inthelastbuildingontheeastsideoftheroadlivedgerdavanger；widowofhenrik’sbrothergreger；andherson；alexander。

    “gerdaissickly。shesuffersfrorheuatis。alexanderownsasallshareofthevangercorporation；butherunsanuberofhisownbusinesses；includingrestaurants。heusuallyspendsafewonthseachyearinbarbados；wherehehasinvestedaconsiderablesuinthetouristtrade。”

    betweengerda’sandhenrik’shouseswasaplotoflandwithtwosaller；eptybuildings。theywereusedasguesthousesforfailyebers。ontheothersideofhenrik’shousestoodaprivatedwellingwhereanotherretiredeployeelivedwithhiswife；butitwaseptyinthewinterwhenthecouplerepairedtospain。

    theyreturnedtothecrossroads；andwiththatthetourwasover。duskwasbeginningtofall。blokvisttooktheinitiative。

    “henrik；i’lldowhati’vebeenhiredtodo。i’llwriteyourautobiography；andi’llhuouryoubyreadingalltheaterialaboutharrietascarefullyandcriticallyasican。ijustwantyoutorealisethati’notaprivatedetective。”

    “iexpectnothing。”

    “fine。”

    “i’anightowl；”vangersaid。“soi’atyourdisposalanytieafterlunch。i’llarrangeforyoutohaveanofficeuphere；andyoucanakeuseofitwheneveryoulike。”

    “no；thankyou。ihaveanofficeintheguesthouse；andthat’swherei’lldoywork。”

    “asyouwish。”

    “ifineedtotalktoyou；we’lldoitinyouroffice；buti’notgoingtostartthrowingquestionsatyoutonight。”

    “iunderstand。”theoldanseeediprobablytiid。

    “it’sgoingtotakeacoupleofweekstoreadthroughthepapers。we’llworkontwofronts。we’lleetforafewhourseachdaysothaticaninterviewyouandgatheraterialforyourbiography。whenistarthavingquestionsaboutharrietwhichineedtodiscusswithyou；i’llletyouknow。”

    “thatsoundssensible。”

    “i’goingtorequireafreehandtodoywork；andiwon’thaveanysetworkhours。”

    “youdecideforyourselfhowtheworkshouldbedone。”

    “isupposeyou’reawarethatihavetospendacoupleofonthsinprison。idon’tknowexactlywhen；buti’notgoingtoappeal。it’llprobablybesoetiethisyear。”

    vangerfrowned。“that’sunfortunate。we’llhavetosolvethatproblewhenitesup。youcanalwaysrequestapostponeent。”

    “ifit’sperittedandihaveenoughaterial；iightbeabletoworkonyourinprison。oneorething：i’stillpartownerofmillenniuandasofnowit’saagazineincrisis。ifsoethinghappensthatrequiresypresenceinstockhol；iwouldhavetodropwhati’doingandgothere。”

    “ididn’ttakeyouonasaserf。iwantyoutodoathoroughjobontheassignenti’vegivenyou；but；ofcourse；youcansetyourownscheduleanddotheworkasyouseefit。ifyouneedtotakesoetieoff；feelfreetodoit；butififindoutthatyou’renotdoingthework；i’llconsiderthatabreachofcontract。”

    vangerlookedovertowardsthebridge。hewasagauntan；andblokvistthoughtthathelookedatthatoentlikeaelancholyscarecrow。

    “asfarasmillenniuisconcerned；weoughttohaveadiscussionaboutwhatkindofcrisisit’sinandwhethericanhelpinsoeway。”

    “thebestassistanceyoucanofferistogiveewennerstr？’sheadonaplatterrighthereandnow。”

    “ohno；i’notthinkingofdoingthat。”theoldangaveblokvistahardlook。“theonlyreasonyoutookthisjobwasbecauseiproisedtoexposewennerstr？。ifigiveyoutherationnow；youcouldstopworkonthejobwheneveryoufeltlikeit。i’llgiveyoutherationayearfronow。”

    “henrik；fiveeforsayingthis；butican’tbesurethatayearfronowyou’llbealive。”

    vangersighedandcastathoughtfulgazeoverthefishingharbour。

    “fairenough。i’lltalktofrodeandseeifwecanworksoethingout。butasfarasmillenniuisconcerned；iightbeabletohelpinanotherway。asiunderstandit；theadvertisershavebeguntopullout。”

    “theadvertisersaretheiediateproble；butthecrisisgoesdeeperthanthat。it’saatteroftrust。itdoesn’tatterhowanyadvertiserswehaveifno…onewantstobuytheagazine。”

    “irealisethat。i’stillontheboardofdirectorsofquitealargecorporation；albeitinapassiverole。wehavetoplaceadvertiseentssoewhere。let’sdiscusstheatteratsoestage。wouldyouliketohavedinner…”

    “no。iwanttogetsettled；buysoegroceries；andtakealookaround。toorrowi’llgotohedestadandshopforwinterclothes。”

    “goodidea。”

    “i’dlikethefilesaboutharriettobeovedovertoyplace。”

    “theyneedtobehandled…”

    “withgreatcare—iunderstand。”

    blokvistreturnedtotheguesthouse。histeethwerechatteringbythetiehegotindoors。thetheroeteroutsidethewindowsaid5°f；andhecouldn’treebereverfeelingsocoldasafterthatwalk；whichhadlastedbarelytwentyinutes。

    hespentanhoursettlinghiselfintowhatwastobehishoefortheingyear。heputhisclothesinthewardrobeinthebedroo；histoiletrieswentinthebathroocabi。hissecondsuitcasewasactuallyatrunkonwheels。froithetooks；cdsandacdplayer；notes；asanyotaperecorder；amicrotekscanner；aportableink…jetprinter；aminoltadigitalcaera；andanuberofotheritesheregardedasessentialkitforayearinexile。

    hearrangedthesandthecdsontheshelfintheofficealongsidetwobinderscontainingresearchaterialonhans…erikwennerstr？。theaterialwasuseless；buthecouldnotletitgo。soehowhehadtoturnthosetwofoldersintobuildingblocksforhiscontinuingcareer。

    finallyheopenedhisshoulderbagandputhisionthedeskintheoffice。thenhestoppedandlookedabouthiwithasheepishexpression。thebenefitsoflivinginthecountryside；forsooth。therewasnowheretopluginthebroadbandcable。hedidnotevenhaveatelephonejacktoconnectanolddial…upode。

    blokvistcalledtheteliatelephonepanyfrohisobile。afteraslighthassle；heanagedtogetsoeoofindtheorderthatvangerhadplacedfortheguesthouse。hewantedtoknohethertheconnectioncouldhandleadslandwastoldthatitwouldbepossiblebywayofarelayinhedeby；andthatitwouldtakeseveraldays。

    itwasafter4：00bythetieblokvistwasdone。heputonapairofthicksocksandtheborrowedbootsandpulledonanextrasweater。atthefrontdoorhestoppedshort；hehadbeengivennokeystothehouse；andhisbig…cityinstinctsrebelledattheideaofleavingthefrontdoorunlocked。hewentbacktothekitchenandbeganopeningdrawers。finallyhefoundakeyhangingfroanailinthepantry。

    theteperaturehaddroppedto…1°f。hewalkedbrisklyacrossthebridgeandupthehillpastthechurch。thekonsustorewasconvenientlylocatedaboutthreehundredyardsaway。hefilledtwopaperbagstooverflowingwithsuppliesandthencarriedthehoebeforereturningacrossthebridge。thistiehestoppedatsusanne’sbridgecafé。thewoanbehindthecounterwasinherfifties。heaskedwhethershewassusanneandthenintroducedhiselfbysayingthathewasundoubtedlygoingtobearegularcustoer。hewasforthetiebeingtheonlycustoer；andsusanneofferedhicoffeewhenheorderedsandwichesandboughtaloafofbread。hepickedupacopyofthehedestadcourierfrothenewspaperrackandsatatatablewithaviewofthebridgeandthechurch；itsfacadenowlitup。itlookedlikeachristascard。ittookhiaboutfourinutestoreadthenewspaper。theonlynewsofinterestwasabriefiteexplainingthatalocalpoliticianbythenaeofbirgervangerwasgoingtoinvestin“ittechcent”—atechnologydevelopentcentreinhedestad。mikaelsatthereuntilthecaféclosedat6：00。

    at7：30hecalledberger；butwasadvisedthatthepartyatthatnuberwasnotavailable。hesatonthekitchenbenchandtriedtoreadanovelwhich；aordingtothebackcovertext；wasthesensationaldebutofateenagefeinist。thenovelwasabouttheauthor’sattepttogetahandleonhersexlifeduringatriptoparis；andblokvistwonderedwhetherhecouldbecalledafeinistifhewroteanovelabouthisownsexlifeinthevoiceofahigh…schoolstudent。probablynot。hehadboughtthebecausethepublisherhadhailedthefirst…tienovelistas“anewcarinarydberg。”hequicklyascertainedthatthiswasnotthecaseineitherstyleorcontent。heputtheasideforawhileandinsteadreadahopalongcassidystoryinanissueofrekordagasifrotheid…fifties。

    everyhalfhourheheardthecurt；utedclangofthechurchbell。lightswerevisibleinthewindowsatthehoeofthecaretakeracrosstheroad；butblokvistcouldnotseeanyoneinsidethehouse。haraldvanger’shousewasdark。around9：00acardroveacrossthebridgeanddisappearedtowardsthepoint。atidnightthelightsonthefacadeofthechurchwereturnedoff。thatwasapparentlythefullextentoftheentertainentinhedebyonafridaynightinearlyjanuary。itwaseerilyquiet。

    hetriedagaintocallbergerandgothervoiceail；askinghitoleavehisnaeandaessage。hedidsoandthenturnedoffthelightandwenttobed。thelastthinghethoughtaboutbeforehefellasleepwasthathewasgoingtorunahighriskofgoingstir…crazyinhedeby。

    itwasstrangetoawaketouttersilence。blokvistpassedfrodeepsleeptototalalertnessinafractionofasecond；andthenlaystill；listening。itwascoldintheroo。heturnedhisheadandlookedathiswristwatchonastoolnexttothebed。itwas7：08—hehadneverbeenuchofaorningperson；anditusedtobehardforhitowakeupwithouthavingatleasttwoalarclocks。todayhehadwokenallbyhiself；andheevenfeltrested。

    heputsoewateronforcoffeebeforegettingintotheshower。hewassuddenlyausedathissituation。kalleblokvist—onaresearchtripinthebackofbeyond。

    theshowerheadchangedfroscaldingtoice…coldattheslightesttouch。therewasnoorningpaperonthekitchentable。thebutterwasfrozen。therewasnocheeseslicerinthedrawerofkitchenutensils。itwasstillpitchdarkoutside。thetheroetershowed6belowzero。itwassaturday。

    thebusstopforhedestadwasovertheroadfrokonsu；andblokviststartedoffhisexilebycarryingouthisplantogoshoppingintown。hegotoffthebusbytherailwaystationandadeatourofthecentreoftown。alongthewayheboughtheavywinterboots；twopairsoflongunderwear；severalflannelshirts；aproperthigh…lengthwinterjacket；awarcap；andlinedgloves。attheelectronicsstorehefoundasallportabletvwithrabbitears。thesalesclerkassuredhithathewouldatleastbeabletogetsvt；thestatetvchannel；outathedeby；andblokvistproisedtoaskforhisoneybackifthatturnedoutnottobethecase。

    hestoppedatthelibrarytogethiselfacardandborrowedtwoysteriesbyelizabethgee。heboughtpensandnotes。healsoboughtarucksackforcarryinghisnewpossessions。

    finallyheboughtapackofcigarettes。hehadstoppedsokingtenyearsago；butoasionallyhewouldhavearelapse。hestuckthepackinhisjacketpocketwithoutopeningit。hislaststopwastheoptician’s；andthereheboughtcontactlenssolutionandorderednewlenses。

    by2：00hewasbackinhedeby；andhewasjustreovingthepricetagsfrohisnewclotheswhenheheardthefrontdooropen。ablondewoan—perhapsinherfifties—knockedontheopenkitchendoorasshesteppedacrossthethreshold。shewascarryingaspongecakeonaplatter。

    “hello。ijustwantedtoeovertointroduceyself。mynaeishelenanilsson；andiliveacrosstheroad。ihearwe’regoingtobeneighbours。”

    theyshookhandsandheintroducedhiself。

    “ohyes；i’veseenyouontv。it’sgoingtobenicetoseelightsoverhereintheevening。”

    blokvistputonsoecoffee。shebegantoobjectbutthensatatthekitchentable；castingafurtiveglanceoutthewindow。

    “hereeshenrikwithyhusband。itlookslikesoeboxesforyou。”

    vangerandgunnarnilssondrewupoutsidewithadolly；andblokvistrushedouttogreettheandtohelpcarrythefourpackingcratesinside。theysettheboxesonthefloornexttothestove。blokvistgotoutthecoffeecupsandcutintofr？kennilsson’sspongecake。

    thenilssonswerepleasantpeople。theydidnotseecuriousaboutwhyblokvistwasinhedestad—thefactthathewasworkingforhenrikvangerwasevidentlyenoughofanexplanation。blokvistobservedtheinteractionbetweenthenilssonsandvanger；concludingthatitwasrelaxedandlackinginanysortofgulfbetweenasterandservants。theytalkedaboutthevillageandtheanwhohadbuilttheguesthousewhereblokvistwasliving。thenilssonswouldproptvangerwhenhiseoryfailedhi。he；ontheotherhand；toldafunnystoryabouthownilssonhadehoeonenighttodiscoverthevillageidiotfroacrossthebridgetryingtobreakawindowattheguesthouse。nilssonwentovertoaskthehalf…witteddelinquentwhyhedidn’tgointhroughtheunlockedfrontdoor。nilssoninspectedblokvist’slittletvwithisgivingandinvitedhitoeacrosstotheirhouseiftherewaseveraprograehewantedtosee。

    vangerstayedonbrieflyafterthenilssonsleft。hethoughtitbestthatblokvistsortthroughthefileshiself；andhecouldetothehouseifhehadanyprobles。

    whenhewasaloneonceore；blokvistcarriedtheboxesintohisofficeandadeaninventoryofthecontents。

    vanger’sinvestigationintothedisappearanceofhisbrother’sgranddaughterhadbeengoingonforthirty…sixyears。blokvistwonderedwhetherthiswasanunhealthyobsessionorwhether；overtheyears；ithaddevelopedintoanintellectualgae。whatwasclearwasthattheoldpatriarchhadtackledthejobwiththesysteaticapproachofanaateurarchaeologist—theaterialwasgoingtofilltwentyfeetofshelving。

    thelargestsectionofitconsistedoftwenty…sixbinders；whichwerethecopiesofthepoliceinvestigation。hardtobelieveanordinaryissing…personcasewouldhaveproducedsuchprehensiveaterial。vangernodoubthadenoughclouttokeepthehedestadpolicefollowingupbothplausibleandiplausibleleads。

    thentherewerescraps；photographalbus；aps；textsabouthedestadandthevangerfir；harriet’sdiary；herschools；edicalcertificates。thereweresixteenbounda4voluesofonehundredorsopageseach；whichwerevanger’slogoftheinvestigations。inthesenoteshehadrecordedinanipeablehandhisownspeculations；theories；digressions。blokvistleafedthroughthe。thetexthadaliteraryquality；andhehadthefeelingthatthesetextswerefaircopiesofperhapsanyorenotes。thereweretenbinderscontainingaterialonebersofthevangerfaily；thesepagesweretypedandhadbeenpiledovertheinterveningyears；vanger’sinvestigationsofhisownfaily。

    around7：00heheardaloudeowingatthefrontdoor。areddish…browncatslippedswiftlypasthiintothewarth。

    “wisecat；”hesaid。

    thecatsniffedaroundtheguesthouseforawhile。mikaelpouredsoeilkintoadish；andhisguestlappeditup。thenthecathoppedontothekitchenbenchandcurledup。andthereshestayed。

    itwasafter10：00beforeblokvisthadthescopeoftheaterialclearinhisindandhadarrangeditontheshelves。heputonapotofcoffeeandadehiselftwosandwiches。hehadnoteatenaproperealallday；buthewasstrangelyuninterestedod。heofferedthecatapieceofsausageandsoeliverwurst。afterdrinkinghiscoffee；hetookthecigarettesoutofhisjacketpocketandopenedthepack。

    hecheckedhisobile。bergerhadnotcalled。hetriedheronceore。againonlyhervoiceail。

    oneofthefirststepsblokvisthadtakenwastoscanintheapofhedebyislandthathehadborrowedfrovanger。whileallthenaeswerestillfreshinhisind；hewrotedownwholivedineachhouse。thevangerclanconsistedofsuchanextensivecastthatitwouldtaketietolearnwhowaswho。

    justbeforeidnightheputonwarclothesandhisnewshoesandwalkedacrossthebridge。heturnedofftheroadandalongthesoundbelowthechurch。icehadforedonthesoundandinsidetheoldharbour；butfartherouthecouldseeadarkerbeltofopenwater。ashestoodthere；thelightsonthefacadeofthechurchwentout；anditwasdarkallaroundhi。itwasicycoldandstarsfilledthesky。

    allofasuddenblokvistfeltdepressed。hecouldnotforthelifeofhiunderstandhowhehadallowedvangertotalkhiintotakingonthisassignent。bergerwasright：heshouldbeinstockhol—inbedwithher；forinstance—andplanninghiscapaignsagainstwennerstr？。buthefeltapatheticaboutthattoo；andhedidn’tevenhavethefaintestideahowtobeginplanningacounter…strategy。

    haditbeendaylight；hewouldhavewalkedstraighttovanger’shouse；cancelledhiscontract；andgonehoe。butfrotherisebesidethechurchhecouldakeoutallthehousesontheislandside。haraldvanger’shousewasdark；buttherewerelightsonincecilia’shoe；aswellasinmartin’svillaoutbythepointandinthehousethatwasleased。inthesall…boatharbourtherewerelightsoninthedraughtycabinoftheartistandlittlecloudsofsparkswererisingfrohischiney。therewerealsolightsoninthetopfloorofthecafé；andblokvistwonderedwhethersusannelivedthere；andifso；whethershewasalone。

    onsundayorningheawokeinpanicattheincredibledinthatfilledtheguesthouse。ittookhiasecondtogethisbearingsandrealisethatitwasthechurchbellssuoningparishionerstoorningservice。itwasnearly11：00。hestayedinbeduntilheheardanurgenteowinginthedoorwayandgotuptoletoutthecat。

    bynoonhehadshoweredandeatenbreakfast。hewentresolutelyintohisofficeandtookd