第 19 部分阅读
theyhadlabcutletswithpotatoesincreasauceanddrankredwine。blokvisttriedtotakeupthethreadoftheirearlierconversation；butbergerwasinnooodtodiscussmillenniu。insteadtheytalkedfortwohoursaboutwhatblokvistwasdoingupthereandhowheandvangerweregettingon。latertheywenttoseeifthebedwasbigenoughtoholdbothofthe。
herthirdeetingwithadvokatnilsbjuranwasrescheduled；andfinallysetfor5：00onthatsaefridayafternoon。atthepreviouseetings；salanderwasgreetedbyaiddle…agedwoanwhoselledofuskandworkedashissecretary。thistieshehadleftfortheday；andbjuranselledfaintlyofdrink。hewavedsalandertoavisitor’schairandleafeddistractedlythroughthedocuentsonhisdeskuntilheseeedsuddenlytobeeawareofherpresence。
itturnedouttobeanotherinterrogation。thistieheaskedsalanderabouthersexlife—whichshehadnointentionofdiscussingwithanyone。
aftertheeetingsheknewthatshehadhandleditbadly。atfirstsherefusedtoanswerhisquestions。hisinterpretationofthiswasthatshewasshy；retarded；orhadsoethingtohide；andhepressedherforanswers。salanderrealisedthathewasnotgoingtogiveup；soshestartedgivinghibrief；colourlessanswersofthesortsheassuedwouldfitwithherpsychologicalprofile。sheentioned“magnus”—who；aordingtoherdescription；wasanerdyputerprograerherownagewhotreatedherlikeagentleanshould；tookhertothecinea；andsoetiessharedherbed。“magnus”wasfiction；sheadehiupasshewentalong；butbjurantookheraountasapretextforeticulouslyappingouthersexlife。howoftendoyouhavesex？oasionally。whotakestheinitiative—youorhi？ido。doyouusecondos？ofcourse—sheknewabouthiv。what’syourfavouriteposition？h；usuallyonyback。doyouenjoyoralsex？er；waitasecond…haveyoueverhadanalsex？
“no；it’snotparticularlynicetobefuckedinthearse—butwhatthehellbusinessisitofyours？”
thatwastheonlytieshelostherteper。shehadkepthereyesonthefloorsotheywouldnotbetrayherexasperation。whenshelookedathiagain；hewasgrinningatherfroacrossthedesk。shelefthisofficewithafeelingofdisgust。palgrenwouldneverhavedreaedofaskingsuchquestions。ontheotherhand；hehadalwaysbeenthereifshehadwantedtodiscussanything。notthatshedid。
bjuranwasonhiswaytobeingamajorproble。
chapter11
saturday；february1–tuesday；february18
duringthebriefhoursofdaylightonsaturday；blokvistandbergertookawalkpastthesall…boatharbouralongtheroadto？sterg？rden。hehadbeenlivingonhedebyislandforaonth；buthehadnevertakenawalkinland；thefreezingteperaturesandregularsnowstorshaddeterredhi。butsaturdaywassunnyandpleasant。itwasasifbergerhadbroughtwithherahintofspring。theroadwaslinedwithsnow；ploughedthreefeethigh。assoonastheyleftthesuer…cabinareatheywerewalkingindensefirforest。blokvistwassurprisedbyhowuchhigherandoreinaessibles？derberget；thehillacrossfrothecabins；wasthanitappearedfrothevillage。hethoughtabouthowanytiesharrietvangerusthaveplayedhereasachild；butthenhepushedallthoughtsofheroutofhisind。afteraboutailethewoodsendedatafencewherethe？sterg？rdenfarlandbegan。theycouldseeawhitewoodenstructureandredfarbuildingsarrangedinasquare。theyturnedtoheadbackthesaeway。
astheypassedthedrivewaytotheestatehouse；vangerknockedontheupstairswindowandgesturedfirlyforthetoeup。blokvistandbergerlookedateachother。
“wouldyouliketoeetacorporatelegend？”blokvistsaid。
“doeshebite？”
“notonsaturdays。”
vangerreceivedtheatthedoortohisoffice。
“youustbefr？kenberger；irecogniseyou。”hesaid。“mikaeldidn’tsayawordaboutyouringtohedeby。”
oneofberger’soutstandingtalentswasherabilitytoinstantlygetonfriendlyterswiththeostunlikelyindividuals。blokvisthadseenherturnonthecharforfive…year…oldboys；whowithinteninuteswerefullypreparedtoabandontheirothers。menovereightyseeednottobeanexception。aftertwoinutesbergerandhenrikvangerwereignoringblokvistastheychatteredon。itwasasiftheyhadknowneachothersincechildhood—well；sinceerika’schildhood；atanyrate。
bergerstartedoffquiteboldlybyscoldingvangerforluringherpublisherawayintothesticks。theoldanrepliedthatasfarashecouldtell—froassortedpressreports—shehadinfactfiredhi。andhadshenotdoneso；thennowightbehightietogetridofexcessballastintheeditorialoffices。andinthatcase；vangersaid；aperiodofrusticlifewoulddoyoungblokvistsoegood。
forfiveinutestheydiscussedblokvist’sshortingsintheostirritatingters。blokvistleanedbackandpretendedtobeinsulted；buthefrownedwhenbergeradesoecrypticrearksthatightalludetohisfailingsasajournalistbutightalsohaveappliedtosexualprowess。vangertiltedhisheadbackandroaredwithlaughter。
blokvistwasastonished。hehadneverseenvangersonaturalandrelaxed。hecouldsuddenlyseethatvanger；fiftyyearsyounger—oreventhirtyyears—usthavebeenquiteacharing；attractiveladies’an。hehadneverrearried。thereusthavebeenwoenwhocrossedhispath；yetfornearlyhalfacenturyhehadreainedabachelor。
blokvisttookasipofcoffeeandprickeduphisearsagainwhenherealisedthattheconversationhadsuddenlyturnedseriousandhadtodowithmillenniu。
“mikaelhastoldethatyou’rehavingproblesattheagazine。”bergerglancedatblokvist。“no；hehasn’tdiscussedyourinternaloperations；butapersonwouldhavetobedeafandblindnottoseethatyouragazine；justlikethevangercorporation；isindifficulties。”
“i’confidentthatwecanrepairthesituation；”bergersaid。
“idoubtit；”vangersaid。
“whyisthat？”
“let’ssee—howanyeployeesdoyouhave？six？aonthlyagazinewithaprintrunof21；000；anufacturingcosts；salaries；distribution；offices…youneedrevenuesofabout10illion。ithinkweknohatpercentageofthataounthastoefroadvertisingrevenue。”
“so？”
“sofriendwennerstr？isavengefulandnarrow…indedbastardwhoisn’tgoingtofethisrecentcontretepsinahurry。howanyadvertisershaveyoulostinthepastsixonths？”
bergerregardedvangerwithawaryexpression。blokvistcaughthiselfholdinghisbreath。onthoseoasionswhenheandtheoldanhadtouchedonthefutureofmillenniu；ithadalwaysconcernedannoyingrearksortheagazine’ssituationinrelationtoblokvist’sabilitytofinishhisworkinhedestad。butvangerwasnowaddressingerikaalone；onebosstoanother。signalspassedbetweenthethatblokvistcouldnotinterpret；whichighthavehadtodowiththefactthathewasbasicallyapoorworking…classboyfronorrlandandshewasanupper…classgirlwithadistinguished；internationalfailytree。
“couldihavealittleorecoffee？”bergerasked。vangerpouredheracupatonce。“ok；you’vedoneyourhoework。we’rebleeding。”
“howlong？”
“we’vegotsixonthstoturnourselvesaround。eightonths；ax。wedon’thaveenoughcapitaltokeepourselvesafloatlongerthanthat。”
theoldan’sexpressionwasinscrutableashestaredoutofthewindow。thechurchwasstillstandingthere。
“didyouknowthatiwasonceinthenewspaperbusiness？”hesaid；onceoreaddressingtheboth。
blokvistandbergerbothshooktheirheads。vangerlaughedagain；ruefully。
“weownedsixdailynewspapersinnorrland。thatwasbackinthefiftiesandsixties。itwasyfather’sidea—hethoughtitightbepoliticallyadvantageoustohaveasectionoftheediabehindus。we’reactuallystilloneoftheownersofthehedestadcourier。birgeristhechairanoftheboardforthegroupofowners。harald’sson；”headded；forblokvist’sbenefit。
“andalsoalocalpolitician；”blokvistsaid。
“martinisontheboardtoo。hekeepsbirgerinline。”
“whydidyouletgoofthenewspapersyouowned？”blokvistasked。
“corporaterestructuringinthesixties。publishingnewspaperswasinsoewaysoreahobbythananinterest。whenweneededtotightenthebudget；itwasoneofthefirstassetsthatwesold。butiknohatittakestorunapublication…mayiaskyouapersonalquestion？”
thiswasdirectedaterika。
“ihaven’taskedmikaelaboutthis；andifyoudon’twanttoanswer；youdon’thaveto。i’dliketoknowhowyouendedupinthisquagire。didyouhaveastoryordidn’tyou？”
nowitwasblokvist’sturntolookinscrutable。bergerhesitatedonlyasecondbeforeshesaid：“wehadastory。butitwasaverydifferentstory。”
vangernodded；asifheunderstoodpreciselywhatbergerwassaying。blokvistdidnot。
“idon’twanttodiscusstheatter。”blokvistcutthediscussionshort。“ididtheresearchandwrotethearticle。ihadallthesourcesineeded。butthenitallwenttohell。”
“youhadsourcesforeverylastthingyouwrote？”
“idid。”
vanger’svoicewassuddenlysharp。“iwon’tpretendtounderstandhowthehellyoucouldwalkintosuchainefield。ican’trecallasiilarstoryexceptperhapsthelundahlaffairinexpresseninthesixties；ifyouyoungstershaveeverheardofit。wasyoursourcealsoaythoaniac？”heshookhisheadandturnedtobergerandsaidquietly；“i’vebeenanewspaperpublisherinthepast；andicanbeoneagain。whatwouldyousaytotakingonanotherpartner？”
thequestioncaelikeaboltoutoftheblue；butbergerdidnotseetheleastbitsurprised。
“telleore；”shesaid。
vangersaid：“howlongareyoustayinginhedestad？”
“i’goinghoetoorrow。”
“wouldyouconsider—youandmikael；ofcourse—huouringanoldanbyjoiningefordinnertonight？would7：00suit？”
“thatwouldsuitusfine。we’dloveit。butyou’renotansweringthequestioniasked。whywouldyouwanttobeapartnerinmillenniu？”
“i’notavoidingthequestion。ijustthoughtwecoulddiscussitoverdinner。ihavetotalkwithylawyerbeforeicanputtogetheraconcreteoffer。butinallsiplicityicansaythatihaveoneytoinvest。iftheagazinesurvivesandstartsakingaprofitagain；theni’lleoutahead。ifnot—well；i’vehadsignificantlybiggerlossesinyday。”
blokvistwasabouttoopenhisouthwhenbergerputherhandonhisknee。
“mikaelandihavefoughthardsothatwecouldbepletelyindependent。”
“nonsense。no…oneispletelyindependent。buti’notouttotakeovertheagazine；andidon’tgiveadanaboutthecontents。thatbastardstenbeckgotallsortsofpointsforpublishingmodernties；sowhycan’tibackmillenniu？whichhappenstobeanexcellentagazine；bytheway。”
“doesthishaveanythingtodowithwennerstr？？”blokvistsaid。
vangersiled。“mikael；i’eightyyearsplus。therearethingsiregretnotdoingandpeopleiregretnotfightingore。but；aproposthi. comic—”heturnedtobergeragain。“thistypeofinvestentwouldhaveatleastonecondition。”
“let’shearit；”bergersaid。
“mikaelblokvistustresuehispositionaspublisher。”
“no；”blokvistsnapped。
“butyes；”vangersaid；equallycurt。“wennerstr？willhaveastrokeifwesendoutapressreleasesayingthatthevangercorporationisbackingmillenniu；andatthesaetieyou’rereturningaspublisher。that’sabsolutelytheclearestsignalwecouldsend—everyonewillunderstandthatit’snotatakeoverandthattheeditorialpolicieswon’tchange。andthatalonewillgivetheadvertiserswhoarethinkingofpullingoutreasontoreconsider。wennerstr？isn’tonipotent。hehaseneiestoo；andtherearepaniesnewtoyouthatwillconsidertakingspace。”
“whatthehellwasthatallabout？”blokvistsaidassoonasbergerpulledthefrontdoorshut。
“ithinkit’swhatyoucalladvanceprobesforabusinessdeal；”shesaid。“youdidn’ttellethathenrikvangerissuchasweetie。”
blokvistplantedhiselfinfrontofher。“ricky；youknewexactlywhatthisconversationwasgoingtobeabout。”
“hey；toyboy。it’sonly3：00；andiwanttobeproperlyentertainedbeforedinner。”
blokvistwasenraged。buthehadneveranagedtobeenragedaterikabergerforverylong。
sheworeablackdress；awaist…lengthjacket；andpups；whichshejusthappenedtohavebroughtalonginherlittlesuitcase。sheinsistedthatblokvistwearajacketandtie。heputonhisblacktrousers；agreyshirt；darktie；andgreysportscoat。whentheyknockedpunctuallyonthedoorofvanger’shoe；itturnedoutthatdirchfrodeandmartinvangerwerealsoaongtheguests。everyonewaswearingajacketandtieexceptforvanger。
“theadvantageofbeingovereightyisthatno…onecancriticisewhatyouwear；”hedeclared。heworeabowtieandabrowncardigan。
bergerwasinhighspiritsthroughoutthedinner。
itwasnotuntiltheyovedtothedrawingroowiththefireplaceandcognacwaspouredthatthediscussiontookonaserioustone。theytalkedforalosttwohoursbeforetheyhadtheoutlineforadealonthetable。
frodewouldsetupapanytobewhollyownedbyhenrikvanger；theboardwouldconsistofhenrikandmartinvangerandfrode。overafour…yearperiod；thispanywouldinvestasuofoneythatwouldcoverthegapbetweenineandexpensesformillenniu。theoneywouldefrovanger’spersonalassets。inreturn；vangerwouldhaveaconspicuouspositionontheagazine’sboard。theagreeentwouldbevalidforfouryears；butitcouldbeterinatedbymillenniuaftertwoyears。butthistypeofpreatureterinationwouldbecostly；sincevangercouldonlybeboughtoutbyrepayentofthesuhehadinvested。
intheeventofvanger’sdeath；martinvangerwouldreplacehionthemillenniuboardforthereainderoftheperiodduringwhichtheagreeentwasvalid。ifmartinwishedtocontinuehisinvolveentbeyondthisperiod；hecouldakethatdecisionhiselfwhenthetiecae。heseeedausedbytheprospectofgettingevenwithwennerstr？；andblokvistwonderedagainwhattheoriginwasoftheaniositybetweenthosetwo。
martinrefilledtheirglasses。vangeradeapointofleaningtowardsblokvist；andinalowvoicetoldhithatthisnewarrangeenthadnoeffectwhatsoeverontheagreeentthatexistedbetweenthe。blokvistcouldresuehisdutiesaspublisherfull…tieattheendoftheyear。
itwasalsodecidedthatthereanisation；inordertohavethegreatestipactintheedia；shouldbepresentedonthesaedaythatblokvistbeganhisprisonsentenceinid…march。biningastronglynegativeeventwithareanisationwas；inprters；suchaclusyerrorthatitcouldnotbutastonishblokvist’sdetractorsandgarneroptiuattentionforhenrikvanger’snewrole。buteveryonealsosawthelogicinit—itwasawayofindicatingthattheyellowplagueflagflutteringovermillenniu’seditorialofficeswasabouttobehauleddown；theagazinehadbackerswhowerewillingtoberuthless。thevangercorporationightbeinacrisis；butitwasstillaproinentindustrialfirwhichcouldgoontheoffenceiftheneedarose。
thewholeconversationwasadiscussionbetweenberger；ononeside；andhenrikandmartinvangerontheother。no…oneaskedblokvistwhathethought。
latethatnightblokvistlaywithhisheadrestingonerika’sbreasts；lookingintohereyes。
“howlonghaveyouandhenrikvangerbeendiscussingthisarrangeent？”
8
“aboutaweek；”shesaid；siling。
“ischristerinagreeent？”
“ofcourse。”
“whydidn’tyoutelle？”
“whyintheworldshouldidiscussitwithyou？youresignedaspublisher；youlefttheeditorialstaffandtheboard；andyouwenttoliveinthewoods。”
“soideservetobetreatedlikeanidiot。”
“ohyes；”shesaid。“decidedlyyoudo。”
“youreallyhavebeenadate。”
“mikael；i’veneverfeltsofurious；soabandoned；andsobetrayedaswhenyouleft。i’veneverbeenthisupsetwithyoubefore。”shetookafirgriponhishairandthenshovedhifartherdowninthebed。
bythetiebergerlefthedebyonsunday；blokvistwasstillsoannoyedwithvangerthathedidnotwanttoriskrunningintoeitherhioranyothereberofhisclan。instead；onmondayhetookthebusintohedestadandspenttheafternoonwalkinginthetown；visitingthelibrary；anddrinkingcoffeeinabakery。intheeveninghewenttothecineatoseethelordoftherings；whichhehadneverbeforehadtietosee。hethoughtthatorcs；unlikehuanbeings；weresipleandunplicatedcreatures。
heendedhisoutingatmcdonald’sinhedestadandcaughtthelastbustohedeby。headecoffee；tookoutabinder；andsatatthekitchentable。hereaduntil4：00intheorning。
therewereanuberofquestionsregardingtheinvestigationthatseeedincreasinglyoddthefurtherblokvistwentthroughthedocuents。theywerenotrevolutionarydiscoveriesthatheadeallonhisown；theywereproblesthathadpreoupiedinspectormorellforlongperiods；especiallyinhisfreetie。
duringthelastyearofherlife；harriethadchanged。insoewaysthischangecouldbeexplainedasthechangethateveryonegoesthroughinonefororanotherduringtheirteenageyears。harrietwasgrowingup。classates；teachers；andseveralebersofthefaily；howe