and tried Cortez next and then Eriksson. In point of fact. She had chosen to ignore his existence.M.

I
I. She was grown-up now. Ask Paolo Roberto. his colleague Inspector Modig. But in the half-staffed Saturday newsroom everything was normal. She was famished. I never had any information. Only when Salander had logged out of Hacker Republic did she go into Yahoo and log on to the private newsgroup [Idiotic_Table]. after all. but stopped and held the door for me. I??m sure you??re going to be a journalist when you grow up.?? ??What should we do??? Jervas thought for a moment. ??Do you have the address??? Blomkvist nodded. And Bj?rck??s report is in it.?? ??I can see that they might be. I simply have no energy.P. You??re healing.?? Modig said. we have to play it safe. 1966). But that??s just the problem. That yielded better results.

Your career might be ruined. schedules and other uninteresting stuff. Your Erika ??Alright. ??So. She rolled it quickly over to the door and wedged the tabletop under the door handle. She??s the real victim here. She arrived home in Saltsj?baden at 7. but Ekstr?m could not know that. The older I get. No time to explain. I??ve worked in the media for twenty-five years and I have never met a person like him in a management position. In any case he had a penchant for civil disobedience on a private level. It was not until an hour later that Eriksson knocked on Berger??s door.?? Her husband sighed. three of them around thirty-five years old.00. Does that make sense??? ??It does. but how gigantic this problem would become was something Gullberg could never have imagined in his wildest dreams. He still had one or two secrets that he shared only with Salander. It??s not your job to take apart the operational organization.39. ??Exactly. He decided to include Bj?rck in the Zalachenko unit.

Richard Ekstr?m.?? Cortez said. installing alarm systems and managing burglary protection. It took ten minutes for the cleaner to work his way over to Adamsson??s spot at the end of the corridor. ??Go to work. ??Thanks. The job fell to a young man who had worked at S.G.?? She nodded. ??When this is all over I??m going to found an association called ??The Knights of the Idiotic Table?? and its purpose will be to arrange an annual dinner where we tell stories about Lisbeth Salander.?? Andersson said. And if anyone starts asking awkward questions. it??s a blot on the entire profession.?? ??I was following M?rtensson. but the injuries aren??t life-threatening. I??m just so swamped here. to be exact. I??m sending you a picture. who then provided him with a steady stream of assignments to keep him busy.00 on Friday night. Checking the backgrounds of Swedish citizens was one thing. should also be informed. unless she had a screwdriver and a ladder.

possession of illegal weapons.00 was suddenly moved to 1. of which only three were furnished. He found himself.S.?? ??Right. of course.?? Gullberg said.?? said Andersson. Zalachenko himself would have to spend the rest of his life in prison. but he suddenly felt inspired. ??Come in ?? Evert Gullberg. but they had no choice.M.?? ??It??s no guess. ??So you??re telling me instead.?? ??I know. a de facto coup has taken place in Sweden. and I meant asap. you do what you do because you??re evil and rotten. Salander was in rehabilitation at Sahlgrenska and was up to her neck in her own problems. Most regrettably it was Thorbj?rn F?lldin who became Prime Minister.?? ??I??m going to keep an eye on her overnight.

Palme had accordingly been one of the first subjects that Gullberg discussed with him during the long debriefing. editor-in-chief. ??An analysis of the blood will probably establish that Salander was buried here. this is going to be tough. I was shot in the head. He looked somehow familiar. I have never been charged.O. it??s like the old days. He spent a long time thinking things over.?? ??We won??t have time to dig up the whole story. ??No again. He carried a shoulder bag and he walked with a long. that Bjurman had been Salander??s guardian; on the other hand he could not see why the old Zalachenko story should surface. That was the natural order of things. but he??s bound to say that he was doing target practice two days ago. it??s Monica from S. She only got his voicemail. It??s status quo all the way. wary look. But he had not anticipated Armansky lobbing a bomb with a sizzling fuse into his lap.?? Cortez said. We have a stock portfolio that has dropped in value by about 30 per cent compared to ten years ago.

But she never did. Zalachenko was used to pain.VI The historian Diodorus from Sicily. According to Giannini. had a reputation for not wasting time on formalities or mere courtesies.?? Modig looked at the time again. ??So you aren??t going to tell us how you heard about the meeting??? ??I??ve already told you that I won??t. ??I don??t go around accosting surgeons on the street. and smelled coffee from the kitchen where his wife was already about her morning chores. It??s clear that there must have been financing. had called eleven times.?? ??On the other hand I??m afraid that if I don??t do something. ??The chief of Secretariat. that he might involuntarily lead the Russians to Zalachenko.?? ??First name??? ??Fredrik. She turned off the Palm and put it under the covers between her thighs. When we get to that courtroom the prosecutor won??t have a single syllable from any interrogation to fall back on. she would have recognized that she looked completely demented. I won??t. * Salander sat up with a start the instant she heard the first shot. I??m just trying to take stock of her. The Prime Minister gave the Director of Constitutional Protection a long. I??m not going to quote you or mention you even in anything I write.

It showed the church in Jobsville. Blomkvist was not answering his telephone. our lawyer in S. She put down the notebook. and asked him to brief the assembled company. and we??ve had an A. in consultation with her colleague Dr Jonasson.?? She expected him to get up and say he would come back in a few days. ??Could you turn off your telephone for a few minutes??? Baksi turned off his telephone. I can honestly say that I would have wanted very much to know him better.?? Just before noon there was a knock on the door and a uniformed officer delivered a document to Sp?ngberg. and he wondered if a copy of Bj?rck??s report might be in her briefcase. yes. He picked up the telephone and called the Minister of Justice.?? a highly placed Swede ?C or possibly other Scandinavian politician ?C who worked for the K. She??s the real victim here. If it??s a matter of a forensic psychiatric report. He was suddenly aware of Nurse Nicander saying something. who has worked in S?po for many years. You know what it??s all about. I had never heard his name before. Ghidi had seen in an advertisement that it cost around 3. It??s an excellent story.

??We??re talking about a girl who looks as if she??s barely entered puberty and who??s only one metre fifty tall. 1989); An Assignment by Carl Lidbom (Wahlstr?m & Widstrand. one of which was a relatively complicated and widely reported safecracking heist at a department store in V?ster?s. uncovered planned lovers?? trysts.?? ??You can??t do that. Nieminen walked the fifty metres to the barn. She was not exactly sneaking around. If the Section??s archives were opened. and he was reading it with gathering astonishment. If Borgsj? was smart. I??m still learning this job.?? Inspector Bublanski listened to Prosecutor Ekstr?m without expression. Her own job was to keep tabs on the government departments and parliament on behalf of Millennium.C. way beyond their budget. I saw her twice soon after she was admitted. She saw that Erlander had noticed the same thing. At morning rounds. I have been given the authority to use my own judgement in giving you sight of material that is.M.00 on Friday evening Salander had a visit from Dr Jonasson.C. the journalist who was murdered.

?? ??The news editor is going to have something to say???? ??Don??t worry about Holm. Salander visited him only once in a blue moon.S. a black T-shirt.?? He nodded. A nurse reported on her blood pressure ?C 100/70 ?C while the doctor put his stethoscope to her chest and listened to her heartbeat. Berger held up her hands. I couldn??t swear to it. ??My name is Benny Svantesson. Dakota wrote. plus there??s a risk that he may be paralysed. But this time it??s not a matter of them sacrificing a pawn ?C it??ll be a matter of them actively needing to limit the damage to themselves personally. Cortez could not put his finger on what was wrong. that is. Lisbeth??s lawyer ?C you??ve met her I think ?C is my sister. My mother was Agneta Sofia Salander. he graduated as an engineer and had been part of the ??great economic leap forward?? in the ??70s. who was much more agreeable. He had to play his cards right. he showed up and needed a place to hide. Their affair was carried on with his assent.U. She went on to report how at one point during the rape he had wound a piece of clothing ?C her own T-shirt ?C around her neck and strangled her for such a long time that she temporarily lost consciousness.

When they got to the room they undressed. You all know that. thin girl had the physical strength for this sort of violent criminality. She considered calling Daniel Mogren. Some time after 4. Then she stumbled up the stairs to the fifth floor and pounded on her friend??s door. ??Evert ?? I spend nine hours every other day on a dialysis machine at the hospital. Then she looked up at him and answered every question in a perfectly matter-of-fact way. The national vehicle register had just informed him that the car he had seen at the top of Bellmansgatan with the blonde woman inside was owned by Monica Figuerola.?? ??I can well imagine.?? ??I know. I??m a doctor. intended for page five under national news. ??We also have Peter Teleborian. On the other hand. It was clear to Gullberg that the Section for Special Analysis could become a politically sensitive unit and the job description was expressly vague. and then Niedermann. Some time after 4.?? ??The chief of Secretariat is the only person who could make this sort of arrangement. The inquiries had concentrated on finding G?ransson??s car. Blomkvist waved from a corner table.?? ??To be honest with you. ??The police didn??t get hold of Bj?rck??s report by themselves ?? they got it from a journalist.

we will. It was when Paulsson arrived that things really started to go awry. Was it you who put duct tape on her wounds??? ??Yes. only when there is real danger. But the point of hiring Milton Security is so that you have an alternative to doing that.00. it??s not certain that anyone would believe him. could wander into a hospital with a bunch of flowers in one hand and a pistol in the other. ??I think you can. he had had a bad feeling about Lisbeth. I don??t think so.?? Salander looked at him with sudden alertness as soon as he mentioned the word ??psychiatrist??. It is forbidden to defame or slander another person. but have you ever considered a significantly simpler diagnosis??? ??Such as??? ??For example. ??If his plan was to go to Germany ?? Why would he drive to Stockholm? Shouldn??t he have made for Malm? and the bridge to Copenhagen. a matter of national security. and because she probably thought you had your hands full with the Salander story. She stared in frustration at the blinking screen. But I may stumble a bit before I really get going. ??So where do you come from??? ??Most recently from G?teborg.?? ??Which means???? ??First of all. He infiltrated the B. She was content to confine her dealings with him to the Net.

They were the ones who had taken care of Zalachenko. I??m not going to quote you or mention you even in anything I write. He was only sixty-eight.?? This time it was Jonasson??s turn to wait patiently for Salander??s reply. He was suddenly aware of Nurse Nicander saying something.?? Blomkvist hesitated before he said: ??Can I trust you??? ??How do you mean exactly??? ??Are you on Salander??s side or not? Can I believe that you want the best for her??? ??I??m her friend. and when??? ??What would you have done if we??d uncovered this story two months ago??? Berger looked intently at her friend. I can??t believe this would be something sanctioned by S?po.??s G?ransson. As far as I understand it. ??The pathologist??s final report arrived this morning. and had probably saved her life. He??s acting on an official request from S..se> with the subject line [Attn: Editor-in-Chief]. She heard the faint scraping of the crutches as he quietly retreated down the corridor. Andersson. Criminal Inspector Holmberg. He prescribed various medications and complete bedrest. We have an excellent film of how they break in and go through my papers.?? He knows that I have a photographic memory ?? and that I??m a hacker. We are both of us sorry that you were subjected to Paulsson??s rather primitive way of operating.?? Blomkvist headed for the bathroom.

That was how he lit upon Zalachenko. The woman had been shot in the head and there was no exit wound there either.?? She nodded. He froze when he saw another entry wound. that she had been shot three times.?? ??Do I have a say in this??? ??No. She felt unreasoning panic mixed with disbelief. She was alive. it was surely pretty obvious that Salander was insane. ??One of my colleagues recently went to see former Prime Minister F?lldin. ??Bjurman subjected his ward to some sort of sexual assault ???? Blomkvist shrugged and said nothing. I??ve been reading a lot about you. In her rear-view mirror she saw the man in the blue overalls turn into Br?nnkyrkagatan.I. and most of the decisions were already made by the time she arrived.??* ??I??m not Ebbe Carlsson. You??ll have to prepare him for the fact that probably I won??t be in a position to make a decision in the coming week. We have a younger talent who does some field work. had been shot dead. ??But I have something I??d like to try on you. I??m terribly.?? ??But those journals contain mostly scholarly papers and pure research. He reached into the pocket of his smock and took out the Sony Ericsson Z600 mobile.

P. Clinton sank silently on to the chair that was offered. could decide to put S?po??s top bosses under the microscope. But Jonasson also realized that isolation was an inhumane way of punishing people; in fact it bordered on torture. Dear Bertil.D. T.) So. Edklinth had told her: no rings in the water. and ordered a shish kebab with salad. you??ll have to apply to Prosecutor Jervas here in G?teborg. I don??t have time to give special treatment to specific articles. had to be added to the list: Peter Teleborian. He corresponded with Teleborian ?C but the correspondence in the form we??ve seen it is apparently a forgery. Salander was lying on her back on the floor when Nurse Marianne came in. The problem is that there isn??t anyone in the Section who can actually run it. There were still some holes that he would have to fill. That was ominous. When Salander logged off. Yes or no??? ??Do you really think you can get away with this? This paper comes out because I and the other cogs in the machinery work our backsides off. of course not. He spent fifteen minutes walking down the alleys and boulevards around Mosebacke before he headed for Fiskargatan 9. If the pinkos want to start a war with Denmark.

Given a few years she would probably be able to make a good anarchist out of Dr Anders Jonasson.?? ??O. Figuerola raised a hand. Just that???? ??Yes??? ??Sonja. I??m persuaded that things are more or less as you told us yesterday. That means that I work for you and not for anyone else. you are aware of the concept of damage control.?? Bublanski shrugged. If you arrange that they??re going to lose money. We??re Sweden??s last line of defence. After a while she took her Filofax from her briefcase and opened it to the notes section. they??ll say it??s confidential or that it has something to do with terrorism. Then she picked up the stylus and wrote the number combination 9277.K. It dawned on her that here he was calmly talking of the possibility of there being a threat to her life.?? He grunted some more and promised to scold her when she got home. But now you??re afraid of telling Micke. but the wires stretched in the direction of the pencil. He had never been arrested.000 Swedish citizens who were held to harbour undesirable political sympathies. traitor. He then described Zalachenko??s new identity and his criminal operations. make a note of his registration number.

but was assistant chief of the Secret State Police in the late ??50s and early ??60s. but that talent is completely worthless if you forget your job description. in the hall. He pushed up his glasses and scratched the back of his neck. In the area around the warehouse in Nykvarn we have so far found three graves.M. I??ve been considering bringing him in here.?? Cortez said.?? Janeryd said at last. but he supposed that since she had chosen such a striking tattoo. Von Rottinger is dead. The headache will eventually go away altogether.?? Holmberg said.47. this is a little embarrassing.?? He clicked on an image on his computer and turned the screen towards Faste. No.?? ??And so am I.?? ??Is that really so??? ??This story. She had chosen to ignore his existence. plump man in his fifties with a reddish goatee. Then there??s Anders Holm.?? ??Take your time.

and I can??t say no. advertising reps. Henry especially. She was content to confine her dealings with him to the Net. Jonasson spent ten minutes examining her.I.?? ??There is an alternative. I??m in. but he knew that it would be a bad idea to frighten off Waltari before they were in place. The police had carried out a search. opening the car door. You??re not going to win on your own. ??It would be a national catastrophe if the whole truth about Zalachenko were to leak out. It took him several minutes. At a stroke she eliminated all employees in distribution. ??I??ve a difficult assignment for you. I took it for granted that S?po knew what they were doing and had the appropriate routines and experience.?? The notion of being the object of public ridicule appeared at last to have an effect on Inspector Paulsson. but the principle is this: if we cut personnel. She held her breath until they were some distance from the conference room in which she was trapped. but Salander was simply so drugged and exhausted that she would fall asleep while Giannini was speaking. We have a man in the external organization. He would need crutches.

Convicted of insurance fraud in the ??70s. He opened them again and gave the policeman an angry glare. ??A constant guilty conscience. She??ll have to choose between selling her share of Millennium and leaving our board ?? or in the worst case. But what is worse ?? Because the prosecutor has isolated Lisbeth. with a damn near photographic memory. I have to be able to construct a completely new media image of you. In three years. Hardly an apprentice any longer. Shit. and he got hold of the Prosecutor General.Monday.B.?? said Berger. She could scarcely believe what she was reading. Criminal Inspector Jan Bublanski of the Violent Crimes Division in Stockholm.?? ??It??s not our case any more.?? ??Goddamnit. now retrained as a locksmith.00 she had her foot wrapped in a thick bandage. the journalist Dag Svensson. ??Fair enough. Modig went back to Bublanski??s office and knocked on the door jamb.

?? ??Oh. a freelance journalist in G?teborg. this is a fine mess we??ve landed in. Quite apart from her injuries. And I understood from Holger Palmgren that you had some information. Your task. Borgsj? was a good man. and invited him into a living room with spartan furnishings. The Section was not a criminal enterprise. you??re worryingly habit-forming. where she works ?? and anything else you can find. She was in a cold sweat.?? ??He??s not allowed visitors. I??m going to kiss every inch of your naked skin. ??Hi.10 this morning. however. In any normal situation she would have knocked on the door. ??In the first instance. since experience from far too many countries has shown that a political police department could easily transform itself into the principal threat to democracy.?? ??Thank you. and that did not have anything at all to do with the operations of Counter-Espionage.D.

whom they believed to be Jonas.P.?? ??How many in the Section are still here from my day??? ??Apart from me ?? only Otto Hallberg and Georg Nystr?m are still here. Blomkvist had devised a 24/7 roster.?? Erlander rubbed the back of his neck. ??He hung there for something like twenty-four hours before the hook gave way.?? ??Which means that if problems arise. He was satisfied with the progress of her physical rehabilitation. and for possession of an illegal weapon. and Jerker has known Prime Minister F?lldin since he was a child. She went into the room and closed the door. he had been head-hunted from outside the company ?C so he had once taken that very same first walk to his office. Landskrona. and if we make a smaller newspaper. he received help from your family until he was granted a residency permit. He stood for a moment in the sea of travellers. thin as a stick. but riddled with suspicion. He??ll be leading the Section??s operations department until the present crisis is over. He lifted the blanket that the Rescue Service had wrapped round her body and saw that the wounds to her hip and shoulder were bandaged with duct tape. which was one of the most beautiful places in the world. I??ve borrowed a room from the rabbi so we can speak undisturbed. Nieminen grimaced.

either by customs or by passport control.I. Dakota wrote. He had had the feeling before and had trained himself to interpret it as an alarm triggered by instinct. even in budget memoranda. Instead he booted up his iBook and plugged the cable into the broadband jack.?? said Bublanski.?? ??He was referring to the fact that I??m extremely good with computers. Sorry. He had bought bread. Instead of turning down towards S?dermalm she kept going straight to Kungsholmen. Do you have any idea where he might hide??? ??I am not aware of the circles he moves in. but she worked so furiously on her projects that she was encouraged to go home when the day was done. or nigger-lover.?? Beckman was completely O. I??m persuaded that things are more or less as you told us yesterday.M. The man is a tragic figure who evidently acted alone. some unknown lawyer appointed by the court would probably be worse. He opened a new Word document.?? ??O. They contained data. He tried again to call Gullberg.

He stifled the impulse to call and wake someone up at 3. and a key player in the Russians?? offensive against western Europe in the ??70s.??s assets were in the form of bonds that he could access. and she had not used the program since starting at S.C. to an apartment with the name Martinsson on the door.?? ??It is.?? Holm said. the news editor??? ??Yes.?? ??Nor do I. painkillers. five times before he was still. 4. This is my last week.U. ??You played your cards very well. as Mikael Blomkvist claimed from the very beginning. What am I doing here? She felt exhausted.I. The police in S?dert?lje have found two graves in the place that??s owned by Svavelsj? Motorcycle Club. Vinge??s view was not even controversial in the climate prevailing inside the Firm. I repeat. The storm had moved in over G?teborg.

?? Annika Giannini woke with a start. Dr Jonasson paused for a second. a week. Lisbeth ?C seriously ?C this battle is going to be decided in the mass media and not in the courtroom. ??Certainly.?? Edklinth nodded.S.?? Blomkvist gave her a wan smile. Gullberg??s only job was Zalachenko. A third goes to salaries. He was without doubt a most competent news editor. The problem was that she could scarcely sit upright in bed.?? ??And??? ??I don??t like the man. He considered himself a democrat. ??He??ll be home by 5.?? ??Car. One advantage of working at Constitutional Protection was that she had authority to access almost any police report in Sweden that might have any connection to racially or politically motivated crimes. Figuerola giggled. It??s Mikael. She sat on the edge of the bed and tried Cortez next and then Eriksson. In point of fact. She had chosen to ignore his existence.M.