and night.F. for using child labour. Let??s meet tonight at 9. Response time would be about thirty minutes.

even though he was obviously not supposed to write it until after he had been given the opportunity to examine her
even though he was obviously not supposed to write it until after he had been given the opportunity to examine her. have you got anything new??? ??Nothing I haven??t already told you on the phone. or preventing individual citizens from exercising their constitutionally protected rights and liberties. She did not even know if his mobile worked in other countries. Blomkvist could not help being fascinated. They had set a table with cake and Friday afternoon coffee. ??What happened??? he said. ??Today is all about May 1. I cannot defend myself.?? ??I??ll make the decisions and do the surgery.?? ??Car. He could not identify any one of them. It was not her fault that her father had been a pathological sadist and murderer. At first he could not grasp what he was seeing.?? * Jonasson left Salander??s room somewhat confused. not through official channels and bureaucratic regulations.?? Wadensj?? turned to Gullberg. could not afford to keep him as chairman.?? ??But that??s all speculation ???? ??Where are the old personnel files kept??? ??Gullberg isn??t in them. Zalachenko abused her mother so viciously that she spent most of her life in hospital. ??Was it S?po that called you??? ??That??s what I told you. In that case I should say how grateful I am that you and your colleagues are willing to facilitate matters for me.?? Gullberg leaned forward. ??So. where Bj?rck draws conclusions and makes recommendations.

And a number of these sources are still active.?? a list which towards the end of the ??60s amounted to around 300. The Kaspersson woman kicked on the door of a house at 3. She was a little shaky now that the adrenaline had worn off. Edklinth did not believe in coincidence on such a grand scale. Instead she clicked on the [O] in [ERROR]. Whoops. There were plug sockets by the door and in the panel behind the bed.?? Gullberg nodded.00 in the morning. He asked her to please ?C on overtime ?C hurry over to the pub as back-up for Cortez. there was no crime. She remembered the terrible hatred she had felt. He had slept most of the day and then drove back to the hospital at around 7.M. They??re not supposed to interfere with the content.?? She wondered if he were pulling her leg. Cortez could not put his finger on what was wrong. I??d also like to know if you want Giannini to come here to G?teborg.30 that evening. Jonas Shit. but you sat in your office for a while and didn??t know in which direction to go. We have Karl Axel Bodin??s own testimony from the officers who interviewed him. So ?C S?po.E.

a role that took on added significance in the wake of Wennerstr?m??s exposure as a double agent. Until now she had not confronted him in front of other colleagues in the newsroom. but was assistant chief of the Secret State Police in the late ??50s and early ??60s. For one thing.?? Cortez said. He did not exist in any register or in any public document.?? ??I??m writing the story now. There was nothing wrong with the arrangement.Q. The truth is that right now everything is a little confused. Even though he hired me. the psychologist at Sahlgrenska who had been made available to trauma patients. I mean how long before I can get up and start walking and moving around??? ??That depends on how the healing progresses. but you have to think about Christer and the others on the staff too. But let me make this quite clear ?? with regards to this affair it??s Clinton who will be making the operational decisions. who informs me that it is very easy to fake a sender??s address. but a Karl Axel Bodin seems to have been born in 1942 in Uddevalla. including the one who called himself SisterJen. forty-minus. Nine people were seated around the conference table in her office at police headquarters. I??ve thought about it. ??Mmm. Gunnar Bj?rck. Nilsson was not afraid of the dark. She was thirty-six.

He answered on the run. about his conversation with Giannini.I. His voice took on a confidential tone. He took him out to Viktor??s.?? ??Good. I??ve got the story. Exactly how high up the conspiracy went he had no idea. On the same day. At the same instant Anders Berglund knocked on the door. When he had finished. is it??? ??No. He isn??t one of us. a dangerous psychopath.O. Her office is empty. I mean how long before I can get up and start walking and moving around??? ??That depends on how the healing progresses. so you could let me have the opportunity to visit her on medical grounds. He was supposed to get down the mobile. a couple of times. itself be implemented? The Wennerstr?m debacle had given rise to an avalanche of dilemmas within the Security Police. He would never regain full health.P.M.H.

It took her about a minute to gain control over her body. You were in pretty bad shape.P. But the thing is. One problem of course is that she??s working for you and is bound and fettered by one of those damned confidentiality oaths.I. of course.?? ??If I??ve understood the matter correctly. ??I think it??s time we had another talk with Justice. He happened to look into the living room and stopped short in surprise. but we still don??t have a picture of him. Ekstr?m had remarkably little on the record about Zalachenko. ??What do we do now??? Waltari said. He braced himself against the wall and limped over to the door. they would have at the very least questioned me. When he had worked for seven straight hours. and we can follow the correspondence that shows how Teleborian is conspiring with Jonas in the same way he conspired with Bj?rck in 1991.I. and he doesn??t have a criminal record. And what does that mean??? ??The obvious explanation is that he was given a false identity. As far as he could see she had no complications in the form of memory lapses. You were injured and you??re waking up after an operation. But it??s been classified Top Secret by order of the district court. S. They were drinking coffee in the pavement area of a caf?? on Norr M?larstrand.

??I??m on call this weekend. If a colonel on the defence staff could work for the Russians ?C he was also the government??s adviser on matters involving nuclear weapons and security policy ?C it followed that the Russians might have an equally senior agent within the Security Police. It had been one of Gullberg??s last responsibilities. And Bj?rck??s report is in it. But I may stumble a bit before I really get going.?? Gullberg had been completely exhausted after all his efforts on Monday. ??The first thing I did when I started here was to tell you that I had a special interest in everything to do with Lisbeth Salander. ??This is a friendly invitation. Robbery. Finally he concluded that Armansky was right. a lieutenant in the Swedish army who later turned out to be a colonel in the Soviet military intelligence service. ??Call him.?? ??The eternal vicious circle. And I have a strategy. How do the pieces fit together??? They talked for more than two hours. At 2. said. Maybe not even twenty-four hours. It took him several minutes. Your supervisor must approve the consultation and make a formal request for you to be allowed to approach Dr Teleborian. the article is nonsense. He had a serious talk with Giannini and explained that she could have access to Salander for one hour a day. quite firmly.?? ??No.?? ??Don??t pull the wool over my eyes.

Some day. coffee and cake will have to do. and for you it??s a matter of finding out what was Niedermann??s role in Zalachenko??s business.?? He was at the door when he heard her voice. The meeting had lasted forty minutes. but when he visited Palmgren the same afternoon at the rehabilitation home in Ersta. time to get up. the prosecutor here in G?teborg will contact Advokat Giannini. and Lisbeth still hasn??t talked to the police about it. and asked him to brief the assembled company. which means that the operations budget has actually increased. A man with a moustache. ??He drove a Saab. Events had been rapid and unpredictable. It??s beautiful weather and Saturday afternoon. ??At risk of ending up shot. They spoke in low voices for a few minutes before Gullberg stood up. You??re my best friend. Use your famous good judgement.15.?? Janeryd gave Blomkvist a puzzled look. (2) Neither Lundin or Sonny Nieminen has said a word about what happened at Stallarholmen. ??My name is Benny Svantesson. A man no-one had ever heard of before. who had not said a word during the presentation.

??When this is all over I??m going to found an association called ??The Knights of the Idiotic Table?? and its purpose will be to arrange an annual dinner where we tell stories about Lisbeth Salander. He knows he??s being watched. In the trial.C.?? ??How do you mean??? ??First we have to ask the question: how could this have been possible? Who is responsible? How did such a conspiracy develop within the framework of an established police organization? I myself work for S.?? she said.?? ??Some girl. With text on the back. Lisbeth knew that if she clicked on [OK ?C Try again] and tried a different password. hotel rooms.I.?? ??O. but it??s difficult to believe that the entire Swedish media has been duped in the same way ???? ??Salander has been the object of a media frenzy. ??Teleborian has a link to a person I know only as Jonas. The problem was that the patient was in danger of dying while the doctor was still doing his thinking.??s newsroom and then logged off from I. Cortez left the Academy bookshop running like a madman.00 p.I. Someone cut off about two metres of rope. Trinity had a van with thirty kilos of electronic equipment. Since Plague hardly ever left his apartment. With the possible exception of President Nixon??s lunatic break-in at Watergate. And her sexual preferences are nobody??s business.?? He nodded.

and that in turn would lead to even more damaging speculation and perhaps yet more insistent investigation.?? Blomkvist breathed more easily.?? ??Is there a computer??? ??No. and ate a late but nutritious dinner.U. Gullberg pronounced the name with displeasure. and when he was pressingly invited to dinner and a private conversation. Go on.?? he said. ??I can assure you. He fished some keys out of his jacket pocket and opened a door at the far end of the barn. you??re worryingly habit-forming. Berger had not even known of his existence. ??My name is Jonas Sandberg. On Sunday he forced himself through short.?? ??Toilets. Henry ?? you??ll have to go full-time and take Malin??s place as assistant editor. ??First of all. Borgsj? is going to be persona non grata. That was a crime. the lawyer Annika Giannini. One of the first things he did was to have Blomkvist released from his handcuffs. The Firm??s most important task for many years was so-called personnel control. and he has Niedermann as a scapegoat.O.

have any influence in editorial matters.?? ??But how did Bjurman get involved??? ??Palmgren had a stroke in the autumn of 2002. She waved him away.?? Jonasson frowned. so mostly I see the negative things. and she liked him. She reached for the telephone to call him. opening the message only if it was something that caught her attention. the incident might be included in that year??s statistical compilation. and all of a sudden you??re mixed up in a shootout with that slut the law are after. So he filled out a ??no visitors?? form that had no connection whatsoever to the one that was set in place by the prosecutor. Berglund put a dog-eared. What am I supposed to do??? ??I??m persuaded that you quoted him accurately.S.?? Figuerola said.?? ??What sort of odd??? ??I??m afraid some idiot is sending really vile emails and he seems to have targeted me. There he would spend almost two years. but she kept her distance. She lay passively looking up at the ceiling when the night nurse came in. and severely wounded.?? ??We??? ??Listen ?? the story was slated to run in the July issue. editor-in-chief.?? ??Mikael ?? I don??t think you really appreciate what this involves. She pulled out her mobile and pretended to be talking. and no questions should be asked.

V. a pervert and a rapist. which in turn is sole owner of a subsidiary called Vitavara Inc. She could not call Blomkvist because he had not given her the number of his Ericsson T10. The budget chief and the C. living on Pontonj?rgatan on Kungsholmen. He was snoring. or to move his belongings aside.?? ??Probably. She did not say a word. She felt uneasy. She resigned abruptly. He contributed to our investigation by profiling Lisbeth Salander. a spring baton.?? ??Check her out anyway.?? ??When and why??? ??I don??t know when. Salander was lying on her back on the floor when Nurse Marianne came in.?? He clicked on an image on his computer and turned the screen towards Faste. ??Yes. She??s sharp. In her rear-view mirror she saw the man in the blue overalls turn into Br?nnkyrkagatan. They had both left S. on what??s going on. why it??s being spread. commission on child labour had added Fong Soo Industries to its list of companies that exploit child labour.

??Thanks. And at the same time. Then he walked decisively back to Zalachenko??s room and closed the door.C. all of these crimes came under county police jurisdiction. ??He did talk to the nurse and he left the flowers at the desk. But that is all. shared by many inside the Division. ??Probably to see me dead. and sometimes she would answer a question that Giannini had asked several days earlier. Gunnar Bj?rck.?? Malm sat motionless for a few seconds.?? He grunted some more and promised to scold her when she got home.I. He??ll be leading the Section??s operations department until the present crisis is over. When I got to him he was unconscious. And ?C most disastrous of all ?C there was a video taken on holiday in the early ??90s when she and Greger had been guests of the glass artist Torkel Bollinger at his villa on the Costa del Sol. You came here in the nick of time. Then she tried to fix her eyes on the doctor. got the address and door code.?? * Berger went to bed at 11. and a democracy needs a political safeguard. despite the fact that he poked at her and fussed over her fever chart. Who was also the reason why she was feeling tired and irritated. not 250 metres from the hotel room where he found himself today.

In other words. ??How am I doing??? ??You??re on the road to recovery. There were 223 employees. had landed in because of Salander and Niedermann.?? Cortez scratched his ear. Blomkvist felt utterly helpless: he could only hope that she would be given the very best care. It was pure chance that he had noticed it at all. change the batteries and put it back in the vent. ??A likely story. He sat down again. It looks like the original. A real breakthrough.K. he watched as Torstensson and Ingemarsson drove off in their patrol car. I gave her Dexofen. but Paulsson was not interested.?? ??Thanks for being honest. He inserted an opinion into the headline in the news section. In June 1997 Borgsj? had gone to Vietnam to sign the first contracts. whose salary was paid from a fund that had been mysteriously established to provide Palmgren with the best possible care. Two months later Idris Ghidi was seized by the Iraqi secret police. But the majority of the workers are convicts. Vinge??s memoirs. but situations do crop up. In his day plans of Kronan and Wasa had hung on the walls.

??Why should that be a problem??? Eriksson said. Clinton is retired. But Morander was editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper.?? She smiled thoughtfully.?? Eriksson did not answer the telephone.?? She left without kissing him. then knocked on his door. and we can follow the correspondence that shows how Teleborian is conspiring with Jonas in the same way he conspired with Bj?rck in 1991. Is making coffee part of Milton??s service agreement??? He gave her a polite smile. He put on his dark glasses and turned up Bergsundsstrand on his way to the tunnelbana. Vinge at the time S. ??But for now. ??I??m not quite sure.?? Blomkvist said. The next day it would take less.?? ??Then it would probably be a good idea to spend the day moving in there. He shook his head. I propose a co-operation between Sahlgrenska hospital and St Stefan??s. It was. His head was wrapped in so many bandages that you could see only his left eye and a narrow slit of mouth.?? Figuerola said. I want you to lock yourself in your bedroom and let me handle the situation. ??I honestly don??t know how I should be managing this. We have no choice. You know.

had submitted a report which examined the Prosecutor General??s want of initiative over a number of years. Niedermann is my priority at the moment.L. ??I??ve just changed into jogging things to work off a little of my surplus energy. She should be able to send a text message to Blomkvist??s mobile ?? but it was tapped. holding the flowers. The inevitable media storm could lead only to one thing. It was nothing to him if people wanted to dress up in costume. show him the document.?? ??All I ask is that you hear me out. she had refused to say a single word to the police.00. I??m something as old-fashioned as a democrat. or Swedish Internal Security ?C S. but from even the little I managed to know of him. that would have been against the law. Berger swore when she got back to where she had parked her B.?? ??North on Kungsgatan.C.?? They exchanged hotmail addresses. She arranged for Magnusson to talk to Morander??s family so that the widow could come herself when it was convenient.?? ??You??re right. contacted the G?teborg police just two hours after the murder and gave them information about Gullberg??s threatening letters. has received a number of emails that appear to come from me. She could not imagine how he could finish in time.

and started reading the Bj?rck report while she ate her sandwich. Those were the words she had said to him when he moved to Hedeby. In other words. But after five governmental ?C and roundly criticized ?C S?po investigations. where Clinton had already booked a room for him. He approved a directive that was immediately entered into the secret protocol. Not being able to remember something was a phenomenon unknown to Salander. ??Good morning. ??I repeat: we won??t say a word to the police. A pistol would compensate for her physique.?? ??Margareta called me with the proposal at 11. As soon as Ekstr?m left police headquarters. series that aired in ninety-minute episodes. taking it for granted that Bj?rck had been garrotted by someone. ??My name is Annika Giannini.?? ??The board approved your measures. upgrades.?? ??I??m not interested in military secrets.?? ??This could get a bit awkward. ??Bjurman subjected his ward to some sort of sexual assault ???? Blomkvist shrugged and said nothing.?? ??But if you get difficult about the fact that I??m going to use unethical methods. at least they had worked that one out. ??As I said ?? all I want is the research you come up with. I have been given the authority to use my own judgement in giving you sight of material that is. ??If his plan was to go to Germany ?? Why would he drive to Stockholm? Shouldn??t he have made for Malm? and the bridge to Copenhagen.

With that an inexorable process would have been set in motion. her I.?? ??I can do complicated. which contradicted all law and justice and which would result in a disastrous scandal if it were ever discovered. And that??s how we??ve arrived at this point today. His job was to investigate crimes. They had had a long. in other words. That night Gullberg??s life underwent a radical change.T. ??Even though crucial evidence is lacking. They spent three hours going over the articles for the themed issue and keeping track of the book??s progress.?? ??Why??s that??? ??Circulation has dropped by nearly 150.?? ??But he??s alive. She had managed to free herself from the barn where the man had tied her up. I??m saying that some people within the Security Police are involved in such activity. ??I need to ask some questions. On this law democracy stands or falls.?? Silence descended in Bublanski??s office as the four criminal inspectors considered these implications.M. but I do not have any details to pass on to you. You will have to be something of a mentor to me for the time being.I. She resigned abruptly. out of shape as he was.

She took out her mobile and looked at the time display. But then she realized that this isn??t exactly your style and then ???? ??Then??? ??Well. and it was his job to see to it that it stayed intact. Clinton sank silently on to the chair that was offered.E. I??ve missed you. How do you know about that??? ??Stop arguing and make it snappy. yes. He was brilliant at anything involving graphic design or presentations. I propose cutting all management salaries by half. and called a taxi to pick him up outside S?dra theatre. ??Hello. She had fourteen stitches in her face and would need two new front teeth.?? ??What do you mean??? ??I sent Andersson to bring in Bj?rck for a formal interrogation. for as long as she kept trying.?? ??I??m going to keep an eye on her overnight. She met his gaze. Her door had been open all evening and the nurses had been in to check on her every ten minutes. and any drivel can be posted on a billboard. Control was everything. letter by letter. so she went down to the tunnelbana concourse.?? Salander was studying the vent window in her room when she heard the key turn in the door. as compensation for the injury Ghidi had caused the Iraqi state. from the passport photograph Karim had located.

?? ??No.?? ??O. Did you hear what happened at Sahlgrenska??? ??You could say so. Are you doing the exercises the therapist recommended??? She nodded. I don??t dare get mixed up in anything like that.C. we??ll deal with them. She looked up and down the block. Doctors had tried resuscitation immediately after the shooting. The head of Secretariat sat on the news for several days before he explained to Gullberg that the defection was so big that the chief of S. The technology of R. I don??t dare to comment on the legal ramifications of such an action. ??I just spoke to a nurse at Sahlgrenska. ??It??s going to involve a lot of surveillance. Mikael. But somehow. this is a fine mess we??ve landed in. He was an anonymous power figure among the elite of editors-in-chief. No visitors will be permitted other than you. which dealt with the Wennerstr?m affair. I would guess that somebody in Stockholm will be assigned to compile all the material for a prosecution.?? ??I assume it came up during the interview???? ??Anders.I. Thomasson accepted at once. To this day I have no idea why he died.

??Hello. a local paper in Norway bought it. and that impression was magnified by the fact that she was standing two steps above him.?? Zalachenko gestured towards his feet. had succeeded in averting a suicide and managed to turn the spy in question into a double agent. but soon after he would have had to abandon the car in Finland. 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. Accordingly she had the right to involve herself in the investigation of Zalachenko??s murder. Poison Pen might easily be a married man with five children and a dog. For this I??m willing to pay you a thousand kronor a week. so he plugged in the charger. The wound in your shoulder seems to be the cause. I asked you to get Frisk and come to my office. and Vinge was a bureaucrat of the old school.?? Blomkvist told her the details of the story that Cortez had compiled. He looked around.M. really bad bastard. was involved in Zalachenko??s murder.?? ??That poor girl. ??Look. Criminal Inspector Marcus Erlander from the Violent Crimes Division of the G?teborg police arrived in Gosseberga and took over the investigation from the overburdened Paulsson. Cortez now kept an ashtray on his desk.?? ??Oh. letters and photographs.

Even if we count you in. The letters landed on his desk in the morning.I. ??Giannini. She opened her eyes to two narrow slits and saw a silhouette with crutches in the doorway. you??ve been here a month and I want us to have a chance to catch up. and whose background and political loyalty made him eminently qualified to work alongside the officers in the Section. but he knew that some time in the future he would have to pay her back and erase the shame. Zalachenko stood in the doorway for two minutes without moving. I work in the Violent Crimes Division here in G?teborg. He knew he was being watched from the kitchen window. and a rapist. He had also bathed Salander??s face with a wet towel and done his best to wipe off the dirt. She had been robbed. The hottest thing we??ve got is that the timber industry in Dalarna is reporting a boom. were masters of forgery and disinformation. Berger did not care if Borgsj? was or was not chairman of the board of Vitavara Inc.. 18. ??He gives Teleborian instructions. I have no problem with you taking safety precautions on your own. and a kidnapping. She closed her door. I??ll be starting at another publication. he??s the link to the past.

?? ??Is it possible to trace an email like that??? ??Almost impossible. Blomkvist hesitated. He blamed Niedermann for everything and offered to help them in any way he could to find the fugitive.?? Gullberg said.K. He worked with you for ten years. recently treated for depression. Which is why she??s still alive.?? ??I see. Consequently Blomkvist had no clue whether Salander had revealed that her previous guardian had raped her. It was a young blond man who was usually there two or three days a week. This was largely due to the fact that no-one was quite sure who or what should be investigated.K. If you publish before Edklinth has completed it. the nigger was not allowed to clean inside the prisoner??s room ?C that was done by two cleaning women in the morning ?C and besides. For three years after his nineteenth birthday he had worked as an engineer for British Telecom. I assume you will ignore it. Blomkvist. But that usually happened only with patients whose doctors were already managing their treatment. I was Dr L?derman??s assistant when he was in practice. Gullberg paid his hotel bill and went out to the street. After Queen Myrina finally fell in battle. ??Lisbeth ?? I??m wondering ???? He then said nothing for such a long time that Salander almost asked what it was he wanted. Convicted of insurance fraud in the ??70s. Hans von Rottinger.

She kept an eye on the clock.?? ??Yes.?? ??You would be a source. The rear is screened by your hedge. but there are questions that still have to be answered. He??s kept quiet about that.P. She made her daily sweep. ??My pleasure. Correct to lock up Salander 1991.?? ??Which positions??? Berger said. For several seconds she was seized by panic as the fragmented images of how she had dug herself out of a trench came flooding over her. ??The Zalachenko club spies on me. but it would be done without her being consulted. It??s status quo all the way. been particularly straight or honest with him. nurses and cleaners ?C everybody who works there in fact. but his clients were for the most part corporations with head offices in Switzerland or Liechtenstein. If you want to deliver something. There was no need to follow the van. which helped them turn the informer so that he could become a double agent. On one occasion when I still had my mouth taped shut. And that??s why we sent Inspector Figuerola to invite you to this meeting.?? ??Do I have a say in this??? ??No.?? A ripple of groans greeted this response.

If this were the United States a dozen or so senior S?po hands would have been arrested for obstruction of justice and forced to appear before a public committee in Congress. Headquarters was almost deserted on this summer afternoon. 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. Careers were built on Zalachenko. I have to take the report with me when I go. Von Rottinger came originally from the military intelligence service and worked for several years in the office that coordinated military defence with the Security Police.D.?? ??Micke. ??What do we do now??? Waltari said.Q.?? Berger sighed. I was Dr L?derman??s assistant when he was in practice.?? ??M?rtensson. As far as he knew. the psychologist at Sahlgrenska who had been made available to trauma patients.R. the A. That??s why Clinton has returned to duty. And I??m going to write a full account in time for Lisbeth??s trial. the front page went to press. As recently as this morning. said. He had no black marks in police records. It??s no secret that some of my predecessors at S.?? ??I understand.

?? Modig said. Then Salander came into the picture.Q. There must be several others like it. The only question is: who??? ??The chief of Secretariat ???? ??Yes. ??Get back into bed at once. Which meant that his was being monitored too.?? ??We??ll take care of them. On the one hand. She held her breath until they were some distance from the conference room in which she was trapped. But not the prosecutor who brought the charges against her. He was a senior official in the immigration unit. had been cheated out of a patent by a hot dot. She probably found it in Bjurman??s summer cabin.?? Armansky sat down opposite Bublanski. but it??s also a sensor for the ground floor that you??ll have to turn on when you??re upstairs at night. You mustn??t ever forget something like that. ??How long do I have to lie here like this??? ??You mean in the hospital? It will be at the least a couple of weeks before we can let you go. the author of the report.00. G?tgatan was full of life at all hours of the day and night.F. for using child labour. Let??s meet tonight at 9. Response time would be about thirty minutes.