“sohe’sthefatherofharrietandmartin？”blokvistsaid；pointingattheportraitonthecoffeetable。reluctantlyhehadtoaditthattheoldan’sstorywasintriguing。

    “correct。inthelatefortiesgottfriedetageranwoanbythenaeofisabellakoenig；whohadetoswedenafterthewar。shewasquiteabeauty—ieanthatshehadalovelyradiancelikegarbooringridbergan。harrietprobablygotoreofhergenesfroherotherratherthanfrogottfried。asyoucanseefrothephotograph；shewasprettyevenatfourteen。”

    blokvistandvangerconteplatedthepicture。

    “butletecontinue。isabellawasbornin1928andisstillalive。shewaselevenwhenthewarbegan；andyoucaniaginewhatitwasliketobeateenagerinberlinduringtheaerialbobardents。itusthavefeltasifshehadarrivedinparadiseonearthwhenshelandedinsweden。regrettablyshesharedanyofgottfried’svices；shewaslazyandpartiedincessantly。shetravelledagreatdealinswedenandabroad；andlackedallsenseofresponsibility。obviouslythisaffectedthechildren。martinwasbornin1948andharrietin1950。theirchildhoodwaschaotic；withaotherwhowasforeverleavingtheandafatherwhowasvirtuallyanalcoholic。

    “in1958i’dhadenoughanddecidedtotrytobreaktheviciouscycle。atthetie；gottfriedandisabellawerelivinginhedestad—iinsistedthattheyoveouthere

    4

    martinandharrietwereoreorlesslefttofendfortheselves。”

    vangerglancedattheclock。

    “mythirtyinutesarealostup；buti’closetotheendofthestory。willyougiveeareprieve？”

    “goon；”blokvistsaid。

    “inshort；then。iwaschildless—instrikingcontrasttoybrothersandotherfailyebers；whoseeedobsessedwiththeneedtopropagatethehouseofvanger。gottfriedandisabelladidovehere；buttheirarriagewasontherocks。afteronlyayeargottfriedovedouttohiscabin。helivedtherealoneforlongperiodsandwentbacktoisabellawhenitgottoocold。itookcareofmartinandharriet；andtheybecaeinanywaysthechildrenineverhad。

    “martinwas…totellthetruth；therewasatieinhisyouthwheniwasafraidhewasgoingtofollowinhisfather’sfootsteps。hewasweakandintrovertedandelancholy；buthecouldalsobedelightfulandenthusiastic。hehadsoetroubledyearsinhisteens；buthestraightenedhiselfoutwhenhestartedattheuniversity。heis…well；inspiteofeverythingheisceoofwhat’sleftofthevangercorporation；whichisupposeistohiscredit。”

    “andharriet？”

    “harrietwastheappleofyeye。itriedtogiveherasenseofsecurityanddevelopherself…confidence；andwetookalikingtoeachother。ilookedonherasyowndaughter；andsheendedupbeingclosertoethantoherparents。yousee；harrietwasveryspecial。shewasintroverted—likeherbrother—andasateenagershebecaewrappedupinreligion；unlikeanyoneelseinthefaily。butshehadacleartalentandshewastreendouslyintelligent。shehadbothoralsandbackbone。whenshewasfourteenorfifteeniwasconvincedthatshewastheone—andnotherbrotheroranyoftheediocrecousins；nephews；andniecesarounde—whowasdestinedtorunthevangerbusinessoneday；oratleastplayacentralroleinit。”

    “sowhathappened？”

    “noeetotherealreasoniwanttohireyou。iwantyoutofindoutwhointhefailyurderedharriet；andwhosincethenhasspentalostfortyyearstryingtodriveeinsane。”

    chapter5

    thursday；deceber26

    forthefirsttiesincehebeganhisonologue；theoldanhadanagedtotakeblokvistbysurprise。hehadtoaskhitorepeatittobesurehehadheardcorrectly。nothinginthecuttingshadhintedataurder。

    “itwassepteber24；1966。harrietwassixteenandhadjustbegunhersecondyearatprepschool。itwasasaturday；anditturnedintotheworstdayofylife。i’vegoneovertheeventssoanytiesthatithinkicanaountforwhathappenedineveryinuteofthatday—excepttheostiportantthing。”

    headeasweepinggesture。“hereinthishouseagreatnuberofyfailyhadgathered。itwastheloathsoeannualdinner。itwasatraditionwhichyfather’sfatherintroducedandwhichgenerallyturnedintoprettydetestableaffairs。thetraditioncaetoanendintheeighties；whenmartinsiplydecreedthatalldiscussionsaboutthebusinesswouldtakeplaceatregularboardeetingsandbyvoting。that’sthebestdecisionheeverade。”

    “yousaidthatharrietwasurdered…”

    “wait。letetellyouwhathappened。itwasasaturday；asisaid。itwasalsothedayoftheparty；withthechildren’sdayparadethatwasarrangedbythesportsclubinhedestad。harriethadgoneintothetownduringthedayandwatchedtheparadewithsoeofherschoolfriends。shecaebackheretohedebyislandjustafter2：00intheafternoon。dinnerwassupposedtobeginat5：00；andshewasexpectedtotakepartalongwiththeotheryoungpeopleinthefaily。”

    vangergotupandwentovertothewindow。heotionedblokvisttojoinhi；andpointed。

    “at2：15；afewinutesafterharrietcaehoe；adraaticaidentourredoutthereonthebridge。aancalledgustavaronsson；brotherofafarerat？sterg？rden—asallholdingonhedebyisland—turnedontothebridgeandcrashedhead…onwithanoiltruck。evidentlybothweregoingtoofastandwhatshouldhavebeenainorcollisionprovedacatastrophe。thedriverofthetruck；presuablyinstinctively；turnedhiswheelawayfrothecar；hittherailingofthebridgeandthetankerflippedover；itendedupacrossthebridgewithitstrailerhangingovertheedge。oneoftherailingshadbeendrivenintotheoiltankandflaableheatingoilbeganspurtingout。intheeantiearonssonsatpinnedinsidehiscar；screainginpain。thetankerdriverwasalsoinjuredbutanagedtoscrableoutofhiscabin。”

    theoldanwentbacktohischair。

    “theaidentactuallyhadnothingtodowithharriet。butitwassignificantinacrucialway。ashablesensued：peopleonbothsidesofthebridgehurriedtotrytohelp；theriskoffirewassignificantandaajoralarwassounded。policeofficers；anabulance；therescuesquad；thefirebrigade；reportersandsightseersarrivedinrapidsuession。naturallyalloftheassebledontheainlandside；hereontheislandsidewedidwhatwecouldtogetaronssonoutofthewreck；whichprovedtobedanablydifficult。hewaspinnedinandseriouslyinjured。

    “wetriedtoprisehiloosewithourbarehands；andthatdidn’twork。hewouldhavetobecutorsawedout；butwecouldn’tdoanythingthatriskedstrikingaspark；wewerestandingintheiddleofaseaofoilnexttoatankertrucklyingonitsside。ifithadexplodedwewouldhaveallbeenkilled。ittookalongtiebeforewecouldgethelpfrotheainlandside；thetruckwaswedgedrightacrossthebridge；andclibingoveritwouldhavebeenthesaeasclibingoverabob。”

    blokvistcouldnotresistthefeelingthattheoldanwastellingaeticulouslyrehearsedstory；deliberatelytocapturehisinterest。theanwasanexcellentstoryteller；noquestion。ontheotherhand；wherewasthestoryheading？

    “whatattersabouttheaidentisthatthebridgewasblockedfortwenty…fourhours。notuntilsundayeveningwasthelastoftheoilpupedout；andthenthetruckcouldbeliftedupbycraneandthebridgeopenedfortraffic。duringthesetwenty…fourhourshedebyislandwastoallintentsandpurposescutofffrotherestoftheworld。theonlywaytogetacrosstotheainlandwasonafireboatthatwasbroughtintotransportpeoplefrothesall…boatharbouronthissidetotheoldharbourbelowthechurch。forseveralhourstheboatwasusedonlybyrescuecrews—itwasn’tuntilquitelateonsaturdaynightthatstrandedislandersbegantobeferriedacross。doyouunderstandthesignificanceofthis？”

    “iassuethatsoethinghappenedtoharriethereontheisland；”blokvistsaid；“andthatthelistofsuspectsconsistsofthefinitenuberofpeopletrappedhere。asortoflocked…rooysteryinislandforat？”

    vangersiledironically。“mikael；youdon’tknowhowrightyouare。evenihavereadydorothysayers。thesearethefacts：harrietarrivedhereontheislandabout2：10。ifwealsoincludechildrenandunarriedguests；allinallaboutfortyfailyebersarrivedinthecourseoftheday。alongwithservantsandresidents；thereweresixty…fourpeopleeitherhereornearthefar。soeofthe—theoneswhoweregoingtospendthenight—werebusygettingsettledinneighbouringfarsoringuestroos。

    “harriethadpreviouslylivedinahouseacrosstheroad；butgiventhatneithergottfriednorisabellawasconsistentlystable；andonecouldclearlyseehowthatupsetthegirl；underinedherstudiesandsoon；in1964；whenshewasfourteen；iarrangedforhertooveintoyhouse。isabellaprobablythoughtthatitwasjustfiobesparedtheresponsibilityforherdaughter。harriethadbeenlivinghereforthepasttwoyears。sothisiswhereshecaethatday。weknowthatsheetandexchangedsoewordswithharaldinthecourtyard—he’soneofyolderbrothers。thenshecaeupthestairs；tothisroo；andsaidhellotoe。shesaidthatshewantedtotalktoeaboutsoething。rightthenihadsoeotherfailyeberswitheandicouldn’tsparethetieforher。butsheseeedanxiousandiproisedi’detoherroowheniwasfree。sheleftthroughthatdoor；andthatwasthelasttieisawher。ainuteorsolatertherewasthecrashonthebridgeandthebedlathatfollowedupsetallourplansfortheday。”

    “howdidshedie？”

    “it’soreplicatedthanthat；andihavetotellthestoryinchronologicalorder。whentheaidentourred；peopledroppedwhatevertheyweredoingandrantothescene。iwas…isupposeitookchargeandwasfeverishlyoupiedforthenextfewhours。harrietcaedowntothebridgerightaway—severalpeoplesawher—butthedangerofanexplosionadeeinstructanyonewhowasn’tinvolvedingettingaronssonoutofhiscartostaywellback。fiveofusreained。therewereyselfandybrotherharald。therewasaannaedmagnusnilsson；oneofyworkers。therewasasawillworkernaedsixtennordlanderwhohadahousedownbythefishingharbour。andtherewasafellownaedjerkeraronsson。hewasonlysixteen；andishouldreallyhavesenthiaway；buthewasthenephewofgustavinthecar。

    “atabout2：40harrietwasinthekitchenhereinthehouse。shedrankaglassofilkandtalkedbrieflytoastrid；ourcook。theylookedoutofthewindowattheotiondownatthebridge。

    “at2：55harrietcrossedthecourtyard。shewasseenbyisabella。aboutainutelatersheranintoottofalk；thepastorinhedeby。atthattietheparsonagewaswheremartinvangerhashisvillatoday；andthepastorlivedonthissideofthebridge。hehadbeeninbed；nursingacold；whentheaidenttookplace；hehadissedthedraa；butsoeonehadtelephonedandhewasonhiswaytothebridge。harrietstoppedhiontheroadandapparentlywantedtosaysoethingtohi；buthewavedheroffandhurriedpast。falkwasthelastpersontoseeheralive。”

    “howdidshedie？”blokvistsaidagain。

    “idon’tknow；”vangersaidwithatroubledexpression。“wedidn’tgetaronssonoutofhiscaruntilaround5：00—hesurvived；bytheway；althoughhewasnotingoodshape—andsoetieafter6：00thethreatoffirewasconsideredpast。theislandwasstillcutoff；butthingsbegantocaldown。itwasn’tuntilwesatdownatthetabletohaveourlongdelayeddinneraround8：00thatwediscoveredharrietwasissing。isentoneofthecousinstogetharrietfroherroo；butshecaebacktosaythatshecouldn’tfindher。ididn’tthinkuchaboutit；iprobablyassuedshehadgoneforawalkorshehadn’tbeentoldthatdinnerwasserved。andduringtheeveningihadtodealwithvariousdiscussionsandarguentswiththefaily。soitwasn’tuntilthenextorning；whenisabellawenttofindher；thatwerealisedthatnobodyknehereharrietwasandthatno…onehadseenhersincethedaybefore。”hespreadhisarsoutwide。“andfrothatday；shehasbeenissingwithoutatrace。”

    “missing？”blokvistechoed。

    “foralltheseyearswehaven’tbeenabletofindoneicroscopicscrapofher。”

    “butifshevanished；asyousay；youcan’tbesurethatshewasurdered。”

    “iunderstandtheobjection。i’vehadthoughtsalongthesaelines。whenapersonvanisheswithoutatrace；oneoffourthingscouldhavehappened。shecouldhavegoneoffofherownfreewillandbehidingsoewhere。shecouldhavehadanaidentanddied。shecouldhaveittedsuicide。andfinally；shecouldhavebeenthevictiofacrie。i’veweighedallthesepossibilities。”

    “butyoubelievethatsoeoookharriet’slife。why？”

    “becauseit’stheonlyreasonableconclusion。”vangerhelduponefinger。“frotheoutsetihopedthatshehadrunaway。butasthedayspassed；weallrealisedthatthiswasn’tthecase。iean；hoouldasixteen…year…oldfrosuchaprotectedworld；evenaveryablegirl；beabletoanageonherown？howcouldshestayhiddenwithoutbeingdiscovered？wherewouldshegetoney？andevenifshegotajobsoewhere；shewouldneedasocialsecuritycardandanaddress。”

    hehelduptwofingers。

    “mynextthoughtwasthatshehadhadsoekindofaident。canyoudoeafavour？gotothedeskandopenthetopdrawer。there’saapthere。”

    blokvistdidashewasaskedandunfoldedtheaponthecoffeetable。hedebyislandwasanirregularlyshapedlandassabouttwoileslongwithaaxiuwidthofaboutoneile。alargepartoftheislandwascoveredbyforest。therewasabuilt…upareabythebridgeandaroundthelittlesuer…househarbour。ontheothersideoftheislandwasthesallholding；？sterg？rden；frowhichtheunfortunatearonssonhadstartedoutinhiscar。

    “reeberthatshecouldn’thavelefttheisland；”vangersaid。“hereonhedebyislandyoucoulddieinanaidentjustlikeanywhereelse。youcouldbestruckbylightning—buttherewasnothunderstorthatday。youcouldbetrapledtodeathbyahorse；falldownawell；ortubleintoarockcrevice。therearenodoubthundredsofwaystofallvictitoanaidenthere。i’vethoughtofostofthe。”

    heheldupthreefingers。

    “there’sjustonecatch；andthisalsoappliestothethirdpossibility—thatthegirl；contrarytoeveryindication；tookherownlife。herbodyustbesoewhereinthisliitedarea。”

    vangerslaedhisfistdownontheap。

    “inthedaysaftershedisappeared；wesearchedeverywhere；crisscrossingtheisland。theenwadedthrougheveryditch；scouredeverypatchoffield；cliff；anduprootedtree。wewentthrougheverybuilding；chiney；well；barn；andhiddengarret。”

    theoldanlookedawayfroblokvistandstaredintothedarknessoutsidethewindow。hisvoicegrewlowerandoreintiate。

    “thewholeautunilookedforher；evenafterthesearchpartiesstoppedandpeoplehadgivenup。wheniwasn’ttendingtoyworkibegangoingforwalksbackandforthacrosstheisland。wintercaeonandwestillhadn’tfoundatraceofher。inthespringikeptonlookinguntilirealisedhowpreposterousysearchwas。whensuercaeihiredthreeexperiencedwoodsenwhodidtheentiresearchoveragainwithdogs。theybedeverysquarefootoftheisland。bythattieihadbeguntothinkthatsoeoneusthavekilledher。sotheyalsosearchedforagrave。theyworkedatitforthreeonths。wefoundnottheslightestvestigeofthegirl。itwasasifshehaddissolvedintothinair。”

    “icanthinkofanuberofpossibilities；”blokvistventured。

    “let’shearthe。”

    “shecouldhavedrowned；aidentallyoronpurpose。thisisanisland；andwatercanhideostthings。”

    “true；buttheprobabilityisn’tgreat。considerthefollowing：ifharrietetwithanaidentanddrowned；logicallyitusthaveourredsoewhereintheiediatevicinityofthevillage。reeberthattheexciteentonthebridgewastheostsensationalthingthathadhappenedhereonhedebyislandinseveraldecades。itwasnotatiewhenasixteen…year…oldgirlwithanoralsenseofcuriositywoulddecidetogoforawalktotheothersideoftheisland。

    “butoreiportant；”hesaid；“there’snotuchofacurrenthere；andthewindsatthattieofyearwereoutofthenorthornortheast。ifanythingfallsintothewater；itesupsoewherealongthebeachontheainland；andoverthereit’sbuiltupalosteverywhere。don’tthinkthatwedidn’tconsiderthis。wedraggedalostallthespotswhereshecouldconceivablyhavegonedowntothewater。ialsohiredyoungenfroascuba…divingclubhereinhedestad。theyspenttherestoftheseasonbingthebottoofthesoundandalongthebeaches…i’convincedshe’snotinthewater；ifshehadbeenwewouldhavefoundher。”

    “butcouldshenothaveetwithanaidentsoewhereelse？thebridgewasblocked；ofcourse；butit’sashortdistanceovertotheainland。shecouldhaveswuorrowedacross。”

    “itwaslatesepteberandthewaterwassocoldthatharrietwouldhardlyhavesetofftogoswiingintheidstofalltheotion。butifshesuddenlygottheideatoswitotheainland；shewouldhavebeenseenanddrawnalotofattention。thereweredozensofeyesonthebridge；andontheainlandsidethereweretwoorthreehundredpeoplealongthewaterwatchingthescene。”

    “arowingboat？”

    “no。thatdaytherewereprecisely