" What kind is it?" " L don't know." "White?" "And the frame?" " Dark." " Postmark?" "Same as last time." "And no note." "No." "I'm so sorry, Henrik." "Will you appeal?" "What is this?" "The media event of the year?" "Don't try to play it down, Mikael." "It won't work." "Don't try to play it up." "That won't work either." "Mikael, can we get a quote?" "Mikael, will you appeal?" "Yes. I'll appeal to you, Viggo." "Up until today, Mr. Blomkvist was able to play the victim the brave journalist going up against the bad guy." "I don't know why malicious intent couldn't be proven." " When you call a guy a criminal..." " Lf you want to say these things..." "Mikael Blomkvist likes publicity." "There's really no greater disgrace for a journalist than libel." "...was found guilty today on 16 counts of aggravated libel." "Can I get that sandwich there?" "And a black coffee." "In an article published earlier this year, Blomkvist claimed Wennerström, founder and president of the Wennerström Group used state funds intended for industrial development in Poland in an arms deal with the right-wing Ustaše in Croatia." "I have nothing against Mr. Blomkvist." "He's a fine journalist who I don't believe is guided by malice." "But what he wrote was inaccurate." "And inaccuracies can't go unanswered." "All journalists have to accept, like the rest of us actions have consequences." "Blomkvist was ordered to pay 600,000 Swedish kronor in damages and all court costs." "Can I get a packet of Marlboro Red and a lighter?" "Yeah." " Where have you been?" " Walking." "Thinking." " Smoking?" " Yeah." "Just one." "TV4 called." "I told them no statement until we've read the judgment in its entirety." "Well, I have." "Anyone else?" "Everyone who wants to see you humiliated." " Been on the phone all morning?" " L'm as much to blame." " You are?" "You wrote it?" " L read it. I ran it." " Not the same." " Our credibility isn't dead yet." "Mine is." "I'm tired." "I'm gonna go home, crawl under the duvet for a week." "L'll call Greger, tell him I'm not coming home." "Thank you." "It's possible we could wait forever." " You called her and spoke to her?" " L'm afraid that doesn't mean much." "No one here particularly likes her." "I find it's much better if she works from home." "But you told her I wanted to meet with her." "L've told her many times I prefer her not to meet clients." " You like her?" " Very much." "She's one of the best investigators l have, as you saw from her report." " But?" " L'm concerned you won't like her." " She's different." " Ln what way?" "In every way." "Miss Salander is here." "Lisbeth." "Mr. Dirch Frode." "How do you do?" "Something wrong with the report?" "No, it was quite thorough." "But I'm also interested in what's not in it." " There's nothing not in it." " Your opinion of him isn't." " L'm not paid to give my opinion." " So you don't have one?" "He's clean, in my opinion." "You mean he's hygienic?" "He's who he presents himself to be." "In his business, that's an asset." "Well, there's less in his asset column after his conviction today." "True." "He made a fool of himself." "If it happened that way." "Are you suggesting that he was set up?" "That was never part of my assignment." "But you're right." "He did make a fool of himself professionally." "How much of a fool did he make of himself financially?" "The judgment will just about empty his savings." " May I go?" " Moment." "Your report is light in another area." "His personal life." "Anything you chose not to disclose?" "Nothing that warranted inclusion." "Does that mean yes or no?" "I think what Miss Salander means, and I agree, is that everyone has a right to a certain amount of privacy, even if they're being investigated." "Not in this case." "I need to know anything about him I might find unsavory, even if she doesn't." "He's had a longstanding sexual relationship with his co-editor of the magazine." "It wrecked his marriage but not hers." "Sometimes he performs cunnilingus." "Not often enough, in my opinion." "No, you're right not to include that." "I know." "You needed a better attorney." "You needed your sister." " She offered." " He declined." " As she hoped." " Never a good idea." " Mixing family and business." " L would've lost anyway." "It wasn't about Mikael. lt was about Wennerström sending a message to the press and the FSA, saying, "Don't ask questions."" "Cheer up." "Dad." "Nilla, you don't have to worry about me." " Mom's worried." " About me?" "About the money." "Good evening." "Nilla?" "What are you doing?" "Nothing." "Are you serious?" "I don't wanna talk about it since I know you won't approve." "Of...?" " Nilla." " Light of Life." "Light of what?" " Hello?" " Herr Blomkvist." " Yeah." " Forgive me for intruding on Christmas." "My name is Dirch Frode." "I'm an attorney. I represent Henrik Vanger." "Perhaps you've heard of him?" "Yeah, of course I have." "He'd love to talk to you about a private matter." "This is an awkward moment." "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm about to sit down to a Christmas dinner myself." "No, that's not exactly what I meant." "You're referring to your recent legal problems." "That has provided us with much amusement." "I'm sorry?" "Herr Vanger has little love for Herr Wennerström either." " Have him call me." " But he would love to speak to you in person, if possible." "Up north." " Ln Hedestad." " That's not gonna be possible." "Herr Blomkvist, he's far too old to go to Stockholm." "Please." "Be so kind as to consider." "Hedestad is lovely in the winter." "L'll call you back on this number." "Okay?" "Usually when I wake up in a cold bed it's at home." " L'm sorry." " What are you doing?" " L'm writing a press release." " Saying?" "You're taking over as publisher, you're very sorry for any nuisance Mr. Wennerström was caused..." " ...and I can't be reached for comment." " Are you giving up?" "Stepping aside." "This makes me sick." " First time in Hedestad?" " And the last." "Oh, don't say that." "It's lovely in the spring." "You said it would be lovely in the winter." "Well, this is unseasonable." "Well, I'll be on the 4:30 train back to Stockholm." "Unless we get snowed in." "I'm joking." "You'll be home tonight, if that's what you wish." "Welcome." "Come inside." "It's warm." "How do you do?" "So what do you know about me?" "You used to run one of the largest industrial firms in the country." " "Used to." That's correct." " Oh, I didn't mean that." " Should I stay?" " No." "My grandfather forged the tracks that the 4:30 train will take you home on." "We stitched this country together." "We made the steel, milled the lumber that built modern Sweden." "And what do you think our most profitable product now is?" "Fertilizer." "I'm not obsessed by the declining health of the company." "But I am with the settling of accounts." "And the clock is ticking." "I need your help." "L'm..." "Doing what?" "Officially, assisting with my memoirs." "But what you'll really be doing is solving a mystery by doing what you do so well." "Your recent legal mishap notwithstanding." "You will be investigating thieves, misers, bullies the most detestable collection of people that you will ever meet." "My family." "Would you like to sit?" "I could possibly clear a place if necessary." " Did you make it?" " Have you something for me?" "I am on welfare, I do not administer it." "This is not enough." "No, thank you." "This is Harriet." "The granddaughter of my brother Richard." "Richard was a Nazi of the first order joining the Nationalist Socialist Freedom League when he was 17." "Isn't it interesting how fascists always steal the word "freedom"?" "Oh, the 4:30." "Yes, I know." "Okay." "Anyway, Richard died a martyr to the Nazi cause in 1940." "Missed all the real excitement." "But not the opportunity to regularly beat his wife, Margareta and their son, Gottfried." "Now, Gottfried, Harriet's father was what they used to call a good-time Charlie." " They still call them that." " Do they?" "Okay." "He was a charmer, a ladies' man and a drunk." "In other words, a born salesman." "Which he did for the company traveling around and taking clients out to dinner." " Well, somebody's gotta do it." " That's right." "Anyway, he died in 1965." "Drowned, drunk, here on the island." "His wife, Isabella, who had been pretty much useless as a parent before became even more so after his death which is when I began looking after the children." "Martin, who runs Vanger lndustries, now that I'm retired." "That's right, I Googled him." "And Harriet." "She was bright, curious a winning combination in any person." " And beautiful." " Yeah." "Something happened to her?" "Someone in the family murdered Harriet and for the past 40 years has been trying to drive me insane." "It was September 24th, 1966." "A Saturday." "Harriet was 16." "My brothers and their wives and their children and grandchildren were all gathered here for our loathsome annual board meeting and dinner." "It was also the day the yacht club held their autumn parade." "Harriet, with one or two school friends, went into town to see it." "She returned a little after 2:00." "She came into the parlor." "She asked if she could talk to me." "I honestly don't remember what I was doing that I thought was more important but I told her to give me a few minutes." "It was during those few minutes that something else occurred." "The accident had nothing to do with Harriet and yet everything." "It was chaos as everybody put down what they were doing." "Police, ambulance, fire brigade reporters, photographers, onlookers all quickly arrived from town just as we on the island, the family, hurried to the bridge from our side." "The driver of the car a man named Aronsson was pinned and severely injured." "We tried desperately to pry him loose with our hands since metal tools might spark." "It was an hour after the crash that Harriet was in the kitchen." "Anna herself saw her." "Well, we finally got poor Aronsson out of his car and off to the hospital." "Just as we from our side slowly drifted back to the house." "The sun was down, the excitement over." "We sat down to dinner." "It was then that I noticed Harriet wasn't there." "And she wasn't there the next morning." "Or the next." "Or the next 40 years." "What was she going to tell me?" "Why didn't I make time for her?" "Why didn't I listen?" " And she couldn't have just run away?" " No." "Not without being seen." "The firemen stayed out all night on the bridge pumping up gasoline." "No one swam across or took a boat." "All the boats were still tied up on this side Sunday." "Believe me, I checked." "She couldn't have just fallen and drowned?" "No." "The currents aren't strong here." "Anything that falls in the water turns up." "Like her father." "His body didn't drift more than 10 meters when he drowned the year before." "Oh, no." "Someone killed her." "Someone on the island that day." "Someone close enough to know what she used to give me each year on my birthday." "Those are from her." "And the rest, from her killer." "Who knows about these?" "There's me, the police, the killer and now you." "After the police investigation evaporated I kept at it, studying all the information there was." "I have spent half my life examining the events of a single day." "I understand your frustration but what you're asking me to do, it's a waste of money." " But we haven't discussed your fee." " We don't need to." "Thank you." "I can't find something you've been unable to find in 40 years." "You don't know that." "You have a very keen investigative mind." "Here's what I propose:" "You come stay on the island." "I have a nice little cottage by the water you can use." "You study the material I send you." "You find something I've missed or you don't." "What you're asking me to do is set aside my life and career for..." "Think of this as a well-deserved holiday." "A way of avoiding all those people that you might want to avoid right now." "As for compensation, I'll pay you double your salary for as many months as it takes." " Quadruple it if you solve the mystery." " Herr Vanger..." "I'm not done." "I will throw in one more thing even though you're a terrible negotiator." "It's something you want more than anything else and it can't be bought at any price." "So let me give it to you." "Hans-Erik Wennerström." "He began his career working for me and I have followed it with interest, shall we say, ever since." "You were right about him." "You just couldn't prove it." "We're in the middle of the worst crisis ever, and you're writing a memoir." " You fired me. I need something to do." " You fired you." "I need you here, not the North Pole." "Mikael, you know what this is going to look like." "Like I've been gutted." "I'm running away. I am." "Wennerström wants to see me wave a white flag, not a red flag." "If it looks like there's a problem between us, it'll satisfy him." "There is a problem between us." "He won't be satisfied until he shuts us down." " You're leaving me to fight him alone." " Lt's four hours by train." "It's not the North Pole." "Hey, hey." "Network busy." "Please try again later." "What?" "Some milk?" "Network busy." "Please try again later." "Oh, yeah." "These as well." " You're Mr. Palmgren's daughter?" " His ward." "He doesn't have a daughter." "Please." "He's had severe cerebral hemorrhaging either from the fall itself or from a stroke that led to the fall." "His blood pressure is still high." "I'm hopeful he'll regain consciousness, but that's not assured." "And it's possible, even if he does that there will be neurological damage." "Oh, jeez." "Hi. I'm Gunnar." "The caretaker." " Oh, hey, Gunnar." "Come in." " Okay." " You want to put it in there?" " Okay." "You're an author." "Well, I'm doing a biography of Herr Vanger." " L saw you on television." " That's unfortunate." "Bit of trouble, I guess." " No jail time though." "That's good." " No." "Cost you a lot of money though, yeah?" "There." "The entire island is owned by my family." "Your closest neighbor is my brother Harald another Nazi, if you can believe." "Two in the family." "Oh, yes, he's quite detestable, to put it nicely." "But you'll probably never see him." "He's a recluse." " He was there that day?" " Lndeed, he was." "His daughter, Cecilia, lives over there." "They don't speak." "Does anybody speak to anybody on this island?" "Actually, Isabella, Harriet's mother, who lives there she speaks to Harald, which is one of the reasons I don't speak to her." "Right." "Cecilia's brother, Birger, lives over there." "Who doesn't he speak to?" "You, probably." "But you wouldn't want him to." "He can be just as unpleasant as Harald." "Quickly losing track of who's who here." "How you'll wish it were always so." "Soon you will know us all only too well." "With my apologies." "Now, out there, my grandnephew Martin's house, Harriet's brother." " Who speaks to him?" " L speak to him." "He runs the company now, as I think I told you." "Someone's shooting his dinner." "Gunnar, probably." "Oh, yes, I met him earlier." "He was 19 when Harriet disappeared." "Well, he lives over there." " And you live there." " Sorry?" "Your house." "Oh, yes." "Yes, you're right." "The man who hires the detective should always be kept on the suspects list." "Her mother." "But what about the search?" "Please." "Please. I beg you." "The fact that I never found a body was not surprising." "You can't dig up an entire island." "But neither could I find the motive." "Was it spontaneous?" "Was it calculated?" "Did she know something someone wished she didn't?" " Was it about business?" " Business?" "Well, she was 16." "And very bright." "Henrik told me and many others he could easily see her running the company one day." "She was with some friends that day at a parade." "She told them she was feeling unwell." "She left early." "But they also told me she kept secrets from them too." "The main thing I learned was that teenage girls are complicated." " L have one." " Then you know." "I wanted to ask you about this." "She received that from Henrik the Christmas before." "L've studied it more times than I can say." "I know every page of it." " Lt's the last page I was curious about." " As was I." "It's a list of names, numbers and it must have some significance." "All local phone numbers." "The first belonged to a woman, Margot whose mother was Magda, who denied knowing Harriet." "The fourth, R.L., belonged to Rosmarie Larsson an elderly woman who died some years before." "The other three were not connected in any way that I could find." "I reminded you of things you'd rather forget, and I'm sorry." "I can't forget." "It's my Rebecka case." "I don't know what that is." "Every policeman has at least one unsolved case to obsess over." "Back then we had an Officer Torstensson." "Year after year, he kept going back to this Rebecka case." "Taking out the files, studying them over and over." "We were young." "We laughed at him." "And that was also a missing-girl case?" "No, no, no, that's not why I mention it." "I'm talking about the soul of a policeman." "Poor old Torstensson never solved it." "And he never let it go." "So how's Mr. Palmgren doing?" "I heard he had a stroke of some kind?" "It's terrible." "Now, what exactly do you do at this security company?" "Make coffee, sort mail." "But not full-time." "Not even part-time consistently." "They somehow got along without coffee or mail in July and August?" " How much do you make there?" " Enough." "How much is your rent?" "I pay my rent." "And when was the last time you were late?" "Never." "You think that thing through your eyebrow makes you attractive?" "Here's the problem." "There's a discrepancy between the obligation of Mr. Palmgren's guardianship and the management of your finances." "There's no discrepancy. lt was clear I could manage my own finances." "That is not clear to me." " L'm not a child." " You are not." "But you were." "And between then and now, you were committed to the locked ward of St. Stefan's where you continued to display violent aggression." "And you failed to adapt to four foster homes were arrested twice for intoxication, twice for narcotics again for assault, smashing a bottle into a man's face." "And it's not even that long ago." "You may have conned Mr. Palmgren into thinking that you have changed but when I'm looking at this not to mention the way you're looking at me now I don't think you have." "So the good old Mr. Palmgren days are over." "Starting now, you will be given a monthly allowance." "You'll provide me with receipts for your expenses." "If the numbers don't balance, I assume the difference is going to drugs." "L've taken care of myself since I was 10." "The state has taken care of you." "Miss Salander, please, look at me, this is important." "Since your behavior is elaborately documented in here it will shock no one if I chose an alternative to the very lenient arrangement I have just outlined." "Would you prefer institutionalization?" " Mikael?" " Yes." " L'm Liv." " Oh, hi." "We're going to the same place." "Hop in." "Oh, good, thank you." "I found him at death's door, halfway up the hill." " L'm afraid I'm a little out of shape." " Lt's a climb for anyone." " L should've warned you." "Come in." " Thank you, Martin." "Henrik says great things about you." " No, no." "Leave your shoes on." " Martin?" "Smells wonderful." " What are we drinking?" " What a place." "Look at that view." "I used to work in the company's petrochemical division in Göteborg." "When it was sold, I went with it." "A dark day." "I live in Hong Kong, but come back to Stockholm for family events." "And I drive up to spend a couple of days with Martin." " Lt's just the moose steak she wants." " Who can blame her?" "It's wonderful." "Something's left open." "Do you like this wine..." " ...or you want to try something else?" " No, no, it's fine." "You're writing a book now, Martin said." " Henrik's biography." " L love Henrik." "He's fascinating." "Martin too." "Together they are the old Sweden and the new." "Yes, they are." "You know about Harriet, right?" " You don't?" " Yes, I do." "The family doesn't want to talk about it, but it can't be swept under the rug." " What can't?" " Harriet." "We can talk about it later." "We can talk about it now." "Liv knows everything about my crazy family." " That's why she'll never marry me." " That's one reason." "I don't want to read about that in the book." "Everything else is fine." "Harriet certainly." "You know, everything changed after that." "Not just the family but the company as well." " How so?" " We're not Ericsson or Nordea." "But we're still the largest family-owned company in the country." "At our height we had 40,000 employees." "We have half of that now." "And that downward slide began after my sister's death." "It broke Henrik's entrepreneurial spirit and his heart." " You were here that day?" " L came in later after the accident on the bridge, with the 4:30 train." " L know it well." " A terrible day." "And the days after, you know?" "Searching, not finding." "Even worse." "This event, Mikael, it has to have a big part in your book." "I got a call from social welfare." "L've been assigned a new guardian." " Hi." " Hello." "I thought I'd come over and say hello." " L'm Cecilia." " Oh, yes." "Please, come in." "Can I get you some coffee?" "No, thank you." "We are all uncomfortable with the idea of a chronicle of our family." "It's not about the family." "It's about Henrik and the company." "Like I said." "It's not my intention to present a malicious portrait of anyone." "Unlike the one that landed you in court." "Unlike that one, yes." "So you're not really here to find out what happened to Harriet." "I can't ignore such a dramatic event, but, no, that's by no means my focus." "Those boxes that Gunnar carted down here which are where, in the closet now?" "Those weren't Henrik's investigation?" "I wonder sometimes who's crazier, my Nazi father or my obsessed uncle." "Since we're talking about her since you brought her up, what was she like?" "What was Harriet like?" " L'm sure Henrik has told you." " He was my age back then." "He couldn't know what was really going on with a teenager." "You were the same age." "My sister Anita was closer to her in age." "She knew Harriet better than anyone." "You should talk to her." " L'd love to." "Where is she?" " Lf I had to guess, London." "You don't know where your sister lives?" "I haven't seen her in years." "We never really got along." " L'm getting used to that comment." " She hates this place more than I do." "She left." "Moved to London, that was it." "You couldn't pay her to send a Christmas card, much less visit." "L'll track her down for you." "If you do, and try talking to her about us don't be surprised if she tells you to fuck off." "You're backed up, aren't you?" "Hard drive at home, yeah." "Okay." "That's good, because this one's done." "Have you ever had any sexually transmitted diseases?" "And when was the last time that you were tested for hiv?" "How many partners have you had in the last month?" "And how many of those were men?" "It's regulation, I have to ask these things. lt's a health matter." "Write what you want." "And why do you need such an expensive computer?" " For work." " Making coffee, sorting mail." " L should have control of my money." " And you will." "Once you learn to be sociable, get along with people." "Can you do that?" "Why don't we start with that now, huh?" "Why don't we start with me?" "You do something for me, I do something for you." "That's what normal people do." "I want you to have that computer." "Feel that." "That's gabardine." "Unzip it." "And...." "l like the reticence." "It's almost convincing." "Anita Vanger." " Through there." " Thank you." "Excuse me." "I probably should have made an appointment." "No, it's fine." " Please have a seat." " Thank you." " Mikael." " Mikael." "How do you do?" "How do you do?" "So you're looking for investment counseling?" "Well, I would be if I had any money." "I'm sorry, I don't understand." "I'm writing a biography of your Uncle Henrik." "That's why I'm here." "I haven't seen him in over 20 years." "Actually it's a lot more than that." "Haven't seen my sister, haven't seen anyone in that family." "Most of what I'm writing about predates that so your recollections are valid." "I wouldn't know where to start, if that was a question." "Well, then let me narrow it down." "L've gotten up to the 1960s to the event that, you know, changed everything in Henrik's life." "Harriet." "Everything that I know about that I told to whatever his name was." "Morell." "My recollections were a lot better then." "I'm not really speaking about the event itself." "I just want to get a clearer sense of what Harriet was like." "She was very messed up." "Well, just like all us Vanger kids, really, but...." "Crazy mother." "Drunken father." "At least her father wasn't a Nazi." " Was he abusive?" " Mine?" "No, hers." "Not that I ever saw, but you could tell that something was going on." "Some days she'd be very withdrawn." "And then the next minute she'd be putting on makeup and wearing the tightest sweater that she had to school." "And then she'd be studying her Bible like a nun." "No Vanger was ever religious." "Can you imagine?" "She was obviously very unhappy." " What do you think happened to her?" " Everyone knows what." "You don't have any thoughts about who or why?" "All that I know is that I felt really sorry for her." "I got away when I was 18 and I never went back." "And she'd have done the same." "But she never made it to 18." "Mr. Bjurman, please." "It's Lisbeth Salander." "Hold for a moment, please." "Lisbeth, I haven't seen you." "Are you well?" "I'm fine. I'm sorry I missed our appointment, I had a lot of work." "Something the matter?" "No, no, nothing to be concerned about." "Actually, I need another advance on my allowance." "Can I come to your office tonight?" "I don't work at night, Lisbeth." "Why don't you come to my house, huh?" "Do you have a pen?" "I don't need a pen." "What's the address?" "It's...." " Hello?" " Lt's me." "Lisbeth." "Come on in." " You like it?" " Lt's nice." "It's home." "What do you need money for this time?" "Food." "How are you?" "I'm so glad you decided to come and visit." "I just want my money." "Well, let's see if we can help you out with that." "Wait." "Is there a problem?" "I just want to know am I going to have to do this every time I need money to eat?" "You're so cute when you're surly." "I forgot to ask you:" "You like anal sex?" "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen." "Through faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God." " L'll drive you home." " L can get home on my own." "Are you sure?" " Ls it any warmer inside?" " No." "I apologize if you've been having financial problems at the magazine during Mikael's absence." " We'll work through them." " Are you sure?" "How long do you think you can hang on?" "Six months?" "That sounds about right." "I used to be in the newspaper business." " We owned six dailies back in the '50s." " We still own one." " The Courier, here in town." " Which I let my nephew, Birger, run because he can't run anything else." "So, what would you say to taking on a partner?" "Well, we've never had to consider it before." "We value our independence very much." "Independence in publishing is dependent on advertisers." "However much you have, you retain." "We don't care about content." "Excuse me?" "Did I miss something?" "Talking about investing in the magazine." " L gathered that." "But why?" " Not out of greed, that's for sure." "I feel badly that I've taken Mikael away from you at the worst possible time." "But now I am convinced that this is the right thing to do." "The moral thing." "That's one reason." "And...." "And...?" "The enemies of my friends are my enemies." "How long have you been discussing this with them?" "I haven't." "They called yesterday and asked me to come up." " Why didn't you tell me?" " You live in the woods." " L deserve to be treated like an idiot?" " L wanted to hear what they had to say." "You would've said no before they could." "Well, I'm saying it now." "It's a bad idea." "You heard me tell them we had six months. I lied." "We will be out of business in three." "But you don't know this family like I do." "They're crazy." "We're not marrying into it." "If we do this, that's exactly what we're doing." "So you wanna say no, let's say no." "Instead of 50 percent of something, let's own 100 percent of nothing." " Mikael?" " What?" "I'm leaving this godforsaken island in the morning." " So?" " So are you coming to bed or not?" "How much do one of those cost?" "Around 3000." "This is really gonna hurt." "Your call." "Vanger Industries took a controlling interest in Millennium magazine which, according to analysts, has been in financial trouble...." "Millennium is an excellent magazine." "We think it's undervalued right now." "Which is good business for us." "Well, there's another reason." "I don't like bullies." "Are you referring to Mr. Wennerström?" "I'm referring to anyone who tries to sue his enemies into submission." "If Herr Wennerström would like to try it again he will find himself fighting a company that can afford to fight back." "I've always admired Henrik Vanger." "He's a titan and a gentleman." "But he's also quite old now which may explain how he could be taken in by a convicted liar." "Three-twenty." "Shit." "The current archive is on CDs." "The older stuff, still negatives." "What general period are you interested in?" "September, 1966." "Thank you." "Is this about Harriet Vanger?" "You're too young to know about that." "Everyone here grows up knowing about her." "It's how we're taught about strangers." " Lisbeth." " L need to pay my rent." "I need some money." "Oh, come on in." "I feel a bit badly how we left it last time." "Me too." "Good." "You're alive." "You recognize this?" "I had it with me last time. I set it here, remember?" "And this snap, you see it?" "It's not a snap." "It's a wide-angle fiber-optics lens." "I thought it was going to be another blow job which is disgusting enough." "But I misjudged just how sick you are." "Okay." "Here's what's going to happen." "Pay attention." "Look at me." "Once you can sit again which could be a while, I admit, we're going to go to my bank and tell them that I alone have access to my money." "Nod." "After that you will never contact me again." "Each month you will prepare a report of a meeting we will never have." "In it, you'll describe how well l'm doing." "How "sociable" l'm becoming." "Then you will negotiate with the court to have my declaration of incompetence lifted." "If you fail, this video will spread across the internet like a virus." "Nod." "And if anything should happen to me, if I get run over by a car if you run me over with a car, this will upload automatically." "Nod that you understand." "Gabardine." "I'm taking the keys to this apartment because I'll be checking on you." "If I find a girl in here with you, whether she came of her own free will or not...." "No, not the video." "L'll kill you." "Do you doubt anything I've said?" "Do you doubt what's in the reports that have followed me around all my life?" "What do they say?" "If you had to sum it up." "They say I'm insane." "No, it's okay, you can nod because it's true." "I am insane." "Nod!" "I know it's going to be hard for you to abide by my rules." "The abstinence part most of all." "So I'm going to make it easier for you." "Lie still." "L've never done this before." "And there will be blood." " Hi." " Hi." "What are you doing here?" "On my way to Skellefteå." "I can only stay a couple of hours." "What's in Skellefteå?" "Bible camp." "Oh, yeah." "I'm not dangerous." "It's fine, Nilla." "Whatever you want to do is fine." "Everybody needs something." "Just as long as it's not God." "I didn't say that." "I haven't been around enough to really know what's going on with you." "And I apologize for that." "But I'd never want you not to tell me something because you think I might not want to hear it." "That's what I'm doing." "It should've been me visiting you." " L'm sorry." " Lt's okay." "It was nice seeing you." "Bye-bye." " L'll see you." " Yeah." "Thanks." "Oh, don't go too hard on the Catholics." " The what?" " The article you're writing." "Oh, I'm not writing an article about Catholics." "The Bible quotes by your desk." "I love you." "A woman who is a medium or a sorcerer shall be put to death by stoning." "If a dove is the sinner's offering the priest shall wring off its head, cleave its wings and burn it upon the altar." " Hello?" " Detective Morell, it's Mikael Blomkvist." "Yes, hello." "How are you?" "Not still freezing in Hedestad, I hope, for your sake." "You know that Rebecka case you mentioned." "Would you recall her last name?" "Of course I do." "But what has that to do with anything?" " Nothing, probably." " Jacobsson." "Rebecka Jacobsson." "And how was she killed?" "She was decapitated." "Her arms were cut off and she was burned." "But all that happened in the 1940s." " What have you found?" " L have to call you back." "Why...?" " Ls it Henrik?" " We were talking." "He rubbed his arm, then he collapsed." " Think he's gonna be okay?" " L honestly don't know." " You go." "Talk to you later." " L'm sorry." "Evening." "So how is he?" "Well, the good news is he survived." "How he does now, we'll have to see." " He's in intensive care." " Right." " May I have one of those?" " You want a sandwich?" " Small Scotch." " Sure." "Thank you." "I hate to be indelicate, but Henrik promised me something..." " ...when I agreed to do this." " Wennerström." "I need to know what he has on him." "Now. ln case.... in case he dies?" " Well, that is indelicate." " And I apologize." "I don't know what he has on him, if you're asking me." "And he can't tell you in the condition he's in, so...." "We also didn't discuss who I'd report to if something should happen to him." "Oh, well, you'd report to me, of course." "But we both know that nothing's going to come of this, don't we?" " No." "No, we don't know that." " What do you mean?" " L may have found something." " You're joking." "What have you found?" "The last time I reported on something without being absolutely sure I lost my life savings." "I need a research assistant." "Can you authorize that?" "Yes." "Do you have one in mind?" " L can find someone." " L know an excellent one." "She did the background check on you." "The what?" "Well, you don't think we can hire just anyone without doing a background check." "I want to read that." "Herr Frode was kind enough to share your report with me." "The investigator's name." "That is her name, yes?" "See, I can't find any record of her, and I'm pretty good at that." " Would it matter what her name is?" " Lf I wanted to speak to her, yes." " Lt's against policy." " You sure?" "Just like your sources." "You understand." "Okay." "Here's a name for you." "My sister." "She's also my lawyer." "She'll be contacting you." "There are things in here that can only have come from one place." "The reason you can find no record of her is because her records are sealed." " She's a ward of the state." " What's that gotta do with anything?" "She's had a rough life." "Can we please not make it any rougher?" "Who is it?" "It's Mikael Blomkvist." " Actually, I'm not really up yet." " May I come in?" "Please?" "Hi." "You and I need to talk." "L've got us some breakf..." "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had some company." "Who do you think you are?" "I'm the guy you know better than my closest friends do." "Why don't you put some clothes on, get rid of your girlfriend." "We need to talk." "I'm sorry, you have to go." "Okay." "Do you need me to stay?" "No." " Bye." " Bye." "Bye." " Sorry." " Lt's okay." "I guess I must have alarmed you, turning up like that." "If you touch me, I'll more than alarm you." "That won't be necessary." "Your report, very detailed." " But for me, it wasn't very entertaining." " Lt wasn't meant to be." "When I write about people, I try to entertain the reader." "Wennerström wasn't entertained much." "Your boss, Armansky yeah, he tells me you only do jobs that interest you so I suppose I should be flattered." "You gonna sit down?" "He also says that you're the one he goes to when the job is sensitive." "That's the word he used, "sensitive." l'm gonna use "illegal" because that's what it was when you hacked into my computer." "No, I'm not gonna do anything about that. I could, but I won't." "What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna tell you a story and if it entertains you, maybe you'll decide to help me research further." "And if not, I'll do the washing up and you'll never see me again." "Here, you should eat that." "What kind of research?" "Lisbeth..." "Oh, can I call you Lisbeth?" "I want you to help me catch a killer of women." "L've got R.J." "Rebecka Jacobsson." "L've got absolutely no idea who the rest of these are or how they're connected to the death of a 16-year-old girl, but they must be somehow." "What we've gotta do is find out who they are, what happened to them and what these Leviticus verses have to do with anything." " What are you doing?" " Getting started." " You can keep talking if you want." " Don't you need to look over these?" "I got it." "Cat!" "How'd you get in?" "No one has asked me about Magda in over 40 years." "Why would a lady like you want to know about an awful murder?" " Lt interests me." " Does it?" "Her husband was the first suspect." "The husband is always the first suspect and usually the last." "But not this time." "We moved on to a neighbor." "Then a vagrant." "Once you get to strangers, it's only a matter of time before you get to gypsies and you know you're never going to solve it." "How exactly was she killed?" " Miss...?" " Salander." "Miss Salander. I hope you don't mind me asking, but when did you last eat?" "I have a high metabolism." "I can't put on weight." "I'm asking because it is better to look at what I am about to show you on an empty stomach." "If a man's offering is a lamb, it shall be a female without blemish." "He should lay his hand upon its head slaughter it, empty its blood on the base of the altar and he shall be forgiven." " How is he?" " He needs surgery but there's no DNR in place." "So it's up to the family to decide should the occasion arise, whether to resuscitate or not." "And they're not good at decisions." "So how was it with Miss Salander?" "She said yes." "Do you think I might be able to see him?" "He was asleep the last time I looked, but let me check." " Thank you." " Don't check." "Tell him to pack his things and leave." " Mother, please." " Don't use that tone with me." "Isabella, Mr. Blomkvist works for Henrik." " We should put this to a vote." " Don't be an idiot, Birger." "We all know what Henrik wants." "Can we just do that?" "Henrik is fighting for his life in there." "This is the last thing he needs." "Excuse me, Mrs. Vanger, there is no smoking in here." "Go back to Stockholm." "When we need a family chronicle written by a libelist we know who to call." "All right." "Thanks." "This way, miss." "If a woman approaches any beast and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the beast." "Their blood shall be upon them." "My family's impossible." "That's why the company's such a mess." "I apologize for my mother's behavior." "I'm used to it." "It has nothing to do with you." "It's between her and Henrik." "She lost it when my father died, and her drinking and her...." "Got so bad Henrik took me and my sister away from her and left her excommunicated in the old house on the other side of the island." "She hasn't forgiven him." "You must stay." "You're the last chance Henrik has at some kind of resolution." "Put this to rest one way or another." "L'll keep my mother away." "But please, hurry." "Of course." "Lisbeth." " L'll get that." " Lt's okay." " Martin Vanger." " How do you do?" "Fine." " Lt's a girlfriend, or...?" " Assistant." "Thank you so much." " Good night." " Good night." "Problems finding the place?" "Everyone in town knows who and where you are." "That's comforting." "Are you hungry?" "I can make you a sandwich." "No." "I used to have a motorbike, a Triumph." "I know." "The five cases from Harriet's list." "And five more she missed." "Three I'm sure of." "Rebecka was the first, just as you thought." "The second, M.H., is Mari Holmberg, a prostitute in Kalmar murdered in 1954, matching Leviticus 20:18." "Right. "lf a man lies with a woman having her sickness..."" "...he has made naked her fountain and she has uncovered..." ""...the fountain of her blood."" "Raped and stabbed, but cause of death was suffocation by sanitary napkin." " Okay." " R.L. Rakel Lunde, 1957." "A cleaning woman and part-time palm reader." "Tied with a clothesline, gagged, raped." "Head crushed with a rock." "Leviticus 20:27." ""A woman who is a medium or sorceress shall be put to death by stoning."" " l usually like to smoke outside." " Sara Witt, 1964." "Daughter of a pastor." "Tied to her bed." "Raped." "Charred in the fire that burned down her house." "Leviticus 21:9." ""The daughter of a priest who profanes herself by playing the harlot profanes her father and shall be burned with fire."" "Magda Lovisa Sjöberg, 1960." "Found in a barn." "Stabbed and raped with farm tools." "The cow in the next stall had its throat slit." "Its blood was splashed on her and hers on it." "Leviticus 20:16." ""lf a woman lies with any beast you shall kill the woman and the beast." "Their blood is upon them."" "Lea Persson, 1962." "Found by her sister in their pet shop." "Raped, beaten." "The killer uncaged the animals, smashed the aquariums." "There was a parakeet inside her." "Next, Eva Gustavsson, 1960." "A runaway." "Raped, strangled." "A burnt pigeon tied around her neck." "Lena Andersson, 1967." "A student." "Raped, stabbed, decapitated..." " Okay." " L'm not finished." "We're looking for a serial murderer but what could that have to do with a teenager living on an island?" "She was looking for him too." "Rape." "Torture." "Fire." "Animals." "Religion." " Am I missing anything?" " The names." "They're all Biblical." "The first woman, the whore, the Virgin Mary." "Rebecka, Sara, all from the Old Testament." "Which means they're all Jewish." "One thing the Vangers have more than their fair share of, it's anti-Semites." "There's one right there." "I can sleep on a couch." "Okay." "Right." "Oh, yeah, there might be a cat somewhere." " Good night." " Night." "Harriet's name isn't." "Isn't what?" " Jewish." " No." " What are you doing?" " Reading your notes." "They're encrypted." "Please." "Have some coffee." "Okay." "Then we're gonna have a very serious conversation about what's yours and what's mine." "It's amazing what you figured out with the parade photos." "Thank you." " Lt's too bad you don't have hers." " Whose?" "Her." "Can I...?" "Sorry." "Yeah, all right." "Close that." "No." "Not that." "That's the one." "Yep." "Where the fuck's that?" "That's down there, isn't it?" "Okay." "Oh, yeah, yeah." "And...." "What does that say there?" " "N" something "R-S-J."" " That's "Norsjö," yeah." "Then something "K." Something "R-l-F."" ""Carpentry."" "Well, we need to find a carpenter." "Fuck!" "The carpentry shop is gone. I don't even know if he worked there or not but if he did, maybe he used to come in here for hardware." "I don't recognize him." "Sorry." "Well, I had to start somewhere." "I'm no detective, but 1966, I would have started at a retirement home." "This is Brännlund's kid." "Do you know where l might find him?" "The son?" "Next to his father at the cemetery." "He was killed in an accident on a construction site, years ago." "But she might still be alive." "His widow." "Do you know where l might find her?" "Please drive to highlighted route." "In 1966, you were in Hedestad with your husband." "Who took these?" "A local photographer." "You were taking pictures too that day and I'd love to look at them if by some miracle you have them." "It wouldn't be a miracle." "We were on our honeymoon." "But why?" "This girl here." "Here, you can see her better in the enlargement." "See, that's you there." "Just after this was taken after she'd seen something across the street, she was murdered." "How awful." " There you are." " Thank you." "Would you mind if I made a copy of this?" "No." "I can't give you any of this stuff without authorization from Mr. Armansky." "So call him." "Next time, fill out the proper paperwork." "Which one are you?" "Going down." "How's your sex life?" "I didn't care much for your last report." "It felt perfunctory, like your heart wasn't in it." "Let's see a little more enthusiasm for my recovery in next month's." "Don't speak. I don't want to hear your voice, just nod." "Start looking for a shrink you can bribe to swear under oath he can find absolutely nothing wrong with me." "And stop visiting tattoo-removal websites." "Or I'll do it again right here." " Ls that dental floss?" " Yes." "You're gonna sterilize that, right?" "Couldn't we just use tape or something?" "No." "What?" "Thank you." "Jesus!" " Drink." " Okay." "Just be careful. it's my eye." " Don't move." " You're not a doctor." " Take off your wet clothes." " What?" "Yeah." "Thank you." "Yeah, I think it's stopped bleeding." "It still fucking hurts, though." "Madness." "I mean, madness." "This is fucking madness." "You're okay, you're okay, you're okay." "Jesus, that hurts." "Fuck." "This is insane." "I mean, these people..." "Somebody was shooting at me." "I mean, it wasn't an accident." "No one's shooting at you now." "You know, I'm pretty sure this is a bad idea." "Why?" "I'm old and we work together..." "You work with what's-her-name and that's worked out for you." "Yeah, well, I do have some standards, believe it or not." "You need to stop talking." "Oh, shit." "Do you want me to open a window?" " L like working with you." " L like working with you too." " Lt could have been a stray shot." " Not by Gunnar." "If he wanted to shoot him, he wouldn't be here." "And then we have poachers." "They shoot at anything that moves." "Or he's right, Dirch." "What if he is?" "This has to stop." "Do you want to stop, Mikael?" "Look, I have police reports, photos Henrik's notes, my notes, Lisbeth's research." "What I don't have is Vanger lndustries' records." "That's what I want." " Why?" " Will you authorize it?" "What, the private corporate records?" "Well, how far back?" "Henrik said I could have access to everything." "This is what I need." " That's not what he meant." " L'll sign a nondisclosure statement." "Just a minute." "I think Henrik would say yes." "That's why he has me." "To protect him from himself. lt's insane." "What have we got to hide?" "After 120 years of business, probably a lot." "If this is what he needs to finish, he should have permission." "What am I looking for?" "Any connections between Vanger lndustries and the towns where the women were killed." "And everything about Frode." "Your father was taking pictures that day that no one has seen." " L'd like to take a look at them." " So ask him." " L was wondering if you could do that." " L don't speak to him." "Could you make an exception in my case?" "Are you afraid to be in the same room with him?" "I'm not saying you shouldn't be." "So you won't help me?" "Sorry." "Please?" " Are you finished?" " L need to know where all factories offices and projects were from 1949 to 1966." " You already have everything." " No, I don't." "Nothing on subsidiary corporations, partnerships or suppliers." " You'll have to do without." " Mr. Frode said I have access..." " ...to whatever I need. I need this." " You have access to this floor." "Call him." "Thank you for seeing me." "Come in." " Tea?" " Please." "Sven Olov Lindholm." "Me." "Handsome." "Birger Furugård." "Me." "Per Engdahl." "But your interest is in my more candid photographic work." "Friends, relations, that kind of thing." "Please." ""Blom" or "Bloom"?" "Blomkvist." "I'm not a recluse." "I don't close my door to anybody." "Thank you." "They just don't visit." "Well perhaps if you redecorated." "Hide the past like they do?" "Under a thin, shiny veneer?" "Like an Ikea table?" "I am the most honest of all of them." " The family?" " Sweden." "Landscape?" "Some nice landscapes there?" "Who is this?" "The blurry one." "I can't tell." "Oh, that's Gottfried's boy." " That's Martin." " Yeah." "Handsome but useless young man." "Like his father." "Like his father." " We're closing." " Nowhere near finished." " L'm not authorized to stay late." " L am." "And I need access to everything, including anything that's locked." "Call Frode." "Leave the keys with the guard." "Come on." "Shit!" "Martin?" "Mikael." "Hi there." "Your evening stroll?" "Yes, that's right, I...." " How are you?" " Good." "I stopped by the hospital on my way home." "Henrik asked me to ask you something." "What was that?" "Come on in. I'll make you a drink." "Hello, Martin." "Shut the door. lt's quite windy." " What happened to you?" " When?" "Just now." "I fell in the dark." "You don't have a flashlight?" "L'll get you one." "I just wasn't being careful, that's all." "How's the investigation going?" " Nothing new to report." " No?" "Dirch says the girl is really clever." "Maybe she'll turn something up." "Maybe." "Thank you for that." " So, what did he say?" " What?" "You said Henrik asked you to ask me something." " Well, I just did." " What?" " How's the investigation?" " Oh, yeah." "That was his question." "Do you hunt?" "We should go hunting together sometime." "Sure." "Nothing at all new to report?" "No." "Nothing." " L can see you're anxious." " No." "No, I mean to get home after the walk." "Yeah, well, I suppose I am." "To have dinner with your girlfriend." "Assistant." "We'll have better luck with a gun." " L'm sorry?" " When we go hunting." "A gun." "Rather than a knife." "I want to show you something." "Bring your drink." "Leave my knife." "To the right." "Hi, leave a message. I'll call..." "You know what's harder than shooting someone?" "Just missing him." "That was a very good shot up at the cabin." "It didn't work. I'm here." "Mikael, it did work." "You're here." "Inside." "You spilled your drink." "Why didn't you just go home?" "May I?" "How did you do it?" "What did you find?" "We can talk or we can just get on with it." "I found a photograph no one has seen." " Of?" " You." "In an Uppsala prep school blazer." "What does that prove?" "You lied about where you were that day." " Did I?" " Or rather, when." "So what?" "People lie all the time." "It also says that you and Lena Andersson were schoolmates." "Lena...." "That was a long time ago." "Where's this photo now?" "is it with all the other crap on your desk?" "There's a copy on my laptop." "There's another copy..." " ...on a secure website." " Secure website." "That's a lie." "How much does the girl know?" "I hope it's as much as you do." "That'll make it fun." "Where is she?" "Stockholm." "She went this morning." "That's a lie." "She's at our offices looking at more old crap." "I got a call from our archives manager." "She was very perturbed with this girl Lisbeth." "I like that name." "Lisbeth." "So when Lisbeth leaves, I will get a call from security so I can be at your cottage to greet her." "I can't thank you enough for bringing her to me." "Hey, hey." "So, what do you wanna know?" "You're a journalist, ask me questions." "What do I do with the girls?" "That's a good question." "Well, before, I do what we're doing:" "Sit down, relax, have a drink." "I like that part a lot." "Having a chat when both of you know that one of you is going to die." "And afterwards, I just get rid of them, far out at sea." "Unlike my father, who left them scattered all over the place, like trophies." "That's not very smart, if you ask me." "Well, he was a loud and garish man." "Frankly, he got what he deserved." "You can't be a sloppy technician like that." "You can't drink to excess like he did." "This takes discipline." "It's a science of a thousand details." "The planning, the execution." "It's the cleanup." "I guess I don't have to tell you but you're going to create quite a mess here." "Let me ask you something." "Why don't people trust their instincts?" "They sense something is wrong someone is walking too close behind them." "You knew something was wrong." "But you came back into the house." "Did I force you?" "Did I drag you in?" "No." "All I had to do was offer you a drink." "It's hard to believe that the fear of offending can be stronger than the fear of pain, but you know what?" "It is." "And they always come willingly." "And then they sit there." "They know it's all over, just like you do." "But somehow, they still think they have a chance." ""Maybe if I say the right thing."" "Maybe if I'm polite." ""If I cry, if I beg."" "And when I see the hope draining from their face like it is from yours right now I can feel myself getting hard." "But, you know, we're not that different, you and I." "We both have urges." "Satisfying mine requires more towels." "It might amuse you to know that while you were upstairs having moose with me and Liv who, by the way, finds me very conventional I had Irina down here in that cage." "Who is Irina, you might ask?" "Just another girl." "Just another immigrant whore." " Who misses them?" " Your sister wasn't." "What?" "Your sister Harriet wasn't just another girl." "You found her?" "What happened to her?" "You killed her." "You useless fucking detective." "This too tight to talk?" "Good. I'm tired of talking to you." "L've never had a man in here before." "In fact, I've never touched a man except my father." "That was our duty." "Harriet's and mine." "Hey." "There's a gun." "There's a gun on the television." " May I kill him?" " Yeah." "How come a 23-year-old is a ward of the state?" "I'm mentally incompetent and can't manage daily life." "Since when have they said that?" "Since I was 12." "What happened when you were 12?" "I'm sorry, that's none of my business." "I tried to kill my father." "Burned him alive." "Got about 80 percent of him." "I made some coffee." " Who's that?" " Lt's Harriet." "I found it in Martin's basement among his souvenirs." "No, Martin didn't deny killing anyone." "But when I mentioned Harriet, he was confused." "He got angry at me because I couldn't tell him what had happened to her." "He didn't kill her." "His father didn't do it." "He was dead the year before." "What if she did somehow manage to get away?" "I mean, if she is still alive then there's only one person in this family who'd know where she is." "Fuck me." "Fuck me." "Fuck me." "Your turn." "Right." "Here." "Hi." "Look, I'm sorry to bother you." "What do you want?" " Has no one called you?" " About?" "Your cousin Martin." " What about him?" " He died in a car accident last Thursday." "There's going to be a memorial in Hedestad." "I'm not interested in any memorial." " Well, I understand." " What do you understand?" "Well, that you don't care very much for your family." " Look, I just thought you should know." " Now I know." "How'd it go?" "Okay, I think." "She's on." "And she's shopping." "She's still playing solitaire?" " And she hasn't called anyone?" " No." "We have her cell phone too?" "I was so sure she was gonna lead us to her." "Put your hand back in my shirt." "There's only one reason she hasn't called Harriet." "She can't." "Because Harriet is dead." "I was just thinking that..." " Just one second." " Okay." "What were you going to say?" "I was just thinking, there could be one other possibility." "Well, we could, absolutely." "What is it now?" "Before he died, your brother hung me from a hook Harriet." "So you sent the flowers." "Yes, I did." "We found in the Swedish Family Registry that Anita was married." " But the family never knew, did they?" " No." "So I'm guessing she then came here on her married-name passport and you followed on her maiden-name passport." "No, actually, it was the other way around." "She thought that it was safer if I traveled with Spencer myself." "Well, what did he think about that?" "Nothing." "Only that he loved her." "She said, "lf you love me, you'll do this and not ask why."" "And he never did." "And they both died 20 years ago." "Car accident." "You found that out too." "Is that you?" "I was 14 the first time he raped me." "Martin." "No, my father." "Martin only started after he had died." " Well, why didn't you tell somebody?" " L did." "My mother." " Henrik would've done something." " L almost told him." "But I was afraid because of what I'd done." " L...." " You still don't understand, do you?" "A year after the first time and there were many times during that year my father got drunker than usual one night and he started bragging about the women he'd killed." "He quoted from the Bible as he tore my clothes off." "He tied a belt around my neck." "He wanted to kill me." "I got out of the house." "I went down to the dock." "He came staggering after me." "I could never fight him off in a small space but out in the open I was strong enough to deal with an old drunk." "When it was over I looked up and Martin was standing there, staring at me." "And all I'd accomplished was substitute one for another." "A couple of months later, Henrik sent Martin to school in Uppsala." "And I thought that maybe, just maybe, the nightmare was finally over." "And then I saw him the day of the parade across the street." "And I knew that it would never be over." "So how did you escape?" "Anita." "She...." "She insisted that I leave everything behind." "If I took anything the police might have suspected that I was still alive." "As everyone ate dinner, I was no more than 20 meters away from them." "I spent the night there." "That's when the search started." "In the morning, she came to get me." "L'd grown up with that bridge as my link to home but all I could think is if I could just get away from them just get past the police then I might be safe." "And I was." "Until you showed up." "You're safe now." "How did you get away?" "Someone saved me too." " How are you feeling?" " L'm fine." "Thank you, Anna." "I made you a promise whether you found anything or not." "So, what do you have to tell me?" "What's this?" "Hello, Henrik." "I barely remember Wennerström working here, much less being fired." "How could you?" "It was such a long time ago which is kind of more to the point than the money he embezzled from you." "You're referring to the statute of limitations but I had no idea this is what Henrik was holding out." "If I had, I never would've let him bring you up here." "He wasn't trying to deceive you." "He knows you can't try somebody 35 years after the event." " L like Henrik, but he knows that." " A man's reputation means something." "He believes that." "He thought you could destroy Wennerström..." " ...in the court of public opinion." " The court of public opinion..." " ...celebrates people's bad behavior." " He's an elderly man." "He promised me Wennerström's carcass on a plate." "This isn't even the plate." " L can't do anything with this." " Yes, of course." "What happened with Wennerström?" "How did he get you?" "I was stupid. I heard something." "I got it from an anonymous source who I'm now sure was one of Wennerström's lackeys." "It was fake." "Which he easily proved in court." "You were emphatic that the way I looked into your life was illegal and immoral." "Would you feel the same about Wennerström?" " Go on." " L did some work on my own on him before you hired me." "I haven't looked at it all because you and Harriet-fucking-Vanger have kept me busy." "But I may have something." "You may have something?" "Maybe." "They launder money from arms and drug sales and crime syndicates in Russia." "And that money accounts for all but 5 percent of his holdings." "The rest ends up in accounts in the Cayman lslands." " And how do you know this?" " This time you don't want to know." "This time I do want to know." "I have access to his computer." " And his accountant's and lawyer's." " And how do you have that?" "I could've gotten it from a source inside the company." " You didn't." " But that's what you'll say." "And what will you say to me?" "Well, that depends if you really want to know." "I do." "Mikael, how did you get access?" "Financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist who, this time last year was convicted of libel in a Stockholm courtroom doesn't seem to have learned from his mistakes." "Or maybe he has." "In the current issue of Millennium magazine, he now charges the company that sued him, the Wennerström Group..." "The shit hits the fan." "...of criminal activities on a global scale." "What happens now?" "Well, he'll say it's a personal vendetta, which won't wash." "The police will investigate, Fl will investigate." "It'll go to court." "Maybe he'll go to prison." "You think?" "Probably not." "These guys never do." "What's wrong with you?" " Lt's embarrassing." " Tell me." "I need to borrow some money." "Fifty thousand." "I have a chance to make an investment." "It's a smart, safe investment." " L really don't think I've got 50,000." " Yes, you do." "You have 65,000 in your two accounts." "I'm sorry that I know that." "You'll get the money back, I promise." "Okay." "You want a coffee?" "These allegations, like the last one from this so-called journalist are as ridiculous as they are untrue." "L'll be seeing Mr. Blomkvist in court again, and I'm looking forward to it." "What about his documentation?" "Fabricated." "All of it." "The Securities Fraud Office isn't quite as certain as Mr. Wennerström of that." "If a fraction of what Mr. Blomkvist alleges proves to be true not only will there be a securities investigation but an organized-crime inquiry as well." "Mr. Blomkvist names no sources." "And we can't force him to." "But we can look for them." " Beginning where?" " Those closest to Mr. Wennerström." "Only someone in the inner circle of a corporation like this has access to this kind of information." "Mr. Wennerström isn't available for comment but I'm happy to answer questions." " Where is he?" " At home, I imagine." "No, he's not." "Has he left the country?" "I don't think so." " Okay." "Thank you." " Thank you." "Welcome to the Dolder Grand, miss." "May I have your passport, please?" "With his failure to appear before a Security Exchange Commission panel a warrant has been issued for the Wennerström Group CEO." "I can confirm that he left Sweden on a private jet that landed in Paris last week." "Whether he's still there, we don't know." "He can be anywhere by now." "Thank you." "I have accounts at Bank of Kroenenfeld, Cayman lslands." "L'd like to transfer them and convert to bonds." " Naturally, you have the clearing codes." " Naturally." "How many accounts will you transfer?" "Thirty." " This will take some time." " You will receive 4 percent commission." " L will." " Then it won't be a waste of it." "A Swedish tourist vacationing here in Barbados says he knows where fugitive financier Hans-Erik Wennerström is:" "Here, in this Caribbean island's capital, Bridgetown." "Police released this photo and believe it is the disgraced billionaire." "How many of these would you like to convert for deposit?" "All 50, into five accounts." "Yes." "That looks correct." "The man who is now being called Sweden's Charles Ponzi may no longer have a country to call home but does have enough money to buy one." "According to the lnternational Banking Commission Wennerström, a week after the Millennium article appeared on newsstands, began emptying accounts at Bank of Kroenenfeld in the Cayman lslands." "That money, approximately 2 billion euros was then spread over a number of accounts with the help of this confederate, seen here in Zurich." " Hey." " Hey." " The money I borrowed." " Already?" "Thank you." "No, I quit." "It was a good investment?" "It was okay." "What are you doing later?" "I'm seeing my daughter." "Okay." "You look nice." "It's Christmas again." "L'll see you soon." "Mr. Wennerström won the libel case...." "You got that call in the office." "I miss our meetings." "I'm sure you don't." "Why would you?" "I was always such a headache for you." "Never showing up with good news, only problems." "I have good news now." "I made a friend." "I mean, one that you'd approve of." "I'm happy." "A man who authorities here in Marbella have confirmed is fugitive Hans-Erik Wennerström, shot three times in the head in what police are calling a classic gangland execution." "The investigation into Wennerström's ties to crime organizations worldwide will now turn into speculation." "Which of them caught up with him before Swedish authorities could?" "Wennerström spent the last days of his flamboyant life...." " Lt's nice." " Your father?" " A friend." " Must be a very good friend." " We're late." " Fashionably late."