theyhadlabcutletswithpotatoesincreasauceanddrankredwine。blokvisttriedtotakeupthethreadoftheirearlierconversation；butbergerwasinnooodtodiscussmillenniu。insteadtheytalkedfortwohoursaboutwhatblokvistwasdoingupthereandhowheandvangerweregettingon。latertheywenttoseeifthebedwasbigenoughtoholdbothofthe。

    herthirdeetingwithadvokatnilsbjuranwasrescheduled；andfinallysetfor5：00onthatsaefridayafternoon。atthepreviouseetings；salanderwasgreetedbyaiddle…agedwoanwhoselledofuskandworkedashissecretary。thistieshehadleftfortheday；andbjuranselledfaintlyofdrink。hewavedsalandertoavisitor’schairandleafeddistractedlythroughthedocuentsonhisdeskuntilheseeedsuddenlytobeeawareofherpresence。

    itturnedouttobeanotherinterrogation。thistieheaskedsalanderabouthersexlife—whichshehadnointentionofdiscussingwithanyone。

    aftertheeetingsheknewthatshehadhandleditbadly。atfirstsherefusedtoanswerhisquestions。hisinterpretationofthiswasthatshewasshy；retarded；orhadsoethingtohide；andhepressedherforanswers。salanderrealisedthathewasnotgoingtogiveup；soshestartedgivinghibrief；colourlessanswersofthesortsheassuedwouldfitwithherpsychologicalprofile。sheentioned“magnus”—who；aordingtoherdescription；wasanerdyputerprograerherownagewhotreatedherlikeagentleanshould；tookhertothecinea；andsoetiessharedherbed。“magnus”wasfiction；sheadehiupasshewentalong；butbjurantookheraountasapretextforeticulouslyappingouthersexlife。howoftendoyouhavesex？oasionally。whotakestheinitiative—youorhi？ido。doyouusecondos？ofcourse—sheknewabouthiv。what’syourfavouriteposition？h；usuallyonyback。doyouenjoyoralsex？er；waitasecond…haveyoueverhadanalsex？

    “no；it’snotparticularlynicetobefuckedinthearse—butwhatthehellbusinessisitofyours？”

    thatwastheonlytieshelostherteper。shehadkepthereyesonthefloorsotheywouldnotbetrayherexasperation。whenshelookedathiagain；hewasgrinningatherfroacrossthedesk。shelefthisofficewithafeelingofdisgust。palgrenwouldneverhavedreaedofaskingsuchquestions。ontheotherhand；hehadalwaysbeenthereifshehadwantedtodiscussanything。notthatshedid。

    bjuranwasonhiswaytobeingamajorproble。

    chapter11

    saturday；february1–tuesday；february18

    duringthebriefhoursofdaylightonsaturday；blokvistandbergertookawalkpastthesall…boatharbouralongtheroadto？sterg？rden。hehadbeenlivingonhedebyislandforaonth；buthehadnevertakenawalkinland；thefreezingteperaturesandregularsnowstorshaddeterredhi。butsaturdaywassunnyandpleasant。itwasasifbergerhadbroughtwithherahintofspring。theroadwaslinedwithsnow；ploughedthreefeethigh。assoonastheyleftthesuer…cabinareatheywerewalkingindensefirforest。blokvistwassurprisedbyhowuchhigherandoreinaessibles？derberget；thehillacrossfrothecabins；wasthanitappearedfrothevillage。hethoughtabouthowanytiesharrietvangerusthaveplayedhereasachild；butthenhepushedallthoughtsofheroutofhisind。afteraboutailethewoodsendedatafencewherethe？sterg？rdenfarlandbegan。theycouldseeawhitewoodenstructureandredfarbuildingsarrangedinasquare。theyturnedtoheadbackthesaeway。

    astheypassedthedrivewaytotheestatehouse；vangerknockedontheupstairswindowandgesturedfirlyforthetoeup。blokvistandbergerlookedateachother。

    “wouldyouliketoeetacorporatelegend？”blokvistsaid。

    “doeshebite？”

    “notonsaturdays。”

    vangerreceivedtheatthedoortohisoffice。

    “youustbefr？kenberger；irecogniseyou。”hesaid。“mikaeldidn’tsayawordaboutyouringtohedeby。”

    oneofberger’soutstandingtalentswasherabilitytoinstantlygetonfriendlyterswiththeostunlikelyindividuals。blokvisthadseenherturnonthecharforfive…year…oldboys；whowithinteninuteswerefullypreparedtoabandontheirothers。menovereightyseeednottobeanexception。aftertwoinutesbergerandhenrikvangerwereignoringblokvistastheychatteredon。itwasasiftheyhadknowneachothersincechildhood—well；sinceerika’schildhood；atanyrate。

    bergerstartedoffquiteboldlybyscoldingvangerforluringherpublisherawayintothesticks。theoldanrepliedthatasfarashecouldtell—froassortedpressreports—shehadinfactfiredhi。andhadshenotdoneso；thennowightbehightietogetridofexcessballastintheeditorialoffices。andinthatcase；vangersaid；aperiodofrusticlifewoulddoyoungblokvistsoegood。

    forfiveinutestheydiscussedblokvist’sshortingsintheostirritatingters。blokvistleanedbackandpretendedtobeinsulted；buthefrownedwhenbergeradesoecrypticrearksthatightalludetohisfailingsasajournalistbutightalsohaveappliedtosexualprowess。vangertiltedhisheadbackandroaredwithlaughter。

    blokvistwasastonished。hehadneverseenvangersonaturalandrelaxed。hecouldsuddenlyseethatvanger；fiftyyearsyounger—oreventhirtyyears—usthavebeenquiteacharing；attractiveladies’an。hehadneverrearried。thereusthavebeenwoenwhocrossedhispath；yetfornearlyhalfacenturyhehadreainedabachelor。

    blokvisttookasipofcoffeeandprickeduphisearsagainwhenherealisedthattheconversationhadsuddenlyturnedseriousandhadtodowithmillenniu。

    “mikaelhastoldethatyou’rehavingproblesattheagazine。”bergerglancedatblokvist。“no；hehasn’tdiscussedyourinternaloperations；butapersonwouldhavetobedeafandblindnottoseethatyouragazine；justlikethevangercorporation；isindifficulties。”

    “i’confidentthatwecanrepairthesituation；”bergersaid。

    “idoubtit；”vangersaid。

    “whyisthat？”

    “let’ssee—howanyeployeesdoyouhave？six？aonthlyagazinewithaprintrunof21；000；anufacturingcosts；salaries；distribution；offices…youneedrevenuesofabout10illion。ithinkweknohatpercentageofthataounthastoefroadvertisingrevenue。”

    “so？”

    “sofriendwennerstr？isavengefulandnarrow…indedbastardwhoisn’tgoingtofethisrecentcontretepsinahurry。howanyadvertisershaveyoulostinthepastsixonths？”

    bergerregardedvangerwithawaryexpression。blokvistcaughthiselfholdinghisbreath。onthoseoasionswhenheandtheoldanhadtouchedonthefutureofmillenniu；ithadalwaysconcernedannoyingrearksortheagazine’ssituationinrelationtoblokvist’sabilitytofinishhisworkinhedestad。butvangerwasnowaddressingerikaalone；onebosstoanother。signalspassedbetweenthethatblokvistcouldnotinterpret；whichighthavehadtodowiththefactthathewasbasicallyapoorworking…classboyfronorrlandandshewasanupper…classgirlwithadistinguished；internationalfailytree。

    “couldihavealittleorecoffee？”bergerasked。vangerpouredheracupatonce。“ok；you’vedoneyourhoework。we’rebleeding。”

    “howlong？”

    “we’vegotsixonthstoturnourselvesaround。eightonths；ax。wedon’thaveenoughcapitaltokeepourselvesafloatlongerthanthat。”

    theoldan’sexpressionwasinscrutableashestaredoutofthewindow。thechurchwasstillstandingthere。

    “didyouknowthatiwasonceinthenewspaperbusiness？”hesaid；onceoreaddressingtheboth。

    blokvistandbergerbothshooktheirheads。vangerlaughedagain；ruefully。

    “weownedsixdailynewspapersinnorrland。thatwasbackinthefiftiesandsixties。itwasyfather’sidea—hethoughtitightbepoliticallyadvantageoustohaveasectionoftheediabehindus。we’reactuallystilloneoftheownersofthehedestadcourier。birgeristhechairanoftheboardforthegroupofowners。harald’sson；”headded；forblokvist’sbenefit。

    “andalsoalocalpolitician；”blokvistsaid。

    “martinisontheboardtoo。hekeepsbirgerinline。”

    “whydidyouletgoofthenewspapersyouowned？”blokvistasked。

    “corporaterestructuringinthesixties。publishingnewspaperswasinsoewaysoreahobbythananinterest。whenweneededtotightenthebudget；itwasoneofthefirstassetsthatwesold。butiknohatittakestorunapublication…mayiaskyouapersonalquestion？”

    thiswasdirectedaterika。

    “ihaven’taskedmikaelaboutthis；andifyoudon’twanttoanswer；youdon’thaveto。i’dliketoknowhowyouendedupinthisquagire。didyouhaveastoryordidn’tyou？”

    nowitwasblokvist’sturntolookinscrutable。bergerhesitatedonlyasecondbeforeshesaid：“wehadastory。butitwasaverydifferentstory。”

    vangernodded；asifheunderstoodpreciselywhatbergerwassaying。blokvistdidnot。

    “idon’twanttodiscusstheatter。”blokvistcutthediscussionshort。“ididtheresearchandwrotethearticle。ihadallthesourcesineeded。butthenitallwenttohell。”

    “youhadsourcesforeverylastthingyouwrote？”

    “idid。”

    vanger’svoicewassuddenlysharp。“iwon’tpretendtounderstandhowthehellyoucouldwalkintosuchainefield。ican’trecallasiilarstoryexceptperhapsthelundahlaffairinexpresseninthesixties；ifyouyoungstershaveeverheardofit。wasyoursourcealsoaythoaniac？”heshookhisheadandturnedtobergerandsaidquietly；“i’vebeenanewspaperpublisherinthepast；andicanbeoneagain。whatwouldyousaytotakingonanotherpartner？”

    thequestioncaelikeaboltoutoftheblue；butbergerdidnotseetheleastbitsurprised。

    “telleore；”shesaid。

    vangersaid：“howlongareyoustayinginhedestad？”

    “i’goinghoetoorrow。”

    “wouldyouconsider—youandmikael；ofcourse—huouringanoldanbyjoiningefordinnertonight？would7：00suit？”

    “thatwouldsuitusfine。we’dloveit。butyou’renotansweringthequestioniasked。whywouldyouwanttobeapartnerinmillenniu？”

    “i’notavoidingthequestion。ijustthoughtwecoulddiscussitoverdinner。ihavetotalkwithylawyerbeforeicanputtogetheraconcreteoffer。butinallsiplicityicansaythatihaveoneytoinvest。iftheagazinesurvivesandstartsakingaprofitagain；theni’lleoutahead。ifnot—well；i’vehadsignificantlybiggerlossesinyday。”

    blokvistwasabouttoopenhisouthwhenbergerputherhandonhisknee。

    “mikaelandihavefoughthardsothatwecouldbepletelyindependent。”

    “nonsense。no…oneispletelyindependent。buti’notouttotakeovertheagazine；andidon’tgiveadanaboutthecontents。thatbastardstenbeckgotallsortsofpointsforpublishingmodernties；sowhycan’tibackmillenniu？whichhappenstobeanexcellentagazine；bytheway。”

    “doesthishaveanythingtodowithwennerstr？？”blokvistsaid。

    vangersiled。“mikael；i’eightyyearsplus。therearethingsiregretnotdoingandpeopleiregretnotfightingore。but；aproposthistopic—”heturnedtobergeragain。“thistypeofinvestentwouldhaveatleastonecondition。”

    “let’shearit；”bergersaid。

    “mikaelblokvistustresuehispositionaspublisher。”

    “no；”blokvistsnapped。

    “butyes；”vangersaid；equallycurt。“wennerstr？willhaveastrokeifwesendoutapressreleasesayingthatthevangercorporationisbackingmillenniu；andatthesaetieyou’rereturningaspublisher。that’sabsolutelytheclearestsignalwecouldsend—everyonewillunderstandthatit’snotatakeoverandthattheeditorialpolicieswon’tchange。andthatalonewillgivetheadvertiserswhoarethinkingofpullingoutreasontoreconsider。wennerstr？isn’tonipotent。hehaseneiestoo；andtherearepaniesnewtoyouthatwillconsidertakingspace。”

    “whatthehellwasthatallabout？”blokvistsaidassoonasbergerpulledthefrontdoorshut。

    “ithinkit’swhatyoucalladvanceprobesforabusinessdeal；”shesaid。“youdidn’ttellethathenrikvangerissuchasweetie。”

    blokvistplantedhiselfinfrontofher。“ricky；youknewexactlywhatthisconversationwasgoingtobeabout。”

    “hey；toyboy。it’sonly3：00；andiwanttobeproperlyentertainedbeforedinner。”

    blokvistwasenraged。buthehadneveranagedtobeenragedaterikabergerforverylong。

    sheworeablackdress；awaist…lengthjacket；andpups；whichshejusthappenedtohavebroughtalonginherlittlesuitcase。sheinsistedthatblokvistwearajacketandtie。heputonhisblacktrousers；agreyshirt；darktie；andgreysportscoat。whentheyknockedpunctuallyonthedoorofvanger’shoe；itturnedoutthatdirchfrodeandmartinvangerwerealsoaongtheguests。everyonewaswearingajacketandtieexceptforvanger。

    “theadvantageofbeingovereightyisthatno…onecancriticisewhatyouwear；”hedeclared。heworeabowtieandabrowncardigan。

    bergerwasinhighspiritsthroughoutthedinner。

    itwasnotuntiltheyovedtothedrawingroowiththefireplaceandcognacwaspouredthatthediscussiontookonaserioustone。theytalkedforalosttwohoursbeforetheyhadtheoutlineforadealonthetable。

    frodewouldsetupapanytobewhollyownedbyhenrikvanger；theboardwouldconsistofhenrikandmartinvangerandfrode。overafour…yearperiod；thispanywouldinvestasuofoneythatwouldcoverthegapbetweenineandexpensesformillenniu。theoneywouldefrovanger’spersonalassets。inreturn；vangerwouldhaveaconspicuouspositionontheagazine’sboard。theagreeentwouldbevalidforfouryears；butitcouldbeterinatedbymillenniuaftertwoyears。butthistypeofpreatureterinationwouldbecostly；sincevangercouldonlybeboughtoutbyrepayentofthesuhehadinvested。

    intheeventofvanger’sdeath；martinvangerwouldreplacehionthemillenniuboardforthereainderoftheperiodduringwhichtheagreeentwasvalid。ifmartinwishedtocontinuehisinvolveentbeyondthisperiod；hecouldakethatdecisionhiselfwhenthetiecae。heseeedausedbytheprospectofgettingevenwithwennerstr？；andblokvistwonderedagainwhattheoriginwasoftheaniositybetweenthosetwo。

    martinrefilledtheirglasses。vangeradeapointofleaningtowardsblokvist；andinalowvoicetoldhithatthisnewarrangeenthadnoeffectwhatsoeverontheagreeentthatexistedbetweenthe。blokvistcouldresuehisdutiesaspublisherfull…tieattheendoftheyear。

    itwasalsodecidedthatthereanisation；inordertohavethegreatestipactintheedia；shouldbepresentedonthesaedaythatblokvistbeganhisprisonsentenceinid…march。biningastronglynegativeeventwithareanisationwas；inprters；suchaclusyerrorthatitcouldnotbutastonishblokvist’sdetractorsandgarneroptiuattentionforhenrikvanger’snewrole。buteveryonealsosawthelogicinit—itwasawayofindicatingthattheyellowplagueflagflutteringovermillenniu’seditorialofficeswasabouttobehauleddown；theagazinehadbackerswhowerewillingtoberuthless。thevangercorporationightbeinacrisis；butitwasstillaproinentindustrialfirwhichcouldgoontheoffenceiftheneedarose。

    thewholeconversationwasadiscussionbetweenberger；ononeside；andhenrikandmartinvangerontheother。no…oneaskedblokvistwhathethought。

    latethatnightblokvistlaywithhisheadrestingonerika’sbreasts；lookingintohereyes。

    “howlonghaveyouandhenrikvangerbeendiscussingthisarrangeent？”

    8

    “aboutaweek；”shesaid；siling。

    “ischristerinagreeent？”

    “ofcourse。”

    “whydidn’tyoutelle？”

    “whyintheworldshouldidiscussitwithyou？youresignedaspublisher；youlefttheeditorialstaffandtheboard；andyouwenttoliveinthewoods。”

    “soideservetobetreatedlikeanidiot。”

    “ohyes；”shesaid。“decidedlyyoudo。”

    “youreallyhavebeenadate。”

    “mikael；i’veneverfeltsofurious；soabandoned；andsobetrayedaswhenyouleft。i’veneverbeenthisupsetwithyoubefore。”shetookafirgriponhishairandthenshovedhifartherdowninthebed。

    bythetiebergerlefthedebyonsunday；blokvistwasstillsoannoyedwithvangerthathedidnotwanttoriskrunningintoeitherhioranyothereberofhisclan。instead；onmondayhetookthebusintohedestadandspenttheafternoonwalkinginthetown；visitingthelibrary；anddrinkingcoffeeinabakery。intheeveninghewenttothecineatoseethelordoftherings；whichhehadneverbeforehadtietosee。hethoughtthatorcs；unlikehuanbeings；weresipleandunplicatedcreatures。

    heendedhisoutingatmcdonald’sinhedestadandcaughtthelastbustohedeby。headecoffee；tookoutabinder；andsatatthekitchentable。hereaduntil4：00intheorning。

    therewereanuberofquestionsregardingtheinvestigationthatseeedincreasinglyoddthefurtherblokvistwentthroughthedocuents。theywerenotrevolutionarydiscoveriesthatheadeallonhisown；theywereproblesthathadpreoupiedinspectormorellforlongperiods；especiallyinhisfreetie。

    duringthelastyearofherlife；harriethadchanged。insoewaysthischangecouldbeexplainedasthechangethateveryonegoesthroughinonefororanotherduringtheirteenageyears。harrietwasgrowingup。classates；teachers；andseveralebersofthefaily；howe