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hegirlwiththedragontattoo

larssonstieg

prologue

afridayinnoveber

ithappenedeveryyear；wasalostaritual。andthiswashiseighty…secondbirthday。when；asusual；theflowerwasdelivered；hetookoffthewrappingpaperandthenpickedupthetelephoocalldetectivesuperintendentmorellwho；whenheretired；hadovedtolakesiljanindalarna。theywerenotonlythesaeage；theyhadbeenbornonthesaeday—whichwassoethingofanironyunderthecircustances。theoldpoliceanwassittingwithhiscoffee；waiting；expectingthecall。

“itarrived。”

“whatisitthisyear？”

“idon’tknohatkinditis。i’llhavetogetsoeootellewhatitis。it’swhite。”

“noletter；isuppose。”

“justtheflower。thefraeisthesaekindaslastyear。oneofthosedo…it…yourselfones。”

“postark？”

“stockhol。”

“handwriting？”

“saeasalways；allincapitals。upright；neatlettering。”

withthat；thesubjectwasexhausted；andnotanotherwordwasexchangedforalostainute。theretiredpoliceanleanedbackinhiskitchenchairanddrewonhispipe。heknewhewasnolongerexpectedtoeupwithapithyentoranysharpquestionwhichwouldshedanewlightonthecase。thosedayshadlongsincepassed；andtheexchangebetweenthetwoenseeedlikearitualattachingtoaysterywhichno…oneelseinthewholeworldhadtheleastinterestinunravelling。

thelatinnaewasleptosperurubite。itwasaplantaboutfourincheshighwithsall；heather…likefoliageandawhiteflowerwithfivepetalsaboutoneinchacross。

theplantwasnativetotheaustralianbushanduplands；whereitwastobefoundaongtussocksofgrass。thereitwascalleddesertsnow。soeoneatthebotanicalgardensinuppsalawouldlaterconfirthatitwasaplantseldocultivatedinsweden。thebotanistwroteinherreportthatitwasrelatedtotheteatreeandthatitwassoetiesconfusedwithitsoreoncousinleptosperuscopariu；whichgrewinabundanceinnewzealand。whatdistinguishedthe；shepointedout；wasthatrubitehadasallnuberoficroscopicpinkdotsatthetipsofthepetals；givingtheflowerafaintpinkishtinge。

rubitewasaltogetheranunpretentiousflower。ithadnoknownedicinalproperties；anditcouldnotinducehallucinatoryexperiences。itwasneitheredible；norhadauseintheanufactureofplantdyes。ontheotherhand；theaboriginalpeopleofaustraliaregardedassacredtheregionandthefloraaroundayersrock。

thebotanistsaidthatsheherselfhadneverseenonebefore；butafterconsultinghercolleaguesshewastoreportthatatteptshadbeenadetointroducetheplantatanurserying？teb；andthatitight；ofcourse；becultivatedbyaateurbotanists。itwasdifficulttogrowinswedenbecauseitthrivedinadrycliateandhadtoreainindoorshalfoftheyear。itwouldnotthriveincalcareoussoilandithadtobewateredfrobelow。itneededpapering。

thefactofitsbeingsorareafloweroughttohaveadeiteasiertotracethesourceofthisparticularspecien；butinpracticeitwasanipossibletask。therewasnoregistrytolookitupin；nolicencestoexplore。anywherefroahandfultoafewhundredenthusiastscouldhavehadaesstoseedsorplants。andthosecouldhavechangedhandsbetweenfriendsorbeenboughtbyailorderfroanywhereineurope；anywhereintheantipodes。

butitwasonlyoneintheseriesofystifyingflowersthateachyeararrivedbypostonthefirstdayofnoveber。theywerealwaysbeautifulandfortheostpartrareflowers；alwayspressed；ountedonwater…colourpaperinasiplefraeeasuringsixinchesbyeleveninches。

thestrangestoryoftheflowershadneverbeenreportedinthepress；onlyaveryfewpeopleknewofit。thirtyyearsagotheregulararrivaloftheflowerwastheobjectofuchscrutiny—atthenationalforensiclaboratory；aongfingerprintexperts；graphologists；criinalinvestigators；andoneortworelativesandfriendsoftherecipient。nowtheactorsinthedraawerebutthree：theelderlybirthdayboy；theretiredpolicedetective；andthepersonwhohadpostedtheflower。thefirsttwoatleasthadreachedsuchanagethatthegroupofinterestedpartieswouldsoonbefurtherdiinished。

thepoliceanwasahardenedveteran。hewouldneverfethisfirstcase；inwhichhehadhadtotakeintocustodyaviolentandappallinglydrunkworkeratanelectricalsubstationbeforehecausedothershar。duringhiscareerhehadbroughtinpoachers；wifebeaters；conen；carthieves；anddrunkdrivers。hehaddealtwithburglars；drugdealers；rapists；andonederangedbober。hehadbeeninvolvedinnineurderoranslaughtercases。infiveofthesetheurdererhadcalledthepolicehiselfand；fullofreorse；confessedtohavingkilledhiswifeorbrotherorsoeotherrelative。twoothersweresolvedwithinafewdays。anotherrequiredtheassistanceofthenationalcriinalpoliceandtooktwoyears。

theninthcasewassolvedtothepolice’ssatisfaction；whichistosaythattheyknehotheurdererwas；butbecausetheevidencewassoinsubstantialthepublicprosecutordecidedno. comroceedwiththecase。tothedetectivesuperintendent’sdisay；thestatuteofliitationseventuallyputanendtotheatter。butallinallhecouldlookbackonanipressivecareer。

hewasanythingbutpleased。

forthedetective；the“caseofthepressedflowers”hadbeennaggingathiforyears—hislast；unsolved；andfrustratingcase。thesituationwasdoublyabsurdbecauseafterspendingliterallythousandsofhoursbrooding；ondutyandoff；hecouldnotsaybeyonddoubtthatacriehadindeedbeenitted。

thetwoenknewthatwhoeverhadountedtheflowerswouldhaveworngloves；thattherewouldbenofingerprintsonthefraeortheglass。thefraecouldhavebeenboughtincaerashopsorstationerystorestheworldover。therewas；quitesiply；noleadtofollow。mostoftentheparcelwaspostedinstockhol；butthreetiesfrolondon；twicefroparis；twicefrocopenhagen；oncefromadrid；oncefrobonn；andoncefropensacola；florida。thedetectivesuperintendenthadhadtolookitupinanatlas。

afterputtingdownthetelephoheeighty…two…year…oldbirthdayboysatforalongtielookingattheprettybuteaninglessflowerwhosenaehedidnotyetknow。thenhelookedupatthewallabovehisdesk。therehungforty…threepressedflowersintheirfraes。fourrowsoften；andoneatthebottowithfour。inth. comrowonewasissingfrotheninthslot。desertsnoouldbenuberforty…four。

withoutwarninghebegantoweep。hesurprisedhiselfwiththissuddenburstofeotionafteralostfortyyears。

part1

incentive

december20–january3

eighteenpercentofthewoeninswedenhaveatoiebeenthreatenedbyaan。

chapter1

friday；deceber20

thetrialwasirretrievablyover；everythingthatcouldbesaidhadbeensaid；buthehadneverdoubtedthathewouldlose。thewrittenverdictwashandeddownat10：00onfridayorning；andallthatreainedwasasuingupfrothereporterswaitinginthecorridoroutsidethedistrictcourt。

“carl”mikaelblokvistsawthethroughthedoorwayandslowedhisstep。hehadnowishtodiscusstheverdict；butquestionswereunavoidable；andhe—ofallpeople—knewthattheyhadtobeaskedandanswered。thisishowitistobeacriinal；hethought。ontheothersideoftheicrophone。hestraightenedupandtriedtosile。thereportersgavehifriendly；alostebarrassedgreetings。

“let’ssee…aftonbladet；expressen；ttwireservice；tv4；and…whereareyoufro？…ahyes；dagensnyheter。iustbeacelebrity；”blokvistsaid。

“giveusasoundbite；kalleblokvist。”itwasareporterfrooneoftheeveningpapers。

blokvist；hearingthenicknae；forcedhiselfasalwaysnottorollhiseyes。once；whenhewastwenty…threeandhadjuststartedhisfirstsuerjobasajournalist；blokvisthadchanceduponagangwhichhadpulledofffivebankrobberiesoverthepasttwoyears。therewasnodoubtthatitwasthesaegangineveryinstance。theirtradearkwastoholduptwobanksatatiewithilitaryprecision。theyworeasksfrodisneyworld；soinevitablypolicelogicdubbedthethedonaldduckgang。thenewspapersrenaedthethebeargang；whichsoundedoresinister；oreappropriatetothefactthatontwooasionstheyhadrecklesslyfiredwarningshotsandthreatenedcuriouspassersby。

theirsixthoutingwasatabankin？sterg？tlandattheheightoftheholidayseason。areporterfrothelocalradiostationhappenedtobeinthebankatthetie。assoonastherobbersweregonehewenttoapublictelephoneanddictatedhisstoryforlivebroadcast。

blokvistwasspendingseveraldayswithagirlfriendatherparents’suercabinnearkatrinehol。exactlywhyheadetheconnectionhecouldnotexplain；eventothepolice；butashewaslisteningtothenewsreporthereeberedagroupoffoureninasuercabinafewhundredfeetdowntheroad。hehadseentheplayingbadintonoutintheyard：fourblond；athletictypesinshortswiththeirshirtsoff。theywereobviouslybodybuilders；andtherehadbeensoethingaboutthethathadadehilooktwice—aybeitwasbecausethegaewasbeingplayedinblazingsunshinewithwhatherecognisedasintenselyfocusedenergy。

therehadbeennogoodreasontosuspecttheofbeingthebankrobbers；butneverthelesshehadgooahilloverlookingtheircabin。itseeedepty。itwasaboutfortyinutesbeforeavolvodroveupandparkedintheyard。theyoungengotout；inahurry；andwereeachcarryingasportsbag；sotheyighthavebeendoingnothingorethaningbackfroaswi。butoneofthereturnedtothecarandtookoutfrothebootsoethingwhichhehurriedlycoveredwithhisjacket。evenfroblokvist’srelativelydistantobservationposthecouldtellthatitwasagoodoldak4；theriflethathadbeenhisconstantpanionfortheyearofhisilitaryservice。

hecalledthepoliceandthatwasthestartofathree…daysiegeofthecabin；blanketcoveragebytheedia；withblokvistinafront…rowseatandcollectingagratifyinglylargefeefroaneveningpaper。thepolicesetuptheirheadquartersinacaravaninthegardenofthecabinwhereblokvistwasstaying。

thefallofthebearganggavehithestarbillingthatlaunchedhiasayoungjournalist。thedownsideofhiscelebritywasthattheothereveningnewspapercouldnotresistusingtheheadline“kalleblokvistsolvesthecase。”thetongue…in…cheekstorywaswrittenbyanolderfealecolunistandcontainedreferencestotheyoungdetectiveinastridlindgren’ssforchildren。toakeattersworse；thepaperhadrunthestorywithagrainyphotographofblokvistwithhisouthhalfopenevenasheraisedanindexfinge. comoint。

itadenodifferencethatblokvisthadneverinlifeusedthenaecarl。frothatoenton；tohisdisay；hewasnicknaedkalleblokvistbyhispeers—anepitheteployedwithtauntingprovocation；notunfriendlybutnotreallyfriendlyeither。inspiteofhisrespectforastridlindgren—whosesheloved—hedetestedthenicknae。ittookhiseveralyearsandfarweightierjournalisticsuessesbeforethenicknaebegantofade；buthestillcringedifeverthenaewasusedinhishearing。

rightnowheachievedaplacidsileandsaidtothereporterfrotheeveningpaper：“oheon；thinkofsoethingyourself。youusuallydo。”

histonewasnotunpleasant。theyallkneweachother；oreorless；andblokvist’sostviciouscriticshadnotethatorning。oneofthejournaliststherehadatoieworkedwithhi。andatapartysoeyearsagohehadnearlysueededinpickinguponeofthereporters—thewoanfrosheontv4。

“youtookarealhitintheretoday；”saidtheonefrodagensnyheter；clearlyayoungpart…tier。“howdoesitfeel？”

despitetheseriousnessofthesituation；neitherblokvistnortheolderjournalistscouldhelpsiling。heexchangedglanceswithtv4。howdoesitfeel？thehalf…wittedsportsreportershoveshisicrophoneinthefaceofthebreathlessathleteonthefinishingline。

“icanonlyregretthatthecourtdidnotetoadifferentconclusion；”hesaidabitstuffily。

“threeonthsingaoland150；000kronordaages。that’sprettysevere；”saidshefrotv4。

“i’llsurvive。”

“areyougoingtoapologisetowennerstr？？shakehishand？”

“ithinknot。”

“soyoustillwouldsaythathe’sacrook？”dagensnyheter。

thecourthadjustruledthatblokvisthadlibelledanddefaedthefinancierhans…erikwennerstr？。thetrialwasoverandhehadnoplanstoappeal。sowhatwouldhappenifherepeatedhisclaionthecourthousesteps？blokvistdecidedthathedidnotwanttofindout。

“ithoughtihadgoodreaso. comublishtherationthatwasinypossession。thecourthasruledotherwise；andiustaeptthatthejudicialprocesshastakenitscourse。thoseofusontheeditorialstaffwillhavetodiscussthejudgeentbeforewedecidewhatwe’regoingtodo。ihavenooretoadd。”

“buthowdidyouetofetthatjournalistsactuallyhavetobackuptheirassertions？”shefrotv4。herexpressionwasneutral；butblokvistthoughthesawahintofdisappointedrepudiationinhereyes。

thereportersonsite；apartfrotheboyfrodagensnyheter；wereallveteransinthebusiness。forthetheanswertothatquestionwasbeyondtheconceivable。“ihavenothingtoadd；”herepeated；butwhentheothershadaeptedthistv4stoodhiagainstthedoorstothecourthouseandaskedherquestionsinfrontofthecaera。shewaskinderthanhedeserved；andtherewereenoughclearanswerstosatisfyallthereportersstillstandingbehindher。thestorywouldbeintheheadlinesbuthereindedhiselfthattheywerenotdealingwiththeediaeventoftheyearhere。thereportershadwhattheyneededandheadedbacktotheirrespectivenewsroos。

heconsideredwalking；butitwasablusterydeceberdayandhewasalreadycoldaftertheinterview。ashewalkeddownthecourtroosteps；hesawwilliabgettingoutofhiscar。heusthavebeensittingthereduringtheinterview。theireyeset；andthenbsiled。

“itwasworthingdownherejusttoseeyouwiththatpaperinyourhand。”

blokvistsaidnothing。bandblokvisthadknowneachotherforfifteenyears。theyhadworkedtogetherascubreportersforthefinancialsectionofaorningpaper。maybeitwasaquestionofcheistry；butthefoundationhadbeenlaidthereforalifelongenity。inblokvist’seyes；bhadbeenathird…ratereporterandatroublesoepersonwhoannoyedeveryonearoundhiwithcrassjokesandadedisparagingrearksabouttheoreexperienced；olderreporters。heseeedtodisliketheolderfealereportersinparticular。theyhadtheirfirstquarrel；thenothers；andanontheantagonisturnedpersonal。

overtheyears；theyhadrunintoeachotherregularly；butitwasnotuntilthelateniiesthattheybecaeseriouseneies。blokvisthadpublishedaaboutfinancialjournalisandquotedextensivelyanuberofidioticarticleswrittenbyb。bcaeacrossasapopousasswhogotanyofhisfactsupsidedownandwrotehoagestodot…paniesthatwereonthebrinkofgoingunder。whenthereaftertheyetbychanceinabarins？dertheyhadallbutetoblows。bleftjournalis；andnowheworkedinpr—foraconsiderablyhighersalary—atafirthat；toakethingsworse；waspartofindustrialisthans…erikwennerstr？’ssphereofinfluence。

theylookedateachotherforalongoentbeforeblokvistturnedonhisheelandwalkedaway。itwastypicalofbtodrivetothecourthousesiplytositthereandlaughathi。

thenuber40busbrakedtoa. cominfrontofb’scarandblokvisthoppedontoakehisescape。hegotoffatfridhesplan；undecidedwhattodo。hewasstillholdingthejudgeentdocuentinhishand。finallyhewalkedovertokaféanna；nexttothegarageentranceleadingunderneaththepolicestation。

halfainuteafterhehadorderedacaffelatteandasandwich；thelunchtienewscaeontheradio。thestoryfollowedthatofasuicidebobinginjerusaleandthenewsthatthegovernenthadappointedaissiontoinvestigatetheallegedforationofanewcartelwithintheconstructionindustry。

journalistmikaelblokvistoftheagazinemillenniuwassentencedthisorningto90daysingaolforaggravatedlibelofindustrialisthans…erikwennerstr？。inanarticleearlierthisyearthatdrewattentiontotheso…calledminosaffair；blokvistclaiedthatwennerstr？hadusedstatefundsintendedforindustrialinvestentinpolandforarsdeals。blokvistwasalsosentence. comay150；000sekindaages。inastateent；wennerstr？’slawyerbertilcanerarkersaidthathisclientwassatisfiedwiththejudgeent。itwasanexceptionallyoutrageouscaseoflibel；hesaid。

thejudgeentwastwenty…sixpageslong。itsetoutthereasonsforfindingblokvistguiltyonfifteencountsofaggravatedlibelofthebusinessanhans…erikwennerstr？。soeachcountcosthitenthousandkronorandsixdaysingaol。andthentherewerethecourtcostsandhisownlawyer’sfee。hecouldnotbringhiselftothinkaboutalltheexpenses；buthecalculatedtoothatitighthavebeenworse；thecourthadacquittedhionsevenothercounts。

ashereadthejudgeent；hefeltagrowingheavinessanddisfortinhisstoach。thissurprisedhi。asthetrialbeganheknewthatitwouldtakeairacleforhitoescapeconviction；andhehadbeereconciledtotheoute。hesatthroughthetwodaysofthetrialsurprisinglycal；andforelevenoredayshewaited；withoutfeelinganythinginparticular；forthecourttofinishdeliberatingandtoeupwiththedocuenthenowheldinhishand。itwasonly