chapter27

  saturday；july26–monday；july28

  blokvistpickedupsalanderbyherfrontdooronlundagatanat10：00anddrovehertothenorracreatoriu。hestayedathersideduringthecereony。foralongtietheyweretheonlyournersalongwiththepastor；butwhenthefuneralbeganaranskyslippedin。henoddedcurtlytoblokvistandstoodbehindsalander；gentlyputtingahandonhershoulder。shenoddedwithoutlookingathi；asifsheknehowasstandingthere。thensheignoredtheboth。

  salanderhadtoldhinothingaboutherother；butthepastorhadapparentlyspokentosoeoneatthenursinghoewhereshedied；andblokvistunderstoodthatthecauseofdeathwasacerebralhaeorrhage。salanderdidnotsayawordduringthecereony。thepastorlosthertrainofthoughttwicewhensheturneddirectlytoher。salanderlookedherstraightintheeyewithoutexpression。whenitwasoversheturnedonherheelandleftwithoutsayingthankyouorgoodbye。blokvistandaranskytookadeepbreathandlookedateachother。

  “she’sfeelingreallybad；”aranskysaid。

  “iknowthat；”blokvistsaid。“itwasgoodofyoutoe。”

  “i’notsosureaboutthat。”

  aranskyfixedblokvistwithhisgaze。

  “ifyoutwoaredrivingbacknorth；keepaneyeonher。”

  heproisedtodothat。theysaidgoodbye；andtothepastor；atthechurchdoor。salanderwasalreadyinthecar；waiting。

  shehadtogobackwithhitohedestadtogetherotorcycleandtheequipentshehadborrowedfromiltonsecurity。notuntiltheyhadpasseduppsaladidshebreakhersilenceandaskhowthetriptoaustraliahadgone。blokvisthadlandedatarlandalatethenightbeforeandhadsleptonlyafewhours。duringthedrivehetoldherharrietvanger’sstory。salandersatinsilenceforhalfanhourbeforesheopenedherouth。

  “bitch；”shesaid。

  “who？”

  “harrietfuckingvanger。ifshehaddonesoethingin1966；martinvangercouldn’thavekeptkillingandrapingforthirty…sevenyears。”

  “harrietknewaboutherfatherurderingwoen；butshehadnoideathatmartinhadanythingtodowithit。shefledfroabrotherwhorapedherandthenthreatenedtorevealthatshehaddrownedherfatherifshedidn’tdowhathesaid。”

  “bullshit。”

  afterthattheysatinsilenceallthewaytohedestad。blokvistwaslateforhisappointentanddroppedherattheturnofftohedebyisland；heaskedifshewouldpleasebetherewhenhecaeback。

  “areyouthinkingofstayingovernight？”shesaid。

  “ithinkso。”

  “doyouwantetobehere？”

  heclibedoutofthecarandwentaroundandputhisarsaroundher。shepushedhiaway；alostviolently。blokvisttookastepback。

  “lisbeth；you’reyfriend。”

  “doyouwantetostayheresoyou’llhavesoebodytofucktonight？”

  blokvistgaveheralonglook。thenheturnedandgotintothecarandstartedtheengine。hewounddownthewindow。herhostilitywaspalpable。

  “iwanttobeyourfriend；”hesaid。“ifyouwantotherwise；thenyoudon’tneedtobeherewhenigethoe。”

  henrikvangerwassittingup；dressed；whendirchfrodelethiintothehospitalroo。

  “they’rethinkingoflettingeoutformartin’sfuneraltoorrow。”

  “howuchhasdirchtoldyou？”

  henriklookeddownatthefloor。

  “hetoldeaboutwhatmartinandgottfriedgotupto。thisisfar；farworsethanicouldhaveiagined。”

  “iknohathappenedtoharriet。”

  “telle：howdidshedie？”

  “shedidn’tdie。she’sstillalive。andifyoulike；shereallywantstoseeyou。”

  bothenstaredathiasiftheirworldhadjustbeenturnedupsidedown。

  “ittookawhiletoconvincehertoe；butshe’salive；she’sdoingfine；andshe’shereinhedestad。shearrivedthisorningandcanbehereinanhour。ifyouwanttoseeher；thatis。”

  blokvisthadtotellthestoryfrobeginningtoend。acoupleoftieshenrikinterruptedwithaquestionoraskedhitorepeatsoething。frodesaidnotaword。

  whenthestorywasdone；henriksatinsilence。blokvisthadbeenafraidthatitwouldbetoouchfortheoldan；buthenrikshowednosignofeotion；exceptthathisvoiceighthavebeenabitthickerwhenhebrokehissilence

  “poor；poorharriet。ifonlyshehadetoe。”

  blokvistglancedattheclock。itwasfiveinutestofour。

  “doyouwanttoseeher？she’sstillafraidthatyouwon’twanttoafteryoufoundoutwhatshedid。”

  “whatabouttheflowers？”henriksaid。

  “iaskedherthatontheplaneinghoe。therewasonepersoninthefaily；apartfroanita；whosheloved；andthatwasyou。she；ofcourse；wastheonewhosenttheflowers。shesaidthatshehopedyouwouldunderstandthatshewasaliveandthatshewasdoingfine；withouthavingtoakeanappearance。butsinceheronlychannelofrationwasanita；whoovedabroadassoonasshefinishedherstudiesandnevervisitedhedestad；harriet’sawarenessaboutwhatwentonherewasliited。sheneverknewhowterriblyyousufferedorthatyouthoughtitwasherurderertauntingyou。”

  “iassueitwasanitawhopostedtheflowers。”

  “sheworkedforanairlineandflewallovertheworld。shepostedthefrowherevershehappenedtobe。”

  “buthowdidyouknowanitawastheonewhohelpedher？”

  “shewastheoneinharriet’swindow。”

  “butshecouldhavebeenixedupin…shecouldhavebeentheurdererinstead。howdidyoufindoutthatharrietwasalive？”

  blokvistgavehenrikalonglook。thenhesiledforthefirsttiesincehehadreturnedtohedestad。

  “anitawasinvolvedinharriet’sdisappearance；butshecouldn’thavekilledher。”

  “howcouldyoubesureofthat？”

  “becausethisisn’tsoedanedlocked…rooysterynovel。ifanitahadurderedharriet；youwouldhavefoundthebodyyearsago。sotheonlylogicalthingwasthatshehelpedharrietescapeandhide。doyouwanttoseeher？”

  “ofcourseiwanttoseeher。”

  blokvistfoundharrietbytheliftinthelobby。atfirsthedidnotrecogniseher。sincetheyhadpartedatarlandaairportthenightbeforeshehaddyedherhairbrownagain。shewasdressedinblacktrousers；awhiteblouse；andanelegantgreyjacket。shelookedradiant；andblokvistbentdowntogiveheranencouraginghug。

  henrikgotupfrohischairwhenmikaelopenedthedoor。shetookadeepbreath。

  “hi；henrik；”shesaid。

  theoldanscrutinisedherfr. comtotoe。thenharrietwentoverandkissedhi。blokvistnoddedtofrodeandclosedthedoor。

  salanderwasnotinthecottagewhenblokvistreturnedtohedebyisland。thevideoequipentandherotorcycleweregone；aswellasthebagwithherextraclothesandherspongebag。thecottagefeltepty。itsuddenlyseeedalienandunreal。helookedatthestacksofpaperintheoffice；whichhewouldhav. comackupinboxesandcarrybacktohenrik’shouse。buthecouldnotfacestartingtheprocess。hedrovetokonsuandboughtbread；ilk；cheese；andsoethingforsupper。whenhereturnedheputonwaterforcoffee；satinthegarden；andreadtheeveningpaperswithoutthinkingofanythingelse。

  at5：30ataxidroveacrossthebridge。afterthreeinutesitwentbackthewayitcae。blokvistcaughtaglipseofisabellavangerinthebackseat。

  around7：00hehaddozedoffinthegardenchairwhenfrodewokehiup。

  “how’sitgoingwithhenrikandharriet？”hesaid。

  “thisunhappycloudhasitssilverlining；”frodesaidwitharestrainedsile。“isabella；wouldyoubelieve；caerushingintohenrik’shospitalroo。she’dobviouslyseenthatyou’debackandwaspletelybesideherself。shescreaedathithattherehadtobeanendtothisoutrageousfussaboutherharriet；addingthatyouweretheonewhodrovehersontohisdeathwithyoursnooping。”

  “well；she’sright；inaway。”

  “sheandedhenriktodisissyouforthwithandrunyouoffthepropertyforgood。andwouldhe；onceandforall；. comsearchingforghosts。”

  “wow！”

  “shedidn’tevenglanceatthewoansittingbesidethebedtalkingtohenrik。sheusthavethoughtitwasoneofthestaff。iwillneverfettheoentwhenharrietstoodupandsaid；‘hello；maa。’”

  “whathappened？”

  “wehadtocalladoctortocheckisabella’svitalsigns。rightnowshe’srefusingtobelievethatit’sharriet。youareausedofdragginginanipostor。”

  frodewasonhiswaytovisitceciliaandalexandertogivethethenewsthatharriethadrisenfrothedead。hehurriedaway；leavingblokvisttohissolitaryusings。

  salander. compedandfilledhertankatapetrolstationnorthofuppsala。shehadbeenridingdoggedly；staringstraightahead。shepaidquicklyandgotbackonherbike。shestarteditupandrodetotheexit；whereshe. comped；undecided。

  shewasstillinaterribleood。shewasfuriouswhenshelefthedeby；butherragehadslowlydissolvedduringtheride。shecouldnotakeupherindwhyshewassoangrywithblokvist；orevenifhewastheoneshewasangrywith。

  shethoughtofmartinvangerandharrietfuckingvangeranddirchfuckingfrodeandthewholedanedvangerclansittinginhedestadreigningovertheirlittleepireandplottingagainsteachother。theyhadneededherhelp。norallytheywouldn’tevenhavesaidhellotoherinthestreet；letaloneentrustherwiththeirrepellentsecrets。

  fuckingriff…raff。

  shetookadeepbreathandthoughtaboutherother；whoshehadconsignedtoashesthatveryorning。shewouldneverbeabletoendthings。herother’sdeatheantthatthewoundwouldneverheal；sinceshewouldnevernowgetananswertothequestionsshehadwantedtoask。

  shethoughtaboutaranskystandingbehindheratthecreatoriu。sheshouldhavesaidsoethingtohi。atleastgivenhisoesignthatsheknewhewasthere。butifshedidthat；hewouldhavetakenitasapretextfortryingtostructureherlife。ifshegavehiherlittlefingerhe’dtakeherwholear。andhewouldneverunderstand。

  shethoughtaboutthelawyer；bjuran；whowasstillherguardianandwho；atleastforthetiebeing；hadbeenneutralisedandwasdoingashewastold。

  shefeltaniplacablehatredandclenchedherteeth。

  andshethoughtaboutmikaelblokvistandwonderedwhathewouldsaywhenhefoundoutthatshewasawardofthecourtandthatherentirelifewasafuckingrats’nest。

  itcaetoherthatshereallywasnotangrywithhi。hewasjustthepersononwhoshehadventedherangerwhenwhatshehadwantedostofallwastourdersoebody；severalpeople。beingangrywithhiwaspointless。

  shefeltstrangelyabivalenttowardshi。

  hestuckhisnoseinotherpeople’sbusinessandpokedaroundinherlifeand…but…shehadalsoenjoyedworkingwithhi。eventhatwasanoddfeeling—toworkwithsoebody。shewasn’tusedtothat；butithadbeenunexpectedlypainless。hedidnotesswithher。hedidnottrytotellherhowtoliveherlife。

  shewastheonewhohadseducedhi；notviceversa。

  andbesides；ithadbeensatisfying。

  sowhydidshefeelasifshewantedtokickhiintheface？

  shesighedandunhappilyraisedhereyestoseeaninter…continentalroarpastonthee4。

  blokvistwasstillinthegardenat8：00whenhewasrousedbytherattleoftheotorcyclecrossingthebridgeandsawsalanderridingtowardsthecottage。sheputherbikeonitsstandandtookoffherhelet。shecaeuptothegardentableandfeltthecoffeepot；whichwaseptyandcold。blokviststoodup；gazingatherinsurprise。shetookthecoffeepotandwentintothekitchen。whenshecaebackoutshehadtakenoffherleathersandsatdowninjeansandat…shirtwiththesloganicanbearegularbitch。justtryme。

  “ithoughtyou’dbeinstockholbynow；”hesaid。

  “iturnedroundinuppsala。”

  “quitearide。”

  “i’sore。”

  “whydidyouturnaround？”

  noanswer。hewaitedheroutwhiletheydrankcoffee。afterteninutesshesaid；reluctantly；“ilikeyourpany。”

  thosewerewordsthathadneverbeforepassedherlips。

  “itwas…interestingtoworkwithyouonthiscase。”

  “ienjoyedworkingwithyoutoo；”hesaid。

  “h。”

  “thefactis；i’veneverworkedwithsuchabrilliantresearcher。ok；iknowyou’reahackerandhangoutinsuspectcirclesinwhichyoucansetupanillegalwiretapinlondonintwenty…fourhours；butyougetresults。”

  shelookedathiforthefirsttiesinceshehadsatatthetable。heknewsoanyofhersecrets。

  “that’sjusthowitis。iknowputers。i’veneverhadaproblewithreadingatextandabsorbingwhatitsaid。”

  “yourphotographiceory；”hesaidsoftly。

  “iaditit。ijusthavenoideahowitworks。it’snotonlyputersandtelephoneworks；buttheotorinybikeandtvsetsandvacuucleanersandcheicalprocessesandforulaeinastrophysics。i’anutcase；iaditit：afreak。”

  blokvistfrowned。hesatquietlyforalongtie。

  asperger’ssyndroe；hethought。orsoethinglikethat。atalentforseeingpatternsandunderstandingabstractreasoningwhereotherpeopleperceiveonlywhitenoise。

  salanderwasstaringdownatthetable。

  “mostpeoplewouldgiveaneyetoothtohavesuchagift。”

  “idon’twanttotalkaboutit。”

  “we’lldropit。areyougladyoucaeback？”

  “idon’tknow。maybeitwasaistake。”

  “lisbeth；canyoudefihewordfriendshipfore？”

  “it’swhenyoulikesoebody。”

  “sure；butwhatisitthatakesyoulikesoebody？”

  sheshrugged。

  “friendship—ydefinition—isbuiltontwothings；”hesaid。“respectandtrust。botheleentshavetobethere。andithastobeutual。youcanhaverespectforsoeone；butifyoudon’thavetrust；thefriendshipwillcruble。”

  shewasstillsilent。

  “iunderstandthatyoudon’twanttodiscussyourselfwithe；butsoedayyou’regoingtohavetodecidewhetheryoutrusteornot。iwantustobefriends；butican’tdoitallbyyself。”

  “ilikehavingsexwithyou。”

  “sexhasnothingtodowithfriendship。sure；friendscanhavesex；butifihadtochoosebetweensexandfriendshipwhenitestoyou；there’snodoubtwhichiwouldpick。”

  “idon’tgetit。doyouwanttohavesexwitheornot？”

  “youshouldn’thavesexwithpeopleyou’reworkingwith；”heuttered。“itjustleadstotrouble。”

  “didiisssoethinghere；orisn’tittruethatyouanderikabergerfuckeverytieyougetthechance？andshe’sarried。”

  “erikaandi…haveahistorythatstartedlongbeforewestartedworkingtogether。thefactthatshe’sarriedisnoneofyourbusiness。”

  “oh；isee；allofasuddenyou’retheonewhodoesn’twanttotalkaboutyourself。andthereiwas；learningthatfriendshipisaatteroftrust。”

  “whatieanisthatidon’tdiscussafriendbehindherback。i’dbebreakinghertrust。iwouldn’tdiscussyouwitherikabehindyourbackeither。”

  salanderthoughtaboutthat。thishadbeeanawkwardconversation。shedidnotlikeawkwardconversations。

  “idolikehavingsexwithyou；”shesaid。

  “ilikeittoo…buti’stilloldenoughtobeyourfather。”

  “idon’tgiveashitaboutyourage。”

  “no；youcan’tignoreouragedifference。it’snosortofbasisforalastingrelationship。”

  “whosaidanythingaboutlasting？”salandersaid。“wejustfinishedupacaseinwhichenwithfucked…upsexualityplayedaproinentrole。ifihadtodecide；enlikethatwouldbeexterinated；everylastoneofthe。”

  “well；atleastyoudon’tproise。”

  “no；”shesaid；givinghihercrookednon…sile。“butatleastyou’renotlikethe。”shegotup。“nowi’goingintotakeashower；andthenithinki’llgetintoyourbednaked。ifyouthinkyou’retooold；you’llhavetogoandsleeponthecapbed。”

  whateverhang…upssalanderhad；odestycertainlywasnotoneofthe。heanagedtoloseeveryarguentwithher。afterawhilehewashedupthecoffeethingsandwentintothebedroo。

  theygotupat10：00；tookashowertogether；andatebreakfastoutinthegarden。at11：00dirchfrodecalledandsaidthatthefuneralwouldtakeplaceat2：00intheafternoon；andheaskediftheywereplanningtoattend。

  “ishouldn’tthinkso；”saidmikael。

  frodeaskedifhecouldeoveraround6：00foratalk。mikaelsaidthatwouldbefine。

  hespentafewhourssortingthepapersintothepackingcratesandcarryingtheovertohenrik’soffice。finallyhewasleftwithonlyhisownnotesandthetwobindersaboutthehans…erikwennerstr？affairthathehadn. comenedinsixonths。hesighedandstuffedtheintohisbag。

  froderangtosayhewasrunninglateanddidnotreachthecottageuntil8：00。hewasstillinhisfuneralsuitandlookedharriedwhenhesatdownonthekitchenbenchandgratefullyaeptedthecupofcoffeethatsalanderofferedhi。shesatatthesidetablewithherputerwhileblokvistaskedhowharriet’sreappearancehadbeenreceivedbythefailyasawhole。

  “youightsaythatithasovershadowedmartin’sdeise。nowtheediahavefoundoutabouthertoo。”

  “andhowareyouexplainingthesituation？”

  “harriettalkedwithareporterfrothecourier。herstoryisthatsheranawayfrohoebecauseshedidn?