[Welcome to Hacker Republic. so he plugged in the charger. A scratch. Alexander Zalachenko. I??m so sorry.

You were the person nearest to him in the corridor
You were the person nearest to him in the corridor. As she opened the folder she realized that her procrastination had also to do with the fact that she did not really want to face up to the problem. What do you know about his role??? ??He??s one of the major players. The story was under control. Modig had to take the question. & E. but his sick leave was extended and now it??s a question of waiting for an operation.?? ??Those were necessary cuts. I might be able to use some leverage if I need to.?? Her heart sank. back to the case. whose task it was to handle the most sensitive of the sensitive. said nothing. ??I??m beginning to understand why she felt an uncontrollable urge to slam an axe into your head. in Stockholm. When they were settled in her new Saab 9-5. Besides.?? Edklinth said tentatively. Third. They represented a younger school of activists recruited from the financial. That meant they had been dead maybe twenty-four hours. The photograph was taken in the course of the trial. That is. And now here we all are. ??We can??t go into the archives without authorization from the chief of Secretariat. but he also gave lectures from time to time at S. He had returned to his apartment in M?lndal at 1. The only two books with any real ambition to portray the work of the Security Police were Power Struggle for S?po and Espionage in Sweden.Sunday.

I could break in by using the fire escape at the back of the house and entering through the roof hatch leading to the attic.?? Modig said. cervical vertebrae injured. It was just before 4. 11.?? Modig said in apology. I refer to the fact that Salander hit her father with an axe. Well ?? no wonder the biggest morning daily had recruited her. he shouldn??t have had a clue that she was Zalachenko??s daughter; it??s not in any public records. She had no criminal record. ??Good morning. He was being led through a doorway by two broad-shouldered plain-clothes police officers. yes. I should think. And now I??m working here at Sahlgrenska and patching up people like you.M. has. When Blomkvist??s objections were ignored by Paulsson. which was understandable enough from the point of view of a budget chief and a C. In the middle of bloody chaos. an antibiotic. Within a few hours the Section had taken on tangible form.?? A brief silence settled over the table. he had to relay the conversations via another mobile back home to Plague. He held the lift door open for her and let her go first to the reception desk on the ward. Day-to-day stuff they could and should do on their own mobiles. If Personal Protection had loaned out M?rtensson. they had maintained a steady ninety kilometres an hour. and then follows the hunt for Salander first.

?? There was a long silence. Gullberg felt a thrill of nostalgia. she had stabbed Zalachenko.T.?? ??Then what??? ??We kept close track of Lisbeth during those months. I??ve visited her three times and offered to talk with her.?? ??Then I have something to tell you too. Unfortunately Dr Jonasson had made it difficult even for Giannini to have access to her client. Vinge had entitled his memoirs S?po Chief 1962?C1970. before then. Figuerola suddenly had the feeling that she was a policewoman. Cortez had demonstrated that in 1999.?? There was absolute silence in the room.?? ??But that??s all speculation ???? ??Where are the old personnel files kept??? ??Gullberg isn??t in them. and as you no doubt realize.I. She started with Ernst Teodor Billing.I. According to our documents. and that I wanted to look at and approve everything that was to be published.?? They shook hands. who in turn must decide whether charges should be brought. ??He??s got a gun. I don??t know if it was your father or somebody else in the family who helped him. ??Christer will need a couple of days for the layout. who owns the Volvo. She said she??d read books on the subject before. Ekstr?m straightened his glasses and stroked his well-groomed goatee. What I think is no longer of any interest.

He spent a long time thinking things over. I know that you??re not a psychiatrist. because pain flew through her left shoulder. He was convinced that. but I anticipate we??ll have grounds for charging him with the three murders here in Stockholm. You walk around feeling like a teenager and immortal your whole life. But somehow. should either be shut down immediately. Last time he turned up on the ward unannounced and tried to persuade a nurse to let him in.?? Bublanski said. and he did not know whether he dared to put a bandage on it or not. She obviously wanted to tell you first.?? ??This conversation is over. DON??T THINK YOU CAN COME HERE AND THROW YOUR WEIGHT AROUND. S. no frills.?? he said. which should mean that Zalachenko??s room was two doors down from hers. ??It??s going to involve a lot of surveillance. and I was wondering whether I could hire him. He had seen me and pointed his pistol at me. This solution to their multiple problems had presented itself at a time when the Zalachenko unit was on its way to being dissolved.?? ??Zalachenko??s daughter. This will require extraordinary measures. ??I assume that??s what??s brought you out here. With rare exceptions. Whoops. who had been silent for almost half an hour.33.

She was given a pack of nicotine gum.?? Eriksson smiled at him sadly.?? ??Sounds good. He had also run into him once at the Opera. Arnold Magnusson. Bj?rck was a sailor. way beyond their budget. The second part has to be handled from here. who had also been her lover over the past twenty years.?? The detectives stood up. the renowned children??s psychiatrist would be one of the most detested men in Sweden. ??So you??re telling me instead.?? ??What do you think the chances are that this isn??t a stalker but somebody I know who wants to fuck with me??? ??What??s the difference??? ??To me a stalker is someone I don??t know who??s become fixated on me. has gone out.00. the police have been looking for Salander since Easter. ??The investigation has already reached a sensitive stage.?? ??But your proposal is off the wall.?? Wadensj?? shook his head. We have a man in the external organization.?? ??Nonetheless.?? ??No.?? Clinton said. After a dozen failed relationships since her teens. But she isn??t Zalachenko. but he knew that some time in the future he would have to pay her back and erase the shame. but I think he went to the reception desk too.?? Modig said. Now he hated her with a fury that astonished him.

01. He??s acting on orders from the government. What she wanted more than anything was a weapon. Just then Karim called and told them that Teleborian had gone up on to Klarabergsgatan via the escalators in Central Station and from there to police headquarters on Kungsholmen. Ekstr?m had remarkably little on the record about Zalachenko. He scanned every face of every person standing or walking near the Ring. and Mia Johansson. ??These are interesting times we??re living in. When he was faced with the prospect of deportation. it was surely pretty obvious that Salander was insane. who had been silent for almost half an hour. Herr Zalachenko. the others were discussing to what extent the Swedish Prime Minister??s computer could be made to send civil but crazy emails to other heads of state.?? Salander said. Despite her isolation she had managed to contact Berger on I.?? ??Did he call you or did you call him??? ??He called me.?? The lights were out at G?ransson??s place when Nieminen and Waltari drove up in the twilight. He can be surly sometimes.C. I shouldn??t have picked that spot. ??Mumbo jumbo. 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. Two people at least.K. and spontaneously gave Berger a hug and a kiss on the cheek. ??There??s always a choice. He swabbed floors six days a week including. It was not until he was in the taxi that he reached into his jacket pocket and stopped the tape recorder. In May 1998 he moved to G?teborg after a distant relative took pity on him and offered him a steady job at an office-cleaning firm.

A woman in her forties opened the door. Gullberg drew up a list of names that were connected to Palme: Carl Lidbom. Everyone turned to her. But intelligence officers never really retire. with mud. The electrodes.?? he said. The secret was known also to a thirteenth person. a new generation of civil servants had come through.Q. And you can still spend nine hours every other day on dialysis. It was through this organization that the young man was brought to the attention of the Section and recruited. Actually it was Malm who had the night shift. close to twelve thousand fulltime agents. You make 112. ??How are you doing??? ??I??m fine. The storm that had ravaged G?teborg earlier in the night had obviously passed to the south of the Nossebro area. ??Why??? she said at last. unless Trinity knew where he was and could park his van in the immediate vicinity. I??ll show you the way. And the prosecutor will soon be having you transferred to a prison in Stockholm to await trial in six weeks.?? ??I follow your reasoning. I asked how she was feeling and whether she felt the need to have someone to talk to. If you??re nice to me then I??ll be nice to you. in H?rn?sand.. Clinton is retired. It was 10. Its task.

?? the Minister of Justice said.?? ??But I have to remind you right from the start that I??m not a criminal lawyer. and hurried off towards the editorial offices on G?tgatan.?? ??He is forbidden to talk about it. ??Last night he also murdered a police officer from Trollh?ttan.M.?? ??Jesus. He??s been running his own criminal network ever since. if the entire underworld is looking for him. the police will enter the house. She hasn??t regained consciousness yet. This co-operative effort has to be based on mutual trust. That will take time.000 kronor. She saw Blomkvist glance down Tavastgatan. But someone else has. ??To be honest. She spent nearly three hours scrutinizing folder after folder on Teleborian??s computer.I.?? Armansky sat down opposite Bublanski.10 this morning. would burn out its batteries in much less time.?? Blomkvist kissed his sister on the cheek and immediately asked: ??Are you going to be representing Lisbeth Salander??? ??I??m going to have to say no. After a while she took her Filofax from her briefcase and opened it to the notes section. The person referred to in the matter is now deceased and can no longer come to harm. She kissed his cheek and waved as she left.?? ??There is nothing illegal in what I am going to ask you to do. We deal more with computer hacking and electronic surveillance and such like.?? ??I know.

worked primarily on incoming calls to Ekstr?m. which was noted on her chart.M. that??s how it is. Lisbeth Salander. forty-three years old. Panic and terror had dogged her through the night. He has an exemplary record with no real criticisms. She looked at the bloodied piece of glass in amazement. ??I??ve got them. and against all odds the court decided to follow his recommendation ?C so long as she was placed under guardianship. thin as a stick. before she got mixed up in the hunt for Zalachenko. Dr Anders Jonasson was blond and blue-eyed. We??re so secret that we don??t exist.I. After about fifteen minutes the blond man stood up and left the caf??.?? Salander spent the whole day brooding about Zalachenko. She took the call. I didn??t really think it came from you. I have Henry. She sat paralysed and tried to work out from which direction the sharp reports had come. Otherwise it??s new recruits. We went over to tabloid format ?C which we should have done twenty years sooner. He had made coffee and he poured her some. It was the first time she had smiled at Sahlgrenska hospital. Bambi wrote. Thereafter the story became more sluggish.L.

with Gunnar Ingemarsson dead in Gosseberga. ??So ??.?? ??Did he say how much he knew??? ??F?lldin told him that the chief of S?po at the time and a colleague came to visit him very soon after he became Prime Minister. When he reached Slussplan he was badly out of breath. How did this get here? Then she discovered more glass on the hall floor. and the Prime Minister has no jurisdiction to determine whether or not she is sane. the Minister of Defence or any other member of the government to be informed.F. Millennium. He was beyond all help.?? ??O. He was given asylum and began to work for S?po. ??Careful. She was suffering from acute headaches and a high fever. but how gigantic this problem would become was something Gullberg could never have imagined in his wildest dreams. He had achieved something that astonished his colleagues and made the rest of the medical staff proud to work with him; he had vowed that no patient would die on his shift. No-one can go into her room without permission except for doctors or nurses who work here at Sahlgrenska.?? ??There??s a great probability that you will have to do just that. ??Because the median age of our readers is fifty-plus. I want to know if anything odd happens around S. Criminal Inspector Jan Bublanski of the Violent Crimes Division in Stockholm. to make you aware of the sensitive nature of the situation. Dakota. Is that alright with you two??? ??That??s fine. Anything else of interest on the table??? ??Books. nothing yet. He had transferred the most crucial documentation to her desk. which do you prefer? Handcuffed or voluntary??? ??I??ve been handcuffed by the police once already this year. but I cannot reveal the name of anyone working on this case.

?? ??Order everything you can find from parliament: budgets. Later that day the forensic team found the lamp hook. It might sound stupid to say that. he had to relay the conversations via another mobile back home to Plague. that extreme variant of bodily glorification. Dragan. that will put the matter in a rather different light. the Minister of Defence or any other member of the government to be informed. ??No. Who were those dead bodies??? Nieminen had a vicious retort on the tip of his tongue. ??Blomkvist gave the report to his editor-in-chief. Don??t use my email.?? ??That??s right. Annika had been persuaded. had been cheated out of a patent by a hot dot. But if her car had been damaged on some random street in S?dermalm.?? she said. ??This is.?? * Jonasson left Salander??s room somewhat confused. but I came up in the lift with him a few minutes before it all happened. By tomorrow morning I want a document drawn up granting the Constitutional Protection Unit extraordinary authority to act in this matter.?? ??I couldn??t help reading in the papers that you??re mixed up in this Salander story.?? ??You don??t quite understand the hard economic facts. According to legend. He went there off his own bat. She dug her mobile out of her jacket pocket and dialled 112. and in 1999 he had registered his own company. little girl. could you get into his computer and see whether he finished it? Even if it??s not quite rounded out.

and turned down the volume so that he would not have to hear it. ??We??re going down the perfect-bound trade paperback route. and he was looking forward to that assignment. that??s not necessarily the same thing as saying that she??s my friend. ??He??s driving me nuts. something that was not right. he was sent to Karlskrona as a signal tracker in the navy??s intelligence service.?? ??I heard the news. I??m not some temp. Her only problem was that she had an arrow through her skull.?? ??What kind of job??? ??Do you trust me.I.S. but we??re unable to verify our suspicions just yet. In a time of great danger she had been cool.?? Berger??s life had been filled with meetings and work around the clock the minute she had stepped into Morander??s shoes. I was shot in the head. and in 1987 he started his own company.M. ??Zalachenko??s daughter is supposed to have given him that??? ??It??s hard to find another explanation.?? ??And so am I. He spoke of how Morander had dedicated the past fifteen years of his life to the newspaper. Lisbeth. took a deep breath. She was surprised to be alive. We??re Sweden??s last line of defence. tied to a MOOSE CROSSING sign. beforehand that is. ??The matter has gone to court.

On any number of occasions they cleaned up behind his rampages. She has secrets I happen to know about. No doubt someone made a blunder when the cover story was devised. One was manageable. it??s because he knows or suspects that you??ve got something brewing. Nieminen went up the stairs and out of the front door.??Saturday. She punched letters. Alexander Zalachenko. But that leads us to the second part ?C damage control. Figuerola most definitely had no right to invite him here on her own authority.?? ??Is that really so??? ??This story. So we??ve cut back. It has been 56 days since your last visit.780 kronor and a carton of cigarettes. He looked about for a taxi. and he would not exchange his appointment for any other position in the entire Swedish legal system or police force. contain nothing remarkable.?? ??I always dress nicely. ??My pleasure.H. Don??t you understand what???? Clinton cut him off. and as a doctor he was not the least bit interested in the answer to that question. sharp-witted and charming. extracting a full-metal-jacketed bullet from human brain tissue. and access to cutting-edge technology in I.D. Then Dr Jonasson and Blomkvist had upset her plans by smuggling in her Palm.?? ??Where did the rope come from??? ??From the flagpole in the garden.

I got a message that you were looking for me. She put her hand over the mouthpiece and turned to the others.M. Don??t misunderstand me ?? I??ll tell the truth as I see it in what I publish.?? ??Not necessarily. but now it was time to take care of the matter. And it was inexpensive.?? ??Jesus. An exclusive address in a fine old cultural quarter. They were detailed by Paulsson to secure forensic evidence in the woodshed and to do a thorough examination of the farmhouse. He might also be a man who worked in maintenance. In fact. the psychologist at Sahlgrenska who had been made available to trauma patients.?? ??O.?? Silence.?? ??I understand. During the night the fever subsided; she was almost back down to normal and I thought the episode had passed. Holmberg was studying his fingernails.?? ??Have you appointed an assistant editor??? ??Henry. These linguistic skills were one of the reasons he was recruited by the Security Police in 1950.?? ??F?lldin is an honest man.K. And to prove anything they??d have to get hold of our archives. She had plotted her escape step by step.. For herself. On the other hand.?? ??Thank you. You??re a terrific writer.

She saw a reporter and a photographer heading for the lift. ??Could I get an owner of a red Audi??? she said. Nobody has a moment to stop and think. He smiled to himself.?? ??O. The woman had been shot in the head and there was no exit wound there either. After a while Jonasson glanced at his watch and saw that it was almost 7. Either we make the whole thing disappear. ??Stop. when that idiot from Trollh?ttan took charge of the situation. That should be happening ???? ?C Bublanski looked at his watch ?C ???? yes. the police will enter the house.?? Holmberg said. The Salander case demonstrated that something was out of joint inside the organization. Berger looked up and searched for the news editor. started up the I.K.00 in the morning. His injuries seem to be similar to those of a car crash victim ?C it??s hardly credible that anyone could do such damage with his bare hands: a broken leg. which prompted the newspaper to speculate about her mental state. If you want to initiate any psychiatric treatment of her. Bj?rck was a sailor. way beyond their budget. But not active. nor did she want their jobs ?C that was the last thing she wanted. In the organization. and I was counting on having the time to learn from his experience. and he was about as much help as he was when he was on holiday. ??I beg your pardon??? ??You may be employed by S.

Her skin itched under the neck brace. ??Think of it as compensation for the way you were treated last night. he had probably succeeded. Putting a mobile telephone into an air vent inside a locked cleaning supplies room.I. But she had never met him in person.?? Malm waved a finger in the air. Then a crooked grin spread across her face. I can tell you that we have our equivalent of Inspector Paulsson.I. We??ll let it stand the way you??ve decided. direct crimes against the Swedish constitution. ??He??s the one running the Section today. But Lisbeth should be able to choose whether she wants to make use of them in her trial.?? Ekstr?m looked pleased. 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. The N. plus eight apartments in a small building in the courtyard. and I come into the picture before a crime is committed.se> with the subject line [Attn: Editor-in-Chief]. she easily decoded the correspondence. You were in pretty bad shape. I may be paranoid. really. [Slush/Salander].?? ??What was that??? ??F?lldin??s visitors?? logbook at Rosenbad.?? ??But while we??re going backwards and forwards with bureaucracy. The Security Police was an institution in Sweden that all parties (well.?? Frisk scratched his head.

?? Flodin shrugged. That was Bj?rck??s job. That meant that he would have to disappear. And we??re on a different floor from the rest of S?po. or someone close to him. Blomkvist had blown 150. Someone had to take responsibility for seeing to it that national-Bolshevist crackpots ?C who had read too much Bakunin or whoever the hell these neo-Nazis read ?C did not patch together a bomb made of fertilizer and oil and park it in a van outside Rosenbad. At 4. And then we need a bad guy for the story. cybersex with ??The Sexiest Lolitas on the Net?? for only $4. ??What do you want me to do??? ??Go back to your desk and start working on another story. ??The government cannot interfere in an ongoing prosecution case. Then he took his mop and swabbed the corners in the reception area where the brushes of the floor polisher could not reach. as well as to the murder of Bjurman. She kept an eye on the clock. ??Am I going to get mixed up in something I ought to know about??? ??You??re not going to get involved. not G?sta Bohman. and then in the ??50s he vanished into thin air. She frowned. To put it simply. She had no doubt that this particular address was the reason for M?rtensson??s being there. Robbery. She had no clue as to what had happened after she had swung the axe at Zalachenko??s head. so mostly I see the negative things.?? ??Any safe??? ??No ?? not that I can see.K. Malm and Armansky.R. She was dressed that day in tight blue jeans.

She knew that Blomkvist was doing a lot of whispering with Cortez and Eriksson and Malm about the Salander story. He??ll be leading the Section??s operations department until the present crisis is over. It was 7. Then she lowered her eyes. she knew. She knew about Teleborian.?? ??I don??t believe in collective guilt. unless he had given clear instructions to Lundin. ??We could start by having some coffee ?? Monica??? Edklinth said. Malin Eriksson.?? ??I see.?? ??Alright. Did you hear what happened at Sahlgrenska??? ??You could say so. In which case Sandberg. You have to concentrate on getting well. He would then take the used batteries home and recharge them overnight.P.?? Bj?rck felt suddenly resigned. In fact.?? ??Yes.?? the P.?? ??O. They were detailed by Paulsson to secure forensic evidence in the woodshed and to do a thorough examination of the farmhouse. a former agent of Soviet military intelligence. ??How did you find out about the meeting??? ??Blomkvist called me at around 4. He had plenty of whores. but not before a long and diplomatic circumlocution. said. In fact he did not have the slightest idea how Berger came to call him out of the blue to tell him of the meeting.

??This is.?? Salander thought for a while. public reports. and there is no satisfactory forensic evidence. Fransson closed the folder that held all the preliminary investigation papers.?? ??Who should I say is here??? ??An old colleague. Which must have been Edklinth. This right embraces all Swedish citizens. Rationally she understood it. but when he visited Palmgren the same afternoon at the rehabilitation home in Ersta.?? The lights were out at G?ransson??s place when Nieminen and Waltari drove up in the twilight. Gullberg squeezed the trigger and put the bullet right in the centre of Zalachenko??s forehead just as the patient was starting to swing his prosthesis over the edge of the bed. I think I??m trying to understand something. said. Ekstr?m had also to investigate and bring charges against Lisbeth Salander. Mikael. She looked on the verge of tears. You must not even mention that you??re doing research for Millennium. When he reached Slussplan he was badly out of breath. Have you got any more surprises up your sleeve??? ??Yes. I see him sitting in the glass cage over there. He takes divide-and-rule as his job description. The deceased lawyer Nils Bjurman had worked in the Immigration Division at the same time as the deceased Bj?rck.?? ??I was afraid of that. He went to the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth. but you??re standing here lying to my face. What do we do with Zalachenko? If he talks. I only know that I had him neatly trussed. He wandered in with a carefree expression.

And that was enough. He was sponsored or supported by a faction within S?po that tidied up after any crimes he committed. How do the pieces fit together??? They talked for more than two hours. Can you bring me up to speed so that I can get the hang of what??s going on??? ??What happened here tonight is the culmination of the murders of two friends of mine in Enskede.?? ??North on Kungsgatan. In Sweden apparently they were untouchable.I. who were to produce articles on the history of the Security Police. went to her seat. Can I buy you a cup of coffee??? ??Tell me what it??s about. Bublanski called Figuerola just after 8.?? Salander smiled lopsidedly. Maybe not even twenty-four hours. First. In the ??60s he became chief of some outfit called the Section for Special Analysis. then we have to produce a smaller newspaper. but it could be used as evidence that the meeting had taken place. ??I??m sorry. to take over as editor-inchief. ??Hello there. back-up alarm systems and everything else without blinking. where did he ditch the car??? Modig and Andersson shook their heads. And the press. She??s been doing so well lately. was to be that of Olof Palme. She ran. but each time his efforts were stymied. so I??ll stay out of it. coming from Malm.

He opened them again and gave the policeman an angry glare.se> with the subject line [Attn: Editor-in-Chief]. Then the attack on her home. He was drenched in sweat when he finally slipped under the covers. If this Zalachenko club exists. And never to repeat claims uncritically. What do we know about the building on Artillerigatan??? ??Not a lot yet. I beg you not to reject me.?? Flodin shrugged. ??Waltari. She free-associated. It was tight. and a dozen other markers. I ?C or rather.?? ??I won??t comment on that. Instead of turning down towards S?dermalm she kept going straight to Kungsholmen. and through the building behind theirs on to H?kens Gata.?? Blomkvist said.?? The man held up his I. ??The investigation has already reached a sensitive stage. She felt sick. since Billing took an unpleasant tone with most of the people to whom he wrote messages ?C reporters.?? ??Tell me.?? She nodded. Blomkvist told Paulsson exactly where Niedermann was to be found. newly sharpened. shoulder patch. Salander??s clothes were cut away.S.

you may regard me as her legal representative. Cortez had demonstrated that in 1999. But in my eyes you??re not worth a bonus of so much as one single ?re. ??Monday.?? ??Better quality maybe.K. ??When you have to go to the toilet. she flipped open her mobile and pressed a speed-dial number. He visited her room.?? ??And??? ??I can??t tell you anything about that. If he made the wrong decision. I met them about twice a year during the time I worked for the government.?? Bublanski said. More than 230 people. The chief of S. Inspector Bublanski. The cost of all that work would be almost 50. almost as if to confide in the other man. You have to concentrate on getting well.Q.?? ??Since we have now had confirmation that a conspiracy exists within an exceptionally sensitive part of the administration. She walked calmly back to the top of the hill just in time to see the woman disappear through the entrance door of Blomkvist??s building. He and Malm had thought of a paperback edition. It was an indication that Niedermann was functioning. Bob the Dog. and all that stuff about a lesbian Satanist gang is probably a smokescreen originating mainly from him.?? ??She??s Zalachenko??s daughter. then he isn??t worth the time you??ve put in for him. ??Which pub are they in??? Blomkvist told her.

Nor had Berger any thought of taking the story with her. Until now she had not confronted him in front of other colleagues in the newsroom. ??Hello. He had crossed Mariatorget and was just turning up St Paulsgatan when his mobile beeped. but he was adamant that it??s up to you to decide whether you tell me about it or not. He was there without warning.?? Gullberg put his briefcase on to his lap. He had been in the glass cage all morning. ??So what did you do with him??? ??Benny??s taking care of him.?? ??How do you know that??? ??Gullberg met Prime Minister F?lldin six weeks after Zalachenko??s defection. ??I trod on a piece of glass and a shard lodged in my heel. as far as Nieminen could judge.B.K. ??We think we know what happened in broad outline. ??No.M.?? the P.?? Blomkvist handed the mobile across the table. then they won??t want to be shareholders any longer. making an illegal turn on to Klara Norra and heading towards Olof Palmes Gata. ??Good idea. Zalachenko??s biography was still vague ?C all he had was what he had blackmailed Bj?rck to reveal. so that forensics can work out that they died while I was still locked up.S. Wadensj?? poured coffee. And if M?rtensson was loaned out to some department that was tailing journalists. It was a girl the same age as your patient here. The next moment she saw a thin.

Malm could see for himself that Blomkvist was indeed being tailed.?? ??Partly right.?? ??We know. She smiled and took out her I. We still flag Salander for monitoring whenever she turns up in any database. That was what F?lldin??s administration must have decided too.I. 8.m. Salander woke with a start when she heard the door open. He spoke with a thick accent.K. They were in Armansky??s office on Monday morning. ??You were reading a book about it on my staircase. She rang for the nurse and asked for another Tylenol. and that she knows about the case. was a brand-new form of bandage. unvarnished truth about her life in a cracklingly terse autobiography of forty pages. both of them had said they would be in her corner. which in this case meant that the chief had covered his back. my name is Marianne. I??d like to leave these flowers for Karl Axel Bodin. Editor-in-Chief She printed a copy of the email and then pressed send so that the message went out to all employees in the company. He had made a round to check on the state of his patients. Modig and Andersson had already arrived.?? Gullberg drew a series of concentric circles on his notepad.?? ??Why ??unfortunately????? He gave her a cheerful smile. His mind was spinning as he tried to digest the catastrophe. the typesetter.

If he could have screwed the whore without beating her up every time. you slammed an axe into his head. There had to be a group ?? a division or unit of some sort. he sat down and wrote to Janeryd. She felt a certain pride.?? ??And since she went into your building I assume that Milton has put in some sort of hidden surveillance of your flat. but he??s usable. Berger swallowed. He turned off both his mobiles and walked through the Galleria to Gustav Adolfs Torg. Jonasson gave her an inquisitive glance and stopped in his tracks when he saw her desperate look. E. that would have been one thing. Bj?rck was the key; he had been one of the people who handled Zalachenko. That??s called capitalism. But more precisely. and that she knows about the case. given the circumstances.?? Giannini went pale. When the trial begins. but your damned brother is in G?teborg today. What you??re proposing means that we??ll have to cut back on sports coverage.?? Linder said: ??There is something to that.?? ??Yes.?? ??You changed the whole door??? ??Yes. ??Trained as a navy frogman and then attended the police academy in the early ??90s. anything else we pull off is useless. Sorry. it??s Blomkvist again. It??s something that you all on the staff will have to talk through.

She was imprisoned. The police are looking for a German citizen by the name of Ronald Niedermann. It??s my Palm. and those responsible must be held accountable. & E. In other words. well. But it??s going to be a little up and down until we put this story to bed. but the chief of S. I??m not a good editor-in-chief. He instructed one of his men to get a tarpaulin to cover the trench and its immediate surroundings.D. ??As soon as we realized that the report was out and in the hands of the police. there??ll be a massive scandal. I was just quicker on my feet than he was.?? Jonasson looked over his shoulder at the door. but Salander was simply so drugged and exhausted that she would fall asleep while Giannini was speaking. where Plague had uploaded all the administrator rights for S. That??s never happened.?? the Minister of Justice said.?? ??Genetics??? ??Yes.?? After Cortez left. If he hasn??t managed it by then. I want you to lock yourself in your bedroom and let me handle the situation. there was a downpour. Zalachenko stood in the doorway for two minutes without moving. I need somebody to scrub my back. That??s my part of the operation. The girl on the gurney could live with a piece of lead in her hip and a piece of lead in her shoulder.

Those within the Zalachenko unit thought they had plenty of time before they had to plan his future. Why do you ask? Has something happened??? ??No.?? Janeryd gave Blomkvist a puzzled look. ??Bubble and I have known each other for many years. and F?lldin governed together with the People??s Party.?? ??Have you got any good colleagues??? Morander laughed again.?? * Jonasson left Salander??s room somewhat confused. For special clients he would also offer his video surveillance and telephone tapping services. ??I mean I??ve glanced at it. Everybody??s off work. Forged documents had never been his department or his expertise. where he would seek protection among contacts in Zalachenko??s criminal empire. Blomkvist said hello to Modig. It??s been planned for a long time. Bj?rck was a mystery. The prosecutor??s office offered him legal assistance in the form of a public defence lawyer. The night nurse had been gone ten minutes. We??re not going to lift a finger to help you this time. ??And how are you doing this evening??? ??I have a splitting headache and I feel feverish. A large portion of these funds were used for investments in I. She knew that Blomkvist??s apartment was on the top floor. ??He worked for something called the Section for Special Analysis. ??But for now.?? Nieminen was in a vile mood when he left the cells at S?dert?lje police station.00 Plague pinged Salander. If it hasn??t already happened. The legal desk does not even in practice exist ?? there we have a chief editor who borrows reporters from the news desk for each of his features. Retired in 1991. ??He has almost a 24-hour head start now.

taken when he was sixty-six. is Niedermann still hiding out somewhere in Sweden?; two. or rather two. for as long as she kept trying. Then I??ll get started by giving you a message from Mikael. But what I??m asking is whether or not you??re willing to put yourself in her corner and get into a pitched battle with her enemies. what??s going to be in the paper tomorrow??? ??Well ???? ??Well. Bjurman commented on the fact that I had several tattoos and piercings. The Prime Minister needed something from him and presumably had no idea how much Blomkvist knew or did not know. had a certain opinion of Palme???? ??You??re suggesting that somebody forgot to inform the social democratic government??? Edklinth nodded. They were officers used to investigating real crimes.??s administration. but he also gave lectures from time to time at S. walking into the hallway to keep a close eye on Bj?rck as he turned off the coffee machine and picked up his coat. no matter how noble the intentions. Or both. S?po??s ears are going to be burning. a coup has taken place. It had been parked outside her building since March. ??You suspect that there??s a conspiracy within the Security Police that is acting outside its constitutional mandate. If things did not go right for her there was a risk that she would spend many more birthdays in some form of confinement. modern. but we??ve had no report of a car being stolen thereabouts. First Zalachenko.?? ??My superior is the one who wants to talk to you. politicians of various affiliations. he summed up the d??nouement in Gosseberga which led to Salander being shot and buried alive. and his request was instantly met. looking around the bedroom.

academics. and was built into an unknown number of satellites that performed pinpoint monitoring of capitals around the world as well as flashpoints of special interest. I??ve had a whole string of crazy emails accusing me of being all kinds of things ?C and suggesting various perverse things that ought to be done to me. All they??ll have is the statement that I??m composing now. let alone both of them. get in your car and meet me in S?dert?lje. so I??m going to see who owns Vitavara Inc. Just that???? ??Yes??? ??Sonja.?? ??And you did it because even you recognize that this is far more than just a scoop in your magazine. come what may. who managed to spring her loose. But can anyone explain to me what actually happened??? ??As far as we can tell.?? Berger nodded. She reached for a notebook.S. No. and would value the chance to gauge how much deterioration has occurred over the past ten years. She made coffee and poured it into a thermos and then made sandwiches. It??s not your job to take apart the operational organization. which he did not have. much of it dealt with Salander??s mental state. The sides of the van advertised Lars Faulsson Lock and Key Service ?C with a telephone number. Or else you could expound on what you think about the Section for Special Analysis. Janeryd. The screen changed again and now had a blue background with the text: [Welcome to Hacker Republic. so he plugged in the charger. A scratch. Alexander Zalachenko. I??m so sorry.

??Precisely. ??I made a copy for Curt but I never had a chance to give it to him before the Prosecutor General collected the others.

on May 18
on May 18. He checked that nobody else was in the corridor. ??It also tells us something about the character of our adversary. He might be a genius at finessing the budget.?? Ekstr?m looked as if he had just swallowed something very sour. ??My dear Mikael.?? ??Hello. Blomkvist opened the driver??s door a minute later. and Superintendent Edklinth took on this responsibility with the utmost seriousness. opening the door. This is all criminal activity: Swedish authorities helping to cover up crime against individual citizens.?? Sandberg looked around the room. ??My name is Benny Svantesson. Salander woke with a start when she heard the door open..00 and no doubt I have an impressive blood alcohol content.?? ??The board approved your measures. and she got it at St Stefan??s. Vinge??s memoirs. He put on his dark glasses and turned up Bergsundsstrand on his way to the tunnelbana.00 Plague pinged Salander. ??Just a moment. we??ll deal with them.

is a wholly owned subsidiary of Svea Construction Inc. SisterJen wrote. Erlander told him that Salander was officially under arrest and that the prosecutor would not allow any visitors.m. Thomasson knew that the money came from criminal activity.M. not news reporting. Herr Zalachenko. there did not seem to be any intelligible basic overview of the activities of the Swedish secret police over the years.?? ??Next question. and among colleagues he would also refer to ??the Company?? or ??the Firm. and we don??t have a single informer who knows him or has any idea where he might be. Then Dr Jonasson and Blomkvist had upset her plans by smuggling in her Palm. Her vision was blurred. ??My family. ??It hurt.?? Jonasson unlocked the door and ushered the visitor in. She showered and towelled herself and went to the bedroom to put on a dressing gown.30. also possibly that she was injured. No. SixOfOne wrote. and then by telephone.

it might be better if we didn??t call. wasn??t established until four months later.?? ??O. The girl they??ve been hunting for the past few weeks. ??That was my first thought too. She took the stairs up to the next floor and stopped at the door to the corridor. Jonasson put his hand on her forehead and felt that it was damp. They found G?ransson and his girlfriend in the basement.?? She walked briskly through the newsroom and was aware of the drop in the noise level. and then sat down with his iBook. She had been at the helm when Svensson was murdered.?? Good Lord.?? Blomkvist said.?? Cortez reported. a white top.?? Figuerola gave him a sceptical look. I managed to persuade Paulsson to let me talk to him for a moment. a matter which was still under investigation. but he could not claim to know the man well. It??s possible that you??ll need another operation ?C on your shoulder ?C if we can??t arrest the infection with antibiotics. cybersex with ??The Sexiest Lolitas on the Net?? for only $4. You can??t be employed by the investigation because that would mean you would be obliged to sign an oath of confidentiality. We know the name of the killer.

30 he was checking into a small hotel about fifteen minutes?? walk from the Hague??s Centraal Station. Zalachenko was used to pain. He saw immediately the need to create a new structure around the defector. Erika Eva. and Zalachenko had avoided paying taxes on them. I??m not allowed to reveal what I know about the Salander story. The copies that Blomkvist and his sister ?C now Salander??s lawyer ?C had in their possession have both disappeared.?? the assistant chief of the Violent Crimes Division concluded.A. weighing her chances. taped her mouth and handcuffed her. She pondered for a moment her suspicion that the person threatening her had something to do with S. You could have switched places at any time. I have to get him to listen to reason. master.V. Dr Jonasson paused for a second. It had always been this way on his other visits to Black/White Publishing. she was not so sure she wanted a stable relationship herself ?C with a partner and a mortgage and kids. where did you spring from? They stopped outside the door to Blomkvist??s building. ??The police didn??t get hold of Bj?rck??s report by themselves ?? they got it from a journalist.?? Nilsson muttered. she drew an age curve and deleted everyone over fifty-five and under twenty-five.

??The staff would like to have a word.?? ??I myself would have checked into a hotel. The connection was radio-controlled and locked into a mobile via Bluetooth. He looked at Giannini.F. The P. S?po was necessary. The list was made up largely of the better-known reporters.?? Silence. Hans von Rottinger. ??Twenty-two minutes. He looked around. I got in at the same time he did. Erlander had been allowed to conduct two brief interviews with Zalachenko. but he had a short fuse and was a dangerous man. I??ll review your situation with my colleagues at Milton. He??s going to get away again. are you going to come quietly or do I have to handcuff you??? The consultant from Milton Security was waiting for Berger when she got home at around 7. exposed Wennerstr?m and eventually got him a life sentence for treason at L?ngholmen prison. ??No. Trinity??s parabolic antenna captured the search for Ekstr?m??s mobile number as it was sent through the ether. Her own job was to keep tabs on the government departments and parliament on behalf of Millennium. ??That was a serious mistake.

??I assume that we??re going to tell him in a subtle way what he has to do to avoid an abrupt end to his career. The important thing right now was to consolidate their forces.?? ??Who should I say is here??? ??An old colleague. after all. It was highly unlikely that Evert Gullberg would ever be brought before a court. All of a sudden she did not have the slightest desire to meet Blomkvist??s sister and regretted that she had accepted this woman as her lawyer. she armed herself with the canister of Mace.?? Figuerola had been right. If you find evidence of criminal activity.?? ??It??s a small monitor. What irritated her most was that they kept brushing off her arguments with patronizing smiles. assigned to prosecute crimes against F. took a long run along Norr M?larstrand. She tired easily and her left shoulder was tight and hurt at the very least effort.?? Edklinth said. S. First of all: I won??t abandon Millennium. into the living room. ??That??s from a source I have to protect. but their conversations should not deal with Salander??s problems or impending legal battles. It would have been a fine ending to her years at Millennium. deep inside she was pleased with Salander??s silence. The hottest thing we??ve got is that the timber industry in Dalarna is reporting a boom.

but Thomasson??s skill had been exceptional. I don??t know if it contains anything compromising. Tell him that I have copies of ?? everything. When he had five separate examples of a word. who was engaged. I??ll have a car in place in five minutes. But this injury happened long after the time of death. It corresponds to about fifty pages of book text. He had established that pattern as early as April. To the bathroom with you. When he started. then Salander??s lawyer could instantly charge the Swedish government with violation of her constitutional rights. who had obviously not paid attention to a word he had said.M.?? ??A little. even to one who knew more of the story than she did. Trinity had no trouble locating the cable to Prosecutor Ekstr?m??s home telephone. itself be implemented? The Wennerstr?m debacle had given rise to an avalanche of dilemmas within the Security Police. Carl Lidbom did one. She saw a reporter and a photographer heading for the lift. It also laid down that information about Zalachenko would not leave the Prime Minister??s office. We have no authority to travel to Holland to interview the ambassador.?? Berger??s life had been filled with meetings and work around the clock the minute she had stepped into Morander??s shoes.

Twice convicted for beating his ex-wife. can you handle this??? ??Yes. the porch on the upper floor.?? ??Why did you pick me up??? ??I give in to impulses.B. we won??t be finished with the installations here for a couple of days. why it??s being spread. including members of the prominent Baksi family. But I get a tip from the police investigation and go over and have a coffee with Faste and he tells me this. agent who defected from the Soviet Union seems impossible to verify. The only thing that had gone right was that he had persuaded them to send a helicopter to take the girl to Sahlgrenska hospital. It looks like the original. She looked as if she had been beaten to death. Salander held the tablets under her tongue and spat them out as soon as she was alone. Set up a meeting with legal at 3. How? She walked all the way round.T. Holger Palmgren.?? Just before noon there was a knock on the door and a uniformed officer delivered a document to Sp?ngberg.S.?? he said. ??Hi. She was given crutches and took a taxi home.

Mikael. the attack on Annika. And we can go out to a bar later if we feel like it.7 million kronor for a staff of ninety-six people.?? Jonasson looked at Blomkvist in astonishment. That is serious. Next to arrive was Inspector Paulsson. ??The only option is cutbacks. S.?? ??And you don??t want to be dependent on anything. He was an older man. possibly three. This situation makes the Prime Minister both angry and uneasy. Instead of investing in something as fundamental as a new colour laser printer for 45.?? ??So he??s ill??? ??It??s nothing serious. She had not booked a hotel room. What mattered was her head. And this has nothing to do with damage control. direct crimes against the Swedish constitution. The difficulty is that this report does not correspond with other reports that we have in our archives.?? ??No. His voice took on a confidential tone.?? ??That??s a comfort.

?? ??And he knows you??re twenty-seven and a temp and that you??re useful when he wants to plant information that the prosecutor wants put out. with the fact that Blomkvist was his wife??s lover. I can??t give you her name. I??m a survivor.?? ??Can you prove that??? ??I can. I have been the victim of attempted murder by my daughter. and of course the whole force is keeping their eyes peeled. ??How??s the old bastard doing??? ??Who? You mean???? ??The one who came in the same time as I did. he does wear a size XXL. Someone decides that a certain person should be given a particular level of clearance.??s hierarchy. ??Excuse me. Ms Salander has already received a good deal of negative publicity ?? Let me deal with the situation. ??You??re here on a temporary basis.00 in the evening and Rosin showed her around the house. She found correspondence between Teleborian and a person with a hotmail address who sent encrypted mail. And then the key witness. That address doesn??t exist. dealer. as he often did. Did you talk??? ??No. my name is Marianne. he might have only himself to rely on.

One evening paper reported that.?? The first person Blomkvist saw was Torsten Edklinth. That meant they had been dead maybe twenty-four hours.?? ??Did you make eye contact??? ??No. ??Guess where Vitavara Inc. but ???? ??Yes??? ??This young prostitute who was murdered in S?dert?lje ?? her name is Irina Petrova. Those were the words she had said to him when he moved to Hedeby.K. and exactly what it is you intend to publish.?? ??Why didn??t you say anything??? Blomkvist said. and then in the ??50s he vanished into thin air. She kicked him twice. and be the news editor??? ??I wouldn??t do it for anything. Jesus ?? it??s wonderful that she got the job.K.G.. department store. As I understood it. Malm could see for himself that Blomkvist was indeed being tailed. I was told that we would have to wait until after the next election.?? ??I??ll have a taxi waiting outside by the time you get down to the lobby. south of Bor?s.

?? ??The trial has been set for July. that is. The editor-in-chief has to be the one who takes the initiative. ??Bjurman subjected his ward to some sort of sexual assault ???? Blomkvist shrugged and said nothing.C.?? She sat utterly still. Clinton had succeeded Gullberg and was the chief of the Section until 2002.?? ??Bjurman was an idiot. ??I can see that. He took a screwdriver from his pocket. Plague was an intelligent and socially gifted citizen. Third. For a second he seemed a stranger. He had spent most of the night worrying about how he was going to deal with the information Armansky had given him. It??s a public document. And as you know. and then he went to a pharmacy to buy a toothbrush and other toiletries. He pressed his stethoscope against his wrist for a moment to warm it. loaded them.?? ??I see.?? ??Not a problem. a folder on the kitchen table. That was all she could manage.

Q.?? ??What do you have in mind??? Wadensj?? said. Outside the Section the information was known by the chief of S. Jonas.?? ??O. I simply have no energy.M. Giannini hesitated a moment. it was that she was certainly not manipulative. you??re asking us to run an operation against an influential magazine and the editor-in-chief of S.00 and then she turned off her computer and put it to recharge in the recess at the back of her bedside table. Blomkvist had objected at once. If anything happens you should quickly seek shelter and lock the door while you wait for assistance. Dakota wrote. ??Are you ready to come back to work??? Clinton looked up. And not quite right in the head.?? he said. and since he did not see any blood in the woman??s mouth he concluded that probably it had not. even for other employees at S. took a folder from her desk and handed it to Giannini. This would be her last Saturday lunch at Sahlgrenska. As she opened the folder she realized that her procrastination had also to do with the fact that she did not really want to face up to the problem. Some of the reporters out there are seriously good.

??I??m in. It was beautiful and well done. but he seemed alert still. ??What kind of car does G?ransson have??? Nieminen said. But what is worse ?? Because the prosecutor has isolated Lisbeth. ??Can??t someone give that man early retirement? He??s a walking catastrophe. Actually it was Malm who had the night shift.C.?? ??I??m not afraid of the dark. The personnel department had no information about what Bj?rck had been working on in 1991. feel that something had changed at Millennium. one had been with the financial police. Plus. he??s turned up Drottninggatan heading north. But I??m beginning to suspect that this Zalachenko club is out of house.?? ??Take us to a restaurant where we can get some decent food. She was ice-cold and stiff. She looked about her in astonishment. She felt as if she were the last person on earth. a former accountant and sometime business consultant and tax lawyer.?? ??Does he have any connection to Lisbeth Salander??? ??No. I want you to go to the hospital and observe the work in the emergency ward and the intensive care unit for a couple of days. Clinton had succeeded Gullberg and was the chief of the Section until 2002.

S?po was necessary. Lisbeth had aroused attention in other quarters as well.?? He turned on his heel and left the glass cage.?? ??There. Just after 6. no ???? ??Teleborian wrote this in a report that he sent to Bj?rck. He looked up. At 7. including bow and arrow. with Nilsson as the only available reporter. but it turned into a wearisome sort of arm-wrestling contest. But there was one policeman dead and another severely wounded on the road to Nossebro. The moderate government had come to power when the Soviet Union was collapsing.m. He pushed the telephone as far into the vent as he could. ??So what happens now??? Blomkvist said. to drive over to the Nossebro road. making the Section responsible for Zalachenko??s safety and debriefing. This request was turned down in a firm but friendly tone. The exact same. & E.00. of course.

the names of today??s participants must not be mentioned in your articles. It was not always a bad choice.?? Blomkvist gave in. 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. Finally he had a hole big enough to give access to Salander??s brain. I can??t recall having any discussion about it at the two o??clock meeting.?? ??O. She did not make him any promises.VI The historian Diodorus from Sicily. Blomkvist then made two mistakes. To put it simply. he took a zigzag route through the narrow streets of the old city until he reached the right address and knocked at the door of Black/White Publishing. and vigorous. The murderer had been identified as Evert Gullberg. with his unfinished editorial to the left and a frieze of photographs along the bottom edge.?? he said.?? ??I??ll get back to you. They were dealing with at least three murders with the bodies found buried on the property. However. It was not on the windowsill. had written letters to companies that had placed orders with Fong Soo. He was asleep by 11.?? ??Was there a name??? ??Yes.

??That??s right. but we don??t have time to go into them all today. the computer automatically sent an alarm. Furthermore.?? ??Who should I say is here??? ??An old colleague. Lisbeth ?C seriously ?C this battle is going to be decided in the mass media and not in the courtroom. But there??s something else I need to tell you. It was as dark as coal.?? ??You say you??re rejecting my article because you know that it isn??t true. He opened the evening papers and read everything that had been written that day about the search for Ronald Niedermann and the case of Lisbeth Salander. He had leaked information that would have backed him up in an upcoming trial. Thank you. but it??s the research we??re after. but otherwise the room looked almost exactly as when he had left. and then stopped about four centimetres into the brain. He pulled out a Palm Tungsten T3. Modig and Andersson walked together down to the garage.?? ??If you want to keep working at S. But she never did. Janeryd looked surprised.?? Modig said.?? Modig said. the assistant editor.

I take it that you will plead self-defence??? ??Maybe.??s hardly dry behind the ears. what have you got??? Blomkvist said. But exactly how it was done I don??t know. the government cannot do a thing. He fumbled to turn on the bedside lamp and looked at the clock. I??m probably not looking for a steady boyfriend either. He spent two hours trying to locate the Swedish ambassador and made contact by telephone at around 9. She started by ordering passport photographs of Faulsson. Cursing. & M. I blockaded the door and locked us in the bathroom. muggings and telephone tapping. That folder is your most important evidence. The Security Police was an institution in Sweden that all parties (well. ??And how did you find out about the meeting??? ??Tipped off by a source. He called Karim in. she didn??t turn it in until 7.?? ??That shouldn??t be such a big problem. he had done his military service with the coast guard. Where did he get the weapon??? ??Blomkvist won??t discuss it without his lawyer being there. The media and the public assumed for the most part that the main function of the Constitutional Protection Unit was to keep track of Nazis and militant vegans.?? ??Drottninggatan heading north.

Millennium??s staff sat in silence.?? They made their way to the police canteen to have breakfast. ??Thank you for being willing to host this informal meeting. he summed up the d??nouement in Gosseberga which led to Salander being shot and buried alive. A dental nurse by the name of Anita Kaspersson left her home by car at 7. SixOfOne. P. I??m going to bulldoze anyone who is obstructive or who tries to damage S. Malm??s boyfriend. Finally Berger heard a voice from the left side of the room. Everything could have gone fine. born 1971. He used the probe cautiously to prise at the edge of the bullet. Often she did not reply at all. Berger waited until he had finished thinking. Sweden had voted for a conservative government. There were two kinds of injury that he hated. I want you to lock yourself in your bedroom and let me handle the situation. She opened the email: YOU THINK THAT BORGSJ? CAN SAVE YOU. also in some quarters known as the Salander case.S. but that was exactly why you hired me. which meant he was thin and wiry.

Blomkvist leaned towards her. which arranged private dating parties for people who were into leather. not 250 metres from the hotel room where he found himself today. much less drive safely for any distance. But we have no trace of the car he took. she told him. has received a number of emails that appear to come from me. Modig held up her mobile to the gap in the curtains and took two low-res photographs of the group outside Ekstr?m??s door. But no amount of speculating could change the fact that the crime scene investigation offered no grain of support to the theory that a third party had helped Bj?rck on his way.?? ??You said there was no rush. We??ll arrange for Faste to be assigned to investigate Salander. But he says that the last time he saw the gun. makes its toilets to sell at 1700 kronor apiece??? Silence fell over the room. No-one ?C not in the government or in the Security Police or anywhere else ?C can interfere in how you run this investigation.L. I took it for granted that S?po knew what they were doing and had the appropriate routines and experience. Ten minutes later the woman with the camera came out of the building again. come to that. That little fool is not telling me the truth. I hope you??re not thinking of taking the story with you to S. V. He assumed it was Wadensj?? who was responsible for the Chagall and Mondrian reproductions. ??I??m not so sure about that.

??Rescue Service helicopter coming in. But I really don??t want you to stay here alone. There were two kinds of injury that he hated.. It could be if someone is trying to break in or turns up in the garden or something like that. But every time she had decided to sleep at Blomkvist??s.?? Armansky laughed. She wondered what the video ??of a personal nature?? contained. She undressed and crept into bed. He knew. I??m looking for Fredrik Clinton. Figuerola was out of luck. What general impression did you get of her nature. in point of fact.?? Jonasson looked intently at Dr Teleborian for ten seconds before he said: ??I won??t argue a diagnosis with you. ??Gullberg. There??s a room in the connecting corridor to the right of the reception area that would be better from a security point of view. Salander had sat in utter silence. From the moment I sat down in that glass cage. I??ll handle it.??? Blomkvist said. In Blomkvist??s copy. ??One of my colleagues recently went to see former Prime Minister F?lldin.

?? There was a knock at the door. Salander put a lot of effort into establishing a secret address for herself. Ellis shrugged. It was a reasonable decision. and in this case it??s regrettable since it shouldn??t be necessary. That??s eleven rooms on two floors. gloves and hats. Often she did not reply at all.?? ??You require things of me??? ??Yes. Gullberg then made it crystal clear to Zalachenko that he must never have any more dealings with the Salander family. It would make a passable weapon ?C for stabbing a face or an eye. Rationally she understood it. I??m not a criminal defence lawyer. ??about a missing person in Alings?s. ever since Giannini had stormed out and slammed the door behind her. editor-in-chief. * Salander opened her eyes when she heard a scraping sound.?? she said to the P.m. But count on two weeks before we can start you on some sort of physical therapy. ??You wrote down my car registration when I was parked on the hill outside your building. and almost any political blunder gave rise to headlines: ??S?po suspects that ???? A S?po statement carried a lot of weight in a headline. Berger limped back to the glass cage.

30 p. And as far as I??m concerned this conversation never took place. the investigation carried out in 1991 that led to Lisbeth Salander being locked away was illegal. Salander switched on her Palm Tungsten T3. Twice since midnight the duty nurse had put her head around the door. and he began to tell F?lldin about the preliminary investigation in which he had been involved for the past few months. The trial should have been a straightforward matter. were filled every day with the correct text. His sister had almost?? ??How is she??? he said. Ingemarsson had been found dead with a broken neck. What??s your plan??? ??My choice would be for you.D. It was a structure with only two ranks. Berger told him not to bother.10 on Tuesday morning.?? ??Believe it or not.?? ??And in normal circumstances everything would be dismissed as muddled red tape. Nieminen was never very easy to deal with.K. staring at the ceiling above Figuerola??s bed. She could have told anyone at all.?? ??Precisely. ??I made a copy for Curt but I never had a chance to give it to him before the Prosecutor General collected the others.

remembered that he had booked himself a room in City Hotel.

She saw that it was 5
She saw that it was 5.K. We haven??t had a report yet of any car thefts in the area this morning. Objectively. I??m perfectly aware that this is going to create difficulties in the office. and then ?? I need about a fortnight off to recharge my batteries. He sat down again. he would have known how to tie proper knots.?? Modig said in apology.?? ??It??s in the daily memo.?? ??But now we??re getting a little too close to poaching on S?po??s preserves. Holmberg had been tasked to work out how Bj?rck had died. He takes divide-and-rule as his job description. ??Hello. The Prime Minister had begun to talk about how. but not what it was. I explained that I wanted information in advance on all proposed articles. But it can??t go to the prosecutor until just before the trial. It was tight. Blomkvist could find no such enquiry in Ekstr?m??s email. the journalist who was murdered. Here in the kitchen.?? ??Me too.

What do we know about the building on Artillerigatan??? ??Not a lot yet. You can??t call and say that it was a mistake.?? Cortez said. When she looked up she saw Jonasson closing the door. One question he could not answer ?C based on the existing documentation ?C was who in S?po. ??I thought you??d be dead by now. And he killed a policeman tonight. and she realized to her dismay that she had not even thought about him for several weeks and that she missed him terribly.?? ??How many in the Section are still here from my day??? ??Apart from me ?? only Otto Hallberg and Georg Nystr?m are still here. but what I have to tell you is very important. Curt. People who could bug an apartment as easily as get into one without breaking a lock. He found himself. established cover companies outside the building in the ??50s and ??60s. ??That means that our adversary is well organized. He had other whores. Gullberg pushed open the door to room fourteen and stepped quickly inside. She isn??t the type to ask anyone for help. Be there in five minutes. where the contacts were made through personal friendship and trust. That meant they had been dead maybe twenty-four hours. particularly in the Malm? area.20.

said.?? ??I see. a passport. She emailed him a brief reply and thanked him for the upgrade.?? he said. She got up from the bed and made for the shower. blond man with a crewcut who wore a black leather jacket. Niedermann is my priority at the moment.?? ??He is forbidden to talk about it. I went to the reception desk and showed my I. the police and hospital administration had agreed that Salander should remain in room eighteen for the time being. but decided it was too late.?? ??No. Are you satisfied with Millennium??s contribution??? Edklinth nodded reluctantly. Her friend sighed. Before you take one single positive action I want to be informed. If fifty of the world??s foremost hackers decided to launch a coordinated attack against an entire country.?? Figuerola said ??What??s that??? ??Evert Gullberg. with the fact that Blomkvist was his wife??s lover. and parallel to the rest of the Security Police. not to be discussed. in the form of convicts. he has to be treated as a madman.

?? ??What do you want??? ??What do you think??? Gullberg pulled up the chair and sat down. Can I buy you a cup of coffee??? ??Tell me what it??s about. But if we aren??t careful I could end up in one hell of a conflict with your colleagues. ??Well ?? you could just accept a friendly personal invitation. cleaned the brushes. and rejected various options. ??O. bad cop.?? ??This is a disastrous coincidence.?? ??It all sounds a bit ?? I don??t know. I??ve killed that idea.?? ??Could it be that Blomkvist made some of it up??? Nystr?m laughed. But they were every one of them computer wizards. get in your car and meet me in S?dert?lje. while she and Karim were expected to do all the spadework for the next issue of a magazine that had not had any real leadership since Berger left.?? Sellberg said with a polite smile.?? 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.?? Erlander scrutinized the man opposite him.?? ??Fair enough. Berger was editor-in-chief and therefore one of the few people who could demand that information from him. You have a beach at the back of the house and a few large houses in the immediate vicinity. ??The important thing is that. like writing a column in a trade journal every week.

I??ve been considering bringing him in here. When the hook came out and his body fell. Just before they reached Alings?s. She gave him a quick look and turned on to Grev Turegatan. ??You do know that I could get into very deep water for this. have you ever wondered if the two of us aren??t completely nuts??? ??What do you mean??? ??It??s true for me. This did not please Torsten Edklinth. Nieminen did not trust Niedermann for one second. re: narcotics bust in S?dert?lje.iv Blomkvist had spent Saturday night with Berger. Lisbeth Salander is not psychotic.?? The Security Police did not normally spend time investigating robberies of groceries. it will take longer. were of the kind that were never going to be proven. ??Say that again??? ????diot.?? Ghidi said. was freelancing at Millennium.A. ??Nor do I.?? ??O. It had taken him all day to work out that her room was two doors down the corridor to the right. Through all these storms Berger had been the rock that nothing seemed capable of shifting. to drive over to the Nossebro road.

??I have an appointment to meet someone I know here. Lottie Karim was notoriously afraid of the dark and would never for the life of her have agreed to be by herself overnight at the office. and then gone back to the staff bedroom to try to rest for a while.?? ??So when are you actually going to sit down with a pen and paper and write this statement??? ??You??ll have it in a few days.?? ??No. She looked up at her police colleagues.?? ??Second.iv ?C Saturday. 11.?? ??Well. She used Mace and kicked Lundin in the balls and face with such aggression that she crushed one of his testicles and then broke his jaw. he was the only one in whom she felt a measure of trust. possession of illegal weapons. She caught herself thinking over and over about Salander. He outlined the strategy that Giannini had already explained to her. congratulations seem to be in order rather than any weeping or gnashing of teeth. I??ve sent a team of externals to tail her. But I got the offer just before Dag and Mia were shot. Since April he had not even plugged in the broadband cable to his own machine.?? ??I know. Erlander knew from long experience that there were plenty of nutters out there. presumably more or less simultaneously with the writing of the original report. she had been strapped down in a stimulus-free room at St Stefan??s.

?? ??She was shot.I. I was posted to Egypt. it is. Dakota wrote. The dental surgery is about 150 metres from the spot where the patrol car was found. A nice-looking man.?? ??Do you know anything about how Salander is? I??ve been sound asleep since I last saw you. Now it turns out that you??re the last one in the office to find out. washed up her coffee mug.?? ??Alright ?? but we??re talking about low-wage countries. but he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. with an apologetic glance at Blomkvist.?? he said. but there??s no sign of him. and then our car in Nacka takes over. She took hold of his shirtsleeve. she would get the same dialog box again ?C for years and years. Gullberg had objected to telling the government at all. There would be some ulterior motive. And somewhere the idea seems to have popped up that she might have been involved in selling steroids. ??No.?? Zalachenko turned his head away from his visitor.

He picked up the telephone and called the Minister of Justice. It was doable. ??Niedermann seems to have been swallowed up by the earth. Eleven rooms and apparently a bit of a snazzy joint. And don??t rock the boat. But I need to have a few words with him. and she was not ?C so far as he could judge ?C working. She wanted to get to know Salander. Edklinth can decide for himself what he can share with you within the framework of his assignment.?? ??That??s correct. Salander concluded that his I. attempting to eavesdrop could be measured in economic terms. He poured himself the miniature Glenfiddich. He stopped in surprise. They went straight to the front desk. Whoever did the falsification was extremely well informed. who managed to spring her loose.?? ??Goddamnit. wary look.?? ??It sounds as if there are revolving doors into the place. Cortez wrote feverishly. He??s actually in worse shape than you are.?? ??I consider the source to be totally reliable.

Edklinth nodded. Edklinth grimaced. ??Which pub are they in??? Blomkvist told her.?? Trinity said. or die. I??m here for Bj?rck??s S?po report.. is that it??? ??Not exactly ?? I mean ?? geez.?? ??There are also a number of different ways to get into the house. For five days Plague. He had nothing better to do on this May Day Sunday than humour his wayward publisher. and the glass partition to the corridor was covered by curtains. But why doesn??t he react? A normal person would react. Hiding behind the arras in this situation is a wildly overrated tactic in view of all that has been written about you since Easter. Apparently he was a tax lawyer. And Bj?rck??s report is in it. or whether I have possibly misinterpreted something. She chose a black blouse and put on a jacket. The constitution had been established by the parliament. which corresponded to the letters K-A-L-L-E. You??ll have to accept what I??m saying. ??Fru Berger.?? ??Just to say that I??d be on very thin ice if my superiors found out about this visit.

she thinks it??s embarrassing and doesn??t quite know what to do. the computer had reacted to three keywords ?C immigrant. a delegate for the Centre in the ??70s and ??80s. The first time it was parked near the entrance to his building on Bellmansgatan on Wednesday morning when he left to walk to the office. Erika Berger. ??You should have the answer to that question quite soon. She had?? He could not remember a thing when he came to.?? ??Rubbish. The board approved every measure I proposed.?? Giannini understood Dr Jonasson??s reasoning. As it was growing light an observant police officer found traces of blood on the ground behind the woodshed. Salander looked at him. He was twenty-six years old and had been at Millennium for four years. And if need be you can always come to me or Christer. The Section was faced with its worst crisis since the day he had created it.S. I??m on my way.00 on Tuesday morning. It rang three times before Berger answered. all sorts of complaints. He took the lift up to the reception on the fourth floor and was immediately shown into a conference room. And I??m going to write a full account in time for Lisbeth??s trial.000 a month to live in those crappy dumps in Hammarbyhamnen? Because the construction companies don??t give a damn about keeping prices down.

such as the Formation of Government and the Right to Freedom of Organization.?? ??To my certain knowledge. A certain Lisbeth Salander. who??s in the neighbouring rooms. making her feel like a teenager being quizzed on her homework. part of the routine at S. At the age of seventy-nine. But that won??t work for the rest of us. and it??s potentially as serious a threat as Zalachenko.C. Borgsj? is going to be persona non grata. He did not know a word of Swedish. cares about it. I was the victim of attempted murder myself last night. He jogged home to Bellmansgatan and up the stairs. She had been working at S. The report was then given to the district court.?? ??Of course I do. ??Oh yes. He looked Wadensj?? in the eye and handed him a stack of fax copies. was given a liquid lunch.?? ??It was my uncle Mahmut. One reason for this was the expenses incurred by Blomkvist in connection with the Salander story.

??Sorry. It was always a shock to meet him in person. On Friday the Volvo was back. Her name is Lisbeth Salander. to take over as editor-inchief.?? ??But we may have a problem. She wondered what the video ??of a personal nature?? contained. I don??t want to turn it over to Annika without your approval. He had a serious talk with Giannini and explained that she could have access to Salander for one hour a day. there might be a case for that. Figuerola spent the afternoon gathering information. Martin Thomasson was therefore the third guest of the day at Zalachenko??s sickbed.?? ??I??ve taken care of her since she was twelve. In addition. When Gullberg formally retired in 1992. master. Suddenly he found it difficult to sleep. ??I went to see him.?? ??And he was the person with primary responsibility for Zalachenko when he defected. ??I have to know what happened in G?teborg. Then there were a hundred other details. If the government was not informed. Then she picked up her mobile and called Blomkvist.

S.?? ??She attacked a paedophile???? ??Precisely.?? Edklinth took off his glasses and polished them thoroughly with paper napkin. Dinner??? ??I don??t have time today. You were injured and you??re waking up after an operation. ??He made a formal complaint against Salander.?? ??Do you want to take the chance? Let??s say Zalachenko talks. and for more than a year two positions have remained unfilled. during the time when the impeccably mannered Georg Thulin was head of the third division of S?po.10.?? she said. There was a lot of mysterious traffic around Blomkvist??s address that morning.?? He looked at her and mumbled something. * Holmberg parked his father??s Ford in the drive of former Prime Minister Thorbj?rn F?lldin??s house in ?s just outside Ramvik in H?rn?sand county. She bent down and bit him on the ear. When it came to Agneta Sofia Salander. She called home first and then rang Lillian Josefsson. He??ll understand. Presumably because of the threat of revelations about his sexual deviations.?? ??Where do you want me to begin??? ??Start with the simple things. He had tried to kill her. but the glass was her only reachable weapon. Then a crime would have been committed and led to a prosecution.

??We just have to discover what it was they really were doing. Their service weapons and the marked police car were gone. Millennium is sitting on a scoop that will turn the Salander story on its head. ??May I come in??? Salander studied her without expression. You can give him what you??ve found. If you have information to that effect you should take action.?? ??She attacked a paedophile???? ??Precisely. There he would spend almost two years. It depends on her rate of recovery.?? Clinton propped his elbow on the arm of the sofa and rested his head on his hand. But we??re no longer involved with those investigations. no question.?? Salander had in the end described to her lawyer almost everything that had happened at Stallarholmen. ??Annika. he also got voiceprints that Plague could process. an official high up in S. was that an organization assigned to spy on citizens must remain under strict public scrutiny. but he could get out of his bed and begin to make himself mobile.?? Morander held out his hand. you talked to him yesterday.00 the next morning. But their proposal to shut down the Swedish government was not an idle threat. ??You all know Fredrik Clinton.

?? ??You??ve got to let things settle down. ??Bj?rck.?? ??How did you find out Niedermann was in Gosseberga??? Blomkvist shrugged. Sweden has got to know her through police reports and press releases and the headlines in the evening papers.?? ??A little too fast. Could you possibly write it??? Magnusson hesitated a moment but then said.?? ??I promise. He should have called Bublanski himself and asked him to intervene.?? ??But that??s nothing new. He was one of the elite. He took the late afternoon train to G?teborg. ??It??s Jonasson. to shoot you too??? ??I have no way of knowing. thrown her on to her stomach on the bed. Edklinth lacked the legal authority to initiate a preliminary investigation. that??s gratitude for you. I??m Annika Giannini.?? ??That was Margareta Orring??s article.M. Strangely enough. He came back with sushi and light beer and passed the food around the conference table.?? ??I can do complicated. At which Paulsson swiftly arrested Blomkvist for possession of an illegal weapon.

and all of a sudden you??re mixed up in a shootout with that slut the law are after.?? Gullberg drew a series of concentric circles on his notepad. I wish he had left a letter.?? ??I found it yesterday at Lisbeth Salander??s apartment when I finally worked out where she was. He was a bit of a legend. ??So you aren??t going to tell us how you heard about the meeting??? ??I??ve already told you that I won??t.M.?? ??I didn??t think you were or you wouldn??t have slept here last night. Thomasson accepted at once. exiting from almost the middle of the back of her neck. ??Careful. ??The X2000 to G?teborg leaves at 5.?? ??What would it cost exactly??? ??You??d have to negotiate that with her. He began by making coffee and sandwiches before he went into Salander??s office and booted up her PowerBook. The Danish police have been informed about G?ransson??s car. During surgery the night before. or if you prefer. He would never regain full health.?? ??But that??s nothing new. In the United States you can cross-examine members of the government in a normal court of law. ??Within these four walls.?? she said.?? ??I see.

?? ??Call me Erika. Salander was extremely aggravated by the time he had finished. Armansky had contributed this information.?? Blomkvist looked around the room. we were talking about him as if he were some sort of a hired killer. presumably more or less simultaneously with the writing of the original report. which she had not done since she got the hand-held. ??The first two were members of the Zalachenko club in the ??80s. Lottie Karim was notoriously afraid of the dark and would never for the life of her have agreed to be by herself overnight at the office. ??You look tired. Do you want me to come back and look in on you again??? Salander thought for a moment. as you are all aware. but when she got to the corner. In the end she had to admit that the folder was gone. I thought he could protect me ?? but he has actually taken over my life. but the editor. Anders.?? Gullberg said. ??It??s Jonasson.P. The list was made up largely of the better-known reporters. He paid with a credit card and took a taxi to G?teborg Central Station. but he??s on disability leave.

She felt sick. By all known reckoning she should have been dead. if a little stupid. listening.S. He said there was nothing to indicate that the murder was other than the impulsive act of a sick human being. Blomkvist did not say anything about the implications of what she told him.?? ??Oh. ??I??d like permission to go through the personnel files from the ??50s. Agneta Sofia Salander would necessarily disappear into an institution for long-term care. Through all these storms Berger had been the rock that nothing seemed capable of shifting. scanner that the hospital had lately acquired. I won??t. had called eleven times. and what sort of background they have. There are sites on the Net that you can use to send anonymous mail. She has been called a psychopath.P.?? The rabbi offered him a kippa for his head. She waited until the woman reached the crossing in front of her.?? ??Do you have your car nearby??? ??The last time I checked it was in the parking space outside.?? Cortez scratched his ear. ??And you spy on the Zalachenko club.

?? Edklinth took off his glasses and polished them thoroughly with paper napkin. which had a photograph of Niedermann and the headline POLICE KILLER HUNTED IN DENMARK.?? ??Who answered if you called the number??? ??I don??t know. told him that it was the most sensitive military secret Sweden possessed ?? that there was nothing in Swedish military intelligence that was anywhere near as important. I can??t believe Salander knows anything about it. It??s irresistible. Gullberg began to believe that Zalachenko was not quite right in the head. so you could let me have the opportunity to visit her on medical grounds.?? ??What??s this about. He drank a glass of mineral water. it??s the truth.. And in corridor 11C the staff were security-conscious after the killing of Zalachenko; they were familiar with her situation. Is that alright with you two??? ??That??s fine.?? said the detective responsible for Stallarholmen on behalf of the S?dert?lje police. we found nothing to distinguish it from any other farmhouse. Right now we have about thirty officers working directly on the investigation. she won??t be able to do the research she needs to do to prepare her defence. ??Have you got a couple of minutes??? she said. There??s something very sick about this whole story. and a prosecutor intended to charge her with attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. who took pity on him and vouchsafed that. but they had ditched the gun.

??Evert Gullberg. And he could not resist going to intensive care to look in on the patient whose brain he had rootled around in early that morning. I mean. I would never. I know that you??re not a psychiatrist. But Ekstr?m??s the boss.15 and rolled out of Salander??s bed. I can??t believe Salander knows anything about it. I won??t. The prosecutor??s office offered him legal assistance in the form of a public defence lawyer. and checking how she swallowed. He spoke with a thick accent. ??How long has this been going on??? ??A couple of weeks. did not have any teenagers on its staff. She wanted to get to know Salander. got a good hold on it. staring at the ceiling above Figuerola??s bed. plump man in his fifties with a reddish goatee. to get up. He isn??t one of us.?? ??So where do the toilets come into the picture??? Malm said. And the reasoning among the board was to bring in the most improbable editor-in-chief they could think of. 2.

There??s the world of difference.?? ??All I ask is that you hear me out. We have Karl Axel Bodin??s own testimony from the officers who interviewed him. the social contract that makes up the framework of a civilized society.?? Figuerola looked at the photograph of Gullberg and Francke standing side by side.00 in the afternoon.I. If the newspaper were stable and bringing in a tremendous profit.?? Blomkvist said. of course. The attack alarm consists of two buttons that you press simultaneously and hold down for three seconds. He looked startled. ??I can assure you. ??No. ??There??s always a choice.00 p. But I don??t discuss my patients with journalists. He had never been arrested.?? ??I know. which corresponded to the letters W-A-S-P on the keyboard. and he had never been in prison. It was a devastating blow. She was advised to contact her local station in the morning.

??In other words. was pleased. I??m crazy with desire. a coup has taken place. that??s a fee I??ll gladly pay. For three years you??ve been working in S. It meant that the creation of the Section appeared to be just another routine matter. but they chose to protect Zalachenko because he was a source of valuable information. but stopped short. The government has the power to adopt a wide range of measures in the event that breaches of the constitution are threatened. and she knew it inside out. ??Could you tell Malin that I??ll be back in two hours??? ??What??s going on??? ??I think I??ve got a lead on a story. How else can we explain the report from 1991 ending up in the hands of Advokat Bjurman??? ??Another man who spends his time with prostitutes??? Gullberg said. and some bright spark at the Rescue Service got the message.?? ??You??d think he and Lundin were themselves the victims of a crime in Stallarholmen. that??s a fee I??ll gladly pay. The Soviet Union had ceased to exist and Zalachenko??s usefulness was definitively on the wane.?? he said. pointing to her foot. I am. The P.?? ??Mikael. ??You suspect that there??s a conspiracy within the Security Police that is acting outside its constitutional mandate.

If there??s a crisis and you need help. That was such a monstrous crime that Edklinth felt yet more apprehensive. Erika had me to lean on. I??ve visited her three times and offered to talk with her. If Niedermann talked. Then he heard movement behind him and felt his knees buckle. Then he picked up the telephone.?? ??He says he??s never been to the Nykvarn warehouse and that he just happened to be out with Lundin on a motorcycle ride. ??O. even if she did not sleep.?? ??It was just that sort of bureaucratic procedure I wanted to avoid. but you sat in your office for a while and didn??t know in which direction to go. which contradicted all law and justice and which would result in a disastrous scandal if it were ever discovered. and Zalachenko.?? Baksi went to his desk and opened an address book. taking a folder from his briefcase.?? ??Yes. refugee camps had been attacked. He did not seem to take in anything that Blomkvist said. she would see them. she hit back and threw a Molotov cocktail at him as he sat in his car. Go through the apartment centimetre by centimetre. and then he remembered that he had booked himself a room in City Hotel.

went to the gym at St Eriksplan. according to Blomkvist. Berger told him not to bother.

It was in fact Bj?rck who had proposed the solution
It was in fact Bj?rck who had proposed the solution. she drew an age curve and deleted everyone over fifty-five and under twenty-five. ??Look. ??He??s lodging a complaint with the police against Salander ?C for G. He issued instructions that required even the chief of S. a red jumper and a dark jacket.?? Good Lord. I tried to warn him. as a matter of fact.?? It was several seconds before he could absorb the whole impact of the news. It can only be someone at S.?? Modig and Holmberg exchanged glances. We??ve been wondering what that was about.?? said Bublanski. Cortez. for the sake of fairness. is he out of the country? What do we think??? ??We have nothing to tell us that he has left the country. which meant he was thin and wiry. I??m a doctor. Mikael doesn??t know anything about it either. ??Do you know why I became a doctor??? he said. her husband. Fr?ken Salander.

and he has to decide whether to bring charges. Is it O. but in any case she was in no condition to be questioned. ??Because while Niedermann was out digging a grave for me.?? Janeryd had by this time been talking about it for several minutes. who told me that they had recently initiated a preliminary investigation against him. in that case. ??Then I??ll choose to interpret it that way. Bublanski is the investigative leader for the murders of Bjurman and the couple in Enskede.?? Holmberg said. and then within the Constitutional Protection Unit as an analyst and administrator.C.L. He previously worked in western Europe for the Soviet military intelligence service G. She looked up and down the block. I??ve been reading a lot about you. 1991); Power Struggle for S?po by Erik Magnusson (Corona. It doesn??t matter how much I disagree with her about the matter; it??s her decision. Whatever it was.?? he confirmed. Bob the Dog. ??Salander is still suspected of G. don??t you??? ??You were sitting with a map spread out on the front seat.

?? ??I can live with that attitude. Then she shrugged.?? Blomkvist said. I don??t believe we??ll ever figure out precisely how the brain works. including the Prime Minister. You must not even mention that you??re doing research for Millennium. He looked at her dragon. He??s been so tied up in this Salander mess that there hasn??t been the right opportunity. a role that took on added significance in the wake of Wennerstr?m??s exposure as a double agent. Then he called Dragan Armansky. our preliminary investigation leader has dropped all charges against Lisbeth Salander relating to the murders for which she was being sought. ??When it??s time. ??O.?? ??Annika ?? this isn??t the way I had planned to end my time at Millennium.?? ??I was wondering when you??d think of that. but she had very straightforwardly conceded that she had no authority to interview him and that naturally he was perfectly free to tell her nothing at all if he did not want to. ??You didn??t say. Malm lowered the camera. looking down at the girl. was the first indication that Zalachenko??s predicament had come to the attention of the Section. and according to what I??ve overheard he was shot in the head all three times. She stepped into the stairwell and was looking for a light switch when the attack came out of the blue. Then he spoke in a lighter tone of voice.

That applied to Gullberg and equally to Bj?rck. He had then returned to his home town of Laholm and done some work from there.?? ??Which means that ???? He let the question hang in the air between them. One week later he had reached retirement age and handed over to his chosen successor.?? the P. BuckRogers. Constitutional Protection. taking a folder from his briefcase. and came to the conclusion that the girl was mentally ill.?? ??If you trip the burglar alarm by mistake. things look good. She went to her study and turned on the light.?? ??With regard to this girl Salander ???? the Minister of Justice began. It was ten days after the shooting in Gosseberga before Dr Jonasson gave permission for the police to conduct their first real interview. The software scanned every report and reacted to 310 keywords.?? ??But how did Bjurman get in touch???? Gullberg fell silent. are vacant and are being to some extent covered by temps. Same registration.I. When she sat at her computer she found a message from MikBlom@millennium. and the like. It would be impossible for Borgsj? to claim ignorance. to ?? what? A complete loony? Salander might be innocent of murder.

I??ve got the story. and her job included tracking violence against persons born abroad to decide whether or not the crime was racially motivated. ??Are you satisfied with the information flow??? Edklinth said at last.M. Micke. She bought herself a coffee and sat at the opposite end of the caf?? and opened her Dagens Nyheter.?? ??Anything else??? ??We found and confiscated a bag containing about 200. Have you got the number of Mikael??s second mobile? The one that??s not tapped. but check her E. He felt very much afraid that his suspicions were going to turn out to be justified. On the Net. Jerker. and Blomkvist had never hesitated if Baksi asked him a favour.S.I. ??By holding a gun to him. No matter what. Mikael picked up his mobile and made another call to Inspector Erlander in G?teborg. pinged again.S. were particularly diligent in condemning exposed S?po agents if they had spied on Swedish citizens. Let me call my wife to warn her. Do you understand what I??m saying??? Salander tried to nod.

??Sure. ??If any of you need a little personal time. It was 1. ??So what you??re saying is that the medical assessment of Salander is correct??? ??Oh yes. The usual. His spectators vanished as if by magic. The battering he had been subjected to could only be defined as torture. The usual. I??ve also gone over every inch of your house from the basement to the attic and studied the area around it.K. But the investigation proceeded slowly.?? ??Hmm. Ten years ago I was doing rock-hard bodybuilding. a white blouse. and was one of Sweden??s most popular actors.?? Erlander cleared his throat. that will put the matter in a rather different light. but I know an excellent Bosnian place at Fridhemsplan. ??What do you suggest??? ??If we??re going to run Millennium effectively during the autumn.?? Andersson said.?? ??Alright. It was too late to bother going for an evening walk.?? Blomkvist said.

The result was that a fabulous opportunity to plant long-term informants in Moscow had been lost.m. He was known as Ruben. and part-time student. Linder spread a blanket over her.M. That was where he had stayed on previous visits. He needed cash.C. Furthermore. He had been given large doses of painkillers. He didn??t seem comfortable in front of the cameras. and on top of it all. his colleague Inspector Modig. But it was. part of the routine at S. ??What did you say??? ??You don??t need to take a shower.berger@smpost. they??ll say it??s confidential or that it has something to do with terrorism. ??This is most assuredly a matter of life or death. He had been in the glass cage all morning. Use your famous good judgement. and put on long black trousers.

In a time of great danger she had been cool. He had to play his cards right.?? the doctor said and made some notes before he stood up.?? ??And he was the person with primary responsibility for Zalachenko when he defected. but again in vain. She had just poured a second cup of coffee when there was a firm knock on the front door.C. I don??t doubt that there are excellent people working in S?po.?? ??Naturally.?? He looked almost apologetic.000 kronor in Sweden.?? ??And what did you tell her??? ??I said that someone had faked your address and is obviously harassing her.?? ??I heard the news. Otherwise. Salander is no longer a suspect. at eighteen.F. Gullberg was the chief.?? ??What Blomkvist doesn??t grasp is that if the truth about Zalachenko comes out. nothing urgent. and we??ll make you a proposal. Millennium had paid a fee to Advokat Giannini which was supposed to come out of the general fund.?? Holmberg said.

Same registration.iv ?C Tuesday. She switched to the other channel. she would leave hospital with a scar on her scalp. Both understood that Edklinth was covering his back. Blomkvist saw that Edklinth was also smiling to himself. and Edklinth was Figuerola??s boss. ??Erika.?? ??This is all temporary.?? Glum silence.?? ??So you??re suggesting in all seriousness that the board should decide to abolish dividends and bonuses.10. ??Are you ready to come back to work??? Clinton looked up. Let??s say the price curve for hamburgers had been the same since the ??70s ?C so a Big Mac would cost about 150 kronor or more.?? ??Nevertheless.M. P. Berger woke at 7.?? ??It??s possible. She had experienced the same thing at St Stefan??s. Was G?ran M?rtensson working on anything important. You??ve probably met some of them before. only to me.

??My role is to expose shit like the Zalachenko club.?? ??So all the rumours about you two are nonsense. On the other hand. Do you remember me??? She shook her head.?? ??We??ll install the alarm this afternoon. The wounds in her shoulder and hip could wait until later with a compress on each. where he was required once more to provide precise directions to the spot. Which he had no intention of doing.A.?? ??The type of email Eva Carlsson got??? ??Right. She??s strange. as a matter of fact. Could you possibly write it??? Magnusson hesitated a moment but then said. Jerker. S?po got saddled with Zalachenko in the middle of the Cold War. But that doesn??t mean he has to behave like an idiot. stuffed into a laundry room. He himself had proclaimed her far and wide to be mentally imbalanced. I have to draw the conclusion that some sick individual is doing this.R.?? He rubbed his chest. The old comrades shook hands.M.

At the very least Zalachenko was a witness; but in the worst case he was involved up to his neck in a series of murders. In its place is an exchange between Bj?rck and Teleborian. Salander was out of sorts and had a bad headache. I just want to leave the flowers. He opened his eyes in bewilderment. or at any rate hobbled out. gathering up Blomkvist??s documentation.3. Usually the Sheraton.?? ??Good. So Malin??s going to be editor-in-chief.?? ??Andersson is a tough customer. How am I going to do all this alone??? ??You won??t have to.?? ??If I have the energy.00. That the budget was so low was a stroke of genius. She would test the system. Despite her isolation she had managed to contact Berger on I. my mother knew the von Rottinger family. I??m thinking of turning him loose this afternoon.?? Figuerola had been right. She was shot and buried here. The son-of-a-bitch is probably out screwing around with some bimbo with big boobs.

?? ??You??re right. they??ll say it??s confidential or that it has something to do with terrorism. By 10. Over the years he had noticed that if he stopped giving instructions or gave Niedermann too much latitude to make his own decisions. She saw two nurses running towards another room two doors away. ??How does that work in practice??? ??That??s a very good question.?? ??May I ask ?? Paulsson.Q.?? This time it was Jonasson??s turn to wait patiently for Salander??s reply. who was built like a heavily armoured robot and suffered from a disease called congenital analgesia. She had been extraordinarily lucky. you??re more or less healthy. ??about a missing person in Alings?s.?? Gullberg said. He got up to find a telephone booth and called Wadensj??. He approved a directive that was immediately entered into the secret protocol.m. He would never see them again. She planned on landing in Gibraltar a few days after she escaped. who had evidently stayed at Berger??s house the night before and who had emailed a report late that night. Salander never talked to the authorities.?? ??But you??re still withholding key material. which had a range of ten to twelve metres.

and his dealings with whores appear to have been going on for many years. as far as I can see.?? Bublanski added the suggestion of a press conference out of sheer cussedness. for example. The letters are plainly the work of a lunatic and were illegible in places.?? ??I get it.L. and at no time during either had he been swayed by the man??s protest ations of innocence.22 calibre Browning. He noticed that the other reporters were taking notes as feverishly as he was. To put it simply. I would also emphasize that under no circumstances can you make public the information I give you. but she suspected that Dakota was a woman. She was home by 7.?? ??So soon??? He nodded.K??. and he was about as much help as he was when he was on holiday. She had been working fifteen hours a day since May 1. ??Mmm.30. or to make use of the art of espionage. we did not assist Zalachenko in any crime ?C that??s the delusion of a mentally ill teenage girl. ??I think you can.

?? ??Is there a computer??? ??No.?? ??I don??t like the sound of this. A Polish P-83 Wanad on the floor next to the bench in the kitchen. And Wasp was one of its citizens. So I want to know if you hear of anything going on. She had been with Borgsj? for forty-five minutes without mentioning one syllable about Vitavara. and which he wants S. which do you prefer? Handcuffed or voluntary??? ??I??ve been handcuffed by the police once already this year. weighing it in his hand. This is what we??re going to do.?? ??Yes. Salander was lying on her back on the floor when Nurse Marianne came in. Herr Zalachenko. who in turn messengered it to Bublanski. but he looked both frozen and deathly tired. I??ve talked with the head of the legal department and fixed it so there won??t be any hassle there. Giannini understood what went on in her brother??s head. ??I??m going to need somebody on the inside I can trust.?? ??O. Furthermore. & E. but F?lldin didn??t reply. and I told you that he would be hired to do the same thing again now.

?? ??We??re ready. I want to know the whole layout of the corridor. I know something about Salander. ??We??re the ones who don??t exist. thin as a stick.?? ??A little too fast.?? Berger was at home.?? ??Why ??unfortunately????? He gave her a cheerful smile. ??You still haven??t got it.S. The woman who crushed Wennerstr?m??s empire. He was silent for so long that Figuerola cleared her throat.?? ??Where are you??? ??Nyk?ping. known locally as Karl Axel Bodin. Then there were a hundred other details. the officer who had worked with the financial police. He was a bit of a legend. I know so. I believe.?? ??What? What? What??? ??Teleborian???? ??I heard you. I won??t take it to S. so the torture continued. But.

?? ??Alright. and my superiors really want to talk to you. And now I??m working here at Sahlgrenska and patching up people like you. ??I need a favour.?? ??Who??? Frisk hesitated. He could not stay in the borrowed summer cabin in Sm?dalar?. ??But I wasn??t sure that I could handle the studies. ??Let me guess. where did he ditch the car??? Modig and Andersson shook their heads. obviously. whoever did it had access to the very typewriter that Bj?rck used. and an entirely new investigation has been set up for the purpose. Worked first in Uppsala and then in S?dert?lje. so to speak.?? Silence. but does this mean that Ekstr?m is working for the Section??? Blomkvist frowned. Spain. He was. or whether he was overheard making racist remarks at the time of the murder. Bublanski??s face clouded over. It must be done each day. M?rtensson ?C he works as a bodyguard in S. Certainly.

but they were as well trained and probably better equipped too. a black T-shirt. ??You??re right. but when she got to the corner.?? ??I asked if you understood. My name is Marcus Erlander. Consequently. feels like a dying body. but usually we use someone from the external organization if necessary.v ?C Tuesday. and in some miraculous way he had indeed managed to hold the mortality rate at zero.?? ??And the third name??? Edklinth said. Got himself arrested for insulting a police officer.T.?? ??I understand. and other such drivel. Salander got up from the edge of the bed and went to the window.?? he said.v Superintendent Torsten Edklinth. and then ?? I need about a fortnight off to recharge my batteries. ??Dr Teleborian has been an external consultant for S.?? ??I understand.00 on Sunday morning.

T.B. but let??s assume. Blomkvist smiled. Then a crime would have been committed and led to a prosecution.?? ??Do you want to take the chance? Let??s say Zalachenko talks.?? ??I don??t believe in collective guilt. I want you to know that what I??m discussing with you now has nothing to do with my dealings with Holm.?? ??That??s correct. The day that Zalachenko was shot there was a robbery at my apartment. Johannes. I??m not. obviously. but my colleagues are going to start wondering. you??re more or less healthy. Lisbeth. Bear in mind that he had no clue she was Zalachenko??s daughter.00 in the morning. You??ve probably met some of them before.S.berger@smpost.?? ??It??s in ?hlen??s archive. to be sure.

?? ??I know. a number of practices would be revealed that were not always consistent with the dictates of the constitution. who??s the news editor. Blomkvist called from Caf?? Madeleine on his anonymous mobile to book a flight to Amsterdam. ??You don??t want to tell me what it??s about??? ??The fewer people who know. Then she remembered it all. but unacceptable for a newly appointed editor-in-chief. Two were from his sister Annika.M. He pointed to the front page of the evening paper. Salander summed up her situation in five lines.?? Berger??s life had been filled with meetings and work around the clock the minute she had stepped into Morander??s shoes. Murder suspect or not. There were psychopaths and conspiracy theorists. and we don??t want to attract attention until we have more to go on. What else??? ??The only one who could tell us exactly what happened. ??It makes no difference to me who you appoint. I can??t say. His real name is Alexander Zalachenko and he??s Lisbeth??s father. I start at S. There??s just one problem.K. patients and visitors.

even to one who knew more of the story than she did. Lisbeth Salander. He??s not married. She thought for a moment. the prosecutor here in G?teborg will contact Advokat Giannini. Thank you. and then ?? I need about a fortnight off to recharge my batteries.K. dried herself. evacuation and break-in protection. No doubt about that.?? ??Toilets??? Eriksson sounded as if she thought Cortez was pulling her leg. Not to mention the burglary at Blomkvist??s apartment. The house itself is spartan. Some of the reporters out there are seriously good. ??No.?? ??There??s a great probability that you will have to do just that. keeping his weight on his uninjured leg before trying to stand on the other. who had paled in the course of the presentation.?? Edklinth stared at Figuerola. He happened to look into the living room and stopped short in surprise. She was careful to express herself precisely. I know names.

I want to know who goes in and who comes out. ??And how did you know that this meeting was going to take place??? ??I have to protect my source. given the circumstances. Salander had already discussed all of this with Giannini. the fate of Sweden rests in your hands. Often she did not reply at all.?? she said. who should have knocked on the door of my office and explained the situation. That bitch Salander. To her surprise she found the visits of Dr Jonasson pleasant. She put her cursor on the spire of the church tower and clicked. ??And what sort of excuse would I have to barge in on Ekstr?m??? Modig asked. She scrolled back and read through the text of a section where she told how Advokat Bjurman had violently and sadistically raped her. they just slip into the shadows. Then their colleague Dag Svensson was murdered. ??Well ?? that??s good. By your reasoning. ??Do you know why I became a doctor??? he said. she had encouraged him to think for himself. nobody??s perfect. She called her friend on her mobile. had begun his criminal career stealing cars at seventeen.S.

If it were a fake. He visited her three times that evening and noted that her temperature had stabilized at 37. about his conversation with Giannini.?? she said. She looked for other options.?? Gullberg said. Salander was unlawfully committed in 1991 and Ekstr?m knows it. which had a range of ten to twelve metres. She had sat undisturbed and motionless for an hour. We??ll see what he has in mind. of course. I can??t get a sensible answer from anyone. If she wrote the wrong password three times in a row the site would shut down and the name Wasp would be struck from the membership list. Two patients.?? After Cortez left. ??Hello. for Christ??s sake. he showed up and needed a place to hide. now our editor-in-chief Malin Eriksson who managed to dig him up through the corporate records.?? ??I didn??t mean it that way. or running.?? Sandberg looked around the room. The Section was faced with its worst crisis since the day he had created it.

He rehearsed the psychiatric report of 1991 and explained why Salander had become a threat to certain unknown civil servants who had taken it upon themselves to protect the Russian defector. ??They??re going their separate ways outside the pub. but I think he??s honest. I told you that you would have to handle him like a live grenade. Back in Sweden. you??ve refused to respond when any psychiatrist has tried to talk to you. Come on. In the midst of all this mess he??s like a hand grenade with the pin pulled. Let??s start with Clinton and von Rottinger. Now she was suddenly editor-in-chief. Retired in 1991. M?rtensson carries a portable photocopier with him. They lay in bed and talked through the details of the Zalachenko story. then crossed Belgium by way of Liege. the emergency vehicle will come out anyway and you??ll be charged a fee.P. If something went wrong.S. It??s not your job to take apart the operational organization. She found her shoulder bag.?? Figuerola went to the gym at St Eriksplan. according to Blomkvist. Berger told him not to bother.