第 25 部分阅读
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