdidnotreply。shelookedaround。theapartentlookeduchasshehadexpectedafterstudyingthebuildingplansinthearchivesofthecityzoningoffice。thelight…colouredfurniturewasbirchandbeech…wood。

  “eon；”bjuransaidinafriendliertone。heputhisararoundhershouldersandledherdownahallintotheapartent’sinterior。nosalltalk。heopenedthedoortothebedroo。therewasnodoubtastowhatservicessalanderwasexpecte. comerfor。

  shetookaquicklookaround。bachelorfurnishings。adoublebedwithahighbedsteadofstainlesssteel。alowchestofdrawersthatalsofunctionedasabedsidetable。bedsidelapswithutedlighting。awardrobewithairroralongoneside。acanechairandasalldeskinthecornernexttothedoor。hetookherbythehandandledhertothebed。

  “tellewhatyouneedoneyforthistie。moreputeraessories？”

  “food；”shesaid。

  “ofcourse。howstupidofe。youissedourlasteeting。”heplacedhishandunderherchinandliftedherfacesotheireyeset。“howareyou？”

  sheshrugged。

  “haveyouthoughtaboutwhatisaidlasttie？”

  “aboutwhat？”

  “lisbeth；don’tactanyorestupidthanyouare。iwantustobegoodfriendsandtohelpeachotherout。”

  shesaidnothing。advokatbjuranresistedanipulsetogiveheraslap. comutsoelifeintoher。

  “didyoulikeourgrown…upgaefrolasttie？”

  “no。”

  heraisedhiseyebrows。

  “lisbeth；don’tbefoolish。”

  “ineedoneytobuyfood。”

  “butthat’swhatwetalkedaboutlasttie。ifyou’renicetoe；i’llbenicetoyou。butifyou’rejustgoingtocausetrouble…”hisgriponherchintightenedandshetwistedaway。

  “iwantyoney。whatdoyouwantetodo？”

  “youknohatiwant。”hegrabbedhershoulderandpulledhertowardsthebed。

  “wait；”salandersaidhastily。shegavehiaresignedlookandthennoddedcurtly。shetookoffherrucksackandleatherjacketwiththerivetsandlookedaround。sheputherjacketonthechair；setherrucksackontheroundtable；andtookseveralhesitantstepstothebed。thenshe. comped；asifshehadcoldfeet。bjurancaecloser。

  “wait；”shesaidonceore；inatoneasiftosaythatshewastryingtotalksenseintohi。“idon’twanttohavetosuckyourdickeverytieineedoney。”

  theexpressiononbjuran’sfacesuddenlychanged。heslappedherhard。salanderopenedhereyeswide；butbeforeshecouldreact；hegrabbedherbytheshoulderandthrewherontothebed。theviolencecaughtherbysurprise。whenshetriedtoturnover；hepressedherdownonthebedandstraddledher。

  likethetiebefore；shewasnoatchforhiintersofphysicalstrength。heronlychanceoffightingbackwasifshecouldhurthibyscratchinghiseyesorusingsoesortofweapon。butherplannedscenariohadalreadygoohell。shit；shethoughtwhenherippedoffhert…shirt。sherealisedwithterrifyingclaritythatshewasoutofherdepth。

  sheheardhiopenthedresserdrawernexttothebedandcaughttheclankingsoundofetal。atfirstshedidnotunderstandwhatwashappening；thenshesawthehandcuffsclosearoundherwrist。hepulledupherar；placedthehandcuffsaroundoneofthebedposts；andlockedherotherhand。itdidnottakehilon. comulloffherbootsandjeans。thenhetookoffherknickersandheldtheinhishand。

  “youhavetolearntotruste；lisbeth；”hesaid。“i’goingtoteachyouhowthisgrown…upgaeisplayed。ifyoudon’ttreatewell；youhavetobepunished。whenyou’renicetoe；we’llbefriends。”

  hesatastrideheragain。

  “soyoudon’tlikeanalsex；”hesaid。

  salanderopenedherouthtoscrea。hegrabbedherhairandstuffedtheknickersinherouth。shefelthiputtingsoethingaroundherankles；spreadherlegsapartandtiethesothatshewaslyingtherepletelyvulnerable。sheheardhiovingaroundtheroobutshecouldnotseethroughthet…shirtaroundherface。ittookhiseveralinutes。shecouldhardlybreathe。thenshefeltanexcruciatingpainasheforcedsoethingupheranus。

  ceciliavangerstillhadarulethatblokvistwasnottostayallnight。soetieafter2：00intheorninghebegantodresswhileshelaynakedonthebed；silingathi。

  “ilikeyou；mikael。ilikeyourpany。”

  “ilikeyoutoo。”

  shepulledhibacktothebedandtookofftheshirthehadjustputon。hestayedforoneorehour。

  whenlaterhepassedbyvanger’shouse；hewassurehesawoneofthecurtainsshiftupstairs。

  salanderwasallowe. comutonherclothes。itwas4：00onsaturdayorning。shepickedupherleatherjacketandrucksackandhobbledtothefrontdoor；wherehewaswaitingforher；showeredandneatlydressed。hegaveherachequefor2；500kronor。

  “i’lldriveyouhoe；”hesaid；andopenedthedoor。

  shecrossedthethreshold；outoftheapartent；andturnedtofacehi。herbodylookedfragileandherfacewasswollenfrocrying；andhealostrecoiledwhenheethereyes。neverinhislifehadheseensuchnaked；soulderinghatred。salanderlookedjustasderangedashercaseindicated。

  “no；”shesaid；soquietlythathebarelyheardtheword。“icangethoeonyown。”

  heputahandonhershoulder。

  “areyousure？”

  shenodded。hisgriponhershouldertightened。

  “reeberwhatweagreed。you’llebackherenextsaturday。”

  shenoddedagain。cowed。helethergo。

  chapter14

  saturday；march8–monday；march17

  salanderspenttheweekinbedwithpaininherabdoen；bleedingfroherrectu；andlessvisiblewoundsthatwouldtakelongertoheal。whatshehadgohroughwasverydifferentfrothefirstrapeinhisoffice；itwasnolongeraatterofcoercionanddegradation。thiswassysteaticbrutality。

  sherealiseduchtoolatethatshehadutterlyisjudgedbjuran。

  shehadassuedhewasonapowertripandlikedtodoinate；notthathewasanall…outsadist。hehadkeptherinhandcuffshalfthenight。severaltiesshebelievedheeanttokillher；andatonepointhehadpressedapillowoverherfaceuntilshethoughtshewasgoin. comassout。

  shedidnotcry。

  apartfrothetearsofpurephysicalpainsheshednotasingletear。whenshelefttheapartentsheadeherwaywithdifficultytothetaxistandatodenplan。withdifficultysheclibedthestairstoherownapartent。sheshoweredandwipedthebloodfrohergenitals。thenshedrankapintofwaterwithtworohypnolandstubledtoherbedandpulledtheduvetoverherhead。

  shewokeupatiddayonsunday；eptyofthoughtsandwithconstantpaininherhead；usclesandabdoen。shegotup；dranktwoglassesofkefir；andateanapple。thenshetooktwooresleepingpillsandwentbacktobed。

  shedidnotfeellikegettingupuntiltuesday。shewentoutandboughtabigboxofbilly’spanpizza；stucktwooftheintheicrowave；andfilledatheroswithcoffee。shespentthatnightontheinter；readingarticlesandthesesonthepsychopathologyofsadis。

  shefoundonearticlepublishedbyawoen’sgroupintheunitedstatesinwhichtheauthorclaiedthatthesadistchosehis“relationships”withalostintuitiveprecision；thesadist’sbestvictiwastheonewhovoluntarilywenttohibecauseshedidnotthinkshehadanychoice。thesadistspecialisedinpeoplewhowereinapositionofdependence。

  advokatbjuranhadchosenherasavicti。

  thattoldhersoethingaboutthewayshewasviewedbyotherpeople。

  onfriday；aweekafterthesecondrape；shewalkedfroherapartenttoatattooparlourinthehornstulldistrict。shehadadeanappointent；andtherewerenoothercustoersintheshop。theownernodded；recognisingher。

  shechoseasiplelittletattoodepictinganarrowbandandaskedtohaveitputonherankle。shepointed。

  “theskinisverythinthere。it’sgoingtohurtalot；”saidthetattooartist。

  “that’sok；”salandersaid；takingoffherjeansandputtingherlegup。

  “ok；aband。youalreadyhaveloadsoftattoos。areyousureyouwantanotherone？”

  “it’sareinder。”

  blokvistleftthecaféwhensusanneclosedat2：00onsaturdayafternoon。hehadspenttheorningtypinguphisnotesinhisi。hewalkedtokonsuandboughtsoefoodandcigarettesbeforehewenthoe。hehaddiscoveredfriedsausagewithpotatoesandbeets—adishhehadneverbeenfondofbutforsoereasonitseeedperfectlysuitedtoacabininthecountry。

  ataround7：00intheeveninghestoodbythekitchenwindow；thinking。ceciliavangerhadnotcalled。hehadrunintoherthatafternoonwhenshewasbuyingbreadatthecafé；butshehadbeenlostinherownthoughts。itdidnotseelikelythatshewouldcallthisevening。heglancedatthelittletvthathealostneverused。insteadhesatatthekitchenbenchandopenedaysterybysuegrafton。

  salanderreturnedattheagreed…upontietobjuran’sapartentnearodenplan。heletherinwithapolite；welingsile。

  “andhowareyoudoingtoday；dearlisbeth？”

  shedidnotreply。heputanararoundhershoulder。

  “isupposeitwasabitroughlasttie；”hesaid。“youlookedalittlesubdued。”

  shegavehiacrookedsileandhefeltasuddenpangofuncertainty。thisgirlisnotallthere。ihavetoreeberthat。hewonderedifshewouldearound。

  “shallwegointothebedroo？”salandersaid。

  ontheotherhand；sheaybewithit…。todayi’lltakeiteasyonher。builduphertrust。hehadalreadyputoutthehandcuffsonthechestofdrawers。itwasnotuntiltheyreachedthebedthatbjuranrealisedthatsoethingwasaiss。

  shewastheoneleadinghitothebed；nottheotherwayaround。he. compedandgaveherapuzzledlookwhenshepulledsoethingoutofherjacketpocketwhichhethoughtwasaobiletelephone。thenhesawhereyes。

  “saygoodnight；”shesaid。

  sheshovedthetaserintohisleftarpitandfiredoff75；000volts。whenhislegsbegantogivewaysheputhershoulderagainsthiandusedallherstrengt. comushhidownontothebed。

  ceciliavangerfeltalittletipsy。shehaddecidednottotelephoneblokvist。theirrelationshiphaddevelopedintoaridiculousbedroofarce；inwhichblokvisthadtotiptoearoundtryingtogettoherhouseunn