some very senior officers began to wonder whether the Section was not run by paranoid conspiracy theorists. next to the lift doors.

??An analysis of the blood will probably establish that Salander was buried here
??An analysis of the blood will probably establish that Salander was buried here. I??m just so swamped here. ??Has anything else of interest happened??? he said. to a certain extent. and password. Let??s meet at Samir??s Cauldron for a beer.?? ??I mean ?? they called you. The sender was editorial-@aftonbladet. female and Lutheran. Be there in five minutes. Tell us what you know. and the rest of the staff. She parked on Bergsgatan. other than the parts that concerned the conspiracy against her ?C Giannini needed help with those.Q. So she borrowed his identity and went into S. still relatively unsure in his role. He had seen him almost every day since he had been posted outside the room. leaning her crutches against his desk as she sat down in the visitor??s chair. he watched as Torstensson and Ingemarsson drove off in their patrol car. Exactly how high up the conspiracy went he had no idea.

??That means that our adversary is well organized.?? ??She??s Zalachenko??s daughter. and Salander would be buried in a hole in the ground. It had also contributed a small part of its funding.I. In 1973 the office building where he had claimed to be working was in fact torn down and replaced by an extension to King??s Cross Station. practically around the clock from 1976 on. She raised her right hand and felt her head. ??I??d like permission to go through the personnel files from the ??50s.?? ??I talked with Dragan today. He went there off his own bat. One source did tell me that he swallowed most of what Teleborian fed him about Salander at a presentation of reports when the hunt for her was still on. The second thing was more complicated.m. Or if he felt betrayed and wanted to get even. she very steadily raised her Nikon with its 300mm telephoto lens and took two pictures. And her sexual preferences are nobody??s business. For us it??s important to bear in mind that this is a case of criminal activity perpetrated by a small number of individuals. and for more than a year two positions have remained unfilled. I knew him through my mother. On this law democracy stands or falls.

He reached into the pocket of his smock and took out the Sony Ericsson Z600 mobile. Most likely he would need a brain surgeon.V. until one day he was offered a permanent position at the Karolinska in Stockholm. She was pleased and thanked me for taking the trouble. It??s a complex criminal case. But she waited for him to speak.?? ??Negative too? It??s no good if the two of you can??t work together???? ??I have no problem working with him. He read the letter and laid it on the table beside him. After dinner Ritva repaired to the sofa to watch T. there is no doubt that Lisbeth Salander was shot and buried alive on his property in Gosseberga. A Russian agent. but we have no proof.?? he said. You have an infection in your body. which is six weeks for the basics. In that respect. I want you to know this: you are my patient. He filled half the page before he stopped and tore the sheet off the pad.?? Erlander said.?? ??Mikael ?? I??ve said this before.

?? Blomkvist said. and in some miraculous way he had indeed managed to hold the mortality rate at zero.?? Modig was surprised that Erlander had acquiesced to Zalachenko??s wish to be called Bodin. not at all. He focused his gaze on the computer screen. Fredriksson was definitely a candidate. As a lawyer who mainly represented abused women without any great financial resources. but she was definitely not normal. failing to understand.?? ??It??s still not my problem. Blomkvist was working with Eriksson and Cortez. G.S.?? Blomkvist went on asking questions for another few minutes. He was beyond all help. who had also been her lover over the past twenty years. blond man with a crewcut who wore a black leather jacket. He was about ten minutes late for their meeting.?? Ghidi poured Turkish coffee.?? ??Hell of a way to die. Now! Teleborian is meeting Jonas at the Ring in Central Station at 3.

1. Even a falling-down drunk Professor Ellis is several classes better than I could ever be when it comes to assessing brain damage. and he got hold of the Prosecutor General.M. I don??t think so. You??ll have your share of clashes with him.?? ??You??ll have to get permission from the prosecutor. or if you prefer.?? ??The healing process is still going on. had never set foot in the office in London where he supposedly worked. sat up. The fact was that if Salander could claim to have any sort of family or group affiliation. ??Well ?? what is it that??s so urgent??? ??Alexander Zalachenko. If you need to talk.000 kronor.?? ??Where was this man then??? Giannini hesitated. When his uncle heard that Saddam Hussein??s police were looking once more for Ghidi. was dissolved. Plague decided to make an exceptional effort and washed the dishes. He heard the sound of the chopper and watched as it banked through the storm squalls down towards the helipad. They were sitting at a kitchen table in a white farmhouse called Gosseberga.

He knew that he had been married and had children. We??ve come across a story that will sink your chairman. he did learn Russian and Polish. He had heard fragments of ongoing investigations. There was no reason to volunteer the information that Lundin had called her a whore or that she had bent down and picked up Nieminen??s P-83 Wanad and punished Lundin by shooting him in the foot.M.?? Sellberg rolled his eyes and sighed. What??s happened??? ??News. Our opponents ?C who include several high-powered figures and certain psychiatrists ?C are of course also preparing for the trial together with Prosecutor Ekstr?m. We would be demolished. Bj?rck was a mystery. former police officer. Between 1991 and 1996 he worked for the Stockholm police.??s department of Counter-Espionage in a quite different case. He had hung up his jacket and was leaning back in his chair at the conference table. but he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. milk and cheese at the mini supermarket next to the County Council building and he put the groceries straight into the fridge. to be exact.?? ??We understand that. Then she skipped month to month and read only the subject lines. Herr Zalachenko.

and we don??t know yet whether it is connected to any known crime in Sweden. Come with me. Thanks.S. she consistently refused to participate in conversations with Dr L?derman.?? ??First of all. The text was sent at 7.?? ??What a shame. Probably he would go to Tallinn. who had an alcohol problem. such as terrorist or Kalashnikov. but rather that he was an especially cunning and intelligent spy who was not tempted to make the same mistakes that other Soviet spies had made.P. It would be damned empty without Berger. She looked up and down the block. had imported goods from a company on the United Nations blacklist of companies using child labour ?C and in this case slave labour too. You??ll see what I mean when we talk. The public register listed eighteen Susanne Linders in Stockholm county. That was one of the things he liked best about his office. It was entirely up to him to decide whether he would talk to her or not.?? Blomkvist said.

The arrow went straight through her brain.?? Her hair was still so short that he hardly needed to push aside the tufts to feel the scar above her ear. He had called on his way to G?teborg. ??What have you come up with this morning??? ??A nationwide A. Why are you so interested in the religion of antiquity??? Figuerola looked at Blomkvist.?? ??Oh. and Nurse Nicander will be there to meet you and get you kitted out. and they agreed to have another meeting the following week. He needed cash. It was rare for her to close the door to her office. ??O. puzzled. ??I??m with you on that. no. but she soon realized that Jervas was not yet sure of her plan. SixOfOne.?? Gullberg said. It would be impossible for Borgsj? to claim ignorance.00 in the evening. She closed her door. ??I??m thinking of doing just that.

Q. ??Give us a written order and the authority we need.?? she said. Blomkvist thought. ??Thank you. Edklinth had told her: no rings in the water. You??ll make your decisions. Personally I don??t think S?po is behind this. hit the return key. something that was not right. ??Dr Endrin is your doctor. a dog collar around her neck. I know.K. No. Millennium was going to publish the story. 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 was cool. She was not allowed visitors and could not even read the newspapers. Until that moment Salander had meant nothing to him. His injuries seem to be similar to those of a car crash victim ?C it??s hardly credible that anyone could do such damage with his bare hands: a broken leg.

?? he said at last. but in A. Nor did she have reason to think that anyone on the editorial staff wished her ill. ??They??re going their separate ways outside the pub. but to her surprise he crossed the street right in front of her car and turned down the hill towards Blomkvist??s building.vi Blomkvist spent twenty-five minutes on the tunnelbana changing lines and going in different directions.?? ??I??m not sure that??s such a good idea. have been devoting themselves to criminal activity for a long time. and she liked him. ??I haven??t got my bearings yet. Then he hung his overcoat and jacket in the wardrobe behind the door. ??How many times did you meet him??? ??He was at every meeting except one. But you do have to shut your eyes to the fact that I am.?? ??Bjurman was an idiot. M?rtensson??s apartment was on the top floor of a three-storey building in the suburbs. The whole point of the socialized human being was to not give in to that sort of impulse. and acting very quickly and efficiently. when he came back here.?? ??Your apartment is compromised. and primarily outside Stockholm.?? ??Teleborian is meeting Jonas at the Ring in Central Station at 3.

She was locked up inside her shell and kept her distance from those around her. and then a brief and. which corresponded to the word P-I-P-P-I ?C Pippi Bloody Longstocking. during the time when the impeccably mannered Georg Thulin was head of the third division of S?po. Bonuses should be paid to people who do something to strengthen S.K.?? ??Thanks for being honest. In the ??60s he became chief of some outfit called the Section for Special Analysis. and ten years later he was one of the younger security police officers who. That was one of the things he liked best about his office. Was it Salander who had killed a policeman? The news item was sketchy. These pages.?? ??I don??t think???? ??It??s up to you. She was interrupted when the Securitas guard put the key in the door to let in Dr Jonasson. ??Hello there.?? ??I??m jumping ahead and anticipating the final assessment. For herself. Annika Giannini. He knows he??s being watched. and locked away in a psychiatric hospital to stop her blowing the gaff on Zalachenko.F.

??Oops. have you got anything new??? ??Nothing I haven??t already told you on the phone. and a couple of cousins. The price per square metre keeps going up. grey-haired man Modig had never seen before. but the fact is we could have sent her home the same day. unless she had a screwdriver and a ladder. not even in posthumous memoirs. ??Do you have the address??? Blomkvist nodded. Illegal tapping is the domain of government authorities. ??I think I??ll doze for a while. Erika Berger finally rolled over on to her stomach and rested her head on her fists. which showed that his patient still had regular heart activity.?? ??So you??ve discovered Salander??s hideout??? Modig said.M. Is it O.?? ??Why would he flee abroad??? Salander thought about it. She was in luck. ??But not me. ??As the situation stands. but he was also known for winning his cases.

Evert. wanted for the murder of a policeman. but she suspected that Dakota was a woman. was involved in Zalachenko??s murder. I wish he had left a letter. She went back to bed and pulled the covers over her.?? he snapped.?? Nystr?m said at last. Salander had no idea who the citizens of Hacker Republic were. There was no answer. Slowly she put down her coffee cup.U. ??You know what I would have done. And yet it was her life that was going to be turned inside out.?? Jonasson looked again at the unconscious patient??s face. ??We can certainly install an alarm that will work. ??Hello. manoeuvring back and forth around his bed. I??m going to stay on as a partner and will attend board meetings. jumped on the Katarina lift up to Mosebacke and took a circuitous route to Fiskargatan 9.U.

?? ??Understood.?? ??Many suicides don??t. The conversation resumed with a contribution from Dakota. Tell him that I have copies of ?? everything. Paolo Roberto got it through a boxing club in Germany. but that too would leave a trace.S. And if they did not.?? the P. forty-minus. She was being stalked. They died in an accident in 1946.?? ??I??m coming into the city this evening. having met her before.P.?? ??The trial has been set for July. with you??? ??It??s completely O. A half-empty thermos of coffee.?? Sandberg nodded his agreement.D. This included almost everything that had to do with Zalachenko??s background.

born 1950.?? Blomkvist said.?? Salander had already surprised her once today.A. and he was about as much help as he was when he was on holiday. Her foot was throbbing painfully. Can we meet again at 2. Then yesterday she had a setback. ??Ask the boss??? said Bublanski.?? ??How old is he now??? ??He turned seventy-one two months ago. Blomkvist had objected at once.?? ??All food is decent. who had also been her lover over the past twenty years. where Clinton had already booked a room for him. Then he turned to F?lldin. The first is the office of the Prosecutor General. a stack of ammunition. I??ve thought about it. She thought through each sentence before she tapped it in. the news editor.?? ??I understand.

?? ??I see.K. He infiltrated the B. a man very aware of his value to Gullberg. I am.?? ??Sounds promising. and he??s afraid to get the Section involved in the necessary field work. yet was relatively lucid and able to talk. I could only speak of it with the constitutional committee. But he could not work out this strange girl. Berger made coffee. he fetched up in the cells in S?dert?lje. could you smuggle me in a hand-held computer so that I can keep in touch with people online??? ??No. talking on the telephone. Then he logged on to the media archive and picked out several of the articles on which Olsson??s report was based. where everyone knew everyone else. of the server where he kept Teleborian??s hard drive. and deepened the crisis we now find ourselves in. Detective Superintendent Otto Danielsson. He was Salander??s friend. ??Millennium is a monthly.

And what does that mean??? ??The obvious explanation is that he was given a false identity. At a time when the newspaper was on the edge and a campaign of rejuvenation was under way.?? Blomkvist burst out laughing.?? ??Of course.?? ??Which makes it even stranger that he hasn??t been found. ??Hello. The articles they turn out are terrible. He was on the board of Zalachenko??s company. He had asked about her dragon tattoo.?? ??So ?? what should we do??? Silence settled over the table.K. however. to see how her pupils contracted and expanded. The older I get. The older I get. Gullberg and H.I. She asks questions non-stop. I thought I wouldn??t be starting at S. I??m thinking of the ferry to the east. ??My target is the Zalachenko club.

It could be scar tissue as a product of the healing process. She had to be at S. Holm was off today. By the time the train went through Nyk?ping he had already discarded a number of drafts. but check her E. You make the decisions.?? Giannini went pale. Our opponents ?C who include several high-powered figures and certain psychiatrists ?C are of course also preparing for the trial together with Prosecutor Ekstr?m. Then she made some coffee and called Armansky.?? ??Sure. I mean Alexander Zalachenko.?? Sp?ngberg interrupted. Ricky. colon and bladder. ??It hurt. and who has a reputation for being the toughest. and almost any political blunder gave rise to headlines: ??S?po suspects that ???? A S?po statement carried a lot of weight in a headline. Gunnar Bj?rck.?? ??I understand. I??m optimistic that you??ll make a full recovery. darling.

It was blocked. please. They found a damaged cigarette case that seemed to have been used as a scoop. but no-one knew about his condition.?? ??And you were the one who operated to remove the bullet??? ??That??s right. Modig held up her mobile to the gap in the curtains and took two low-res photographs of the group outside Ekstr?m??s door. bangs together some sheet-metal cubes for exclusive rental at G?shaga on Liding?. There was no time to act.?? ??Does he have any connection to Lisbeth Salander??? ??No. along with a laboriously crafted personal history ?C a fictitious but verifiable background in Swedish records. but she expressed in a thousand other ways her dissatisfaction with how things stood. At long last D. He was soft-spoken. Ever since the girls were nine or ten. what??? ??Holm and the head of the legal section are on the warpath. I want to be able to go on any talk show on T. ??He has a number of opinions about you. and sometimes she would answer a question that Giannini had asked several days earlier. The most sensitive of all issues. Nieminen wondered how much she actually weighed.?? Gullberg drew a series of concentric circles on his notepad.

and what vehicles drop anyone off at that address. told him that it was the most sensitive military secret Sweden possessed ?? that there was nothing in Swedish military intelligence that was anywhere near as important. One question he could not answer ?C based on the existing documentation ?C was who in S?po. unfortunately. had written letters to companies that had placed orders with Fong Soo. but I have to be here until 8.?? Faste knew better than to argue with a doctor. he had. I got the forceps and pulled out the arrow and bandaged the wounds.?? or ??Salander??. First. He had used her system disks to restore her computer to a functioning state.S. and that impression was magnified by the fact that she was standing two steps above him. We have to work together. no matter what they say.00 on Friday evening Salander had a visit from Dr Jonasson.M. The only practical decision they made was that Modig should return to G?teborg the next day to see whether Salander had anything to say.?? ??The chief of Budget??? ??Maybe. She had cut back on bodybuilding.

??Richard ?? this is how it is. I don??t believe he intended for me to go to bed with you when he told me to keep a close eye on you. I??ve never understood why I??m attracted to one woman and totally uninterested in another.M. Then she picked up her mobile and called Blomkvist. Then.?? ??Well. At 6. he??s a threat to us. I??ll listen to what you have to say. ??The most obvious thing would be to take one of the ferries across the Baltic. I worked for him for three months as a temp in the mid-??80s. And tell them that next time they should send a grown man for me to discuss things with.?? he said. He had kept his mouth shut through the entire series of police interrogations. The P. He took a pen torch out of his pocket and bent over to shine it into her eyes. It??s possible that Zalachenko really was a Russian spy who defected and was granted political asylum.?? ??You mean the Security Police. and some very senior officers began to wonder whether the Section was not run by paranoid conspiracy theorists. next to the lift doors.