at16：03hetookhiscoffeecupouttothegarden。hehadafolderwithhi；whichhestudied。headethreebrieftelephonecallsduringthehourhespentoutinthegarden。thethreecallscorrespondedexactlytocallsshehadnotanswered。

    at17：21blokvistleftthecottage。hewasbacklessthanfifteeninuteslater。

    at18：20hewenttothegateandlookedinthedirectionofthebridge。

    at21：03hewentout。hehadnoteback。

    salanderfast…forwardedthroughthepicturesfrotheotherpc；whichphotographedthegateandtheroadoutsidethefrontdoor。shecouldseewhohadgonepastduringtheday。

    at19：12nilssoncaehoe。

    at19：42thesaabthatbelongedto？sterg？rdendrovetowardshedestad。

    at20：02thesaabwasonitswayback。

    at21：00martinvanger’scarwentby。threeinuteslaterblokvistleftthehouse。

    at21：50；martinvangerappearedinthecaera’sviewfinder。hestoodatthegateforoverainute；lookingatthehouse；thenpeeringthroughthekitchenwindow。hewentuptotheporchandtriedthedoor；takingoutakey。heusthavediscoveredthattheyhadputinanewlock。hestoodstillforaoentbeforeheturnedonhisheelandleftthehouse。

    salanderfeltanice…coldfearinhergut。

    martinvangeronceagainleftblokvistalone。hewasstillinhisunfortablepositionwithhishandsbehindhisbackandhisneckfastenedbyathinchaintoaneyeletinthefloor。hefiddledwiththehandcuffs；butheknewthathewouldnotbeabletogettheoff。thecuffsweresotightthathishandswerenub。

    hehadnochance。heshuthiseyes。

    hedidnotknowhowuchtiehadpassedwhenheheardmartin’sfootstepsagain。heappearedinblokvist’sfieldofvision。helookedworried。

    “unfortable？”hesaid。

    “very；”saidblokvist。

    “you’veonlygotyourselftoblae。youshouldhavegonebacktostockhol。”

    “whydoyoukill；martin？”

    “it’sachoicethatiade。icoulddiscusstheoralandintellectualaspectsofwhatido；wecouldtalkallnight；butitwouldn’tchangeanything。trytolookatitthisway：ahuanbeingisashelladeofskinkeepingthecells；blood；andcheicalponentsinplace。veryfewendupinthehistorys。mostpeoplesuubanddisappearwithoutatrace。”

    “youkillwoen。”

    “thoseofuswhourderforpleasure—i’nottheonlyonewiththishobby—weliveapletelife。”

    “butwhyharriet？yourownsister？”

    inasecondmartingrabbedhibythehair。

    “whathappenedtoher；youlittlebastard？telle。”

    “whatdoyouean？”blokvistgasped。hetriedtoturnhisheadtolessenthepaininhisscalp。thechaintightenedroundhisneck。

    “youandsalander。whathaveyoueupwith？”

    “letgo；forheaven’ssake。we’retalking。”

    martinvangerletgoofhishairandsatcross…leggedinfrontofblokvist。hetookaknifefrohisjacketandopenedit。hesetthepointagainsttheskinjustbelowblokvist’seye。blokvistforcedhiselftoeetmartin’sgaze。

    “whatthehellhappenedtoher；bastard？”

    “idon’tunderstand。ithoughtyoukilledher。”

    martinvangerstaredatblokvistforalongoent。thenherelaxed。hegotupandwanderedaroundtheroo；thinking。hethrewtheknifeonthefloorandlaughedbeforehecaebacktofaceblokvist。

    “harriet；harriet；alwaysharriet。wetried…totalktoher。gottfriedtriedtoteachher。wethoughtthatshewasoneofusandthatshewouldaeptherduty；butshewasjustanordinary…cunt。ihadherundercontrol；orsoithought；butshewasplanningtotellhenrik；andirealisedthaticouldn’ttrusther。soonerorlatershewasgoingtotellsoeoneaboute。”

    “youkilledher。”

    “iwantedtokillher。ithoughtaboutit；butiarrivedtoolate。icouldn’tgetovertotheisland。”

    blokvist’sbrainwaswithdifficultytryingtoabsorbthisration；butitfeltasifaessagehadpoppedupwiththewordsrmationoverload。martinvangerdidnotknohathadhappenedtohissister。

    allofasuddenmartinpulledhisobiletelephoneoutofhispocket；glancedatthedisplay；andputitonthechairnexttothepistol。

    “it’stietostopallthis。ihavetodisposeofyouranorexicbitchtonighttoo。”

    hetookoutanarrowleatherstrapfroacupboardandslippeditaroundblokvist’sneck；likeanoose。heloosenedthechainthatheldhishackledtothefloor；hauledhitohisfeet；andshovedhitowardsthewall。heslippedtheleatherstrapthroughaloopaboveblokvist’sheadandthentighteneditsothathewasforcedtostandontiptoes。

    “isthattootight？canyoubreathe？”helooseneditanotchandlockedtheotherendofthestrapinplace；furtherdownthewall。“idon’twantyoutosuffocateallatonce。”

    thenoosewascuttingsohardintoblokvist’sthroatthathewasincapableofutteringaword。martinlookedathiattentively。

    abruptlyheunzippedblokvist’strousersandtuggedthedown；alongwithhisboxershorts。ashepulledtheoff；blokvistlosthisfootholdanddangledforasecondfrothenoosebeforehistoesagainadecontactwiththefloor。martinwentovertoacupboardandtookoutapairofscissors。hecutoffblokvist’st…shirtandtossedthebitsonthefloor。thenhetookupapositionsoedistanceawayfromikaelandregardedhisvicti。

    “i’veneverhadaboyinhere；”martinsaidinaseriousvoice。“i’venevertouchedanotheran；asaatteroffact…exceptforyfather。thatwasyduty。”

    blokvist’stepleswerepounding。hecouldnotputhisweightonhisfeetwithoutbeingstrangled。hetriedtousehisfingerstogetagripontheconcretewallbehindhi；buttherewasnothingtoholdonto。

    “it’stie；”martinvangersaid。

    heputhishandonthestrapandpulleddown。blokvistinstantlyfeltthenoosecuttingintohisneck。

    “i’vealwayswonderedhowaantastes。”

    heincreasedthepressureonthenooseandleanedforwardtokissblokvistonthelipsatthesaetiethatacoldvoicecutthroughtheroo。

    “hey；youfuckingcreep；inthisshitholei’vegotaonopolyonthatone。”

    blokvistheardsalander’svoicethrougharedfog。heanagedtofocushiseyesenoughtoseeherstandinginthedoorway。shewaslookingatmartinvangerwithoutexpression。

    “no…run；”hecroaked。

    hecouldnotseethelookonmartin’sface；buthecouldalostphysicallyfeeltheshockwhenheturnedaround。forasecond；tiestoodstill。thenmartinreachedforthepistolhehadleftonthechair。

    salandertookthreeswiftstridesforwardandswungagolfclubshehadhiddenatherside。theironflewinawidearcandhitmartinonthecollarbonenearhisshoulder。theblowhadaterribleforce；andblokvistheardsoethingsnap。martinhowled。

    “doyoulikepain；creep？”salandersaid。

    hervoicewasasroughassandpaper。aslongasblokvistlived；hewouldneverfetherfaceasshewentontheattack。herteethwerebaredlikeabeastofprey。hereyeswereglittering；blackascoal。sheovedwiththelightningspeedofatarantulaandseeedtotallyfocusedonherpreyassheswungtheclubagain；strikingmartinintheribs。

    hestubledoverthechairandfell。thepistoltubledtotheflooratsalander’sfeet。shekickeditaway。

    thenshestruckforthethirdtie；justasmartinvangerwastryingtogettohisfeet。shehithiwithaloudsackonthehip。ahorriblecryissuedfromartin’sthroat。thefourthblowstruckhifrobehind；betweentheshoulderblades。

    “lis…uuth…”blokvistgasped。

    hewasabouttopassout；andthepaininhistepleswasalostunbearable。

    sheturnedtohiandsawthathisfacewasthecolourofatoato；hiseyeswereopenwide；andhistonguewaspoppingoutofhisouth。

    shelookedaboutherandsawtheknifeonthefloor。thenshesparedaglanceatmartinvanger；whowastryingtocrawlawayfroher；onearhanging。hewouldnotbeakinganytroubleforthenextfewseconds。sheletgoofthegolfclubandpickeduptheknife。ithadasharppointbutadulledge。shestoodonhertoesandfranticallysawedattheleatherstraptogetitoff。ittookseveralsecondsbeforeblokvistsanktothefloor。butthenoosewaspulledtighterroundhisneck。

    salanderlookedagainatmartinvanger。hewasonhisfeetbutdoubledover。shetriedtodigherfingersunderthenoose。atfirstshedidnotdarecutit；butfinallysheslippedthepointoftheknifeunderneath；scoringblokvist’sneckasshetriedtoexpandthenoose。atlastitloosenedandblokvisttookseveralshaky；wheezingbreaths。

    foraoentblokvisthadasensationofhisbodyandsouluniting。hehadperfectvisionandcouldakeouteveryspeckofdustintheroo。hehadperfecthearingandregisteredeverybreath；everyrustleofclothing；asiftheywereenteringhisearsthroughaheadset；andhewasawareoftheodourofsalander’ssweatandthesellofleatherfroherjacket。thentheillusionburstasbloodbeganstreaingtohishead。

    salanderturnedherheadjustasmartinvangerdisappearedoutthedoor。shegotup；grabbedthepistol；checkedtheagazineandflickedoffthesafety。shelookedaroundandfocusedonthekeystothehandcuffs；whichlayinplainsightonthetable。

    “i’goingtotakehi；”shesaid；runningforthedoor。shegrabbedthekeysasshepasse

    16

    提供

    dthetableandtossedthebackhandedtothefloornexttoblokvist。

    hetriedtoshouttohertowait；butheanagedonlyaraspingsoundandbythenshehadvanished。

    salanderhadnotfottenthatmartinvangerhadariflesoewhere；andshestopped；holdingthepistolreadytofireinfrontofher；asshecaeupstairstothepassagewaybetweenthegarageandthekitchen。shelistened；butshecouldhearnosoundtellingherwhereherpreywas。sheovedstealthilytowardsthekitchen；andshewasalosttherewhensheheardacarstartingupinthecourtyard。

    frothedriveshesawapairoftaillightspassinghenrikvanger’shouseandturningdowntothebridge；andsheranasfastasherlegscouldcarryher。shestuffedthepistolinherjacketpocketanddidnotbotherwiththeheletasshestartedherotorcycle。secondslatershewascrossingthebridge。

    hehadaybeaniy…secondstartwhenshecaeintotheroundaboutattheentrancetothee4。shecouldnotseehiscar。shebrakedandturnedofftheotortolisten。

    theskywasfilledwithheavyclouds。onthehorizonshesawahintofthedawn。thensheheardthesoundofanengineandcaughtaglipseoftaillightsonthee4；goingsouth。salanderkickedtheotorcycle；putitintogear；andracedundertheviaduct。shewasdoing40ilesperhourasshetookthecurveoftheentrancerap。shesawnotrafficandaeleratedtofullspeedandflewforward。whentheroadbegantocurvealongaridge；shewasdoing90ph；whichwasaboutthefastesthersouped…uplightweightbikecouldanagegoingdownhill。aftertwoinutesshesawthelightsabout650yardsahead。

    analyseconsequences。whatdoidonow？

    shedeceleratedtoaorereasonableseventy…fiveandkeptpacewithhi。shelostsightofhiforseveralsecondswhentheytookseveralbends。thentheycaeontoalongstraight；shewasonlytwohundredyardsbehindhi。

    heusthaveseentheheadlightfroherotorcycle；andhespedupwhentheytookalongcurve。sheaeleratedagainbutlostgroundonthebends。

    shesawtheheadlightsofatruckapproaching。martinvangerdidtoo。heincreasedhisspeedagainanddrovestraightintotheoninglane。salandersawthetruckswerveandflashitslights；butthecollisionwasunavoidable。martinvangerdrovestraightintothetruckandthesoundofthecrashwasterrible。

    salanderbraked。shesawthetrailerstarttojackknifeacrossherlane。atthespeedshewasgoing；ittooktwosecondsforhertocoverthedistanceuptotheaidentsite。sheaeleratedandsteeredontothehardshoulder；avoidingthehurtlingbackofthetruckbytwoyardsassheflewpast。outofthecornerofhereyeshesawflaesingfrothefrontofthetruck。

    sherodeon；brakingandthinking；foranother150yardsbeforeshestoppedandturnedaround。shesawthedriverofthetruckcliboutofhiscabonthepassengerside。thensheaeleratedagain。at？kerby；aboutailesouth；sheturnedleftandtooktheoldroadbacknorth；paralleltothee4。shewentupahillpastthesceneofthecrash。twocarshadstopped。bigflaeswereboilingoutofthewreckageofmartin’scar；whichwaswedgedunderneaththetruck。aanwassprayingtheflaeswithasallfireextinguisher。

    shewassoonrollingacrossthebridgeatalowspeed。sheparkedoutsidethecottageandwalkedbacktomartinvanger’shouse。

    mikaelwasstillfublingwiththehandcuffs。hishandsweresonubthathecouldnotgetagriponthekey。salanderunlockedthecuffsforhiandheldhitightasthebloodbegantocirculateinhishandsagain。

    “martin？”hesaidinahoarsevoice。

    “dead。hedroveslapintothefrontofatruckacoupleofilessouthonthee4。”

    blokviststaredather。shehadonlybeengoneafewinutes。

    “wehaveto…callthepolice；”hewhispered。hebegancoughinghard。

    “why？”salandersaid。

    forteninutesblokvistwasincapableofstandingup。hewasstillonthefloor；naked；leaningagainstthewall。heassagedhisneckandliftedthewaterbottlewithclusyfingers。salanderwaitedpatientlyuntilhissenseoftouchstartedtoreturn。shespentthetiethinking。

    “putyourtrouserson。”

    sheusedblokvist’scut…upt…shirttowipefingerprintsfrothehandcuffs；theknife；andthegolfclub。shepickedupherpetbottle。

    “whatareyoudoing？”

    “getdressedandhurryup。it’sgettinglightoutside。”

    blokviststoodonshakylegsandanagedtopullonhisboxersandjeans。heslippedonhistrainers。salanderstuffedhissocksintoherjacketpocketandthenstoppedhi。

    “whatexactlydidyoutouchdownhere？”

    blokvistlookedaround。hetriedtoreeber。atlasthesaidthathehadtouchednothingexceptthedoorandthekeys。salanderfoundthekeysinmartinvanger’sjacket；whichhehadhungoverthechair。shewipedthedoorhandleandtheswitchandturnedoffthelight。shehelpedblokvistupthebaseentstairsandtoldhitowaitinthepassagewaywhilesheputthegolfclubbackinitsproperplace。whenshecaebackshewascarryingadarkt…shirtthatbelongedtomartinvanger。

    “putthison。idon’twantanyooseeyouscaperingaboutwithabarechesttonight。”

    blokvistrealisedthathewasinastateofshock。salanderhadtakencharge；andpassivelyheobeyedherinstructions。sheledhioutofmartin’shouse。sheheldontohithewholetie。assoonastheysteppedinsidethecottage；shestoppedhi。

    “ifanyoneseesusandaskswhatweweredoingoutsidetonight；youandiwentouttothepointforanighttiewalk；andwehadsexoutthere。”

    “lisbeth；ican’t…”

    “getintheshower。now。”

    shehelpedhioffwithhisclothesandpropelledhitothebathroo。thensheputonwaterforcoffeeandadehalfadozenthicksandwichesonryebreadwithcheeseandliversausageanddillpickles。shesatdownatthekitchentableandwasthinkinghardwhenhecaelipingbackintotheroo。shestudiedthebruisesandscrapesonhisbody。thenoosehadbeensotightthathehadadarkredarkaroundhisneck；andtheknifehadadeabloodygashinhisskinontheleftside。

    “getintobed；”shesaid。

    sheiprovisedbandagesandcoveredthewoundwithaakeshiftpress。thenshepouredthecoffeeandhandedhiasandwich。

    “i’reallynothungry；”hesaid。

    “idon’tgiveadanifyou’rehungry。justeat；”salanderanded；takingabigbiteofherowncheesesandwich。

    blokvistclosedhiseyesforaoent；thenhesatupandtookabite。histhroathurtsouchthathecouldscarcelyswallow。

    salandertookoffherleatherjacketandfrothebathroobroughtajaroftigerbalfroherspongebag。

    “letthecoffeecoolforawhile。liefacedown。”

    shespentfiveinutesassaginghisbackandrubbinghiwiththelinient。thensheturnedhioverandgavehithesaetreatentonthefront。

    “you’regoingtohavesoeseriousbruisesforawhile。”

    “lisbeth；wehavetocallthepolice。”

    “no；”sherepliedwithsuchveheencethatblokvistopenedhiseyesinsurprise。“ifyoucallthepolice；i’leaving。idon’twanttohaveanythingtodowiththe。martinvangerisdead。hediedinacaraident。hewasaloneinthecar。therearewitnesses。letthepoliceorsoeoneelsediscoverthatfuckingtorturechaber。youandiarejustasignorantaboutitsexistenceaseveryoneelseinthisvillage。”

    “why？”

    sheignoredhiandstartedassaginghisachingthighs。

    “lisbeth；wecan’tjust…”

    “ifyougoonnagging；i’lldragyoubacktomartin’sgrottoandchainyouupagain。”

    asshesaidthis；blokvistfellasleep；assuddenlyasifhehadfainted。

    chapter25

    saturday；july12–monday；july14

    blokvistwokewithastartat5：00intheorning；scrabblingathisnecktogetridofthenoose。salandercaeinandtookholdofhishands；keepinghistill。heopenedhiseyesandlookedatherblearily。

    “ididn’tknowthatyouplayedgolf；”hesaid；closinghiseyesagain。shesatwithhiforacoupleofinutesuntilshewassurehewasasleep。whileheslept；salanderhadgonebacktomartinvanger’sbaseenttoexaineandphotographthecriescene。inadditiontothetortureinstruents；shehadfoundacollectionofviolentpornographicagazinesandalargenuberofpolaroidphotographspastedintoalbus。

    therewasnodiary。ontheotherhand；shedidfindtwoa4binderswithpassportphotographsandhandwrittennotesaboutthewoen。sheputthebindersinanylonbagalongwithmarti