第 33 部分阅读
shefoundoresubstantialrationinthearticle“thelovisacaseshookthewholecountryside,”whichwaspublishedintheagazinev？rlandskultur.alloftheagazine’stextshadbeenloadedontothe.writtenwithobviousgleeandinachattyandtitillatingtone,thearticledescribedhowlovisasj？berg’shusband,theluberjackholgersj？berg,hadfoundhiswifedeadwhenhecaehoefroworkaround5:00.shehadbeensubjectedtogrosssexualassault,stabbed,andfinallyurderedwiththeprongsofapitchfork.theurderourredinthefailybarn,butwhatarousedtheostattentionwasthefactthattheperpetrator,afterittingtheurder,hadtiedherupinakneelingpositioninsideahorsestall.
itwaslaterdiscoveredthatoneoftheanialsonthefar,acow,hadsufferedastabwoundonthesideofitsneck.
initiallythehusbandwassuspectedoftheurder,buthehadbeeninthepanyofhisworkcolleaguesfro6:00intheorningataclearingtwenty-fiveilesfrohishoe.itcouldbeverifiedthatlovisasj？berghadbeenaliveaslateas10:00intheorning,whenshehadavisitfroawoanfriend.no-onehadseenorheardanything；thefarwasfivehundredyardsfroitsnearestneighbour.
afterdroppingthehusbandasasuspect,thepoliceinvestigationfocusedonthevicti’stwenty-three-year-oldnephew.hehadrepeatedlyfallenfoulofthelaw,wasextreelyshortofcash,andanytieshadborrowedsallsusfrohisaunt.thenephew’salibiwassignificantlyweaker,andhewastakenintocustodyforawhile,butreleasedforlackofevidence.evenso,anypeopleinthevillagethoughtithighlyprobablethathewasguilty.
thepolicefollowedanotherlead.apartoftheinvestigationconcernedthesearchforapedlarwhowasseeninthearea；therewasalsoaruourthatagroupof“thievinggypsies”hadcarriedoutaseriesofraids.whytheyshouldhaveittedasavage,sexuallyrelatedurderwithoutstealinganythingwasneverexplained.
foratiesuspicionwasdirectedataneighbourinthevillage,abachelorwhoinhisyouthwassuspectedofanallegedlyhoosexualcrie—thiswasbackwhenhoosexualitywasstillapunishableoffence—andaordingtoseveralstateents,hehadareputationforbeing“odd.”whysoeonewhowassupposedlyhoosexualwoulditasexcrieagainstawoanwasnotexplainedeither.noneoftheseleads,oranyothers,ledtoacharge.
salanderthoughttherewasaclearlinktothelistinharrietvanger’sdate.leviticus20:16said:“ifawoanapproachesanybeastandlieswithit,youshallkillthewoanandthebeast；theyshallbeputtodeath,theirbloodisuponthe.”itcouldn’tbeacoincidencethatafarer’swifebythenaeofmagdahadbeenfoundurderedinabarn,withherbodysoarrangedandtiedupinahorsestall.
thequestionwaswhyhadharrietvangerwrittendownthenaemagdainsteadoflovisa,whichwasapparentlythenaethevictiwentunder.ifherfullnaehadnotbeenprintedinthetvlisting,salanderwouldhaveissedit.
and,ofcourse,theoreiportantquestionwas:wastherealinkbetweenrebecka’surderin1949,theurderofmagdalovisain1960,andharrietvanger’sdisappearancein1966？
onsaturdayorningburantookblokvistonanextensivetourofnorsj？.intheorningtheycalledonfiveforereployeeswholivedwithinwalkingdistanceofburan’shouse.everyoneofferedthecoffee.allofthestudiedthephotographsandshooktheirheads.
afterasiplelunchattheburanhoe,theygotinthecarforadrive.theyvisitedfourvillagesnearnorsj？,whereforereployeesofthecarpentryshoplived.ateach. comburanwasgreetedwithwarth,butno-onewasabletohelpthe.blokvistwasbeginningtodespair.
at4:00intheafternoon,buranparkedhiscaroutsideatypicalredv？sterbottenfarnearnorsj？vallen,justnorthofnorsj？,andintroducedmikaeltohenningforsan,aretiredastercarpenter.
“yes,that’sassarbr？nnlund’slad,”forsansaidassoonasblokvistshowedhithephotographs.bingo.
“oh,sothat’sassar’sboy,”buransaid.“assarwasabuyer.”
“howcanifindhi？”
“thelad？well,you’llhavetodig.hisnaewasgunnar,andheworkedatthebolidenine.hediedinablastingaidentintheid-seventies.”
blokvist’sheartsank.
“buthiswifeisstillalive.theoneinthepicturehere.hernaeismildred,andshelivesinbjursele.”
“bjursele？”
“it’saboutsixilesdowntheroadtobastutr？sk.shelivesinthelongredhouseontheright-handsideasyou’reingintothevillage.it’sthethirdhouse.iknowthefailywell.”
“hi,ynaeislisbethsalander,andi’writingythesisonthecriinologyofviolenceagainstwoeninthetwentiethcentury.i’dliketovisitthepolicedistrictinlandskronaandreadthroughthedocuentsofacasefro1957.ithastodowiththeurderofawoanbythenaeofrakellunde.doyouhaveanyideawherethosedocuentsaretoday？”
bjurselewaslikeaposterforthev？sterbottencountryvillage.itconsistedofabouttwentyhousessetrelativelyclosetogetherinaseicircleatoneendofalake.inthecentreofthevillagewasacrossroadswithanarrowpointingtowardsheingen,101/2iles,andanotherpointingtowardsbastutr？sk,7iles.nearthecrossroadswasasallbridgewithacreekthatblokvistassuedwasthewater,thesel.attheheightofsuer,itwasasprettyasapostcard.
heparkedinthecourtyardinfrontofakonsuthatwasnolongeropen,alo. compositethethirdhouseontheright-handside.whenheknockedonthedoor,no-oneanswered.
hetookanhour-longwalkalongtheroadtowardsheingen.hepassedaspotwherethestreabecaerushingrapids.heettwocatsandsawadeer,butnotasingleperson,beforeheturnedaround.mildredbr？nnlund’sdoorwasstillshut.
onapostnearthebridgehefoundapeelingflyerannouncingthebt,soethingthatcouldbedecipheredasthebjurseletuktingcarchapionship2002.“tukting”acarwasapparentlyawintersportthatinvolvedsashingupavehicleontheice-coveredlake.
hewaiteduntil10:00p..beforehegaveupanddrovebacktonorsj？,wherehehadalatedinnerandthenwenttobedtoreadthedenoueentofvalmcderid’snovel.
itwasgrisly.
at10:00salanderaddedoneorenaetoharrietvanger’slist.shedidsowithsoehesitation.
shehaddiscoveredashortcut.atquiteregularintervalsarticleswerepublishedaboutunsolvedurders,andinasundaysuppleenttotheeveningnewspapershehadfoundanarticlefro1999withtheheadli
13
提供
ne“manymurderersofwoengofree.”itwasashortarticle,butitincludedthenaesandphotographsofseveralnoteworthyurdervictis.therewasthesolveigcaseinnorrt？lje,theanitaurderinnorrk？ping,margaretainhelsingb,andanuberofothers.
theoldestcasetoberecountedwasfrothesixties,andnoneoftheurdersatchedthelistthatsalanderhadbeengivenbyblokvist.butonecasedidattractherattention.
injune1962aprostitutebythenaeofleaperssonfrog？tebhadgoouddevallatovisitherotherandhernine-year-oldson,whoherotherwastakingcareof.onasundayevening,afteravisitofseveraldays,leahadhuggedherother,saidgoodbye,andcaughtthetrainbacktog？teb.shewasfoundtwodayslaterbehindacontaineronanindustrialsitenolongerinuse.shehadbeenraped,andherbodyhadbeensubjectedtoextraordinaryviolence.
theleaurderarousedagreatdealofattentionasasuerserialstoryinthenewspaper,butnokillerhadeverbeenidentified.therewasnoleaonharrietvanger’slist.nordidtheannerofherdeathfitwithanyofharriet’sbiblequotes.
ontheotherhand,therewassuchaarrecoincidencethatsalander’santennaeinstantlybuzzed.abouttenyardsfrowherelea’sbodywasfoundlayaflowerpotwithapigeoninside.soeonehadtiedastringroundthepigeon’sneckandpulleditthroughtheholeinthebottoofthepot.thenthepotwasputonalittlefirethathadbeenlaidbetweentwobricks.therewasnocertaintythatthiscrueltyhadanyconnectionwiththeleaurder.itcouldhavebeenachildplayingahorriblegae,butthepressdubbedtheurderthepigeonmurder.
salanderwasnobiblereader—shedidnotevenownone—butthateveningshewentovertoh？galidchurchandwithsoedifficultysheanagedtoborrowabible.shesatonaparkbenchoutsidethechurchandreadleviticus.whenshereachedchapter12,verse8,hereyebrowswentup.chapter12dealtwiththepurificationofwoenafterchildbirth.
andifshecannotaffordalab,thensheshalltaketwoturtledovesortwoyoungpigeons,oneforaburntofferingandtheotherforasinoffering；andthepriestshallakeatoneentforher,andsheshallbeclean.
leacouldverywellhavebeenincludedinharriet’sdateas:lea—31208.
salanderthoughtthatnoresearchshehadeverdonebeforehadcontainedevenafractionofthescopeofthisassignent.
mildredbr？nnlund,rearriedandnowmildredberggren,openedthedoorwhenblokvistknockedaround10:00onsundayorning.thewoanwasucholder,ofcourse,andhadbynowfilledoutagooddeal,butherecognisedheratonce.
“hi,ynaeismikaelblokvist.youustbemildredberggren.”
“that’sright.”
“i’sorryforknockingonyourdoorlikethis,buti’vebeentryingtofindyou,andit’sratherplicatedtoexplain.”hesiledather.“iwonderificouldeinandtakeupasallaountofyourtie.”
mildred’shusbandandasonwhowasaboutthirty-fivewerehoe,andwithoutuchhesitationsheinvitedblokvisttoeandsitintheirkitchen.heshookhandswitheachofthe.hehaddrunkorecoffeeduringthepasttwenty-fourhoursthanatanytieinhislife,butbynowhehadlearnedthatinnorrlanditwasrudetosayno.whenthecoffeecupswereonthetable,mildredsatdownandaskedwithsoecuriosityhowshecouldhelphi.itwasobviousthathedidnoteasilyunderstandhernorsj？dialect,sosheswitchedtostandardswedish.
blokvisttookadeepbreath.“thisisalongandpeculiarstory,”hesaid.“insepteber1966youwereinhedestadwithyourthenhusband,gunnarbr？nnlund.”
shelookedsurprised.hewaitedforhertonodbeforehelaidthephotographfroj？rnv？gsgatanonthetableinfrontofher.
“whenwasthispicturetaken？doyoureebertheoasion？”
“oh,ygoodness,”mildredberggrensaid.“thatwasalifetieago.”
herpresenthusbandandsoncaetostandnexttohertolookatthepicture.
“wewereonourhoneyoon.wehaddrivendowntostockholandsigtunaandwereonourwayhoeandhappenedto. comsoewhere.wasitinhedestad,yousaid？”
“yes,hedestad.thisphotographwastakenatabout1:00intheafternoon.i’vebeentryingtofindyouforsoetienow,andithasn’tbeenasipletask.”
“youseeanoldphotographofeandthenactuallytrackedown.ican’tiaginehowyoudidit.”
blokvistputthephotographfrothecarparkonthetable.
“iwasabletofindyouthankstothispicture,whichwastakenalittlelaterintheday.”heexplainedhow,viathenorsj？carpentryshop,hehadfoundburan,whointurnhadledhitohenningforsaninnorsj？vallen.
“youusthaveagoodreasonforthislongsearch.”
“ido.thisgirlstandingclosetoyouinthisphotographiscalledharriet.thatdayshedisappeared,andshewasneverseenorheardofagain.thegeneralassuptionisthatshefellpreytoaurderer.canishowyousoeorephotographs？”
hetookouthisiandexplainedthecircustanceswhiletheputerbootedup.thenheplayedhertheseriesofiagesshowinghowharriet’sfacialexpressionchanged.
“itwaswheniwentthroughtheseoldiagesthatifoundyou,standingwithacaerarightbehindharriet,andyouseetobetakingapictureinthedirectionofwhateveritisshe’slookingat,whatevercausedhertoreactinthatway.iknowthatthisisareallylongshot,butthereasoni’vebeenlookingforyouistoaskyouifbyanyiracleyoustillhavethepicturesfrothatday.”
hewaspreparedformildredberggrentodisisstheideaandtellhithatthephotographshadlongsincevanished.insteadshelookedathiwithherclearblueeyesandsaid,asifitweretheostnaturalthingintheworld,thatofcourseshestillhadheroldhoneyoonpictures.
shewenttoanotherrooandcaebackafterseveralinuteswithaboxinwhichshehadstoredaquantityofpicturesinvariousalbus.ittookawhiletofindthehoneyoonones.shehadtakenthreephotographsinhedestad.onewasblurryandshowedtheainstreet.anothershowedherhusbandatthetie.thethirdshowedtheclownsintheparade.
blokvisteagerlyleanedforward.hecouldseeafigureontheothersideofthestreetbehindaclown.butthephotographtoldhiabsolutelynothing.
chapter20
tuesday,july1–wednesday,july2
thefirstthingblokvistdidtheorninghereturnedtohedestadwastogotofrode’shousetoaskaboutvanger’scondition.helearnedtohisdelightthattheoldanhadiprovedquiteabitduringthepastweek.hewasweakstill,andfragile,butnowhecouldsitupinbed.hisconditionwasnolongerregardedascritical.
“thankgod,”hesaid.“irealisedthatiactuallylikehi.”
frodesaid:“iknowthat.andhenriklikesyoutoo.hoasnorrland？”
“suessfulyetunsatisfying.i’llexplainalittlelater.rightnowihaveaquestion.”
“goahead.”
“whatrealisticallywillhappentoyourinterestinmillenniuifhenrikdies？”
“nothingatall.martinwilltakehisplaceontheboard.”
“isthereanyrisk,hypotheticallyspeaking,thatmartinightcreateproblesformillenniuifidon’tputa. comtotheinvestigationofharriet’sdisappearance？”
frodegavehiasharplook.
“what’shappened？”
“nothing,actually.”mikaeltoldhiabouttheconversationhehadhadwithmartinvangeronmidsuereve.“wheniwasinnorsj？erikatoldethatmartinhadcalledherandsaidthathethoughtiwasveryuchneededbackattheoffice.”
“iunderstand.myguessisthatceciliawasafterhi.butidon’tthinkthatmartinwouldputpressureonyoulikethatonhisown.he’suchtoosavvy.andreeber,i’alsoontheboardofthelittlesubsidiaryweforedwhenweboughtintomillenniu.”
“butwhatifaticklishsituationcaeup—hoouldyouactthen？”
“contractsexisttobehonoured.iworkforhenrik.henrikandihavebeenfriendsforforty-fiveyears,andweareinpleteagreeentinsuchatters.ifhenrikshoulddieitisinpointoffacti—notmartin—whowouldinherithenrik’sshareinthesubsidiary.wehaveacontractinwhichwehaveundertakentobackmillenniuforthreeyears.shouldmartinwishtostartanyischief—whichidon’tbelievehewill—thentheoreticallyhecouldputthebrakesonasallnuberofnewadvertisers.”
“thelifebloodofmillenniu’sexistence.”
“yes,butlookatitthisway—worryingaboutsuchtriviaisawasteoftie.martinispresentlyfightingforhisindustrialsurvivalandworkingfourteenhoursaday.hedoesn’thavetieforanythingelse.”
“mayiask—iknowit’snoneofybusiness—whatisthegeneralconditionofthecorporation？”
frodelookedgrave.
“wehaveprobles.”
“yes,evenaonfinancialreporterlikeyselfcanseethat.iean,howseriousisit？”
“offtherecord？”
“betweenus.”
“we’velosttwolargeordersintheelectronicsindustryinthepastfeeeksandareabouttobeejectedfrotherussianarket.insepteberwe’regoingtohavetolayoff1,600eployeesin？rebroandtrollh？ttan.notuchofarewardtogiv. comeoplewho’veworkedforthepanyforanyyears.eachtieweshutdownafactory,confidenceinthepanyisfurtherunderined.”
“martinisunderpressure.”
“he’spullingtheloadofanoxandwalkingoneggshells.”
blokvistwentbacktohiscottageandcalledberger.shewasnotattheoffice,sohespoketomal.
“here’sthedeal:erikacalledwheniwasinnorsj？.martinvangerhasbeenafterherandhas,howshalliputit,encouragedhe. comroposethatistarttotakeoneditorialresponsibility.”
“ithinkyoushouldtoo,”malsaid.
“iknowthat.butthethingis,ihaveacontractwithhenrikvangerthatican’tbreak,andmartinisactingonbehalfofsoeoneupherewhowantseto. comwhatiadoingandleavetown.sohisproposalaountstoanattepttogetridofe.”
“isee.”
“sayhitoerikaandtellheri’llebacktostockholwheni’finishedhere.notbefore.”
“iunderstand.you’restarkravingad,ofcourse,buti’llgivehertheessage.”
“christer.soethingisgoingonuphere,andihavenointentionofbackingout.”
blokvistknockedonmartinvanger’sdoor.evahasselopeneditandgreetedhiwarly.
“hi.ismartinhoe？”
asifinreplytothequestion,martinvangercaewalkingoutwithabriefcaseinhishand.hekissedevaonthecheekandsaidhellotomikael.
“i’onywaytotheoffice.doyouwanttotalktoe？”
“wecandoitlaterifyou’reinahurry.”