at16：03hetookhiscoffeecupouttothegarden。hehadafolderwithhi；whichhestudied。headethreebrieftelephonecallsduringthehourhespentoutinthegarden。thethreecallscorrespondedexactlytocallsshehadnotanswered。

  at17：21blokvistleftthecottage。hewasbacklessthanfifteeninuteslater。

  at18：20hewenttothegateandlookedinthedirectionofthebridge。

  at21：03hewentout。hehadnoteback。

  salanderfast…forwardedthroughthepicturesfrotheotherpc；whichphotographedthegateandtheroadoutsidethefrontdoor。shecouldseewhohadgonepastduringtheday。

  at19：12nilssoncaehoe。

  at19：42thesaabthatbelongedto？sterg？rdendrovetowardshedestad。

  at20：02thesaabwasonitswayback。

  at21：00martinvanger’scarwentby。threeinuteslaterblokvistleftthehouse。

  at21：50；martinvangerappearedinthecaera’sviewfinder。hestoodatthegateforoverainute；lookingatthehouse；thenpeeringthroughthekitchenwindow。hewentuptotheporchandtriedthedoor；takingoutakey。heusthavediscoveredthattheyhadputinanewlock。hestoodstillforaoentbeforeheturnedonhisheelandleftthehouse。

  salanderfeltanice…coldfearinhergut。

  martinvangeronceagainleftblokvistalone。hewasstillinhisunfortablepositionwithhishandsbehindhisbackandhisneckfastenedbyathinchaintoaneyeletinthefloor。hefiddledwiththehandcuffs；butheknewthathewouldnotbeabletogettheoff。thecuffsweresotightthathishandswerenub。

  hehadnochance。heshuthiseyes。

  hedidnotknowhowuchtiehadpassedwhenheheardmartin’sfootstepsagain。heappearedinblokvist’sfieldofvision。helookedworried。

  “unfortable？”hesaid。

  “very；”saidblokvist。

  “you’veonlygotyourselftoblae。youshouldhavegonebacktostockhol。”

  “whydoyoukill；martin？”

  “it’sachoicethatiade。icoulddiscusstheoralandintellectualaspectsofwhatido；wecouldtalkallnight；butitwouldn’tchangeanything。trytolookatitthisway：ahuanbeingisashelladeofskinkeepingthecells；blood；andcheicalponentsinplace。veryfewendupinthehistorys。mostpeoplesuubanddisappearwithoutatrace。”

  “youkillwoen。”

  “thoseofuswhourderforpleasure—i’nottheonlyonewiththishobby—weliveapletelife。”

  “butwhyharriet？yourownsister？”

  inasecondmartingrabbedhibythehair。

  “whathappenedtoher；youlittlebastard？telle。”

  “whatdoyouean？”blokvistgasped。hetriedtoturnhisheadtolessenthepaininhisscalp。thechaintightenedroundhisneck。

  “youandsalander。whathaveyoueupwith？”

  “letgo；forheaven’ssake。we’retalking。”

  martinvangerletgoofhishairandsatcross…leggedinfrontofblokvist。hetookaknifefrohisjacketandopenedit。hesetthepointagainsttheskinjustbelowblokvist’seye。blokvistforcedhiselftoeetmartin’sgaze。

  “whatthehellhappenedtoher；bastard？”

  “idon’tunderstand。ithoughtyoukilledher。”

  martinvangerstaredatblokvistforalongoent。thenherelaxed。hegotupandwanderedaroundtheroo；thinking。hethrewtheknifeonthefloorandlaughedbeforehecaebacktofaceblokvist。

  “harriet；harriet；alwaysharriet。wetried…totalktoher。gottfriedtriedtoteachher。wethoughtthatshewasoneofusandthatshewouldaeptherduty；butshewasjustanordinary…cunt。ihadherundercontrol；orsoithought；butshewasplanningtotellhenrik；andirealisedthaticouldn’ttrusther。soonerorlatershewasgoingtotellsoeoneaboute。”

  “youkilledher。”

  “iwantedtokillher。ithoughtaboutit；butiarrivedtoolate。icouldn’tgetovertotheisland。”

  blokvist’sbrainwaswithdifficultytryingtoabsorbthisration；butitfeltasifaessagehadpoppedupwiththewordsrmationoverload。martinvangerdidnotknohathadhappenedtohissister。

  allofasuddenmartinpulledhisobiletelephoneoutofhispocket；glancedatthedisplay；andputitonthechairnexttothepistol。

  “it’stieto. comallthis。ihavetodisposeofyouranorexicbitchtonighttoo。”

  hetookoutanarrowleatherstrapfroacupboardandslippeditaroundblokvist’sneck；likeanoose。heloosenedthechainthatheldhishackledtothefloor；hauledhitohisfeet；andshovedhitowardsthewall。heslippedtheleatherstrapthroughaloopaboveblokvist’sheadandthentighteneditsothathewasforcedtostandontiptoes。

  “isthattootight？canyoubreathe？”helooseneditanotchandlockedtheotherendofthestrapinplace；furtherdownthewall。“idon’twantyoutosuffocateallatonce。”

  thenoosewascuttingsohardintoblokvist’sthroatthathewasincapableofutteringaword。martinlookedathiattentively。

  abruptlyheunzippedblokvist’strousersandtuggedthedown；alongwithhisboxershorts。ashepulledtheoff；blokvistlosthisfootholdanddangledforasecondfrothenoosebeforehistoesagainadecontactwiththefloor。martinwentovertoacupboardandtookoutapairofscissors。hecutoffblokvist’st…shirtandtossedthebitsonthefloor。thenhetookupapositionsoedistanceawayfromikaelandregardedhisvicti。

  “i’veneverhadaboyinhere；”martinsaidinaseriousvoice。“i’venevertouchedanotheran；asaatteroffact…exceptforyfather。thatwasyduty。”

  blokvist’stepleswerepounding。hecouldnotputhisweightonhisfeetwithoutbeingstrangled。hetriedtousehisfingerstogetagripontheconcretewallbehindhi；buttherewasnothingtoholdonto。

  “it’stie；”martinvangersaid。

  heputhishandonthestrapandpulleddown。blokvistinstantlyfeltthenoosecuttingintohisneck。

  “i’vealwayswonderedhowaantastes。”

  heincreasedthepressureonthenooseandleanedforwardtokissblokvistonthelipsatthesaetiethatacoldvoicecutthroughtheroo。

  “hey；youfuckingcreep；inthisshitholei’vegotaonopolyonthatone。”

  blokvistheardsalander’svoicethrougharedfog。heanagedtofocushiseyesenoughtoseeherstandinginthedoorway。shewaslookingatmartinvangerwithoutexpression。

  “no…run；”hecroaked。

  hecouldnotseethelookonmartin’sface；buthecouldalostphysicallyfeeltheshockwhenheturnedaround。forasecond；tiestoodstill。thenmartinreachedforthepistolhehadleftonthechair。

  salandertookthreeswiftstridesforwardandswungagolfclubshehadhiddenatherside。theironflewinawidearcandhitmartinonthecollarbonenearhisshoulder。theblowhadaterribleforce；andblokvistheardsoethingsnap。martinhowled。

  “doyoulikepain；creep？”salandersaid。

  hervoicewasasroughassandpaper。aslongasblokvistlived；hewouldneverfetherfaceasshewentontheattack。herteethwerebaredlikeabeastofprey。hereyeswereglittering；blackascoal。sheovedwiththelightningspeedofatarantulaandseeedtotallyfocusedonherpreyassheswungtheclubagain；strikingmartinintheribs。

  hestubledoverthechairandfell。thepistoltubledtotheflooratsalander’sfeet。shekickeditaway。

  thenshestruckforthethirdtie；justasmartinvangerwastryingtogettohisfeet。shehithiwithaloudsackonthehip。ahorriblecryissuedfromartin’sthroat。thefourthblowstruckhifrobehind；betweentheshoulderblades。

  “lis…uuth…”blokvistgasped。

  hewasabou. comassout；andthepaininhistepleswasalostunbearable。

  sheturnedtohiandsawthathisfacewasthecolourofatoato；hiseyeswereopenwide；andhistonguewaspoppingoutofhisouth。

  shelookedaboutherandsawtheknifeonthefloor。thenshesparedaglanceatmartinvanger；whowastryingtocrawlawayfroher；onearhanging。hewouldnotbeakinganytroubleforthenextfewseconds。sheletgoofthegolfclubandpickeduptheknife。ithadasharppointbutadulledge。shestoodonhertoesandfranticallysawedattheleatherstraptogetitoff。ittookseveralsecondsbeforeblokvistsanktothefloor。butthenoosewaspulledtighterroundhisneck。

  salanderlookedagainatmartinvanger。hewasonhisfeetbutdoubledover。shetriedtodigherfingersunderthenoose。atfirstshedidnotdarecutit；butfinallysheslippedthepointoftheknifeunderneath；scoringblokvist’sneckasshetriedtoexpandthenoose。atlastitloosenedandblokvisttookseveralshaky；wheezingbreaths。

  foraoentblokvisthadasensationofhisbodyandsouluniting。hehadperfectvisionandcouldakeouteveryspeckofdustintheroo。hehadperfecthearingandregisteredeverybreath；everyrustleofclothing；asiftheywereenteringhisearsthroughaheadset；andhewasawareoftheodourofsalander’ssweatandthesellofleatherfroherjacket。thentheillusionburstasbloodbeganstreaingtohishead。

  salanderturnedherheadjustasmartinvangerdisappearedoutthedoor。shegotup；grabbedthepistol；checkedtheagazineandflickedoffthesafety。shelookedaroundandfocusedonthekeystothehandcuffs；whichlayinplainsightonthetable。

  “i’goingtotakehi；”shesaid；runningforthedoor。shegrabbedthekeysasshepasse

  16

  提供

  dthetableandtossedthebackhandedtothefloornexttoblokvist。

  hetriedtoshouttohertowait；butheanagedonlyaraspingsoundandbythenshehadvanished。

  salanderhadnotfottenthatmartinvangerhadariflesoewhere；andshe. comped；holdingthepistolreadytofireinfrontofher；asshecaeupstairstothepassagewaybetweenthegarageandthekitchen。shelistened；butshecouldhearnosoundtellingherwhereherpreywas。sheovedstealthilytowardsthekitchen；andshewasalosttherewhensheheardacarstartingupinthecourtyard。

  frothedriveshesawapairoftaillightspassinghenrikvanger’shouseandturningdowntothebridge；andsheranasfastasherlegscouldcarryher。shestuffedthepistolinherjacketpocketanddidnotbotherwiththeheletasshestartedherotorcycle。secondslatershewascrossingthebridge。

  hehadaybeaniy…secondstartwhenshecaeintotheroundaboutattheentrancetothee4。shecouldnotseehiscar。shebrakedandturnedofftheotortolisten。

  theskywasfilledwithheavyclouds。onthehorizonshesawahintofthedawn。thensheheardthesoundofanengineandcaughtaglipseoftaillightsonthee4；goingsouth。salanderkickedtheotorcycle；putitintogear；andracedundertheviaduct。shewasdoing40ilesperhourasshetookthecurveoftheentrancerap。shesawnotrafficandaeleratedtofullspeedandflewforward。whentheroadbegantocurvealongaridge；shewasdoing90ph；whichwasaboutthefastesthersouped…uplightweightbikecouldanagegoingdownhill。aftertwoinutesshesawthelightsabout650yardsahead。

  analyseconsequences。whatdoidonow？

  shedeceleratedtoaorereasonableseventy…fiveandkeptpacewithhi。shelostsightofhiforseveralsecondswhentheytookseveralbends。thentheycaeontoalongstraight；shewasonlytwohundredyardsbehindhi。

  heusthaveseentheheadlightfroherotorcycle；andhespedupwhentheytookalongcurve。sheaeleratedagainbutlostgroundonthebends。

  shesawtheheadlightsofatruckapproaching。martinvangerdidtoo。heincreasedhisspeedagainanddrovestraightintotheoninglane。salandersawthetruckswerveandflashitslights；butthecollisionwasunavoidable。martinvangerdrovestraightintothetruckandthesoundofthecrashwasterrible。

  salanderbraked。shesawthetrailerstarttojackknifeacrossherlane。atthespeedshewasgoing；ittooktwosecondsforhertocoverthedistanceuptotheaidentsite。sheaeleratedandsteeredontothehardshoulder；avoidingthehurtlingbackofthetruckbytwoyardsassheflewpast。outofthecornerofhereyeshesawflaesingfrothefrontofthetruck。

  sherodeon；brakingandthinking；foranother150yardsbeforeshe. compedandturnedaround。shesawthedriverofthetruckcliboutofhiscabonthepassengerside。thensheaeleratedagain。at？kerby；aboutailesouth；sheturnedleftandtooktheoldroadbacknorth；paralleltothee4。shewentupahillpastthesceneofthecrash。twocarshad. comped。bigflaeswereboilingoutofthewreckageofmartin’scar；whichwaswedgedunderneaththetruck。aanwassprayingtheflaeswithasallfireextinguisher。

  shewassoonrollingacrossthebridgeatalowspeed。sheparkedoutsidethecottageandwalkedbacktomartinvanger’shouse。

  mikaelwasstillfublingwiththehandcuffs。hishandsweresonubthathecouldnotgetagriponthekey。salanderunlockedthecuffsforhiandheldhitightasthebloodbegantocirculateinhishandsagain。

  “martin？”hesaidinahoarsevoice。

  “dead。hedroveslapintothefrontofatruckacoupleofilessouthonthee4。”

  blokviststaredather。shehadonlybeengoneafewinutes。

  “wehaveto…callthepolice；”hewhispered。hebegancoughinghard。

  “why？”salandersaid。

  forteninutesblokvistwasincapableofstandingup。hewasstillonthefloor；naked；leaningagainstthewall。heassagedhisneckandliftedthewaterbottlewithclusyfingers。salanderwaitedpatientlyuntilhissenseoftouchstartedtoreturn。shespentthetiethinking。

  “putyourtrouserson。”

  sheusedblokvist’scut…upt…shirttowipefingerprintsfrothehandcuffs；theknife；andthegolfclub。shepickedupherpetbottle。

  “whatareyoudoing？”

  “getdressedandhurryup。it’sgettinglightoutside。”

  blokviststoodonshakylegsandanage. comullonhisboxersandjeans。heslippedonhistrainers。salanderstuffedhissocksintoherjacketpocketandthen. compedhi。

  “whatexactlydidyoutouchdownhere？”

  blokvistlookedaround。hetriedtoreeber。atlasthesaidthathehadtouchednothingexceptthedoorandthekeys。salanderfoundthekeysinmartinvanger’sjacket；whichhehadhungoverthechair。shewipedthedoorhandleandtheswitchandturnedoffthelight。shehelpedblokvistupthebaseentstairsandtoldhitowaitinthepassagewaywhilesheputthegolfclubbackinitsproperplace。whenshecaebackshewascarryingadarkt…shirtthatbelongedtomartinvanger。

  “putthison。idon’twantanyooseeyouscaperingaboutwithabarechesttonight。”

  blokvistrealisedthathewasinastateofshock。salanderhadtakencharge；andpassivelyheobeyedherinstructions。sheledhioutofmartin’shouse。sheheldontohithewholetie。assoonastheysteppedinsidethecottage；she. compedhi。

  “ifanyoneseesusandaskswhatweweredoingoutsidetonight；youandiwentouttothepointforanighttiewalk；andwehadsexoutthere。”

  “lisbeth；ican’t…”

  “getintheshower。now。”

  shehelpedhioffwithhisclothesandpropelledhitothebathroo。thensheputonwaterforcoffeeandadehalfadozenthicksandwichesonryebreadwithcheeseandliversausageanddillpickles。shesatdownatthekitchentableandwasthinkinghardwhenhecaelipingbackintotheroo。shestudiedthebruisesandscrapesonhisbody。thenoosehadbeensotightthathehadadarkredarkaroundhisneck；andtheknifehadadeabloodygashinhisskinontheleftside。

  “getintobed；”shesaid。

  sheiprovisedbandagesandcoveredthewoundwithaakeshiftpress。thenshepouredthecoffeeandhandedhiasandwich。

  “i’reallynothungry；”hesaid。

  “idon’tgiveadanifyou’rehungry。justeat；”salanderanded；takingabigbiteofherowncheesesandwich。

  blokvistclosedhiseyesforaoent；thenhesatupandtookabite。histhroathurtsouchthathecouldscarcelyswallow。

  salandertookoffherleatherjacketandfrothebathroobroughtajaroftigerbalfroherspongebag。

  “letthecoffeecoolforawhile。liefacedown。”

  shespentfiveinutesassaginghisbackandrubbinghiwiththelinient。thensheturnedhioverandgavehithesaetreatentonthefront。

  “you’regoingtohavesoeseriousbruisesforawhile。”

  “lisbeth；wehavetocallthepolice。”

  “no；”sherepliedwithsuchveheencethatblokvi. comenedhiseyesinsurprise。“ifyoucallthepolice；i’leaving。idon’twanttohaveanythingtodowiththe。martinvangerisdead。hediedinacaraident。hewasaloneinthecar。therearewitnesses。letthepoliceorsoeoneelsediscoverthatfuckingtorturechaber。youandiarejustasignorantaboutitsexistenceaseveryoneelseinthisvillage。”

  “why？”

  sheignoredhiandstartedassaginghisachingthighs。

  “lisbeth；wecan’tjust…”

  “ifyougoonnagging；i’lldragyoubacktomartin’sgrottoandchainyouupagain。”

  asshesaidthis；blokvistfellasleep；assuddenlyasifhehadfainted。

  chapter25

  saturday；july12–monday；july14

  blokvistwokewithastartat5：00intheorning；scrabblingathisnecktogetridofthenoose。salandercaeinandtookholdofhishands；keepinghistill。heopenedhiseyesandlookedatherblearily。

  “ididn’tknowthatyouplayedgolf；”hesaid；closinghiseyesagain。shesatwithhiforacoupleofinutesuntilshewassurehewasasleep。whileheslept；salanderhadgonebacktomartinvanger’sbaseenttoexaineandphotographthecriescene。inadditiontothetortureinstruents；shehadfoundacollectionofviolentpornographicagazinesandalargenuberofpolaroidphotographspastedintoalbus。

  therewasnodiary。ontheotherhand；shedidfindtwoa4binderswithpassportphotographsandhandwrittennotesaboutthewoen。sheputthebindersinanylonbagalongwithmarti