blokvistspentmondaywashingdishesandcleaningtheapartent；thenwalkingdowntotheofficeandclearingouthisdesk。hehadnointentionofbreakingtieswiththeagazine；buthehadeventuallyconvincedbergerthathehadtobeseparatedfrotheagazineforatie。hewouldworkfrohoe。
theofficewasclosedforthechristasholidaysandallhiscolleaguesweregone。hewasweedingthroughtraysofpapersandpackingsincartonstotakeawaywhenthetelephonerang。
“i’lookingformikaelblokvist；”saidahopefulbutunfailiarvoiceontheline。
“speaking。”
“fiveeforbotheringyoulikethisunannounced；sotospeak。mynaeisdirchfrode。”blokvistnotedthenaeandthetie。“i’alawyer；andirepresentaclientwhowouldveryuchliketohaveatalkwithyou。”
“that’sfine；pleaseaskyourclienttocalle。”
“ieanthathewantstoeetwithyouinperson。”
“ok；akeanappointentandsendhiuptotheoffice。butyou’dbetterhurry；i’clearingoutydeskrightnow。”
“myclientwouldlikeyoutovisithiinhedestad—it’sonlythreehoursbytrain。”
blokvistpushedafilingtrayaside。theediahavetheabilitytoattractthecraziestpeopletocallinperfectlyabsurdtips。everynewsroointheworldgetsupdatesfroufologists；graphologists；scientologists；paranoiacs；everysortofconspiracytheorist。
blokvisthadoncelistenedtoalecturebythewriterkarlalvarnilssonattheabfhallontheanniversaryoftheurderofprieministerolofpale。thelecturewasserious；andintheaudiencewerelennartbodstr？andotherfriendsofpale’s。butasurprisingnuberofaateurinvestigatorshadturnedup。oneofthewasawoaninherfortieswhoduringtheqandahadtakentheprofferedicrophoneandthenloweredhervoicetoabarelyaudiblewhisper。thisaloneheraldedaninterestingdevelopent；andnobodywassurprisedwhenthewoanbeganbyclaiing；“iknohourderedolofpale。”frothestageitwassuggestedsoewhatironicallythatifthewoanhadthisrationthenitwouldbehelpfulifsheshareditwiththepaleinvestigationatonce。shehurriedtoreply：“ican’t；”shesaidsosoftlyitwasalostipossibletohear。“it’stoodangerous！”
blokvistwonderedwhetherthisfrodewasanotheroneofthetruth…sayerswhocouldrevealthesecretentalhospitalwheres？po；thesecuritypolice；ranexperientsonthoughtcontrol。
“idon’takehousecalls；”hesaid。
“ihopeicanconvinceyoutoakeanexception。myclientisovereighty；andforhiitwouldbetooexhaustingtoedowntostockhol。ifyouinsist；wecouldcertainlyarrangesoething；buttotellyouthetruth；itwouldbepreferableifyouwouldbesokind…”
“whoisyourclient？”
“apersonwhosenaeisuspectyouhaveheardinyourwork。henrikvanger。”
blokvistleanedbackinsurprise。henrikvanger—ofcoursehehadheardofhi。anindustrialistandforerheadofthevangerpanies；oncerenownedinthefieldsofsawills；ines；steel；etals；textiles。vangerhadbeenoneofthereallybigfishinhisday；withareputationforbeinganhonourable；old…fashionedpatriarchwhowouldnotbendinastrongwind。acornerstoneofswedishindustry；oneofthetwenty…pointstagsoftheoldschool；alongwithmattscarlgrenofmodoandhanswerthénattheoldelectrolux。thebackboneofindustryinthewelfarestate；etcetera。
butthevangerpanies；stillfaily…owned；hadbeenrackedinthepasttwenty…fiveyearsbyreanisations；stock…arketcrises；interestcrises；petitionfroasia；decliningexports；andothernuisanceswhichtakentogetherhadconsignedthenaevangertothebackwater。thepanywasruntodaybymartinvanger；whosenaeblokvistassociatedwithashort；plupanwiththickhairwhooasionallyflickeredpastonthetvscreen。hedidnotknowuchabouthi。henrikvangerhadbeenoutofthepictureforatleasttwentyyears。
“whydoeshenrikvangerwanttoeete？”
“i’vebeenherrvanger’slawyerforanyyears；buthewillhavetotellyouhiselfwhathewants。ontheotherhand；icansaythatherrvangerwouldliketodiscussapossiblejobwithyou。”
“job？idon’thavetheslightestintentionofgoingtoworkforthevangerpany。isitapresssecretaryyouneed？”
“notexactly。idon’tknowhowtoputitotherthantosaythatherrvangerisexceedinglyanxioustoeetyouandconsultwithyouonaprivateatter。”
“youcouldn’tgetoreequivocal；couldyou？”
“ibegyourpardonforthat。butisthereanypossibilityofconvincingyoutopayavisittohedestad？naturallywewillpayallyourexpensesandareasonablefee。”
“yourcallesatratheraninconvenienttie。ihavequitealottotakecareofand…isupposeyou’veseentheheadlinesabouteinthepastfewdays。”
“thewennerstr？affair？”frodechuckled。“yes；thatdidhaveacertainauseentvalue。buttotellyouthetruth；itwasthepublicitysurroundingthetrialthatcausedherrvangertotakenoticeofyou。hewantstoofferyouafreelanceassignent。i’onlyaessenger。whattheatterconcernsissoethingonlyhecanexplain。”
“thisisoneoftheoddercallsi’vehadinalongtie。letethinkaboutit。howcanireachyou？”
blokvistsatlookingatthedisorderonhisdesk。hecouldnotiaginewhatsortofjobvangerwouldwanttoofferhi；butthelawyerhadsueededinarousinghiscuriosity。
hegoogledthevangerpany。itightbeinthebackwatersbutitseeedtobeintheediaalostdaily。hesavedadozenpanyanalysesandthensearchedforfrode；andhenrikandmartinvanger。
martinvangerappeareddiligentinhiscapacityasceoofthevangercorporation。frodekeptalowprofile；hewasontheboardofthehedestadcountryclubandactiveintherotaryclub。henrikvangerappeared；withoneexception；onlyinarticlesgivingthebackgroundofthepany。thehedestadcourierhadpublishedatributetotheforeragnateonhiseightiethbirthdaytwoyearsago；anditincludedashortsketch。heputtogetherafolderoffiftypagesorso。thenfinallyheeptiedhisdesk；sealedthecartons；and；havingnoideawhetherhewouldeback；wenthoe。
salanderspentchristaseveatthe？ppelvikennursinghoeinupplands…v？sby。shehadbroughtpresents：abottleofeaudetoilettebydiorandanenglishfruitcakefro？hlénsdepartentstore。shedrankcoffeeasshewatchedtheforty…six…year…oldwoanwhowithclusyfingerswastryingtountietheknotontheribbon。salanderhadtendernessinhereyes；butthatthisstrangewoanwasherotherneverceasedtoaazeher。shecouldrecognisenottheslightestreseblanceinlooksornature。
herothergaveupthestruggleandlookedhelplesslyatthepackage。itwasnotoneofherbetterdays。salanderpushedacrossthescissorsthathadbeeninplainsightonthetableandherothersuddenlyseeedtowakeup。
“youustthinki’stupid。”
“no；mu。you’renotstupid。butlifeisunfair。”
“haveyouseenyoursister？”
“notinalongtie。”
“sheneveres。”
“iknow；mu。shedoesn’tseeeeither。”
“areyouworking？”
“yes。i’doingfine。”
“wheredoyoulive？idon’tevenknohereyoulive。”
“iliveinyouroldapartentonlundagatan。i’velivedthereforseveralyears。ihadtotakeoverthepayents。”
“inthesuertieaybeicaneandseeyou。”
“ofcourse。inthesuertie。”
herotheratlastgotthechristaspresentopenandsniffedatthearoa；enchanted。“thankyou；cailla；”shesaid。
“lisbeth。i’lisbeth。”
herotherlookedebarrassed。salandersaidthattheyshouldgotothetvroo。
blokvistspentthehourofthedisneyspecialonchristasevewithhisdaughterpernillaatthehoeofhisex…wife；monica；andhernewhusbandinsollentuna。afterdiscussionswithherothertheyhadagreedtogivepernillaanipod；anmp3playerhardlybiggerthanaatchboxwhichcouldstoreherhugecdcollection。
fatheranddaughterspentthetietogetherinherrooupstairs。pernilla’sparentsweredivorcedwhenshewasfive；andshehadhadanewfathersinceshewasseven。pernillacaetoseehiaboutonceaonthandhadweek…longholidayswithhiinsandhan。whentheyspenttietogethertheyusuallygotalongwell；butblokvisthadlethisdaughterdecidehowoftenshewantedtoseehi；theoresoafterherotherrearried。therehadbeenacoupleofyearsinherearlyteenswhencontactaloststopped；anditwasonlyinthepasttwoyearsthatsheseeedtowanttoseehioreoften。
shehadfollowedthetrialinthefirbeliefthatthingswerejustasherfathersaid：hewasinnocent；buthecouldnotproveit。
shetoldhiaboutasort…ofboyfriendwhowasinanotherclass；andshesurprisedhibysayingthatshehadjoinedachurch。blokvistrefrainedfroent。
hewasinvitedtostayfordinnerbuthewasexpectedwithhissisterandherfailyoutintheyuppiesuburbofst？ket。
thatorninghehadalsohadaninvitationtocelebratechristasevewiththebeckansinsaltsj？baden。hesaidno；butthankyou；certainthattherewasaliittobeckan’sindulgenceandquitesurethathehadnoabitiontofindoutwhatthatliitightbe。
insteadhewasknockingonthedoorwhereannikablokvist；nowannikagiannini；livedwithheritalian…bornhusbandandtheirtwochildren。withaplatoonofherhusband’srelatives；theywereabouttocarvethechristasha。duringdinnerheansweredquestionsaboutthetrialandreceiveduchwell…eaningandquiteuselessadvice。
theonlyonewhohadnothingtosayabouttheverdictwashissister；althoughshewastheonlylawyerintheroo。shehadworkedasclerkofadistrictcourtandasanassistantprosecutorforseveralyearsbeforesheandthreecolleaguesopenedalawfiroftheirownwithofficesonkungsholen。shespecialisedinfailylaw；andwithoutblokvisthavingtakenstockofitshappening；hislittlesisterbegantoappearinnewspapersasrepresentingbatteredorthreatenedwoen；andonpaneldiscussionsontvasafeinistandwoen’srightsadvocate。
ashewashelpingherpreparethecoffee；sheputahandonhisshoulderandaskedhihoashedoing。hetoldherhefeltaslowashehadinlife。
“getyourselfareallawyernexttie；”shesaid。
“itprobablywouldn’thavehelpedinthiscase。butwe’lltalkitallthewaythrough；sis；soeothertiewhenallthedustissettled。”
shegavehiahugandkissedhionthecheekbeforetheycarriedoutthechristascakeandthecoffee。thenblokvistexcusedhiselfandaskedtousethetelephoneinthekitchen。hecalledthelawyerinhedestadandcouldheartheretoothebuzzofvoicesinthebackground。
“merrychristas；”frodesaid。“dareihopeyouhaveadeupyourind？”
“ireallydon’thaveanyiediateplansandiacurioustoknowore。i’lleupthedayafterchristasifthatsuitsyou。”
“excellent；excellent。iaincrediblypleased。youwillfivee；i’vegotchildrenandgrandchildrenvisitingandcanhardlyhearyselfthink。canicallyoutoorrowtoagreeonatie？wherecanireachyou？”
blokvistregrettedhisdecisionbeforeevenheleftforhoe；butbythenitwastooawkwardtocallandcancel。soontheorningofdeceber26hewasonthetrainheadingnorth。hehadadriver’slicense；buthehadneverfelttheneedtoownacar。
frodewasright；itwasnotalongjourney。afteruppsalacaethestringofsallindustrialtownsalongthenorrlandcoast。hedestadwasoneofthesallerones；alittleorethananhournorthofg？vle。
onchristasnighttherehadbeenabigsnowstor；buttheskieshadnowclearedandtheairwasice…coldwhenblokvistalightedathedestad。herealisedatoncethathewasn’twearingenoughclothesforwinterinnorrland。frodeknehathelookedlikeandkindlycollectedhifrotheplatforandledhistraighttothewarthofhismercedes。inthecentreofhedestad；snowclearingwasinfullswing；andfrodewovehiscarefulwaythroughthenarrowstreets。highbanksofsnowpresentedapicturesquecontrasttostockhol。thetownseeedalostlikeanotherpla；yethewasonlyalittleorethanthreehoursfrosergelstindowntownstockhol。hestoleaglanceatthelawyer：anangularfacewithsparse；bristlywhitehairandthickglassesperchedonanipressivenose。
“firsttieinhedestad？”frodesaid。
blokvistnodded。
“it’sanoldindustrialtownwithaharbour。populationofonly24；000。butpeoplelikelivinghere。herrvangerlivesinhedeby—atthesouthernedgeofthetown。”
“doyouliveheretoo？”
“idonow。iwasborninsk？nedownsouth；butistartedworkingforvangerrightafterigraduatedin1962。i’acorporatelawyer；andovertheyearsherrvangerandibecaefriends。todayi’officiallyretired；andherrvangerisyonlyclient。he’sretiredtoo；ofcourse；anddoesn’tneedyservicesveryoften。”
“onlytoscrapeupjournalistswithruinedreputations。”
“don’tsellyourselfshort。you’renotthefirstooloseaatchagainsthans…erikwennerstr？。”
blokvistturnedtofrode；unsurehowtoreadthatreply。
“doesthisinvitationhaveanythingtodowithwennerstr？？”hesaid。
“no；”saidfrode。“butherrvangerisnotreotelyinwennerstr？’scircleoffriends；andhefollowedthetrialwithinterest。hewantstoeetyoutodiscussawhollydifferentatter。”
“whichyoudon’twanttotelleabout。”
“whichitisn’typlacetotellyouabout。wehavearrangeditsothatyoucanspendthenightatherrvanger’shouse。ifyouwouldrathernotdothat；wecanyouaroointhegrandhotelintown。”
“iightbetakingtheeveningtrainbacktostockhol。”
theroadintohedebywasstillunploughed；andfrodeanoeuvredthecardownfrozentyreruts。theoldtowncentreconsistedofhousesalongthegulfofbothnia；andaroundthelarger；oreodernhoes。thetownbeganontheainlandandspilledacrossabridgetoahillyisland。ontheainlandsideofthebridgestoodasall；whitestonechurch；andacrossthestreetglowedanold…fashionedneonsignthatreadsusanne’sbridgecaféandbakery。frodedroveaboutahundredyardsfartherandturnedleftontoanewlyshovelledcourtyardinfrontofastonebuilding。thefarhousewastoosalltobecalledaanor；butitwasconsiderablylargerthantherestofthehousesinthesettleent。thiswastheaster’sdoain。
“thisisthevangerfar；”frodesaid。“onceitwasfulloflifeandhubbub；buttodayonlyhenrikandahousekeeperlivethere。thereareplentyofguestroos。”
theygotout。frodepointednorth。
“traditionallythepersonwholeadsthevangerconcernliveshere；butmartinvangerwantedsoethingoreodern；sohebuilthishouseonthepointthere。”
blokvistlookedaroundandwonderedwhatinsaneipulsehehadsatisfiedbyaeptingfrode’sinvitation。hedecidedthatifhuanlypossiblehewouldreturntostockholthatevening。astonestairwayledtotheentry；butbeforetheyreacheditthedoorwasopened。heiediatelyrecognisedhenrikvangerfrothephotographpostedontheinter。
inthepicturestherehewasyounger；buthelookedsurprisinglyvigorousforeighty…two：awirybodywitharugged；weather…beatenfaceandthickgreyhairbedstraightback。heworeneatlypresseddarktrousers；awhiteshirt；andawell…wornbrowncasualjacket。hehadanarrowoustacheandthinsteel…riedglasses。
“i’henrikvanger；”hesaid。“thankyouforagreeingtovisite。”
“hello。itwasasurprisinginvitation。”
“einsidewhereit’swar。i’vearrangedaguestrooforyou。wouldyouliketofreshenup？we’llbehavingdinneralittlelater。andthisisannanygren；wholooksaftere。”
blokvistshookhandswithashort；stoutwoaninhersixties。shetookhiscoatandhungitinahallcupboard。sheofferedhiapairofslippersbecauseofthedraught。
mikaelthankedherandthenturnedtohenrikvanger。“i’notsurethatishallbestayingfordinner。itdependsonwhatthisgaeisallabout。”
vangerexchangedaglancewithfrode。therewasanunderstandingbetweenthetwoenthatblokvistcouldnotinterpret。
“ithinki’lltakethisopportunitytoleaveyoutwoalone；”saidfrode。“ihavetogohoeanddisciplihegrandkidsbeforetheytearthehousedown。”
heturnedtomikael。
“iliveontheright；justacrossthebridge。youcanwalkthereinfiveinutes；thethirdhousetowardsthewaterdownfrothebakery。ifyouneede；justtelephone。”
blokvistreachedintohisjacketpocketandturnedonataperecorder。hehadnoideawhatvangerwanted；butafterthepasttwelveonthsofhavocwithwennerstr？heneededapreciserecordofallstrangeourrencesanywherenearhi；andanunlooked…forinvitationtohedestadcaeintothatcategory。
vangerpattedfrodeontheshoulderinfarewellandclosedthefrontdoorbeforeturninghisattentiontoblokvist。
“i’llgetrighttothepointinthatcase。thisisnogae。iaskyoutolistentowhatihavetosayandthenakeupyourind。you’reajournalist；andiwanttogiveyouafreelanceassignent。annahasservedcoffeeupstairsinyoffice。”
theofficewasarectangleoforethan1；300squarefeet。onewallwasdoinatedbyafloor…to…ceilingshelfthirtyfeetlongcontainingarearkableassortentofliterature：biographies；history；businessandindustry；anda4binders。theswerearrangedinnoapparentorder。itlookedlikeashelfthatwasused。theoppositewallwasdoinatedbyadeskofdarkoak。onthewallbehindthedeskwasalargecollectionofpressedflowersinneateticulousrows。
throughthewindowinthegablethedeskhadaviewofth