“idon’tgetit.”

  blokvistsighed.itwasawhilebeforehespokeagain.

  “ihadadanedgoodstory.istillhadn’tconfrontedwennerstr？hiself,butthestorywasairtight；ifihadpublisheditatthatoentireallywouldhaveshookhiup.itightnothaveledtoanindictentforfraud—thedealhadalreadybeenapprovedbytheauditors—butiwouldhavedaagedhisreputation.”

  “whatwentwrong？”

  “soewherealongthewaysoebodyheardaboutwhatiwaspokingynoseinto,andwennerstr？wasadeawareofyexistence.andallofasuddenawholebunchofstrangethingsstartedhappening.firstiwasthreatened.anonyouscallsfrocardtelephonesthatwereipossibletotrace.erikawasalsothreatened.itwastheusualnonsense:liedownorelsewe’regoingtonailyoutoabarndoor,andsoon.she,ofcourse,wasadasahellcat.”

  hetookacigarettefrosalander.

  “thensoethingextreelyunpleasanthappened.lateonenightwhenilefttheofficeiwasattackedbytwoenwhojustwalkeduptoeandgaveeacoupleofpunches.igotafatlipandfelldowninthestreet.icouldn’tidentifythe,butoneofthelookedlikeanoldbiker.”

  “so,next…”

  “allthesegoings-on,ofcourse,onlyhadtheeffectofakingerikaverycrossindeed,andigotstubborn.webeefedupsecurityatmillenniu.theproblewasthattheharassentwasoutofallproportiontothecontentofthestory.wecouldn’tfathowhyallthiswashappening.”

  “butthestoryyoupublishedwassoethingquitedifferent.”

  “exactly.suddenlyweadeabreakthrough.wefoundasource,adeepthroatinwennerstr？’scircle.thissourcewasliterallyscaredtodeath,andwewereonlyallowedtoeethiinhotelroos.hetoldusthattheoneyfrotheminosaffairhadbeenusedforweaponsdealsinthewarinyugoslavia.wennerstr？hadbeenakingdealswiththeright-wingustasheincroatia.notonlythat,thesourcewasabletogiveuscopiesofdocuentstobackitup.”

  “youbelievedhi？”

  “hewasclever.heonlyevergaveusenoughrationtoleadustothenextsource,whowouldconfirthestory.wewereevengivenaphotographofoneofwennerstr？’sclosestcolleaguesshakinghandswiththebuyer.itwasdetailedblockbusteraterial,andeverythingseeedverifiable.sowepublished.”

  “anditwasafake.”

  “itwasallafakefrobeginningtoend.thedocuentswereskilfulferies.wennerstr？’slawyerwasabl. comrovethatthephotographofwennerstr？’ssubordinateandtheustasheleaderwasaontageoftwodifferentiages.”

  “fascinating,”salandersaid.

  “inhindsightitwasveryeasytoseehoehadbeenanipulated.ouroriginalstoryreallyhaddaagedwennerstr？.nowthatstorywasdrownedinacleverfery.wepublishedastorythatwennerstr？couldpickapartpointbypointandprovehisinnocence.”

  “youcouldn’tbackdownandtellthetruth？youhadabsolutelynoproofthatwennerstr？hadittedthefalsification？”

  “ifwehadtriedtotellthetruthandausedwennerstr？ofbeingbehindthewholething,nobodywouldhavebelievedus.itwouldhavelookedlikeadesperateattepttoshifttheblaefroourstupidityontoaninnocentleaderofindustry.”

  “isee.”

  “wennerstr？hadtwolayersofprotection.ifthefakehadbeenrevealed,hewouldhavebeenabletoclaithatitwasoneofhiseneiestryingtoslanderhi.andweatmillenniuwouldonceagainhavelostallcredibility,sincewefellforsoethingthatturnedouttobefalse.”

  “soyouchosenottodefendyourselfandtaketheprisonsentence.”

  “ideservedit,”blokvistsaid.“ihadittedlibel.nowyouknow.canigobacktosleepnow？”

  heturnedoffthelapandshuthiseyes.salanderlaydownnexttohi.

  “wennerstr？isagangster.”

  “iknow.”

  “no,iean,iknowthathe’sagangster.heworkswitheverybodyfrotherussianafiatothecolobiandrugcartels.”

  “whatdoyouean？”

  “wheniturnedinyreporttofrodehegaveeanextraassignent.heaskedetotrytofindoutwhatreallyhappenedatthetrial.ihadjuststartedworkingonitwhenhecalledaranskyandcancelledthejob.”

  “iwonderwhy.”

  “iassuethattheyscrappedtheinvestigationassoonasyouaeptedhenrikvanger’sassignent.itwouldnolongerhavebeenofiediateinterest.”

  “and？”

  “well,idon’tlikeleavingthingsunresolved.ihadafeeeks…freelastspringwhenaranskydidn’thaveanyjobsfore,soididsoediggingintowennerstr？forfun.”

  blokvistsatupandturnedonthelapandlookedatsalander.heethereyes.sheactuallylookedguilty.

  “didyoufindoutanything？”

  “ihavehisentireharddiskonyputer.youcanhaveasuchproofasyouneedthathe’sagangster.”

  chapter28

  tuesday,july29–friday,october24

  blokvisthadbeenporingoversalander’sputerprintoutsforthreedays—boxesfullofpapers.theproblewasthatthesubjectskeptchangingallthetie.anoptiondealinlondon.acurrencydealinparisthroughanagent.apanywithapost-officeboxingibraltar.asuddendoublingoffundsinanaountatthechasemanhattanbankinnewyork.

  andthenallthosepuzzlingquestionarks:atradingpanywith200,000kronorinanuntouchedaountregisteredfiveyearsearlierinsantiago,chile—oneofnearlythirtysuchpaniesintwelvedifferentcountries—andnotahintofwhattypeofactivitywasinvolved.adorantpany？waitingforwhat？afrontforsoeotherkindofactivity？theputergavenoclueastowhatwasgoingoninwennerstr？’sindorwhatayhavebeenperfectlyobvioustohiandsowasneverforulatedinanelectronicdocuent.

  salanderwaspersuadedthatostofthesequestionswouldneverbeanswered.theycouldseetheessage,butwithoutakeytheywouldneverbeabletointerprettheeaning.wennerstr？’sepirewaslikeanonionfrowhichonelayerafteranothercouldbereoved；alabyrinthofenterprisesownedbyoneanother.panies,aounts,funds,securities.theyreckonedthatnobody—perhapsnotevenwennerstr？hiself—couldhaveapleteoverview.wennerstr？’sepirehadalifeofitsown.

  buttherewasapattern,oratleastahintofapattern.alabyrinthofenterprisesownedbyeachother.wennerstr？’sepirewasvariouslyvaluedatbetween100and400billionkronor,dependingonwhoyouaskedandhowitwascalculated.butifpaniesowneachother’sassets—whatthenwouldbetheirvalue？

  theyhadlefthedebyislandingreathasteearlyintheorningaftersalanderdroppedthebobthatwasnowoupyingeverywakingoentofblokvist’slife.theydrovetosalander’splaceandspenttwodaysinfrontofherputerwhilesheguidedhithroughwennerstr？’suniverse.hehadplentyofquestions.oneofthewaspurecuriosity.

  “lisbeth,howareyouabletooperatehisputer,froapurelypracticalpointofview？”

  “it’salittleinventionthatyfriendplaguecaeupwith.wennerstr？hasanibmla. comthatheworkson,bothathoeandattheoffice.thateansthatalltherationisonasingleharddrive.hehasabroadbandconnectiontohispropertyathoe.plagueinventedatypeofcuffthatyoufastenaroundthebroadbandcable,andi’testingitoutforhi.everythingthatwennerstr？seesisregisteredbythecuff,whichforwardsthedatatoaserversoewhereelse.”

  “doesn’thehaveafirewall？”

  salandersiled.

  “ofcoursehehasafirewall.butthepointisthatthecuffalsofunctionsasatypeoffirewall.ittakesawhiletohacktheputerthisway.let’ssaythatwennerstr？getsaneail；itgoesfirsttoplague’scuffandwecanreaditbeforeitevenpassesthroughhisfirewall.buttheingeniouspartisthattheeailisrewrittenandafewbytesofsourcecodeareadded.thisisrepeatedeverytiehedownloadsanythingtohisputer.picturesareevenbetter.hedoesalotofsurfingonthe.eachtiehepicksupapornpictureoropensanewhoepage,weaddseveralrowsofsourcecode.afterawhile,inseveralhoursorseveraldays,dependingonhowuchheusestheputer,wennerstr？hasdownloadedanentireprograeofapproxiatelythreeegabytesinwhicheachbitislinkedtothenextbit.”

  “and？”

  “whenthelastbitsareinplace,theprograeisintegratedwithhisinterbrowser.tohiitwilllookasthoughhisputerhaslockedup,andhehastorestartit.duringtherestartawholenewsoftwareprograeisinstalled.heusesinterexplorer.thenexttiehestartsexplorer,he’sreallystartingawholedifferentprograethat’sinvisibleonhisdes. comandlooksandfunctionsjustlikeexplorer,butitalsodoesalotofotherthings.firstittakescontrolofhisfirewallandakessurethateverythingisworking.thenitstartstoscantheputerandtransitsbitsofrationeverytieheclickstheousewhilehe’ssurfing.afterawhile,againdependingonhowuchhesurfs,we’veauulatedapleteirroriageofthecontentsofhisharddriveonaserversoewhere.andthenit’stiefortheht.”

  “ht？”

  “sorry.plaguecallsittheht.hostiletakeover.”

  “isee.”

  “thereallysubtlethingiswhathappensnext.whenthestructureisready,wennerstr？hastwopleteharddrives,oneonhisownachineandoneonourserver.thenexttiehebootsuphisputer,it’sactuallytheirroredputerthat’sstarting.he’snolongerworkingonhisownputer；inrealityhe’sworkingonourserver.hisputerwillrunalittleslower,butit’svirtuallynotnoticeable.andwheni’connectedtotheserver,icantaphisputerinrealtie.eachtiewennerstr？pressesakeyonhisputeriseeitonine.”

  “yourfriendisalsoahacker？”

  “hewastheonewhoarrangedthetelephoapinlondon.he’salittleoutofitsocially,butonthehe’salegend.”

  “ok,”blokvistsaid,givingheraresignedsile.“questionnubertwo:whydidn’tyoutelleaboutwennerstr？earlier？”

  “youneveraskede.”

  “andifineverdidaskyou—let’ssupposethatineveretyou—youwouldhavesathereknowingthatwennerstr？wasagangsterwhilemillenniuwentbankrupt？”

  “nobodyaskedetoexposewennerstr？forwhatheis,”salanderrepliedinaknow-it-allvoice.

  “yes,butwhatif？”

  “ididtellyou,”shesaid.

  blokvistdroppedthesubject.

  salanderburnedthecontentsofwennerstr？’sharddrive—aboutfivegigabytes—ontotencds,andshefeltasifshehadoreorlessovedintoblokvist’sapartent.shewaitedpatiently,answeringallthequestionsheasked.

  “ican’tunderstandhowhecanbesofuckingd. comutallhisdirtylaundryononeharddrive,”hesaid.“ifitevergotintothehandsofthepolice…”

  “peoplearen’tveryrational.hehastobelievethatthepolicewouldneverthinkofconfiscatinghisputer.”

  “abovesuspicion.iagreethathe’sanarrogantbastard,butheusthavesecurityconsultantstellinghihowtohandlehisputer.there’saterialonthisachinegoingallthewaybackto1993.”

  “theputeritselfisrelativelynew.itwasanufacturedayearago,butheseestohavetransferredallhisoldcorrespondenceandeverythingelseontotheharddriveinsteadofstoringitoncds.butatleasthe’susinganencryptionprograe.”

  “whichistotallyuselessifyou’reinsidehisputerandreadingthepasswordseverytiehetypesthein.”

  afterthey’dbeenbackinstockholforfourdays,malcalledonblokvist’sobileat3:00intheorning.

  “henrycortezwasatabarwithhisgirlfriendtonight.”

  “uh-huh,”blokvistsaid,sleepily.

  “onthewayhoetheyendedupatcentralen’sbar.”

  “notaverygoodplaceforaseduction.”

  “listen.dahlanisonholiday.henrydiscoveredhisittingatatablewithsoeguy.”

  “and？”

  “henryrecognisedtheanfrohisbylinepic.kristers？der.”

  “idon’tthinkirecognisethenae,but…”

  “heworksformonopolyfinancialmagazine,whichisownedbythewennerstr？group.”

  blokvistsatupstraightinbed.

  “areyouthere？”

  “i’here.thatightnoteananything.s？derisajournalist,andheightbeanoldfriend.”

  “maybei’beingparanoid.butawhileagomillenniuboughtastoryfroafreelancer.theweekbeforeweweregoin. comublishit,s？derrananexposéthatwasalostidentical.itwasthestoryabouttheobiletelephoneanufacturerandthedefectiveponent.”

  “ihearwhatyou’resaying.butthatsortofthingdoeshappen.haveyoutalkedtoerika？”

  “no,she’snotbackuntilnextweek.”

  “don’tdoanything.i’llcallyoubacklater,”blokvistsaid.

  “probles？”salanderasked.

  “millenniu,”blokvistsaid.“ihavetogothere.wanttoealong？”

  theeditorialofficesweredeserted.ittooksalanderthreeinutestocrackthepasswordprotectionondahlan’sputer,andanothertwoinutestotransferitscontentstoblokvist’si.

  mostofdahlan’seailswereprobablyonhisownla. com,andtheydidnothaveaesstoit.butthroughhisdes. computeratmillenniu,salanderwasabletodiscoverthatdahlanhadahotailaountinadditiontohisillenniu.seaddress.ittookhersixinutestocrackthecodeanddownloadhiscorrespondencefrothepastyear.fiveinuteslaterblokvisthadevidencethatdahlanhadleakedrationaboutthesituationatmillenniuandkepttheeditorofmonopolyfinancialmagazineupdatedonwhichstoriesbergerwasplanningforwhichissues.thespyinghadbeengoingonatleastsincethepreviousautun.

  theyturnedofftheputersandwentbacktomikael’sapartenttosleepforafewhours.hecalledchristermalat10:00a..

  “ihaveproofthatdahlanisworkingforwennerstr？.”

  “iknewit.great,i’goingtofirethatfuckingpigtoday.”

  “no,don’t.don’tdoanythingatall.”

  “nothing？”

  “christer,truste.isdahlanstillonholiday？”

  “yes,he’sbackonmonday.”

  “howanyareintheofficetoday？”

  “well,abouthalf.”

  “canyoucallaeetingfor2:00？don’tsaywhatit’sabout.i’ingover.”

  thereweresixpeoplearoundtheconferencetable.mallookedtired.cortezlookedlikesoeonenewlyinlove,thewaythatonlytwenty-four-year-oldscanlook.nilssonlookedonedge—malhadnottoldanyonewhattheeetingwasabout,butshehadbeenwiththepanylongenoughtoknowthatsoethingoutoftheordinarywasgoingon,andshewasannoyedthatshehadbeenkeptoutoftheloop.theonlyonewholookedthesaeasusualwasthepart-tieringelaoskarsson,whoworkedtwodaysaweekdealingwithsipleadinistrativetasks,thesubscriberlistandthelike；shehadnotlookedtrulyrelaxedsinceshebecaeaothertwoyearsago.theotherpart-tierwasthefreelancereporterlottakari,whohadacontractsiilartocortez’sandhadjuststartedbacktoworkafterherholiday.malhadalsoanagedtogetmagnussontoein,althoughhewasstillonholiday.

  blokvistbeganbygreetingeveryonewarlyandapologisingforbeingsolongabsent.

  “whatwe’regoingtodiscusstodayissoethingthatchristerandihaven’ttakenupwitherika,buticanassureyouthatinthiscaseispeakforhertoo.todaywe’regoingtodeterinemillenniu’sfuture.”

  hepausedtoletthewordssinkin.no-oneaskedanyquestions.

  “thepastyearhasbeenrough.i’surprisedandproudthatnoneofyouhasreconsideredandfoundajobsoewhereelse.ihavetoassuethateitheryou’restarkravingadorwonderfullyloyalandactuallyenjoyworkingonthisagazine.that’swhyi’goingtolaythecardsonthetableandaskyouforonelasteffort.”

  “onelasteffort？”nilssonsaid.“thatsoundsasifyou’rethinkingofshuttingdowntheagazine.”

  “exactly,monika,”blokvistsaid.“andthankyouforthat.whenshegetsbackerikaisgoingtogatherusalltogetherforaglooyeditorialeetingandtotellusthatmillenniuwillfoldatchristasandthatyou’reallfired.”

  nowalarbeganspreadingthroughthegroup.evenmalthoughtforaoentthatblokvistwasserious.thentheyallnoticedhisbroadsile.

  “whatyouhavetodothisautunisplayadoublegae.thedisagreeablefactisthatourdearanagingeditor,jannedahlan,isoonlightingasanrerforhans-erikwennerstr？.thiseansthattheeneyisbeingkeptredofexactlywhat’sgoingoninoureditorialoffices.thisexplainsanuberofsetbackswe’veexperienced.youespecially,sonny,whenadvertiserswhoseeedpositivepulledoutwithoutwarning.”

  dahlanhadneverbeenpopularintheoffice,andtherevelationwasapparentlynotashocktoanyone.blokvistcutshorttheururingthatstartedup.

  “thereasonthati’tellingyouthisisbecauseihaveabsoluteconfidenceinallofyou.iknowthatyou’veallgotyourheadsscrewedonstraight.that’swhyialsoknowthatyou’llplayalongwithwhattakesplacethisautun.it’sveryiportantthatwennerstr？believesthatmillenniuisonthevergeofcollapse.itwillbeyourjobtoakesurehedoes.”

  “what’sourrealsituation？”cortezsaid.

  “ok,hereitis:byallaountsmillenniushouldbeonitswaytothegrave.igiveyouywordthatthat’snotgoingtohappen.millenniuisstrongertodaythanitwasayearago.whenthiseetingisover,i’goingtodisappearagarabouttwoonths.towardstheendofoctoberi’llbeback.thenwe’regoingtoclipwennerstr？’swings.”

  “howarewegoingtodothat？”nilssonsaid.

  “sorry,monika.idon’twanttogiveyouthede