1

    提供

    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；butbecausetheevidencewassoinsubstantialthepublicprosecutordecidednottoproceedwiththecase。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。inthetoprowonewasissingfrotheninthslot。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；thepaperhadrunthestorywithagrainyphotographofblokvistwithhisouthhalfopenevenasheraisedanindexfingertopoint。

    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。

    “ithoughtihadgoodreasontopublishtherationthatwasinypossession。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。

    thenuber40busbrakedtoastopinfrontofb’scarandblokvisthoppedontoakehisescape。hegotoffatfridhesplan；undecidedwhattodo。hewasstillholdingthejudgeentdocuentinhishand。finallyhewalkedovertokaféanna；nexttothegarageentranceleadingunderneaththepolicestation。

    halfainuteafterhehadorderedacaffelatteandasandwich；thelunchtienewscaeontheradio。thestoryfollowedthatofasuicidebobinginjerusaleandthenewsthatthegovernenthadappointedaissiontoinvestigatetheallegedforationofanewcartelwithintheconstructionindustry。

    journalistmikaelblokvistoftheagazinemillenniuwassentencedthisorningto90daysingaolforaggravatedlibelofindustrialisthans…erikwennerstr？。inanarticleearlierthisyearthatdrewattentiontotheso…calledminosaffair；blokvistclaiedthatwennerstr？hadusedstatefundsintendedforindustrialinvestentinpolandforarsdeals。blokvistwasalsosentencedtopay150；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