salandernoticeddirchfrodeattheedgeofthetvscreenpassingadoorwayintheeditorialoffices。shefrownedandbitherlowerlipinthought。

  thatmondayhadbeenaslownewsday；andvangergotawholefourinutesonthe9：00news。hewasinterviewedinatvstudioinhedestad。thereporterbeganbystatingthataftertwodecadesofhavingstoodbackfrothespotlighttheindustrialisthenrikvangerwasback。thesegentbeganwithasnappybiographyinblack…and…whitetviages；showinghiwithprieministererlanderandopeningfactoriesinthesixties。thecaerathenfocusedonastudiosofawherevangerwassittingperfectlyrelaxed。heworeayellowshirt；narrowgreentie；andfortabledark…brownsuit。hewasgaunt；buthespokeinaclear；firvoice。andhewasalsoquitecandid。thereporteraskedvangerwhathadproptedhitobeeapartownerofmillenniu。

  “it’sanexcellentagazinewhichihavefollowedwithgreatinterestforseveralyears。todaythepublicationisunderattack。ithaseneieswhoareanisinganadvertisingboycott；tryingtorunitintotheground。”

  thereporterwasnotpreparedforthis；butguessedatoncethatthealreadyunusualstoryhadyetoreunexpectedaspects。

  “what’sbehindthisboycott？”

  “that’soneofthethingsthatmillenniuwillbeexainingclosely。buti’llakeitclearnowthatmillenniuwillnotbesunkwiththefirstsalvo。”

  “isthiswhyyouboughtintotheagazine？”

  “itwouldbedeplorableifthespecialinterestshadthepowertosilencethosevoicesintheediathattheyfindunfortable。”

  vangeractedasthoughhehadbeenaculturalradicalespousingfreedoofspeechallhislife。blokvistburstoutlaughingashespenthisfirsteveninginthetvrooatrull？kerprison。hisfellowinatesglancedathiuneasily。

  laterthatevening；whenhewaslyingonthebunkinhiscell—whichreindedhiofacrapedotelroowithitstinytable；itsonechair；andoneshelfonthewall；headittedthatvangerandbergerhadbeenrightabouthowthenewswouldbearketed。hejustknewthatsoethinghadchangedinpeople’sattitudetowardsmillenniu。

  vanger’ssupportwasnooreorlessthanadeclarationofwaragainstwennerstr？。theessagewasclear：inthefutureyouwillnotbefightingwithaagazinewithastaffofsixandanannualbudgetcorrespondingtothecostofaluncheoneetingofthewennerstr？group。youwillnowbeupagainstthevangercorporation；whichaybeashadowofitsforergreatnessbutstillpresentsaconsiderablytougherchallenge。

  theessagethatvangerhaddeliveredontvwasthathewaspreparedtofight；andforwennerstr？；thatwarwouldbecostly。

  bergerhadchosenherwordswithcare。shehadnotsaiduch；buthersayingthattheagazinehadnottolditsversioncreatedtheipressionthattherewassoethingtotell。despitethefactthatblokvisthadbeenindicted；convicted；andwasnowiprisoned；shehadeoutandsaid—ifnotinsoanywords—thathewasinnocentoflibelandthatanothertruthexisted。preciselybecauseshehadnotusedtheword“innocent；”hisinnocenceseeedoreapparentthanever。thefactthathewasgoingtobereinstatedaspublisherephasisedthatmillenniufeltithadnothingtobeashaedof。intheeyesofthepublic；credibilitywasnoproble—everyonelovesaconspiracytheory；andinthechoicebetweenafilthyrichbusinessanandanoutspokenandcharingeditorinchief；itwasnothardtoguesswherethepublic’ssypathieswouldlie。theedia；however；werenotgoingtobuythestorysoeasily—butbergerayhavedisaredanuberofcritics。

  noneoftheday’seventshadchangedthesituationfundaentally；buttheyhadboughttieandtheyhadshiftedthebalanceofpoweralittle。blokvistiaginedthatwennerstr？hadprobablyhadanunpleasantevening。wennerstr？couldnotknowhowuch；orhowlittle；theyknew；andbeforeheadehisnextovehewasgoingtohavetofindout。

  withagriexpression；bergerturnedoffthetvandthevcrafterhavingwatchedfirstherownandthenvanger’sinterview。itwas2：45intheorning；andshehadtostifletheipulsetocallblokvist。hewaslockedup；anditwasunlikelythathewasallowedtokeephisobile。shehadarrivedhoesolatethatherhusbandwasalreadyasleep。shewentovertothebarandpouredherselfahealthyeasureofaberloursinglealt—shedrankalcoholaboutonceayear—andsatatthewindow；lookingoutacrosssaltsj？ntothelighthouseattheentrancetoskurusound。

  sheandblokvisthadarguedheatedlywhentheywerealoneaftersheconcludedtheagreeentwithvanger。theyhadweatheredanyfull…bloodedarguentsaboutwhatangletouseforaspecificarticle；thedesignoftheagazine；theevaluationoftheirsources’credibility；andathousandotherthingsinvolvedinputtingoutaagazine。butthearguentinvanger’sguesthousehadtouchedonprinciplesthatadeherawareshewasonshak

  10

  yground。

  “idon’tknohattodonow；”blokvisthadsaid。“thisanhashiredetoghostwritehisautobiography。upuntilnowi’vebeenfreetogetupandleavetheoenthetriestoforceetowritesoethingthatisn’ttrue；ortrie. comersuadeetoslantthestoryinawayidon’tholdwith。nowhe’sapartownerofouragazine—andtheonlyonewiththeresourcestosavemillenniu。allofasuddeni’sittingonthefence；inapositionthataboardofprofessionalethicswouldneverapprove。”

  “haveyougotabetteridea？”bergeraskedhi。“becauseifyouhave；spititout；beforewetypeupthecontractandsignit。”

  “ricky；vangerisexploitingusinsoesortofprivatevendettaagainstwennerstr？。”

  “sowhat？wehaveavendettaagainstwennerstr？ourselves。”

  blokvistturnedawayfroherandlitacigarette。

  theirconversationhadgoneonforquiteawhile；untilbergerwentintothebedroo；undressed；andclibedintobed。shepretendedtobeasleepwhenhegotinbesidehertwohourslater。

  thiseveningareporterfrodagensnyheterhadaskedherthesaequestion：“howismillenniugoingtobeablecrediblytoassertitsindependence？”

  “whatdoyouean？”

  thereporterthoughtthequestionhadbeenclearenough；buthespelleditoutanyway。

  “oneofmillenniu’sobjectivesistoinvestigatecorporations。hoilltheagazinebeabletoclaiinacrediblewaythatit’sinvestigatingthevangercorporation？”

  bergergavehiasurprisedlook；asifthequestionwerepletelyunexpected。

  “areyouinsinuatingthatmillenniu’scredibilityisdiinishedbecauseawell…knownfinancierwithsignificantresourceshasenteredthepicture？”

  “youcouldnotnowcrediblyinvestigatethevangercorporation。”

  “isthatarulethatappliesspecificallytomillenniu？”

  “excusee？”

  “iean；youworkforapublicationthatisfortheostpartownedbyajorcorporateentities。doesthateanthatnoneofthenewspaperspublishedbythebonniergroupiscredible？aftonbladetisownedbyahugenorwegiancorporation；whichinturnisaajorplayerinitandunications—doesthateanthatanythingaftonbladetpublishesabouttheelectronicsindustryisnotcredible？metroisownedbythestenbeckgroup。areyousayingthatnopublicationinswedenthathassignificanteconoicinterestsbehinditiscredible？”

  “no；ofcoursenot。”

  “thenwhyareyouinsinuatingthatmillenniu’scredibilitywouldbediinishedbecausewealsohavebackers？”

  thereporterhelduphishand。

  “ok；i’llretractthatquestion。”

  “no。don’tdothat。iwantyo. comrintexactlywhatisaid。andyoucanaddthatifdnproisestofocusalittleextraonthevangercorporation；thenwe’llfocusalittleoreonthebonniergroup。”

  butitwasahicaldilea。

  blokvistwasworkingforhenrikvanger；whowasinapositiontosinkmillenniuwiththestrokeofapen。whatwouldhappenifblokvistandvangerbecaeeneies？

  andaboveall—whatpricedidsheputonherowncredibility；andwhenhadshebeentransforedfroanindependenteditorintoacorruptedone？

  salanderclosedherbrowserandshutdownherpower。shewasoutofworkandhungry。thefirstconditiondidnotworryhersouch；sinceshehadregainedcontroloverherbankaountandbjuranhadalreadytakenonthestatusofavagueunpleasantnessinherpast。thehungershedealtwithbyswitchingonthecoffeeaker。sheadethreebigopenrye…breadsandwicheswithcheese；caviar；andahard…boiledegg。sheatehernighttiesnacksonthesofainthelivingroowhilesheworkedontherationshehadgathered。

  thelawyerfrodefrohedestadhadhiredhertodoaninvestigationofmikaelblokvist；thejournalistwhowasgivenaprisonsentenceforlibellingfinancierhans…erikwennerstr？。afewonthslaterhenrikvanger；alsofrohedestad；joinsblokvist’sagazine’sboardofdirectorsandclaisthatthereisaconspiracytocrushtheagazine。allthisonthesaedaythattheforergoe. comrison。mostfascinatingofall：atwo…year…oldbackgroundarticle—“withtwoeptyhands”—abouthans…erikwennerstr？；whichshefoundintheonlineeditionofmonopolyfinancialmagazine。itseeedthathebeganhiscareerintheverysaevangercorporationinthelatesixties。

  youdidn’thavetobearocketscientisttoseethattheseeventsweresoehowrelated。therehadtobeaskeletoninoneoftheircupboards；andsalanderlovedhuntingskeletons。besides；shehadnothingelseonattheoent。

  part3

  mergers

  may16tojuly11

  thirteenpercentofthewoeninswedenhavebeensubjectedtoaggravatedsexualassaultoutsideofasexualrelationship。

  chapter15

  friday；may16–saturday；may31

  mikaelblokvistwasreleasedfrorull？kerprisononfriday；may16；twoonthsafterhewasaditted。thesaedayheenteredthefacility；hehadsubittedanapplicationforparole；withnogre. comtiis。heneverdidquiteunderstandthetechnicalreasonsbehindhisrelease；butitayhavehadsoethingtodowiththefactthathedidnotuseanyholidayleaveandthattheprisonpopulationwasforty…twowhilethenuberofbedswasthirty…one。inanycase；thewarden—petersarowsky；aforty…year…oldpolishexile—withwhoblokvistgotalongwell；wroteareendationthathissentencebereduced。

  histieatrull？kerhadbeenunstressfulandpleasantenough。theprisonhadbeendesigned；assarowskyexpressedit；forhooligansanddrunkdrivers；notforhardenedcriinals。thedailyroutinesreindedhioflivinginayouthhostel。hisfellowprisoners；halfofwhoweresecond…generationiigrants；regardedblokvistassoethingofararebirdinthegroup。hewastheonlyinatetoappearonthetvnews；whichlenthiacertainstatus。

  onhisfirstday；hewascalledratalkandofferedtherapy；trainingfrokovux；ortheopportunityforotheradulteducation；andoupationalcounselling。hedidnotfeelanyneedatallforsocialrehabilitation；hehadpletedhisstudies；hethought；andhealreadyhadajob。ontheotherhand；heaskedforperissiontokeephisiinhiscellsothathecouldcontinuetoworkonthehewasissionedtowrite。hisrequestwasgrantedwithoutfurtherado；andsarowskyarrangedtobringhialockablecabisothathecouldleavetheputerinhiscell。notthatanyoftheinateswouldhavestolenorvandaliseditoranythinglikethat。theyratherkeptaprotectiveeyeonhi。

  inthiswayblokvistspenttwoonthsworkingaboutsixhoursadayonthevangerfailychronicle；workthatwasinterruptedonlybyafewhoursofcleaningorrecreationeachday。blokvistandtwoothers；oneofwhocaefrosk？vdeandhadhisrootsinchile；wereassignedtocleantheprisongyeachday。recreationconsistedofwatchingtv；playingcards；orweighttraining。blokvistdiscoveredthathewasapassablepokerplayer；buthestilllostafewfifty…？recoinseveryday。regulationsperittedplayingforoneyifthetotalpotdidnotexceedfivekronor。

  hewastoldofhisreleaseonlyonedaybefore。sarowskysuonedhitohisofficeandtheysharedatoastwithaquavit。

  blokvistwentstraightbacktothecabininhedeby。whenhewalkedupthefrontstepsheheardaeowandfoundhiselfescortedbythereddish…browncat。

  “ok；youcanein；”hesaid。“butihavenoilkyet。”

  heunpackedhisbags。itwasasifhehadbeenonholiday；andherealisedthatheactuallyissedthepanyofsarowskyandhisfellowprisoners。absurdasitseeed；hehadenjoyedhistieatrull？ker；buthisreleasehadesounexpectedlythathehadhadnotietoletanyoneknow。

  itwasjustafter6：00intheevening。hehurriedovertokonsutobuygroceriesbeforetheyclosed。whenhegothoehecalledberger。aessagesaidshewasunavailable。heaskedforhertocallhithenextday。

  thenhewalkeduptohiseployer’shouse。hefoundvangeronthegroundfloor。theoldanraisedhiseyebrowsinsurprisewhenhesawmikael。

  “didyouescape？”

  “releasedearly。”

  “that’sasurprise。”

  “foretoo。ifoundoutlastnight。”

  theylookedateachotherforafewseconds。thentheoldansurprisedblokvistbythrowinghisarsaroundhiandgivinghiabearhug。

  “iwasjustabouttoeat。joine。”

  annaproducedagreatquantityofbaconpancakeswithlingonberries。theysatthereinthediningrooandtalkedforalosttwohours。blokvisttoldhiabouthowfarhehadgotwiththefailychronicle；andwheretherewereholesandgaps。theydidnottalkatallaboutharriet；butvangertoldhiallaboutmillenniu。

  “wehadaboardeeting。fr？kenbergerandyourpartnermalwerekindenoughtoovetwooftheeetingsuphere；whiledirchstoodreataeetinginstockhol。ireallywishiwereafewyearsyounger；butthetruthisthatit’stootiringforetotravelsofar。i’lltrytogetdownthereduringthesuer。”

  “noreasonnottoholdtheeetingsuphere；”blokvistsaid。“sohowdoesitfeeltobeapartowneroftheagazine？”

  vangergavehiawrysile。

  “it’sactuallytheostfuni’vehadinyears。i’vetakenalookatthefinances；andtheylookprettyfair。iwon’thav. comutupasuchoneyasithought—thegapbetweenineandexpensesisdwindling。”

  “italkedwitherikathisweek。shesaysthatadvertisingrevenuehasperkedup。”

  “it’sstartingtoturnaround；yes；butit’lltaketie。atfirstthepaniesinthevangercorporationwentinandboughtupabunchoffullpageads。buttwoforeradvertisers—obiletelephonesandatravelbureau—haveeback。”hesiledbroadly。“we’realsodoingalittleoreone…to…onehustlingaongwennerstr？’seneies。and；believee；there’salonglist。”

  “haveyouhearddirectlyfrowennerstr？？”

  “well；notreally。butweleakedastorythatwennerstr？isanisingtheboycottofmillenniu。thatusthaveadehilookpetty。areporteratdnissaidtohavereachedhiandgotasurlyreply。”

  “youareenjoyingthis；aren’tyou？”

  “enjoyisn’ttheword。ishouldhavedevotedyselftothisyearsago。”

  “whatisitbetweenyouandwennerstr？；anyway？”

  “don’teventry。you’llfindoutattheendofyouryear。”

  whenblokvistleftvangeraround9：00therewasadistinctfeelingofspringintheair。itwasdarkoutsideandhehesitatedforaoent。thenheadehisfailiarcircuitandknockedonthedoorofceciliavanger’shouse。

  hewasn’tsurewhatheexpected。ceciliaopenedhereyeswideandinstantlylookedunfortableasshelethiintothehall。theystoodthere；suddenlyunsureofeachother。shetooaskedifhehadescaped；andheexplainedthesituation。

  “ijustwantedtosayhello。aiinterruptingsoething？”

  sheavoidedhiseyes。mikaelcouldsenseatoncethatshewasn’tparticularlygladtoseehi。

  “no…no；ein。wouldyoulikesoecoffee？”

  “iwould。”

  hefollowedherintothekitchen。shestoodwithherbacktohiasshefilledthecoffeeakerwithwater。heputahandonhershoulder；andshestiffened。

  “cecilia；youdon’tlookasifyouwanttogiveecoffee。”

  “iwasn’texpectingyouforanotheronth；”shesaid。“yousurprisede。”

  heturnedheraroundsothathecouldseeherface。theystoodinsilenceforaoent。shestillwouldnotlookhiintheeye。

  “cecilia。fetaboutthecoffee。what’sgoingon？”

  sheshookherheadandtookadeepbreath。

  “mikael；i’dlikeyoutoleave。don’task。justleave。”

  mikaelfirstwalkedbacktothecottage；butpausedatthegate；undecided。insteadofgoinginhewentdowntothewaterbythebridgeandsatonarock。hesokedacigarettewhilehesortedouthisthoughtsandwonderedwhatcouldhavesodraaticallychangedceciliavanger’sattitudetowardshi。

  hesuddenlyheardthesoundofanengineandsawabigwhiteboatslipintothesoundbeneaththebridge。whenitpassed；mikaelsawthatitwasmartinvangerstandingatthewheel；withhisgazefocusedonavoidingsunkenrocksinthewater。theboatwasaforty…foototorcruiser—anipressivebundleofpower。hestoodupandtookthebeachpath。hediscoveredthatseveralboatswerealreadyinthewateratvariousdocks；aixtureofotorboatsandsailingboats。therewereseveralpetterssonboats；andatonedockanif…classyachtwasrockinginthewake。otherboatswerelargerandoreexpensivevessels。henoticedahallberg…rassy。theboatsalsoindicatedtheclassdistributionofhedeby’sarina—martinvangerhadwithoutadoubtthel