“iheardtheverdictontheradio。shefrotv4calledandwantedaent。”

    “what’dyousay？”

    “soethingtotheeffectthatweweregoingtoreadthejudgeentcarefullybeforeweakeanystateents。soisaidnothing。andyopinionstillholds：it’sthewrongstrategy。weeofflookingweakwiththeedia。theywillrunsoethingontvthisevening。”

    blokvistlookedglu。

    “howareyoudoing？”

    blokvistshruggedandploppeddowninhisfavouritearchairnexttothewindowinerika’soffice。thedecorwasspartan；withadeskandfunctionalcasesandcheapofficefurniture。allofitwasfroikeaapartfrothetwofortableandextravagantarchairsandasallendtable—aconcessiontoyupbringing；shelikedtosay。shewouldsitreadinginoneofthearchairswithherfeettuckedunderneathherwhenshewantedtogetawayfrothedesk。blokvistlookeddownong？tgatan；wherepeoplewerehurryingbyinthedark。christasshoppingwasinfullswing。

    “isupposeit’llpass；”hesaid。“butrightnowitfeelsasifi’vegotyselfaveryrawdeal。”

    “yes；icaniagine。it’sthesaeforallofus。jannedahlanwenthoeearlytoday。”

    “iassuehewasn’tovertheoonabouttheverdict。”

    “he’snottheostpositivepersonanyway。”

    mikaelshookhishead。forthepastnineonthsdahlanhadbeenanagingeditor。hehadstartedtherejustasthewennerstr？affairgotgoing；andhefoundhiselfonaneditorialstaffincrisisode。blokvisttriedtoreeberwhattheirreasoninghadbeenwhenheandbergerdecidedtohirehi。hewaspetent；ofcourse；andhadworkedatthettnewsbureau；theeveningpapers；andekoontheradio。butheapparentlydidnotlikesailingagainstthewind。duringthepastyearblokvisthadoftenregrettedthattheyhadhireddahlan；whohadanenervatinghabitoflookingateverythinginasnegativealightaspossible。

    “haveyouheardfrochrister？”blokvistaskedwithouttakinghiseyesoffthestreet。

    christermalwastheartdirectoranddesignerofmillenniu。hewasalsopartowneroftheagaziogetherwithbergerandblokvist；buthewasonatripabroadwithhisboyfriend。

    “hecalledtosayhello。”

    “he’llhavetobetheonewhotakesoveraspublisher。”

    “layoff；micke。aspublisheryouhavetocountonbeingpunchedinthenoseeverysooften。it’spartofthejobdescription。”

    “you’rerightaboutthat。butiwastheonewhowrotethearticlethatwaspublishedinaagazineofwhichialsohappentobethepublisher。thatakeseverythinglookdifferentallofasudden。thenit’saatterofbadjudgeent。”

    bergerfeltthatthedisquietshehadbeencarryingwithheralldaywasabouttoexplode。intheweeksbeforethetrialstarted；blokvisthadbeenwalkingaroundunderablackcloud。butshehadneverseenhiasglooyanddejectedasheseeedtobenowinthehourofhisdefeat。shewalkedtohissideofthedeskandsatonhislap；straddlinghi；andputherarsroundhisneck。

    “mikael；listentoe。webothknowexactlyhowithappened。i’asuchtoblaeasyouare。wesiplyhavetorideoutthestor。”

    “thereisn’tanystortorideout。asfarastheediaareconcerned；theverdicteansthati’vebeenshotinthebackofthehead。ican’tstayonasthepublisherofmillenniu。thevitalthingistoaintaintheagazine’scredibility；tostopthebleeding。youknowthataswellasido。”

    “ifyouthinkiintendtoletyoutaketherapallbyyourself；thenyouhaven’tlearnedadanthingabouteintheyearswe’veworkedtogether。”

    “iknowhowyouoperate；ricky。you’re100percentloyaltoyourcolleagues。ifyouhadtochoose；you’dkeepfightingagainstwennerstr？’slawyersuntilyourcredibilitywasgooo。wehavetobesarterthanthat。”

    “andyouthinkit’ssarttojupshipandakeitlookasifisackedyou？”

    “ifmillenniuisgoingtosurvive；itdependsonyounow。christerisgreat；buthe’sjustaniceguywhoknowsaboutiagesandlayoutanddoesn’thaveaclueaboutstreetfightingwithbillionaires。it’sjustnothisthing。i’goingtohavetodisappearforawhile；aspublisher；reporter；andboardeber。wennerstr？knowsthatiknohathedid；andi’absolutelysurethataslongasi’anywherenearmillenniuhe’sgoingtotrytoruinus。”

    “sowhynotpublisheverythingweknow？sinkorswi？”

    “becausewecan’tproveadanthing；andrightnowihavenocredibilityatall。let’saeptthatwennerstr？wonthisround。”

    “ok；i’llfireyou。whatareyougoingtodo？”

    “ineedabreak；tobehonest。i’burnedrightout。i’goingtotakesoetieforyselfforawhile；soeofitinprison。thenwe’llsee。”

    bergerputherarsaroundhiandpulledhisheaddowntoherbreasts。shehuggedhihard。

    “wantsoepanytonight？”shesaid。

    blokvistnodded。

    “good。i’vealreadytoldgregeri’atyourplacetonight。”

    thestreetlightsreflectingoffthecornersofthewindowswereallthatlittheroo。whenbergerfellasleepsoetieafter2：00intheorning；blokvistlayawakestudyingherprofileinthediness。thecoversweredownaroundherwaist；andhewatchedherbreastsslowlyrisingandfalling。hewasrelaxed；andtheanxiousknotinhisstoachhadeased。shehadthateffectonhi。shealwayshadhad。andheknewthathehadthesaeeffectonher。

    twentyyears；hethought。that’showlongithadbeen。asfarashewasconcerned；theycouldgoonsleepingtogetherforanothertwodecades。atleast。theyhadneverseriouslytriedtohidetheirrelationship；evenwhenitledtoawkwardnessintheirdealingswithotherpeople。

    theyhadetatapartywhentheywerebothintheirsecondyearatjournalisschool。beforetheysaidgoodnighttheyhadexchangedtelephonenubers。theybothknewthattheywouldendupinbedtogether；andinlessthanaweektheyrealisedthisconvictionwithouttellingtheirrespectivepartners。

    blokvistwassurethatitwasnottheold…fashionedkindoflovethatleadstoasharedhoe；asharedortgage；christastrees；andchildren。duringtheeighties；whentheywerenotboundbyotherrelationships；theyhadtalkedofovingintogether。hehadwantedto；buterikaalwaysbackedoutatthelastinute。itwouldn’twork；shesaid；theywouldriskwhattheyhadiftheyfellinlovetoo。blokvisthadoftenwonderedwhetheritwerepossibletobeorepossessedbydesireforanyotherwoan。thefactwasthattheyfunctionedwelltogether；andtheyhadaconnectionasaddictiveasheroin。

    soetiestheyweretogethersooftenthatitfeltasthoughtheyreallywereacouple；soetiesweeksandonthswouldgobybeforetheysaweachother。butevenasalcoholicsaredrawntothestateliquorstoreafterastintonthewagon；theyalwayscaebacktoeachother。

    inevitablyitdidnotworkinthelongrun。thatkindofrelationshipwasalostboundtocausepain。theyhadbothleftbrokenproisesandunhappyloversbehind—hisownarriagehadcollapsed

    3

    becausehecouldnotstayawayfroerikaberger。hehadneverliedabouthisfeelingsforhertohiswife；monica；butshehadthoughtitwouldendwhentheyarriedandtheirdaughterwasborn。andbergerhadalostsiultaneouslyarriedgregerbeckan。blokvisttoohadthoughtitwouldend；andforthefirstyearsofhisarriageheandbergerhadonlyseeneachotherprofessionally。thentheystartedmillenniuandwithinafeeeksalltheirgoodintentionshaddissolved；andonelateeveningtheyhadfurioussexonherdesk。thatledtoatroublesoeperiodinwhichblokvistwantedveryuchtolivewithhisfailyandseehisdaughtergrowup；butatthesaetiehewashelplesslydrawntoberger。justassalanderhadguessed；itwashiscontinualinfidelitythatdrovehiswifetoleave。

    strangelyenough；beckanseeedtoaepttheirrelationship。bergerhadalwaysbeenopenaboutherfeelingsformikael；andshetoldherhusbandassoonastheystartedhavingsexagain。maybeittookthesoulofanartisttohandlesuchasituation；soeonesowrappedupinhisowncreativity；orpossiblyjustwrappedupinhiself；thathedidnotrebelwhenhiswifesleptwithanotheran。sheevendividedupherholidaysoshecouldspendtwoweekswithherloverinhissuercabinatsandhan。blokvistdidnotthinkveryhighlyofbeckan；andhehadneverunderstoodberger’sloveforhi。buthewasgladthatheaeptedthatshecouldlovetwoenatthesaetie。

    blokvistcouldnotsleep；andat4：00hegaveup。hewenttothekitchenandreadthecourtjudgeentoneoretiefrobeginningtoend。havingthedocuentinhishandhehadasensethattherehadbeensoethingalostfatefulabouttheeetingatarhola。hecouldneverbesurewhetherlindberghadtoldhithedetailsofwennerstr？’sswindlesiplyforthesakeofagoodstorybetweentoastsintheprivacyofhisboat’scabinorwhetherhehadreallywantedthestorytobeadepublic。

    hetendedtobelievethefirst。butitayhavebeenthatlindberg；forhisownpersonalorbusinessreasons；hadwantedtodaagewennerstr？；andhehadseizedtheopportunityofhavingacaptivejournalistonboard。lindberghadbeensoberenoughtoinsistonblokvisttreatinghiasananonyoussource。frothatoentlindbergcouldsaywhatheliked；becausehisfriendwouldneverbeabletodisclosehissource。

    iftheeetingatarholahadbeenaset…up；thenlindbergcouldnothaveplayedhisrolebetter。buttheeetinghadtohavehappenedbychance。

    lindbergcouldhavehadnonotionoftheextentofblokvist’sconteptforpeoplelikewennerstr？。forallthat；afteryearsofstudy；hewasprivatelyconvincedthattherewasnotasinglebankdirectororcelebritycorporateexecutivewhowasn’talsoacretin。

    blokvisthadneverheardoflisbethsalanderandwashappilyinnocentofherreportdeliveredearlierthatday；buthadhelistenedtoithewouldhavenoddedinagreeentwhenshespokeofhisloathingforbeancounters；sayingthatitwasnotaanifestationofhisleft…wingpoliticalradicalis。mikaelwasnotuninterestedinpolitics；buthewasextreelyscepticalofpolitical“iss。”hehadvotedonlyonceinaparliaentaryelection—in1982—andthenhehadhesitantlyplupedforthesocialdeocrats；therebeingnothinginhisiaginationworsethanthreeyearsorewithg？stabohanasfinanceinisterandthorbj？rnf？lldinasprieinister。sohehadvotedforolofpale；andgotinsteadtheassassinationofhisprieinisterplustheboforsscandalandebbecarlsson。

    hisconteptforhisfellowfinancialjournalistswasbasedonsoethingthatinhisopinionwasasplainasorality。theequationwassiple。abankdirectorwhoblowsillionsonfoolhardyspeculationsshouldnotkeephisjob。aanagingdirectorwhoplaysshellpanygaesshoulddotie。aslulandlordwhoforcesyoungpeopletopaythroughthenoseandunderthetableforaone…rooapartentwithsharedtoiletshouldbehungouttodry。

    thejobofthefinancialjournalistwastoexaihesharkswhocreatedinterestcrisesandspeculatedawaythesavingsofsallinvestors；toscrutinisepanyboardswiththesaeercilesszealwithwhichpoliticalreporterspursuethetinieststepsoutoflineofinistersandebersofparliaent。hecouldnotforthelifeofhiunderstandwhysoanyinfluentialfinancialreporterstreatedediocrefinancialwhelpslikerockstars。

    theserecalcitrantviewshadtieaftertiebroughthiintoconflictwithhispeers。b；forone；wasgoingtobeaneneyforlife。histakingonaroleofsocialcritichadactuallytransforedhiintoapricklyguestontvsofas—hewasalwaystheoneinvitedtoentwheneveranyceowascaughtwithagoldenparachuteworthbillions。

    mikaelhadnotroubleiaginingthatchapagnebottleshadbeenuncorkedinsoenewspapers’backroosthatevening。

    erikahadthesaeattitudetothejournalist’sroleashedid。evenwhentheywereinjournalisschooltheyhadausedtheselvesbyiaginingaagazinewithjustsuchaissionstateent。

    erikawasthebestbossmikaelcouldiagine。shewasananiserwhocouldhandleeployeeswithwarthandtrustbutwhoatthesaetiewasn’tafraidofconfrontationandcouldbeverytoughwhennecessary。aboveall；shehadanicygutfeelingwhenitcaetoakingdecisionsaboutthecontentsoftheupingissue。sheandmikaeloftenhaddifferingviewsandcouldhavehealthyarguents；buttheyalsohadunwaveringconfidenceineachother；andtogethertheyadeanunbeatabletea。hedidthefieldworkoftrackingdownthestory；whileshepackagedandarketedit。

    millenniuwastheirutualcreation；butitwouldneverhavebeerealitywithouthertalentfordiggingupfinancing。itwastheworking…classguyandtheupper…classgirlinabeautifulunion。erikacaefrooldoney。shehadputuptheinitialseedoneyandthentalkedbothherfatherandvariousacquaintancesintoinvestingconsiderablesusintheproject。

    mikaelhadoftenwonderedwhyerikahadsethersightsonmillenniu。true；shewasapartowner—theajoritypartner；infact—andeditorinchiefofherownagazine；whichgaveherprestigeandthecontroloverpublicitythatshecouldhardlyhaveobtainedinanyotherjob。unlikemikael；shehadconcentratedontelevisionafterjournalisschool。shewastough；lookedfantasticoncaera；andcouldholdherownwiththepetition。shealsohadgoodcontactsinthebureaucracy。ifshehadstucktoit；shewouldundoubtedlyhavehadaanagerialjobatoneofthetvchannelsataconsiderablyhighersalarythanshepaidherselfnow。

    bergerhadalsoconvincedchristermaltobuyintotheagazine。hewasanexhibitionistgaycelebritywhosoetiesappearedwithhisboyfriendin“athoewith”articles。theinterestinhibeganwhenheovedinwitharnoldmagnusson；anactorwithabackgroundattheroyaldraatictheatrewhohadadeaseriousbreakthroughwhenheplayedhiselfinadocu…soap。christerandarnhadthenbeeaediaite。

    atthirty…six；malwasasought…afterprofessionalphotographeranddesignerwhogavemillenniuaodernlook。heranhisbusinessfroanofficeonthesaefloorasmillenniu；andhedidgraphicdesignoneweekineveryonth。

    themillenniustaffconsistedofthreefull…tieeployees；afull…tietrainee；andtwopart…tiers。itwasnotalucrativeaffair；buttheagazinebrokeeven；andthecirculationandadvertisingrevenuehadincreasedgraduallybutsteadily。untiltodaytheagazinewasknownforitsfrankandreliableeditorialstyle。

    nowthesituationwouldinallprobabilitybechanging。blokvistreadthroughthepressreleasewhichheandbergerhaddraftedandwhichhadquicklybeenconvertedtoawireservicestoryfrottthatwasalreadyuponaftonbladet’swebsite。

    convictedreporterleavesmillennium

    stockhol。journalistmikaelblokvistisleavinghispostaspublisheroftheagazinemillenniu；reportseditorinchiefandajorityshareholdererikaberger。

    blokvistisleavingmillenniuofhisownchoice。“he’sexhaustedafterthedraaofrecentonthsandneedstieoff；”saysberger；whowilltakeovertheroleofpublisher。

    blokvistwasoneofthefoundersofmillenniu；startedin1990。bergerdoesnotthinkthattheagazinewillsufferinthewakeoftheso…called“wennerstr？affair。”

    theagazinewilleoutasusualnextonth；saysberger。

    “mikaelblokvisthasplayedaajorroleintheagazine’sdevelopent；butnoe’returninganewpage。”

    bergerstatesthatsheregardsthewennerstr？affairastheresultofaseriesofunfortunatecircustances。sheregretsthenuisancetowhichhans…erikwennerstr？wassubjected。blokvistcouldnotbereachedforent。

    “itakesead；”bergersaidwhenthepressreleasewaseailedout。“mostpeoplearegoingtothinkthatyou’reanidiotandi’abitchwho’stakingtheopportunitytosackyou。”

    “atleastourfriendswillhavesoethingnewtolaughabout。”blokvisttriedtoakelightofit；shewasnottheleastaused。

    “idon’thaveaplanb；butithinkwe’reakingaistake；”shesaid。

    “it’stheonlywayout。iftheagazinecollapses；allouryearsofworkwillhavebeeninvain。we’vealreadytakenabeatingontheadsrevenue。howdiditgowiththeputerpany；bytheway？”

    shesighed。“theytoldethisorningthattheydidn’twanttotakespaceinthenextissue。”

    “wennerstr？hasachunkofstockinthatpany；soit’snoaident。”

    “wecanscareupsoenewclients。wennerstr？aybeabigwheel；buthedoesn’towneverythinginsweden；andwehaveourcontacts。”

    blokvistputanararoundherandpulledherclose。

    “soedaywe’regoingtonailherrwennerstr？sohardwallstreetisgoingtojupoutofitssocks。buttodaymillenniuhastogetoutofthespotlight。”

    “iknowallthat；butidon’tlikeingacrossasafuckingbitch；andyou’rebeingforcedintoadisgustingsituationifwepretendthatthere’ssoesortofdivisionbetweenyouande。”

    “ricky；aslongasyouanditrusteachotherwe’vegotachance。wehavetoplayitbyear；andrightnowit’stietoretreat。”

    shereluctantlyadittedthattherewasadepressinglogictowhathesaid。

    chapter4

    monday；deceber23–thursday；deceber26

    bergerstayedovertheweekend。theygotuponlytogotothebathrooortogetsoethingtoeat；buttheyhadnotonlyadelove。theyhadlainheadtofootforhoursandtalkedaboutthefuture；weighingupthepossibilities；andtheodds。whendawncaeonmondayorningitwasthedaybeforechristaseveandshekissedhigoodbye—untilnexttie—anddrovehoe。

    blokv