Tuesday, August 30, 2011

approached and touched her shoulder.?? Blomkvist said. She requisitioned the report.

just that
just that.?? ??What sort of burns??? ??I??m guessing a taser.?? She nodded.?? Armansky said. I see him sitting in the glass cage over there.?? Blomkvist said. She was being stalked. subcontracts the work to an outfit called Fong Soo Industries. She hobbled over to her glass cage and sank into her chair with relief. Sp?ngberg. It was just some demented pensioner who fired the shots.?? ??And what did you tell her??? ??I said that someone had faked your address and is obviously harassing her. her husband. There was no exit wound: the round was still inside her shoulder. the better. We have to check their email. He spent a long time thinking things over.P.

And Holm ?? you??re starting to look like dead meat to me.?? ??Precisely. Zalachenko??s death will have nothing to do with the Section. There must be chiefs. Blomkvist had come into the building via the garage.F. for which you bear the primary responsibility. He??s been so tied up in this Salander mess that there hasn??t been the right opportunity. Hello. Annika Giannini.?? ??I??m not suggesting that they should lose money. but a combination of torn sheets and a ten-foot extension cord from a floor lamp would dispose of that problem.?? ??The newspaper business is in a vulnerable position???? ??The reality is that S. or perhaps more accurately in the secret service of the social-democratic welfare state. The sports desk is dangerously understaffed. He was not particularly interested in why she had decorated herself in such a way. She scrolled down to image 167 and clicked to enlarge it. She risks being charged with grievous bodily harm or attempted murder.

but again in vain. He had the face of a model and looked weak.?? Blomkvist conceded. 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. who in turn must decide whether charges should be brought. ??This is a friendly invitation.I. She complained of severe headaches and developed a fever that has been fluctuating up and down. at 8.M. Her testimony has to be declared invalid. right out of journalism school. They had taken 2. I??m not some temp. We??ll keep in touch by mobile. has developed its own text editing system. and that there would still be time to tell everyone. although he had not in fact been working there.

is mixed up in several kinds of criminal activity.?? ??Shall we take it from the top??? Berger said. More diplomatically than that. It felt unreal. We have no idea what went wrong. and Zalachenko.?? Malm waved a finger in the air.?? Berger smiled.?? ??Alright.00 in the morning. On the right.?? ??We want to know your publication date. He was biding his time and letting the other participants at the meeting say their piece. but with no success.m. He needed cash. After an hour the headache had grown worse. An industrious investigative journalist could get paranoid on less than this.

Faste has been out sick since ?? hmm ?? he collapsed in April. She made a note of every name and every incident in the report that had to be verified. Whatever he had expected. She did not expect anyone to be her friend. It was 7. so he was mildly surprised when he opened the inbox and found an email from ressallskap9april@hotmail.T. ??What was that??? ??Oh. Somehow he had to establish contact with her. He had been beaten. But after a month of conversations ?C ignoring the fact that the first two weeks had been wasted time because Salander was hardly able to speak ?C their communication was still distinctly one-sided.?? ??No indeed.?? Giannini bit her lower lip. ??Can I buy you breakfast??? ??Can one get pancakes and jam anywhere round here??? ??Waffles. ??I was hired to make S. past the parliament building. Blomkvist smiled. energy and resources.

He downloaded four folders. His spectators vanished as if by magic.?? He nodded curtly once before he went out and locked the door. even messages that had long since been deleted from individual accounts. Conscientious and a teetotaller. but soon gave up. born in 1969. 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. We said that we were going to try this over the summer ?? well.?? she said. I know that you??re not a psychiatrist. Clinton had probably been Gullberg??s closest colleague for twenty years. even if the friend was impossible and obviously flawed.?? Berger was at home.M.?? ??We??ll use the whole front page and move everything else back. my assignment is to provide you with background as necessary. She walked slowly past the entrances to the buildings.

It would be as it was in the ??80s. but I??ve got a feeling that Micke and Christer Malm and the others will be able to work things out. to condemn you again to the locked psychiatric ward. Why are you so interested in the religion of antiquity??? Figuerola looked at Blomkvist. uncovered planned lovers?? trysts. she felt a sharp pain in her foot. which is utter insanity for a newspaper that can??t add a job to its sports desk. Here in the kitchen.?? ??That??s what I thought. want to plant such a forgery??? ??We don??t know that either. stuffed into a laundry room.?? ??O. But someone else has.?? ??Partly right. ??If I didn??t know about it ???? ??But if you did know about it. I??ve had cameras installed to record what happens when I??m not home. then knocked on his door. ??That means that Zalachenko was murdered by the Section.

Thomasson knew that the money came from criminal activity. since he did not want to use a credit card. They all shook hands. 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. It was. ??Now we just have to decide how we??re going to handle it. He works for Karl Axel Bodin. of the server where he kept Teleborian??s hard drive. thirty-five.?? ??Toilets. It was an unpleasant thought. The story had Millennium??s stamp on it from beginning to end. Holm.I. but just pottering. but he was the last to arrive.?? ??But if someone else got one in ?? would you report it to the police??? Giannini raised her eyebrows. I am not going to argue with you about this.

in connection with the events at Stallarholmen and Gosseberga. I heard her lecture once. But he tried to get into Lisbeth??s room. Just after 6.?? ??How long will the meeting take??? ??It??ll probably take an hour. when that idiot from Trollh?ttan took charge of the situation. let??s say ?C could publish selected excerpts from it. Frank. But that lifeline could also be a trap.?? ??North on Kungsgatan. I just need to know if he has a meeting with anybody right now. ??I??m in G?teborg. who. but it turned into a wearisome sort of arm-wrestling contest. Conclusion: Berger??s stalker remained in her area and was able to observe that she was picked up by a taxi. Is that alright with you two??? ??That??s fine.7 million kronor for a staff of ninety-six people. We have an agreement with a local security company.

I.?? ??This is all temporary. are aware of the contents. 2.E.P. But if he can??t handle the fact that you screwed up one time in twenty years. she easily decoded the correspondence. She stopped at the half-empty news desk and gave a friendly nod.S. She kept an eye on the clock. Jonasson accompanied Blomkvist to a caf?? nearby. But I??ve moved. Plague gave her the U. Even so. ??Yes.?? Wadensj?? felt the panic rise.P.

00 a.?? Blomkvist had said.B. which seemed not to trouble him.?? ??The most serious problem is going to be the third part. Then she stumbled up the stairs to the fifth floor and pounded on her friend??s door.?? ??In what way bizarre??? Erlander glanced at Modig and Holmberg. Having lived so long with a prosthesis he was used enough to crutches. If she won??t trust me. She asked for a Tylenol.?? ??You still haven??t answered the question. Blomkvist will have given his sister a copy. so she followed him. ??No. His job was to save his patient??s life. Even small movements of his facial muscles caused sharp pains in his jaw and cheekbone.35 when she heard the key in the lock and Nurse Agneta looked in on her.C.

Malm was the other current part-owner. He smiled to himself. That held for a few minutes until the head of Budget pointed out that S. Salander fumbled with the clumsy stylus and wished she had a keyboard. ??No.15. I??m not a criminal defence lawyer. and logged on. I write whatever I want ?C and I also have an entire magazine at my disposal.?? he said. But this trial is going to be about entirely different things. had climbed on to a stool. As Blomkvist tried in frustration to manoeuvre his mobile out of the breast pocket of his jacket ?C it proved to be an impossible task with his hands cuffed behind his back. I wasn??t listening. Malm could see for himself that Blomkvist was indeed being tailed. Furthermore. Vinge had entitled his memoirs S?po Chief 1962?C1970.?? Modig said.

Morander was writing his editorial this morning.S. The second half will be everything that we know about the Section. entry wound.?? Blomkvist said. because you guaranteed a dividend each year.Sunday. necessary prologue to long-term work. and you can communicate with me only via hotmail.?? She looked at Blomkvist. Blomkvist had come into the building via the garage. How??s Mikael doing??? ??He??s dead to the world.?? ??My colleague is Jerker Holmberg. It??s not until page thirty-three.?? Giannini went pale. He??s one of the nastiest people I??ve ever met. He put on a jacket and walked to Milton Security??s offices at Slussen. He froze when he saw another entry wound.

A bit ironic.?? ??Quite a few people out. shit. assistant chief of Immigration Division.v ?C Thursday. For a second she felt as though she would faint.?? ??What about the reports that Bodin tried to murder his daughter??? ??That is under investigation. Swedish democracy is based on a single premise: the Right to Free Speech (R. Quite apart from her injuries. You??re an errand boy. He looked at Giannini. The headache will eventually go away altogether.v Superintendent Torsten Edklinth.I. She was just reaching out to shut down her computer when her I. and because she probably thought you had your hands full with the Salander story. I??ve even thought that he could take my place one day. Anything more would be just too painful.

?? ??You don??t understand???? ??I understand perfectly.S. he??ll only tell me what he feels like telling me. it??s my job to do the same..?? ??That??s what I thought.?? ??Of course. the prosecutor here in G?teborg will contact Advokat Giannini. An industrious investigative journalist could get paranoid on less than this. ??Understandable. as he often did for patients after an operation. and A(89)Cx#magnolia as the password. Modig had to take the question. Lives in Laholm. but not without having serious problems. He chose his words with care. he had ?C literally ?C rootled around in her brain. In the course of the day Figuerola??s team had interviewed a number of people now retired from the Swedish Atomic Energy Agency.

P. ??Thanks for the coffee. But it??s been classified Top Secret by order of the district court.M. ??That??s about it.?? He was already at the door when she spoke. This will require extraordinary measures. * Giannini was with Prosecutor Jervas for fifteen minutes. I??m calling it The Section.?? ??What do you mean??? ??She??s sleeping at the office. because you guaranteed a dividend each year. She had left school with top marks. If you??re nice to me then I??ll be nice to you. Pierre Schori. He hovered between life and death for several weeks. She estimated that the width of her room was about five metres.?? Wadensj?? felt the panic rise. Her fingers had no feeling in them at all.

Deceased (Suicide?).?? ??No ?? no. Security assessments. Nurse Nicander came back with the number of the Radisson. Then her daughter was locked up in a mental hospital on the basis of a fabricated diagnosis. Then he shut off the computer and sat down at Salander??s kitchen table with an editing pencil. Then what??? ??Whoever smashed your window and sprayed your outside wall was able to do so undisturbed. Figuerola and Blomkvist were waiting for him. if you add in your annual bonus.?? He paused and looked around the room. He did not shut down the computer until 6. 17. semidetached house. What the hell? She went out on to the street and just caught a glimpse of someone turning the corner towards Sveaplan. He felt as soon as he lay down that for the first time in weeks he could relax and sleep peacefully. If she had been charged with the murders of Dag and Mia.?? ??And this story about Gunnar Bj?rck and S?po and the 1991 report ???? ???? is going to be handled by Faste and Ekstr?m. and I??ve spent the last three evenings with you instead of getting on with it.

was just fine. He saw immediately the need to create a new structure around the defector. there??s been some reassessment of the case. whose task it was to handle the most sensitive of the sensitive. He was shown to Zalachenko??s room. straight into his pocket. But Erika. Control was everything. It must be done each day. Erika Eva. He found what linked the investigations in the Salander slush. I thought we might be able to cut through all the red tape in this case. he would make mistakes. nor did he have the feeling that he was being watched or followed.?? ??If I have the energy. Borgsj? approached and touched her shoulder.?? Blomkvist said. She requisitioned the report.

?C false ?C pretext that she was mentally deranged. ??I have to call Erika and???? ??No. His role was to make sure that the pages of S.

But I need your help for an introduction ?C so that Idris will listen to me
But I need your help for an introduction ?C so that Idris will listen to me. then they won??t want to be shareholders any longer. ??This is impossible. Panic and terror had dogged her through the night. on Kungsholmen. Magnusson was getting on in years and as advertising manager had nothing to do with the editorial side. room fourteen according to Jonas Sandberg. Once he had understood how the telephone network functioned and realized how hopelessly antiquated it was. ?str?m had enlisted him to proofread and give Black/White some editorial support.?? ??Damn. DON??T THINK YOU CAN COME HERE AND THROW YOUR WEIGHT AROUND. The woman turned the corner at McDonald??s and Figuerola hurried after her.?? Nystr?m leafed through his notes.S. but Magnusson had such a distinctive appearance and was so familiar from his T. I??ve worked at Constitutional Protection for three years.?? ??And if that were the case.?? ??Great.

But before that there are one or two things we ought to discuss.I. we have to know who they are.?? ??I can well imagine.?? Sellberg rolled his eyes and sighed. They had arranged for him to have the best rehabilitative care. I recognize you.?? said Holmberg.?? ??Anything new on Svavelsj? M. or a fourteen-year-old boy whose left lung had been pierced by a screwdriver. ??Granny knots. Baksi had been caught in the act by Per-Erik ?str?m ?C the same man who went on to be the paedophile hunter at Save the Children ?C who in the ??80s was the research secretary at the Trades Union Federation. ??I had to ?? go ?? to the toilet. He made plain that the investigation was being carried out at the express order of the Prime Minister. Nor did they need much convincing to carry out particular campaigns if the situation warranted. ??That??s from a source I have to protect. even to one who knew more of the story than she did.?? Erlander rubbed the back of his neck.

as Berger was going through the headlines on page two and discussing the texts with the head of revisions. He??s kept quiet about that. adjusted his glasses. Are you O. and rest.?? ??A woman??? ??Not just any woman. We??ve noticed it only because we??re specifically looking for it. That was why it was generally either the regular police or other divisions within the Security Police who stepped in when Nazis were to be arrested.?? ??Try. and he was about as much help as he was when he was on holiday.?? She took Salander??s hand and helped her into the bed. Then a series of notes claiming that Salander was paranoid and a schizophrenic.00. went to Salander??s office and picked up the telephone from the desk. I??ve already handed over evidence that Teleborian committed crimes with Bj?rck in 1991.M.?? Jervas said. No.

Modig raised her voice. She sounded surprised. Blomkvist smiled. It was possible that he had established some sort of rapport. not news reporting. The room was easier to guard. She had nineteen new messages. Panic and terror had dogged her through the night.?? ??Which means???? ??First of all. but she??s unsure of herself. To Gullberg??s frustration. Assistant Chief Fredrik Clinton. ??I??d be glad to discharge her because we certainly don??t have any beds to spare here.?? Edklinth was careful to use the word ??we??. And then he was taken ill again in August last year. but she still worked out obsessively at the gym five nights a week. Instead. you??ve refused to respond when any psychiatrist has tried to talk to you.

There were no signs on my door of a break-in. Within reason. Spain. There are buyers who got fed up with the high construction prices. Which means that there was some degree of contact between the two of them while Salander was on the run.. ??Let her sleep a while. After that.?? ??Beatrice. the others were discussing to what extent the Swedish Prime Minister??s computer could be made to send civil but crazy emails to other heads of state. His mouth was dry so his first stop was a corner shop where he bought a Pepsi.?? Eriksson burst out laughing. training sessions. I usually draw a blank.?? ??Did you write a report??? ??No.?? he said. She found a scarf and wrapped it around her foot and tied it tight..

?? ??Presumably in normal circumstances you would be doing everything you could to keep journalists away from a meeting like this. then we??ll decide what to do. Before I??m through with you. I??m furious at the state and the government and S?po and all these fucking bastards who for no reason at all locked up a twelve-year-old girl in a mental hospital until she could be declared incompetent. Second. was found in abundant quantities on the remains of Svavelsj? M. ??Yes??? ??Erika. He sat down again. now knew about the existence of the Section. and on top of it all. Blomkvist then made two mistakes. She went on to report how at one point during the rape he had wound a piece of clothing ?C her own T-shirt ?C around her neck and strangled her for such a long time that she temporarily lost consciousness. ??Thanks.T. In that respect he??s predictable. I feel stressed out and unhappy. ??You should have the answer to that question quite soon. We have not yet identified exactly who is involved.

It was in an upstairs room used by Niedermann.?? ??Good. in principle. and there may soon come a time when S. ??O. They had arranged for him to have the best rehabilitative care. Before he turned up out of the blue at a meeting with Gullberg. Control was everything. She recognized him as the other man Malm had photographed outside the Copacabana on May Day. During the past ten years. ??Nothing today.. or that the interview would be focused on Magge Lundin and Stallarholmen. The fact that the Director of Constitutional Protection had gone to the trouble of bringing him in said that somebody was nervous. affect you or your welfare. She walked out of the front door just as the taxi drew up. Unremarkable.?? ??I read the article.

K. until the immigration authorities decided that Ghidi did not have sufficient grounds for a residency permit. Or else you could expound on what you think about the Section for Special Analysis.?? Blomkvist headed for the bathroom. Do you get along with her??? ??She??s alright. who was at his home in Liding?. She was still thinking when she heard footsteps in the corridor. Everything could have gone fine. He used the term ??S. Torstensson and Ingemarsson. ??I don??t want to be quoted.?? He looked almost apologetic. It was pure chance that he had noticed it at all. He chose his words with care. I can??t go up stairs without gasping for breath. The Ministry of Justice also called.E. Improbable??? ??Doesn??t it? One might think it??s the stuff of a spy novel.

The woman has a gunshot wound. Jan. I can??t say. She had several run-ins with people from the social welfare agency. Besides. That was almost three weeks. As soon as he closed the door Figuerola was on her feet and back out on Kungsgatan. She made two slices of toast with cheese. Actually. Niedermann must not be captured alive. But when the discussion was over. ??The killing of the police officer is the main thing right now. By now Blomkvist was so infuriated with Paulsson. On one occasion when I still had my mouth taped shut. well. I do what I have to do to survive. He bought a pack of Lucky Strike and a tin of G?teborg??s Rap?? snuff. and the second was an analysis of the bizarre sexual behaviour of an African diplomat.

Berger did not care if Borgsj? was or was not chairman of the board of Vitavara Inc. Salander opened her eyes and saw a light in the ceiling.?? ??I know. no.?? ??This means that if you have questions about something. but now she??s really going to need a lawyer. ??I??m ready.T. She arrived home in Saltsj?baden at 7. to lunch.00 in the morning. stood on tiptoe and unscrewed the three screws in the round white cover of a vent in the wall of Salander??s room. who was sleeping peacefully and probably would not be awake before 8.?? ??There are also a number of different ways to get into the house. But isn??t it strange that they don??t appear anywhere in S?po??s organizational chart??? ??That??s ridiculous. that he had broken off his trip as soon as he knew that one of his police officers had been murdered. I??m looking for Fredrik Clinton. Convicted of insurance fraud in the ??70s.

Blomkvist concluded that he was under surveillance. but he supposed that since she had chosen such a striking tattoo. you and I.?? ??I??m sorry about that. The only thing they can do now is to stonewall and go on claiming that Salander is mentally ill. nurses and cleaners ?C everybody who works there in fact. Dakota wrote. say. Wadensj??. This was enough for Figuerola??s team to initiate the preliminary investigation and to set about enquiring whether the robbers had a connection to the neo-Nazi gang in V?rmland. in effect) that the decision to lock you up in St Stefan??s in 1991 was a legitimate one. the Security Police.I. and my superiors really want to talk to you. But that??s not why I called. Source protection. but he was right out of his depth when it came to planning a magazine. but now they??re working for us.

??Hello. She sighed and plugged in her laptop. In the end the medic stood up and shouted at Paulsson to keep the bloody hell out of his way. and password. If I like it. It was cool. The heavy weapons cabinet stood wide open. He spent a long time thinking things over. but Salander could hear her a long way off and even before she turned the key the computer was hidden and the patient asleep. She wondered how long it would take for her to escape and settle down safely in some other country to create a new identity and a new life for herself.W. She estimated that the width of her room was about five metres. a man who well-trained men would avoid getting into a fight with.?? Figuerola said. Some of his patients had died. She pulled out her mobile and pretended to be talking. yes.Q.

She had scarcely sent the message before she heard that Berger was up and moving about again.M. where all the documentation was being assembled. which had a photograph of Niedermann and the headline POLICE KILLER HUNTED IN DENMARK.?? ??I know. Then her I. Eriksson realized that he was reporting in to her the way he had with Berger. 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. trying to dissect the various aspects of their dilemma. almost friendly manner. The paper has to be rejuvenated. but I cannot reveal the name of anyone working on this case. ??Imbecile. But I can hire you as an external consultant. ever mention your name.?? he said.?? He rubbed his chest. ??What sort of knots??? Andersson said.

nor will it cause any problems for you or for Ghidi. that she tried to kill him. the G. I don??t intend to interrogate them. ??O. after all.S. But he??s greedy. we can agree on what the consequences would be if Zalachenko talked. He was also an excellent and cold-blooded organizer. Gullberg followed the story in a state of awful confusion. and he needs your authorization to do a thorough examination of your house. it??ll cost a lot of money. I don??t think Sweden has been in such an exposed position since the end of the Second World War. But the majority of the workers are convicts. They had set a table with cake and Friday afternoon coffee. Eva Carlsson knocked on the door..

She sat still.00 per minute. Blomkvist looked at the book and saw that it was in English. the author of the report. And I have a strategy. the news editor ?C you??ll be working with him a lot. you??re not going to do anything for the moment. Gunnar. We are both of us sorry that you were subjected to Paulsson??s rather primitive way of operating. Both IB and S. but it could have come about in a dozen different ways ?? for instance. just that they were the ones who took care of the defector. Vinge??s memoir as propaganda. then crossed Belgium by way of Liege. I??m crazy with desire. He seemed surprised that she was saying anything at all.M. adjusted his glasses.

of course. we??re going to install surveillance cameras. ??Salander. She took a photograph with the mobile that she knew would be only 72 dpi ?C low quality. He smiled to himself. She studied the pencil.?? Gullberg pulled on his earlobe. every i dotted.?? ??Hmm. Save for the fact that she thought she recalled seeing a solution to Fermat??s theorem. And Vitavara Inc. In some sections she was particularly reticent about details and went to a lot of trouble not to supply any evidence that could back up in any way the many claims she was making. Careerist. but he??s above all the one who makes the decisions. he was more or less sober. He might also be a man who worked in maintenance. of all places.?? Holmberg said at last.

Plus Erika is working at S. A total of twelve. he would make mistakes. ??I don??t deserve any applause today. The advantages are obvious. You and Bj?rck arrested Salander in 1991. She had accepted Blomkvist??s reasoning that she had already been so savaged in the Swedish media by such grotesque libels that a little sheer nonsense could not possibly further damage her reputation. It was as though the man thought himself above all normal rules. but really that seems his most logical course. I??m leaving for G?teborg later this afternoon. You??re withholding information. She was thirty-six. aggressive resistance to police officers. The P.?? ??Good grief. Now it turns out that you??re the last one in the office to find out. introduced himself. I told her to go home.

30 on Sunday evening as he and Bob the Dog were approaching Stockholm.?? ??So what??s wrong with her??? ??I don??t know. She said that she wanted to have a complete alarm package installed the next morning. ??You know??? Wadensj?? yelled. But he was bothered by the fact that they had to dress like that in the middle of Stockholm. (No. He stood for a moment in the sea of travellers. the most highly classified in this country.D. Instead he called me and said that he had spoken with the Prosecutor General and there was a problem. She was given crutches and took a taxi home. Plus. ??I don??t know what this is going to turn into. Ping. and there is no satisfactory forensic evidence. Bj?rck had hired Teleborian effectively to lock Salander up in a psychiatric hospital for children on the ?C false ?C pretext that she was mentally deranged. ??I have to call Erika and???? ??No. His role was to make sure that the pages of S.

the preliminary investigation could decide to summon you for an interview.

unless she had a screwdriver and a ladder
unless she had a screwdriver and a ladder. But there was one policeman dead and another severely wounded on the road to Nossebro.?? she said. I??m beginning to think that I made a colossal mistake taking on the job. Then she skipped month to month and read only the subject lines. His murderer had shown interest also in Salander. the day the Salander trial begins. Figuerola poured him a mineral water. ??The chief of Secretariat and the chief of Budget belong to us. ??Guess where Vitavara Inc.?? ??And what the fuck would that be? We??re the ones who took the job for the sake of the club. So.?? ??There??s a division of labour. She stood there for a while. but the number of his assignments decreased. He??s a good friend of mine.I. But when Blomkvist was working on a complicated story ?C Malm had observed the same obsessive and secretive behaviour in the weeks before the Wennerstr?m story broke ?C it became more pronounced.

the renowned children??s psychiatrist would be one of the most detested men in Sweden.?? ??I see. You must not even mention that you??re doing research for Millennium. And until we??ve found out what??s wrong. That??s why I insisted on seeing you at once.00. To include Bjurman in the special Section would be out of the question. According to the P. One example is Karlskrona Homes.00. two police inspectors were given fifteen minutes to ask her questions.?? She waited until Holm had closed the door behind him and studied him in silence. It??s a complex criminal case. he??s the link to the past.?? ??I promise. Finally he concluded that Armansky was right. unquote. when I was editor-in-chief at Millennium.

I??d actually thought about becoming a psychiatrist when I was a teenager.?? Edklinth frowned.S.V. The men had been discovered near a MOOSE CROSSING sign by the side of the road. She had to be at S.?? She fell silent.?? ??The way you did with Hans-Erik Wennerstr?m??? ??Something like that. and the room was at the end of an L-shaped corridor. But when Blomkvist was working on a complicated story ?C Malm had observed the same obsessive and secretive behaviour in the weeks before the Wennerstr?m story broke ?C it became more pronounced. She herself had accepted Rosin??s proposal for several new doors. The next moment she heard footsteps moving swiftly away and then the front door opening and closing.?? ??I understand. citizen Wasp. ??Hi. which in this case is a bit of a handicap.?? Erlander bent towards him. and that something serious must have happened if you wanted to see me outside all normal channels.

names and organizational charts. Going back down the corridor. ??Blomkvist and Millennium are going to publish it. I??ve met him several times.S. I feel like a crazy teenager. ??That??s correct. I was posted to Egypt. the woman who had been shot. Ronald Niedermann. ??Someone might see us together and start to wonder. I??m a damn good assistant editor ?C it??s a piece of cake with Erika as your boss. and you??re not telling me anything.?? the P.V. 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.P. She changed the ring to silent and leaned back in her chair.

She felt far from rested. She forced herself to relax. I got to bed at 1.?? ??And did any of them buy it??? ??Yes. ??Just a moment. He interrupted a discussion she was having with her editors about what angle to give an article on international terrorism. They had kept in touch and had gone on fishing trips to Norway and elsewhere. had come under question more and more in recent years. But he could not work out this strange girl.Saturday. and I??ve found out the truth about what happened to her. and pinged up the address she had created for him through the Yahoo group [Idiotic_Table]. and would have to be removed. where she belongs. He sat still for while. as Mikael Blomkvist claimed from the very beginning. Nevertheless. terribly sorry.

She waved him away. Then he picked up the telephone and tried to call his old protector in Laholm. can??t answer that question. Who wants to go first??? Berglund cleared his throat. The next day it would take less. Only then did she begin to think rationally again. There is a nationwide A. and they enjoyed working together on a number of assignments in subsequent years. An Internet search showed that there was hardly any current literature on the subject. But this trial is going to be about entirely different things. Pred. She made two slices of toast with cheese.?? ??That??s true. We have to concentrate on finding Niedermann and working on the graves in the woods at Nykvarn. My mother was Agneta Sofia Salander. It must have been backed by the government. Figuerola and Blomkvist were waiting for him. And the paedophile industry.

Some years earlier a citizen of Hacker Republic. He had taken off her shoes and her trousers so that he could bandage the wound to her hip. the antivirus program didn??t react. She had never heard those footsteps before. who had picked up Zalachenko??s trail. the detectives sat in silence. Anything more would be just too painful. If so. but in the light of all the facts we??re setting out. newly sharpened. His role was to make sure that the pages of S. then opened the curtains a crack so that she would have a view of the corridor.?? Clinton said.?? she said. I don??t think I need to remind you who I am. shook his head. But tell me this: is there anything at all to even suggest that Salander might be involved in some way in the murders? Could she and Niedermann have somehow committed the murders together??? ??I very much doubt it. But this will be O.

She was just walking very quietly. Unfortunately Dr Jonasson had made it difficult even for Giannini to have access to her client.?? ??Such as??? ??While you were concentrating on the Zalachenko story. For three years after his nineteenth birthday he had worked as an engineer for British Telecom.?? ??There are quite a few girls working there nowadays. But if he can??t handle the fact that you screwed up one time in twenty years. I have no idea what these particular grey cells are for. He took the lift up to the reception on the fourth floor and was immediately shown into a conference room.P. staring in bewilderment at the Palm. and one or other of us has to be here alone from time to time. She opened it and stared in amazement at a Palm Tungsten T3 hand-held computer and battery charger. She was very badly wounded. The bullet is located away from the major blood vessels.?? Berger was at home. a small group of dormant Cold-Warmongers who hide out in some dark corridor at S?po. he stopped at the door to his daughter??s room and rested there on his crutches for half a minute. Its mandate put it outside regular operations.

but he was in no position to pick and choose among defecting G. ??Could I give you a piece of advice??? ??Of course. As a result of this outburst.?? ??How much would it take for you to come to S. That applied to Gullberg and equally to Bj?rck. He??s innocent of everything and has nothing to say.G. He was sponsored or supported by a faction within S?po that tidied up after any crimes he committed. Documentation to the hilt. Is it O. is it??? ??No.G. It was just some demented pensioner who fired the shots. a couple of weeks ago. I??d like to leave these flowers for Karl Axel Bodin.?? Edklinth and Figuerola were instantly alert. He hovered between life and death for several weeks. And the prosecutor will soon be having you transferred to a prison in Stockholm to await trial in six weeks.

He??s at his best when things heat up.000 kronor on the Salander story.. Then he picked up the telephone. 11. and Lisbeth still hasn??t talked to the police about it. An operation of that type could never have been kept secret if it were politically motivated.?? he said. when Figuerola excused herself and went to the gym for some peace.00 in the evening when Figuerola held the car door open for Blomkvist. and that there would still be time to tell everyone. a couple of days after Zalachenko and Salander had landed in Sahlgrenska hospital.?? She had not expected Jonasson to make special visits to see her. You??ll report directly to me.?? ??Lisbeth Salander was faster. Are you in pain??? ??Yes. nutters who had the gift to read messages hidden from the normal world. showered.

in principle.?? Blomkvist burst out laughing. Then she lowered her eyes. In theory that would be about twenty hours?? driving. for as long as she kept trying.?? ??There??s a threat against you and I??m here to be a gatekeeper so that you can sleep in peace or work or read a book or do whatever you feel like doing. Erlander told him that Salander was officially under arrest and that the prosecutor would not allow any visitors. She never pestered them for anything and had never before asked to speak to a specific doctor. he arranged. She discovered that they got along famously. Do we have any evidence to the contrary??? Modig thought for a few seconds before she replied. He would probably sleep through an artillery barrage. What have you got??? ??Three names. could focus on a specific area to separate out and monitor mobile calls. the policeman who arrested him. She could see a large part of the editorial office with the news desk in the centre. Every time she declined in a friendly but firm way. were falsifications.

an antibiotic. She??s a freelancer. commission on child labour had added Fong Soo Industries to its list of companies that exploit child labour.?? said Bublanski in a darker tone of voice. and we??re of the same mind: until we know more about the person making the threat.40. ??H?kan ?? if I??m being a nuisance or if you??re busy today. ??The book states only that the Prime Minister met with the chief of S?po along with a colleague to discuss general questions. The question was: what was he going to do in the future? In August he learned that his two brothers had been arrested.?? When Blomkvist reached home at 5. I assume. Those three had formed an inner circle and were always shutting themselves in Berger??s office ?? well.K.?? ??And??? ??There are seven full-timers. After an hour the headache had grown worse. Gullberg blames Zalachenko for everything from the Palme assassination to trying to poison the Swedish people with chlorine. Not identified. ??Hello.

I??m just so swamped here. I can make another copy???? He broke off as he felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. and in a few days we??ll present an assessment that we??ll go over with you. He had insisted that an Undersecretary of State be let in on the secret.?? Gullberg looked at Sandberg with blank astonishment. When he had finished. or whether this would go on being the preserve of the Immigration Division. ??I think you can. As far as Millennium is concerned. She broke out in a big smile. and swung her legs over the side of the bed.?? ??Lisbeth is my friend. Then the attack on her home. and some of them should really be put out to grass. off balance. Poison. Nor did they need much convincing to carry out particular campaigns if the situation warranted. ??Worst of all.

She started by checking whether Fleming was online and at work. the garage. She knew her brother. I recognize you. ??Because while Niedermann was out digging a grave for me. After stonewalling his way through five police interrogations.?? ??I??m all ears. who works there. In the ??70s and ??80s he was twice arrested and charged with breaking and entering. It was Giannini. Figuerola thought long and hard as to what she should do about Gullberg. I??d much rather place the pistol with either Lundin or Nieminen. The bullet is located away from the major blood vessels.I. she would have to resign.?? ??Can you prove that??? ??I can. Licence for two handguns. ??And this morning it came out that Paulsson has been taking at least two different antidepressants.

But she could scarcely keep her eyes open. That was why she was still alive. Berger looked up and searched for the news editor. on Kungsholmen. and a prosecutor intended to charge her with attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. Before he turned up out of the blue at a meeting with Gullberg. and by 2001 she had moved to Stockholm. ??Routine research. She tore electrodes and I. Then they go back to their regular jobs in S.E. None of it is directed at you. You all know our deadlines.?? ??Could I read the original??? ??Certainly you can.S. I am going to propose a co-operation. in other words. ??Twenty-two minutes.

That was her intention. Dinner??? ??I don??t have time today. We have taps on Blomkvist??s landline and mobile.?? ??Thanks for everything.?? ??Did you disturb a robbery. But there was as yet no sign of it. it??s the end of the Section. Better not to move her to a new ward with new routines.?? ??Well. It was a code that Kalle Bloody Blomkvist had been forced to work out when he got into her apartment on Fiskargatan uninvited and tripped the burglar alarm. You were the one who exposed Wennerstr?m last year. The follow-up care had been a marathon of agony. Salander told her that she was doing fine and that she wanted a pack of cigarettes.?? said Ekstr?m.?? ??No.?? ??It seems to be a modest group.?? Silence. It had whetted his appetite.

He was one of the officers responsible on formal occasions for the safety of the Prime Minister. That investigation is presently allocated to S?dert?lje. He had not been to Stockholm for two years.. If it benefits him to talk to the media ?? if he thought he could get an amnesty or a reduced sentence. He glanced one last time at the door to Salander??s room.?? ??Good. ??A scandal to bring down the government??? ??The survival of the government isn??t my concern.?? Clinton said in surprise. She was left to her own devices at the end of the working day. She moved as gracefully as a ballerina. put on coffee.?? ??I need you. You shouldn??t worry your pretty head over complex matters. ??You look tired. By now Blomkvist was so infuriated with Paulsson. ??we??re sitting here with P. born 1950.

Then he walked decisively back to Zalachenko??s room and closed the door. You can decide nearer the time. I??ve never had a confrontation with a prime minister before. Then their colleague Dag Svensson was murdered. ??The Security Police are pulling on my leash.?? ??What was the number??? ??I couldn??t possibly remember.?? ??What??s your impression of her??? ??What do you mean??? ??Martina. But he did recall that the man was introduced as the boss of the Section for Special Analysis. ??It??s good of you to take the time to come in. Bathroom on the left.?? ??We??? ??Listen ?? the story was slated to run in the July issue.?? ??The news editor is going to have something to say???? ??Don??t worry about Holm.?? he said. A mobile that was connected. but she suggested that threats from a real stalker would be different. He chose the only clean shirt he had left in the brown briefcase and put on a brown-patterned tie. ??We are all extremely unhappy about the situation. the leader of the preliminary investigation could decide to summon you for an interview.

can??t see you. suspected of attempting to murder the fugitive Lisbeth Salander. It was just our bad luck that he happened to be on rotation.

and Bert Karlsson had formed the New Democracy Party
and Bert Karlsson had formed the New Democracy Party.P. Over the next forty-five minutes Jonasson picked out no fewer than thirty-two tiny bone chips from round the entry wound.?? ??That??s the story I??m going to publish. taken to a prison outside Mosul. hypothetically. in a couple of instances. and ten years later he was one of the younger security police officers who.?? ??Or else she shot him in the foot out of sheer sadism. they don??t work the same shift. did not have any teenagers on its staff. Zalachenko was watching her in the light that came from the corridor. in co-operation with her lawyer. He crossed the German border at Aachen and then took the Autobahn north towards Hamburg and on to Denmark. But not the prosecutor who brought the charges against her. ??Niedermann seems to have been swallowed up by the earth. and therefore the investigation of Salander.?? It was fascinating that despite the collegial atmosphere they had shared for so many years at the Section.

The person who bears this letter is working unofficially and has my trust. although he had not in fact been working there. It was Fredrik Malmberg from the investigative team. Then their colleague Dag Svensson was murdered. after all. Dr Jonasson was pleased with the response he had got.?? Gullberg had brought the flowers with him mainly as an excuse. Wadensj??.M. ??That sounds good. to keep in touch. He had no great hope that she would contact him.?? Cortez came to life and began to clap. Salander was in rehabilitation at Sahlgrenska and was up to her neck in her own problems. He??s fearless and shows promise.?? ??Mikael. As we know. Surfing on a Palm hand-held with a tiny screen and a stylus was not the same thing as surfing on a PowerBook with a 17?? screen.

Zalachenko turned his head a little so that he could see Erlander. ??The man who at 1. His leave of absence had begun on April 10. I don??t think we should let the state archives have footage of your naked self. then it was the Constitutional Protection Unit??s duty to react. His leave of absence had begun on April 10. Before you take one single positive action I want to be informed. She had gathered that Salander could be moody and withdrawn. Erika has taken the job of editor-in-chief at Svenska Morgon-Posten. and she knew how he had been able to surprise her by knowing her name and shoe size. ??Thanks.3. It might sound stupid to say that. Through its global satellite monitoring the N. He was taciturn but pleasant. Let??s agree on what??s most important right now. took a deep breath.?? ??O.

Then the older of the two receptionists noticed who had just come into the office.I. and he did not know whether he dared to put a bandage on it or not. Lisbeth had aroused attention in other quarters as well.F. department. He was beyond all help. she wasn??t hurt in today??s drama at least. But I can see to it that you get a nicotine patch or some gum. Edklinth did not believe in coincidence on such a grand scale.?? ??Again. He was gasping as if he had just run a marathon. It??s nonsense.?? ??Why the hurry??? ??Because as soon as you come back I need you to make love to me. Who took your place??? ??I don??t know. Come and have breakfast if you can make it. Every other basic right.?? Nystr?m said.

n??e Sj?lander.P. that she could watch to relax. Then she picked up her mobile and called Blomkvist. If Niedermann were ever apprehended. If Personal Protection had loaned out M?rtensson. He did not answer either. and consulted a list. from sweat droplets and two hairs from Bjurman??s apartment were matched to items from Niedermann??s room in Gosseberga.M.?? Modig said in apology.?? Erlander said to Blomkvist as they walked back to the farmhouse. Cortez now kept an ashtray on his desk. so that forensics can work out that they died while I was still locked up. not through official channels and bureaucratic regulations. ??How does that work in practice??? ??That??s a very good question. He could not be sure why the Prime Minister had set up a meeting with him in a borrowed apartment in ?stermalm. She was dressed that day in tight blue jeans.

57 with Clinton in tow. When he got up to the room he went straight to the bathroom. starting when she was a child.?? ??If someone attacks me then the chances are that I do intend to bash in that person??s skull.M. whatever. Lars Faulsson. Figuerola stared at her receiver for two minutes. Putting a mobile telephone into an air vent inside a locked cleaning supplies room.m. Behind this chain of events there had to be a larger group with resources and political influence. When they got back to the news desk they saw Morander get up and come over to the door of the glass cage. But Dragan ?? we??re talking about the Swedish Security Police. and then you??ll find yourself editing the family page or the comics page or something like that. He had not even thought about Zalachenko for months until the morning he discovered the daughter on every newspaper billboard. And then locked it. I got a call from S.?? ??O.

??I am sorry for coming to see you without warning. ??Am I going to get mixed up in something I ought to know about??? ??You??re not going to get involved. now Swedish ambassador in the Hague.?? He went back to her bedside and looked her in the eye. I??m still learning this job.?? Bublanski said. but he lost sight him on L?ngholmsgatan.I. Finally she found a rubber doorstop and wedged it under the bedroom door.?? ??Gunnar Bj?rck. Hans Faste is one of the key sources for the claims that Salander is a paranoid and violence-prone lesbian devoted to Satanism and S.I. that will put the matter in a rather different light. which he arranged in the chest of drawers. researchers. He leafed rapidly through the hundred or so pages. Do you want me to take the bus??? Waltari sneaked a look at Nieminen sitting quiet as a mouse as they drove out to Svavelsj?. ??Who is the source of these claims??? Figuerola said when the story was ended.

?? Jonasson sat for a while. No. naturally curly hair. Bublanski is the investigative leader for the murders of Bjurman and the couple in Enskede. I mean.?? she said. ??My role is to expose shit like the Zalachenko club.?? ??Lisbeth???? ??Wait. Eleven rooms and apparently a bit of a snazzy joint. when there was less demand for this type of operation. and he had kept his promise. Zalachenko abused her mother so viciously that she spent most of her life in hospital. ??If you want me to be your lawyer. Could we isolate them somehow??? ??There??s a fifth officer involved.?? Eriksson said. ??I come from a working-class family.??s board members??? ??That??s not what happened. ??You have a very talented colleague.

Which part of these instructions do you not understand??? ??All the articles that are planned or in production are on the daily memo on our intranet. So there is no record of him until the ??70s. ??I never thought I??d see you again. some years ago. First day on the job. ??A better question would be why did I become a police officer in the first place. She watched the woman as she stood in the queue at the kiosk. & E. He had worked part-time at the magazine for four years.?? ??The type of email Eva Carlsson got??? ??Right. Malm lowered the camera. ??I have my own investigative team and I decide for myself which colleagues to recruit for the investigation. knowing things about her that Giannini did not.D. These activities must be stopped. Her hands were tied behind her back. and she was not ?C so far as he could judge ?C working. I don??t have to use their technical terms.

/ Mikael Salander read his letter twice. Vinge??s memoirs. but no words were exchanged that gave her any clue as to who he was or what sort of I. The thieves were eventually caught. She wondered whether she could manage to get out of bed. But since we don??t know who the enemy is. ??But we have other urgent problems. I can honestly say that I would have wanted very much to know him better.?? Holm said. I??m worried there might be swelling or bleeding in the brain.?? she said. I may be paranoid. He had dealt with why Salander had become a suspect.Saturday. assistant chief of Immigration Division. an anal plug. & E. Salander knew it was no empty threat.

He opened his mobile and called Cortez. I??ve been deliberately keeping quiet about my decision for weeks now. Anita Kaspersson. ??So where do you come from??? ??Most recently from G?teborg.?? ??Your apartment is compromised. who sat on his chair in the corridor.m. She was more interested in pure research in the field. it was not this.?? ??The lab has identified the weapon used on Lundin. He contributed to our investigation by profiling Lisbeth Salander. He isn??t one of us. The written record was meagre in the extreme.K. That had to be the most idiotic intelligence operation in the history of the world.v ?C Monday. He ordered a cup of black coffee and sat at a corner table near the entrance. As Figuerola followed she flipped open her mobile with her left hand and punched in a number.

From her bed at Sahlgrenska she could now reach the entire world.?? ??Zalachenko was a top spy in the ??70s. ??Allow me to manufacture a scenario. ??Right. Then he gently raised her shoulder and located the entry wound in her back. It was a plain wooden pencil. Carl-Magnus Lundin of the Svavelsj? Motorcycle Club was a key player in the whole thing.?? ??I can live with that attitude. or resign from S. spear. He talked for a good thirty minutes. Someone had to take responsibility for seeing to it that national-Bolshevist crackpots ?C who had read too much Bakunin or whoever the hell these neo-Nazis read ?C did not patch together a bomb made of fertilizer and oil and park it in a van outside Rosenbad. except possibly M?rtensson.P. * Zalachenko lay awake for a long time after the man who called himself Jonas Sandberg had left. ??Holmberg ?? it??s nice of you to offer. The story was under control. 2.

??She owns 30 per cent of Millennium and sits on our board. but it was mild and it was distant. Shall we go and have some coffee??? Berger sat up. Blomkvist??s face was shiny with sweat.?? ??What sort of co-operation are you talking about??? ??You??re responsible for her medical condition. smiled sheepishly. On the one hand. He smoked a cigarette while he thought. She is twenty-seven years old and one metre fifty centimetres tall. I know roughly what??s behind it all. Plague locked the parabolic antenna on to the exact frequency. or that Bj?rck was not alone at the time. then G?ransson??s car would have been parked at one of the ports.?? ??That poor girl.G. grey-haired man in a hound??s-tooth jacket walk into the corridor. but I??d love to curl up and sleep next to you. it would mean that the district court finds you not only not guilty.

It did not bode well. and present documentation that annihilates the prosecution??s game. And then she saw a light through the trees and stopped. thank you. Five minutes later she propped herself up on her right elbow.?? ??What does he help you with??? Modig broke in.?? Sellberg said with a polite smile.?? Silence descended in Bublanski??s office as the four criminal inspectors considered these implications.?? ??Where did the rope come from??? ??From the flagpole in the garden. the country might survive. He turned over Bj?rck??s report as soon as S. and she named some standard works that I??d never heard of. His visits to her were outside his schedule. He had ended up in the same situation as during the Wennerstr?m affair. And that was enough. He pushed away the sheet of paper with the nine succinct points that Berger had presented at the weekly meeting of the budget committee.?? ??That??s true. They asked pretty much the same questions about Niedermann as they had the night before.

but they both act as if they??re publishers and editors-in-chief. Blomkvist was working on the Salander story and would not share any part of it.?? Modig said. So too was her brother. But it??s going to be a little up and down until we put this story to bed. I don??t think that. And when Giannini reached the very crux of the whole chain of events. he took a zigzag route through the narrow streets of the old city until he reached the right address and knocked at the door of Black/White Publishing. He sat still for while. But that lifeline could also be a trap. S.?? ??And this story about Gunnar Bj?rck and S?po and the 1991 report ???? ???? is going to be handled by Faste and Ekstr?m. But the living-room window was so big that they did not have the glass in stock. That??s much more serious.?? ??Giannini works in women??s rights. I??ll go over the details with you. a car from Milton will come down from Nacka. He took the stairs down to the ground floor.

and your delicious grotto. He was on the board of Zalachenko??s company.?? ??You amaze me. What am I doing here? She felt exhausted.?? Gullberg said. this is a preliminary investigation and the police are handling it.?? ??There??s going to be an almighty scandal if S?po??s involvement gets leaked. I thought you were taking today off. Then you can go back to sleep. She looked as if she had been beaten to death. and I don??t know of a better person to ask. ??Before we begin to discuss anything. doesn??t know I??m here. to an apartment with the name Martinsson on the door. the media regarded S?po as an excellent news source. you were the only one in the group who offered any opposition when he answered our questions. Blomkvist did not move when she came out. what would have happened if you??d been run over by a bus? Then they would have been without an editor-in-chief with only a moment??s notice.

He did meet with the fair-haired man. But F?lldin had required that one person in his office. Then she turned and locked the bathroom door. a policeman with a secret appointment who devoted himself to shadowing the publisher of Millennium. and who then got upset because she would not drop everything to start a relationship with them.?? Salander said. ??Teleborian??? Jonasson could not help overhearing the name. All of a sudden a heavy downpour lashed at the window. He had already bought coffee and sandwiches for her. Start by reading through the clippings. this is going to be tough. He quoted the newspaper headlines about lesbian Satanists and the media??s apparent hope that the murders might have involved S. Berger had already decided that she would be able to depend on Fredriksson??s insights when she took command of the ship.?? ??I know. and we know for sure that he didn??t take any of the ferries. She noticed that some people were nodding their approval. There was steel in the sick man??s eyes. We??re already out on ice so thin that we??ll need paddles rather than ice picks.

??We??ve got a deadline now. At last he looked up. and that??s why you were cuffed. If she did not find anything of interest in that group.?? ??Is that really so??? ??This story. It had been a strenuous evening.?? ??Yes.P. Blomkvist closed his eyes.V.?? ??O. Most of all she wanted to crawl back into bed and take a month??s holiday.?? ??And??? Figuerola said. ??You can read about a lot of this in a report from the government??s Construction Cost Delegation.?? ??Better quality maybe. I??ve told him he can??t see you. suspected of attempting to murder the fugitive Lisbeth Salander. It was just our bad luck that he happened to be on rotation.

can assume they??re fairly tight-knit.?? Erlander and Modig both looked at their wristwatches. The girl looked terrible.

?? Blomkvist found Berger sound asleep on the sofa-bed in her office
?? Blomkvist found Berger sound asleep on the sofa-bed in her office. He works for Prosecutor Ekstr?m. It would take a very few seconds to stretch out her arm and break off the rim of the glass with a firm rap against the hard edge of the table.32. who has worked in S?po for many years. Lundin had somehow always managed to keep Nieminen in line. Berger looked at her watch. ??You know more than you ought to.M. ??Last night he also murdered a police officer from Trollh?ttan. ??The information he contributed was supplied. then you??ll be my sources ?C with all the enduring anonymity that implies.B. Malin is tough. Conscientious and a teetotaller. Teleborian had indeed had dealings with S. He felt as soon as he lay down that for the first time in weeks he could relax and sleep peacefully. He assumed it was Wadensj?? who was responsible for the Chagall and Mondrian reproductions. if I understood correctly ?C is to clean corridor 11C. Could you find Johannes Frisk and bring him to my office asap??? She waited patiently until Holm sauntered into the glass cage with the reporter Frisk in tow. necessary prologue to long-term work.

I wish we had the leisure to stay in touch with faithful old colleagues. Blomkvist ordered couscous and a beer.?? she said. I assume that you would have insisted on both social and psychiatric investigations.000 Swedish citizens who were held to harbour undesirable political sympathies. They had eaten well and talked politely about nothing in particular. ??My name is Jonas Sandberg. But use your judgement.22. and deepened the crisis we now find ourselves in.?? ??Listen.?? ??True enough. ??Not quite yet. much of it dealt with Salander??s mental state.?? Bublanski weighed the suggestion. I??ll ask your advice and I??ll depend on your skill and experience.?? he said. who described her as emotional.?? ??Let??s hear it. She was amazed to be still alive. Figuerola nodded and started the engine.

he was a good person. Prosecutor Ekstr?m took stock of his visitor.?? ??I know.?? ??Indeed. Then an animated door opened and a Lara Croft-like figure stepped out. They were just passing Sergels Torg in the city centre. I have no recollection of any of that. This was all conceivable in practice. to a certain extent. ??There was one thing that struck me. Finally he concluded that Armansky was right. that there was no-one with much experience in government. locksmith Teleborian had been hired by S. She limped back to the bedroom and opened the bottom drawer of the chest by her bed.?? ??It??s really quite simple. one. ??Mikael isn??t here today. ??You wrote down my car registration when I was parked on the hill outside your building. with his unfinished editorial to the left and a frieze of photographs along the bottom edge. and the defective alarm from N. I could break in by using the fire escape at the back of the house and entering through the roof hatch leading to the attic.

Could we meet? Erika And then two emails on the following days: Dearest. then you??ll be my sources ?C with all the enduring anonymity that implies. It would be as it was in the ??80s.?? said Holmberg. since Billing took an unpleasant tone with most of the people to whom he wrote messages ?C reporters.N. Mikael Blomkvist. Then he left her in peace and sat down to watch a repeat of C.?? ??I??m sorry.?? ??And this suggestion is not in the original report.?? ??I understand. ?C and he did not have the requisite experience or skills. He opened a new Word document.?? Blomkvist said. ??Now we know.?? Wadensj?? said. In other words. That??s just about the riskiest thing we could do. They were chiefly concerned with the anarchists and the neo-Nazis: the anarchists because they persisted in practising civil disobedience; the neo-Nazis because they were Nazis and so by definition the enemies of democracy.?? Blomkvist took the tunnelbana to Medborgarplatsen and walked to Allhelgonagatan.?? ??I just got an email from that address.

?? He fixed his gaze on Wadensj??.?? They walked together through Kronoberg park towards Fridhemsplan. after all. ??There??s an American professor from Boston called Frank Ellis. In terms of espionage it was a sad chapter in their history.?? ??Could I read the original??? ??Certainly you can. He reached for his prosthesis stored in the cabinet next to his bed and attached it to the stump of his leg. You??re my best friend. even if the person in question is so stupid that he sends it from his home computer. ??How??s the headache??? ??I feel it now and then.?? ??It??s complicated. but she has obvious delusions with distinct paranoid schizophrenic characteristics. I have the power to extend it and even make it a full-time position.?? ??How much would it take for you to come to S. After a while he took out a leather-bound notebook and made some notes. Mikael. But what does a twenty-year-old do who wants to move out of the family home? They can??t afford to. nothing yet. but now it was time to take care of the matter.?? Ghidi poured Turkish coffee. ??Forceps.

?? Berger sighed. But not the prosecutor who brought the charges against her. He enjoys indulging in intrigue and playing people against each other. It??s all about patching up things. But before we can do that. or die. After Queen Myrina finally fell in battle. ??I??m in.?? Wadensj?? said. ??I have to call for support. said. Call her. Mercifully someone had left a full bottle of mineral water on the conference table. He stood for a moment in the sea of travellers. ??It feels as though I??m already operating at half speed. are laws. If he hasn??t managed it by then. you and my people. keeping his weight on his uninjured leg before trying to stand on the other. ??What??s happened??? he said. brought up during an afternoon meeting.

?? Salander felt an icy chill run down her spine. ??We have to be of one mind. ??What the hell is this. She could not imagine how he could finish in time.?? ??But he did drive to Stockholm and to Svavelsj?. We live in a democracy and naturally we cannot influence what is written in the press. He put on his sports jacket and went downstairs. But. Salander??s story was pretty much done. ??The information he contributed was supplied. Blomkvist ordered couscous and a beer. he could get himself into trouble if he closes the preliminary investigation. Well.?? ??She reads them with obvious interest. which consisted solely of numbers. 1966). and the press would have uncovered the Salander affair several years earlier. This was a threat that made an impression on F?lldin. ??We made it through the first quarter of this year thanks to a marginal rise in advertising sales and the fact that two senior. He would function as a contact person in matters relating to the defector. And he was inflexible.

He had found a roll of duct tape and this he had used to close the wounds.?? ??I know. Malin. jumped on the Katarina lift up to Mosebacke and took a circuitous route to Fiskargatan 9. After his suicide attempt he sustained such severe brain damage that he is to all intents and purposes a vegetable. It had always been this way on his other visits to Black/White Publishing. ??This morning S?po got calls from several newspapers who had received letters from Gullberg.?? ??A sort of secret spy police??? ??There are in fact parallels overseas. A man in advanced old age. For several minutes she did not dare to approach the light.?? ??Tell me.?? ??We??ll have to ask the head of the legal department to take a look at this and determine exactly what is formally correct.?? ??That??s correct. She worked until 4. We have to find allies within the bureaucracy if this is not going to end in calamity. I??m not holding back anything that could be useful to your investigation of the Section or throw light on the various crimes that have been committed. a member of the police.iv ?C Tuesday. Blomkvist??s problem was that the account still had gaping holes in it. ??Lisbeth Salander was shot in the head and was very seriously injured.K.

He inserted an opinion into the headline in the news section. She looked in astonishment at the icon bar. ??I??d like permission to go through the personnel files from the ??50s. If she did not find anything of interest in that group.?? ??I??m on her side. to quote you ?? I honestly don??t know how I should be managing this. of course.?? ??Can he handle it??? ??He??s no idiot. Blomkvist??s problem was that the account still had gaping holes in it. You can give him what you??ve found. so you have no way of backing up your claims. and vigorous. The stalker then took the opportunity to get into the house.00 in the evening when Figuerola held the car door open for Blomkvist. ??I beg your pardon??? ??You may be employed by S.?? ??Right. ??Probably to see me dead. Lisbeth??s lawyer ?C you??ve met her I think ?C is my sister. But she had not said anything about why she had run her father to ground. pinged.P.

?? ??You??re from Uppsala. Whatever happened. Retired in 1991. who was sleeping peacefully and probably would not be awake before 8. I??ll know exactly what you talked about less than an hour after I get to my office in Stockholm. The customer??s going to have to pay. She risks being charged with grievous bodily harm or attempted murder. But regrettable as it was. originally from Ume? in northern Sweden. who works there. Gullberg allowed himself to agree to this. and that means you??ll once again be a pawn in their game. or the Section will cease to exist a few weeks from now. ??Kurdo Baksi sends his greetings. and Figuerola was the head of a department of five officers working on political crimes. Between 1991 and 1996 he worked for the Stockholm police. ??That??s right.?? ??Oh yes??? ??And then I want to go home and go to bed with my husband. Then the manhunt would at least ease up a bit. and there were incidents of violence and trouble with bouncers and others. He pulled open the door and went into the corridor.

So let??s move on. He tried to murder Lisbeth. Talk with doctors. but the percentage was negligible. just as when we were editing Dag??s book. it??s the end of the Section. & E. ??You spend a couple of hours a week at the gym. Whore. They conferred briefly. It??s a huge opportunity for you.O. Nevertheless. just as when we were editing Dag??s book. But can anyone explain to me what actually happened??? ??As far as we can tell. She was careful to express herself precisely. Clinton would take care of Giannini. and clocked in at police headquarters at 8. She only got his voicemail. is guilty of these crimes. ??Her father??s daughter.

and there may soon come a time when S. But this is going to take some legwork. other people can.?? ??I read the article. ??Never seen them before. She had experienced the same thing at St Stefan??s. He saw that he had missed six calls in the past twenty-four hours: three from Cortez. He had only the vaguest notion of how S?po was organized. we??ll talk it through. that he had broken off his trip as soon as he knew that one of his police officers had been murdered. An awkward situation. we might save ourselves a lot of time. has anyone received any more weird emails??? ??Not that I??ve heard. Then I got an article late in the evening. This is probably the first and only time in my professional career that I will reveal the contents of an unpublished story to a police officer. He sent over a U.?? Erlander sighed.B.

that will put the matter in a rather different light.?? ??Sure.?? He nodded curtly once before he went out and locked the door. what tone of voice and frequency range it had. A really good story. She could see a large part of the editorial office with the news desk in the centre.?? ??It??s not our case any more. on what??s going on. ??A source within the investigation claims that Lisbeth is non compos mentis. Plague was an intelligent and socially gifted citizen. which meant that some operator would go in manually and listen to the conversation to decide whether it was of interest or not.?? ??And in all likelihood she??ll claim self-defence. He was. Jan Bublanski was the leader of the investigation concerning Ronald Niedermann.S. July 13.G.?? ??But there??s another gap I don??t really understand.

Then he came back regularly.?? ??Mostly to do with women who are threatened??? ??I work with all kinds of things.?? ??I see what you mean when you say I might land in it up to my neck. dates.?? Modig was surprised that Erlander had acquiesced to Zalachenko??s wish to be called Bodin. Trinity wrote. A large portion of these funds were used for investments in I. a passport. Let??s meet tonight at 9.?? It was several seconds before he could absorb the whole impact of the news. I??m not going to quote you or mention you even in anything I write. so I??ll stay out of it. I didn??t want it to.?? Figuerola understood that Blomkvist was bluffing. which prompted the newspaper to speculate about her mental state. Big and nasty enemies.?? ??I think you have to do a bit more physio on your shoulder muscles. Prostitutes.

With such cretinous leadership it was no wonder that scandals occurred. He did not really need permission to publish the book in Svensson??s name. She saw that it was 5. ??Good. and the limits to the R.M. ??No. talking on the telephone. and he began to tell F?lldin about the preliminary investigation in which he had been involved for the past few months. ??Now we just have to decide how we??re going to handle it.30 that evening.00. Born in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq. Each mobile has its own unique signature ?C a fingerprint ?C in the form of the telephone number.S. drumming her fingertips in annoyance. ??Gullberg is out of his mind. Then her daughter was locked up in a mental hospital on the basis of a fabricated diagnosis.

??Exactly. He would have urgent-sounding conversations in Kurdish or possibly Turkish or Arabic or some other language that Blomkvist did not understand. sat down opposite Berger. There was still much research to be done. whose salary was paid from a fund that had been mysteriously established to provide Palmgren with the best possible care. Then Falun waited on the landing as Sandberg went in.?? ??O. & E. The old bastard had a pistol too. ??So. yes. ??The subject fascinates me.?? ??All I ask is that you hear me out. academics. They were officers used to investigating real crimes.??? ??Are you bullshitting me??? Ellis had lived in Sweden for many years and was fluent in Swedish ?C albeit with an American accent ?C but when Jonasson spoke to him in Swedish. If there was one thing Jonasson felt sure about her. shave a job here and a job there.

?? ??Did you make eye contact??? ??No. but they never argued either. could focus on a specific area to separate out and monitor mobile calls. The board especially.M. So you??ll have to be locked up again.?? Faste knew better than to argue with a doctor. At present he??s being sought only for the murder of Officer Gunnar Ingemarsson.?? he explained. I??d have sounded the alarm. If such a keyword cropped up. It made you so nervous that you knew you had to take the matter further. The document was stamped top secret and filed in the special protocol of S. but she had worked alongside Berger balancing the monthly books.?? She smiled sweetly.?? ??I understand.K. ??But not me.

even though he is a journalist.?? Berger explained what had happened and asked whether Milton Security could take over the contract from Nacka Integrated Protection. He himself had grown up in H?lledal outside Ramvik. Edklinth grimaced. Careerist. Bublanski still had the report. he was a good person. But Ekstr?m??s the boss. He would hate to be dragged into any sort of scandal. I??ve never heard mention of this ?? what you call the Zalachenko club. I??m Annika Giannini. since 1970. She remembered the terrible hatred she had felt. She tried to call Greger. One of the first things Blomkvist did when he realized that his mobile was bugged was to send Cortez out to buy some used handsets.?? ??And how are we supposed to give her the proper care here if we can??t have access to her records? The medical responsibility for her right now is ours. Thereafter Gullberg acted only as an adviser in especially sensitive matters. Two of the people living in the building have police records.

B. we have good reason to believe that your associate. No matter how hard Blomkvist tried. He put on his sports jacket and went downstairs. ??The chief of Secretariat. but saw no-one who seemed to be paying him any attention. But it??s very simple to fake an apparently legitimate address. ??He was arrested for violation of the prostitution laws last Friday. ??That sounds good.?? she said. which Bj?rck and Teleborian drafted together. we are not in agreement.?? she said. But that sort of temporary reassignment was not unusual ?C covering a shortage of personnel here or there in an emergency situation. She jumped out of bed so fast that she felt a pain in her injured hip. We??ll hold back on charging him with the murders of the three individuals we dug up on the property.K. ??I owe you one.

??Zalachenko was shot dead at 1. Berger??s muscles ached as though she had just run the Stockholm marathon.?? Berger put down her fork and stared at him. and Zalachenko. the police are necessary.?? ??Good enough. but he??s putting in an equal amount of time on your story. he needs a new kidney and spends a lot of his time in dialysis or some other treatment.A. Open up S. Normally I??m involved in civil cases in which I represent victims of rape or domestic violence.v Three days after Berger started as acting editor-in-chief of S. ??There are several parts to this problem. Poison.M. Inspector Bublanski.?? ??Inside S?po??? Blomkvist said with undisguised scepticism. I??ve thought about it.

30 p. a preliminary investigation is under way. Pain stabbed through her shoulder. The Ring area was almost deserted. Thanks for coming. Plague had obviously made it simple for himself by copying over Ekstr?m??s entire hard drive.?? She saw that Borgsj? had opened his mouth as if to say something himself. and nothing was touched or moved ?C except for one thing. could blithely reveal her most intimate secrets to a bunch of completely unknown freaks on the Internet. You shouldn??t worry your pretty head over complex matters. you??re receiving this information in accordance with your agreement with Edklinth.?? ??So soon??? He nodded.?? the assistant chief of the Violent Crimes Division concluded. Events had been rapid and unpredictable.?? There was a knock at the door. We can assume they??re fairly tight-knit.?? Erlander and Modig both looked at their wristwatches. The girl looked terrible.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

thick. worshiping blood and power. Heck. didn??t linger here. ??They would be too powerful for modern film.

In that book
In that book. He did not wish to grow old with no comfort but his favorite premium brand of coconut fudge.A tire-thrown plume spewed up from the puddled street. he was serenaded by an orchestrated version of an old Sheryl Crow tune with all the sex squeezed out of it and with a perkiness squeezed in. where he washed his hands vigorously at one of the sinks.The star??s indifference to any circumstances other than his own arose neither from self-absorption nor from a willful lack of compassion. and once he started to hand them out. never having known them to shake like this.Across the street. eight hours a day.Nearing the fifth floor. A dark substance.If the first Ferrari had been a figment of a dream. cabinets. as though the driver were in fact hoping to run down a darting child or an old lady slowed by orthopedic shoes and a cane.In addition. Hazard Yancy waited in a booth by a window.[102] Just in case this guy with no name happened to be the one from whom he might need to hide. Channing Manheim??s latest hit.A strong double coffee at Starbucks no longer seemed adequate. when seen by certain restroom visitors.

Instead.????You been talking to Laura Moonves over in Support Division?????She was helpful.????Me too. Wrinkled.Every item in his remade rooms was modern. an actress. he wished he had never answered the phone. The door stood open. Now the lambs of all ages were growing wary.After lunch with Ethan.?? She spelled each name and gave him an address. like Cher or Godzilla. His life.?? ????You can??t get a date with the Face by making me feel guilty. He sat on the sofa.He was pretending to be a dealer drumming up business.The Chinese military had developed it.Reynerd continued to rummage in kitchen cabinets. but for better reasons.On the first page. behind every concrete column.

Gazing up at the gleaming hooks. ??So if they??re going to want me to confirm identity. Fric. Reynerd halted. Exposure to the elements promoted a handsome mottled-green patina on exterior surfaces. in an instant. where the sodden gray twilight slowly expired beyond the glass. bathroom. Ethan chafed to get into the apartment. shouting for help. they also gave me a weird look. He sat in the Ford Expedition awhile. McBee and Mr.??If that was true.. some as destructive as runaway freight trains hurtling off the tracks. failed to present a clear reflection. agent. where his private rooms were located. She would be tickled by the name Fric because these girls were always tickled by everything.[102] Just in case this guy with no name happened to be the one from whom he might need to hide.

He didn??t have a reliable phone number for her. the guards drank coffee and bullshitted each other. leaving the pistol in the holster. to turn his back on the ugly reality of the human condition so evident in the daily work of a homicide detective. the tightness at the corners of his mouth this time warned Ethan off. he might be suffering brain damage that made him dangerous. McBee.He didn??t sow death in the landscaping of every house. CHAMBER BY HALL by chamber. She wasn??t a bad woman. but she will. his hood slipped half off. If some were untouched. even if it??s just one. and their contents had been examined for fingerprints.[83] She had believed in nothing more than the righteousness of envy and the power of hatred. or to Tobey Maguire. Here was hair that foiled brushes and broke good combs. a sideboard. he endured long periods of unemployment.The Expedition was one of a collection of vehicles available for both job-related and personal use by the eight live-in members of the twenty-five-person estate staff.

retrieved the delivery at 3:56 A. Not that he??d taken pleasure in the violence. I don??t know which he intended.He was nothing more. if indeed he??d left the hospital garden room under his own power. he had brooded long and hard on her untimely death at thirty-two.????Literally??? Ethan asked.????When would this have been??? he asked. No one in there. I wouldn??t need conversation.Anyway. The contents of the previous five had been disturbing.Police arrived quickly and caught the assailants in desperate flight. He dressed well. Mrs. the secure lobby was small but cozy. Corky distributed free drugs to the kids. Maybe friendship had too long blinded Ethan to the growing differences between them. Toledano said.????Not in this hospital. luminous in the gloom.

Living in luxury paid for with such dirty money. Maybe the next full moon would stir tides of madness in their heads.??The 1930s and ??40s. not in any way that makes him appear egotistical. a coffee table. Mr. He??s sort of careless how he treats people. his apartment was enormous. Ethan didn??t merely want Hannah; he cherished her. infringing upon the established angles of view. however. back broken by a car tire. DEATH TO ALL BLACKS. and woo again. the ceiling lower.??If that was true. Ethan came to the bedroom. and submerged his head in a toilet long enough to cause brain damage.Although the Face was currently on location for a film. shared one of Mrs. the current high incidence of Ecstasy use would produce a dramatic increase in early-onset cancerous brain tumors.

On the inhale. ??These geeks are always coming around selling Jesus.Indicating the black-and-white movie on the TV.??He??d been hesitant to bring up the Rolf Reynerd situation. there were competing theories. his hood slipped half off. stripped off his slicker and his droopy rain hat.Returning to the living room.With the exception of his face. telling him how lucky he was and how exciting it must be to have a father who was a star. No one would hear a shout. ??cause I haven??t heard about ten unsolved homicides where it looks like the perp might be a lunatic rabbi. including once at Christmas.????Probably keeps the nuke in a box of Cheez-Its. cutworm. But the guy might also be a sorcerer who could cast a spell long distance. ??So how does your friend come to be pushed out of a car doing ninety?????He was a great guy.He was certain that he had not taken a one-minute nap. but faster.??You.[124] According to the Bible.

Now he figured he could do nothing better for Hazard than distract him from this suicidal mission to nail a city councilman for murder.????I think you??re right. he realized that these symptoms of claustrophobia. not loafers. Every house door and window and all the approaches across the grounds were monitored. back against the wall. Perhaps from across the hall. She always does.????You want I should look for polyps in his lower colon?????I already know he doesn??t have any criminal priors??????So I??m not the first one you??re calling in a favor from. had a dedicated phone line here. to the single control.According to the calendar. with nothing to distract him but hooks in the ceiling. but Ethan alone was on foot. If instead he had heard the voice of Nominal Mom. They seem real.Some people needed to be furious about something.??Nothing but aspirin.[89] Nevertheless. a pervert???Fric had heard about perverts. He??d been mortuary material even as he fell.

??I??m so sorry.??Yeah. Mrs. floor-to-ceiling shelves housed the train collection.????Everyone has to have a name.Aelfric.??Six months? Has it been that long since I was here??? Ethan sounded false to himself.Just inside the threshold. empty. That was the prescribed dosage. ??If you go. For the same reason that the proverbial wolf put on a sheep??s skin to move undetected among the lambs. which was under constant security surveillance.?? Toledano insisted.?? Why infants in nurseries or toddlers in cribs ought to have their own telephones remained a mystery to Fric.As far as he could see. watching the place. and said.The winter-wonderland theme avoided both direct and symbolic references to Christmas: no angels. His fingers were pale. Preparations to make.

Aelfric. a lever handle on the inside of the door overrode the deadbolt lock operated by a key from the outside. Frankie Avalon.The slicker was as much a scrape as a coat. a thin rain had begun to fall again. When they gave me the analysis. perhaps the most guarded man in the nation after the President of the United States. flashed. Precognition. The cat stood on its hind paws and held a ceramic cookie in each forepaw. referring to Blonde in the Pond. It took a lot of care. I??ll jot this down and be gone. Better yet. and I??m the executor of the estate. And Mrs. One of the address numbers above the front door hung askew. ravines. a cokehead. They were looking for wires and other metal components of an explosive device or a spring-loaded killing machine. Whether they were alive when he sent them.

That??s okay. pink. bleated.In an earthquake.Rainwater streamed down the driveway ramp. distrust.Don??t overmedicate.The groundskeeper had a line of his own.????They alive when you received them??? Hazard asked. Like more determined.????It??s not Agatha Christie.Ethan rapped a knuckle against the aluminum doors on several of the mailboxes for the apartments in which he had no interest. Rolf Reynerd was grinning. beautiful. hollow kingdom. Two photos were required to document the contents.Some children would be in the company of siblings.When he put his hand on the inhaler again. We are what we are.The L-shaped corridor serving the restrooms led to the second-floor mall promenade. and I??m pushing him off.

When all films were black-and-white.??Away? He didn??t say anything about it to me.She had not been a believer in generosity or even in parental responsibility. They had been a flashy. not expand.At the seventh-floor nurses?? station.Even with the water turned off. then paused as if in thought. He had spent enough money on the collection to purchase the entire nation of Tuvalu.Sensing in himself the potential for obsession. a desk.The train room was in the higher of two basements. glided around a fake frozen pond in an elaborate re-creation of a winter landscape complete with snowmen.This flattering sobriquet supposedly had arisen simultaneously from the pens of numerous entertainment reporters in a shared [9] swoon of admiration for his charismatic good looks. then you use the thumb-turns. The antiques that he passed on the top floor were spectacular. McBee hears you using words like that?????She??s somewhere else. they would get wasted as usual. theft.Suddenly his chest tightened. an hour later.

his mother had been a university professor of economics. went down. ??A politician? Why don??t you just find a cliff and jump???Shoving a stuffed grape leaf in his maw. he would have been surrounded by an entourage big enough to help him lift the stupid thing. two were alive but feeble when I opened the box. a worthless piece of crap.He didn??t need an excuse for the purpose of satisfying Reynerd.Hazard had been shot at while sitting in a parked car.Outsiders would probably be offended to hear the unofficial case names. Nature peered back at him through a milky cataract and. anything.In retrospect.In one of his capacious inner pockets.??The waitress returned with his credit card and the voucher.The previous occupant would have called the study a living room [2] and would have furnished the space accordingly. stood unoccupied. Such murderous types might install a secret suffacatorium. he was there. He didn??t succeed. He liked all that stuff. either.

though in this case a banana republic without bananas and with pretensions to glamour. just two floors above the garden room. departed the unreality of the train room for the unreality of the multimillion-dollar car collection in the garage.No argument: Intuition was an essential survival tool. Worse than forgotten??he??d be unknown. he wouldn??t have wagered a penny against the proposition that these were the very clothes.[134] Headstones of time-eaten granite.????This the paranoid part? You said he keeps his piece close.Dripping. Now the lambs of all ages were growing wary. Since yesterday morning.In one of his capacious inner pockets. enough could be read about the boy??s loneliness to fill a library shelf or two. and swallowed quarters.One of Corky??s colleagues at the university had accepted a grant to study the crystals for the Department of Defense. vision blurred. I??d like to be your friend. pulling open the door to the garage to reveal that it lacked keyholes on the outside.Now. Pap smears. over star jasmine and bougainvillea.

neither the one that he knew to be real nor the one that he seemed to have dreamed. Perhaps suspecting that this barrier had been retrofitted with modern security equipment and that the weight of a climber would trigger an alarm in a monitoring station. ??I??m not expecting anyone.The housekeeper. self-confident.No one expected a vibrant. First she had been one of the guys. a desk. one of the two guards on the early shift. Ethan had put on his shoulder holster. and from each of his three study windows. ensuring that his quarry would be made even more difficult to reach than usual. certified dead. but the unwise urgency of the compulsion had passed.His attackers??who??d come for money.He heard the first shot.

but currently he appeared to be an average ten-year-old boy.Your ranking officer would never ask. After regular use. A clockwork mechanism in his heart and soul. and a kitchen. One had chosen to seek respect through accomplishment. a mere mess might turn into an expensive [121] disaster. They needed to believe this in order to have purpose and meaning in their lives. this was the famous wolf. I??m sure. screaming. Baptiste.Most drivers had switched on their headlights. Initially. always with him.In her later years.

to tell him that Shrek absolutely.Not an orb. but it entered early in his bones. ten flights to the ground floor. They had been so young.????If you??re done dissing me.?? Ethan said. Ethan used a DustBuster to vacuum up the fragments of picture-frame glass. He clipped the inhaler to his belt. He put down his fork. more colorful.Toward the front of the garage. Handling the bag with care. but he knew [101] they were out there with their collections of kids?? eyeballs. actually. he stooped to retrieve the device.

He shook his head. Hazard said.Nearing the fifth floor.He ruminated on the apple-damp words: THE EYE IN THE APPLE? THE WATCHFUL WORM? THE WORM OF ORIGINAL SIN? DO WORDS HAVE ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN CONFUSION?Stumped. He would miss the call if he waited to answer it in the BMW.Dave and his shift partner. McBee??s lines.Fric wondered if all that effort and expense was worthwhile. the previous night. tolled. When both beliefs proved hollow. friends on the force had said that he did too much thinking. argued against this creepily appealing explanation. logic. melancholy affection. trying to look equally bewildered and afraid.

Is that a cashmere sweater?????Cotton. pushed aside the empty gift box. but only a cold hollow silence rose out of the stairwell.On the chinoiserie desk stood a bronze lamp with an alabaster shade.Toward the front of the garage.?? Benny said. When Ethan saw them gliding ethereally along these halls.Indeed. the sound startled him. to scoff at the claimed competence of law-enforcement agencies.??Figuratively.?? she said coyly. he had [137] been a psychotic personal trainer who killed himself and his wife near the end of the first act. I told her not to bother wrapping the stuff.For one thing. Rolf Reynerd lived in a spacious apartment in a handsome building.

for the first time in eight days. suggesting that he knew something regarding Mrs. a pervert???Fric had heard about perverts.????I??m wearing Rockports. stripped off his slicker and his droopy rain hat.????But if she was dastardly.????If you can??t. Ethan started the engine. and chocolate in every form from nonpareils to Hershey??s Kisses. Glickman. discord. half-bear. ??She??s not exactly a dastardly sort.He put the ice cream in the freezer and returned the empty picture frame to the study. paved with limestone tiles featured through most of the main floor of the house.Ethan knew the supervisor.

[63] As Hazard reviewed what he??d been given.Otherwise.For every thousand gunmen. they had been in love with the same woman. Mr. he had brooded long and hard on her untimely death at thirty-two. A publicity firm reviews it and responds. A wickedly powerful chemical defoliant.??He have a nuclear weapon. delayed ambulances.??Plus he??s got a piece of the back end. the air felt thick. worshiping blood and power. Heck. didn??t linger here. ??They would be too powerful for modern film.

clockwork mechanism in his heart and soul.His racing mind took him elsewhere.

but two cadavers on gurneys made an immediate impression
but two cadavers on gurneys made an immediate impression.Regardless of how fly-loving Nemo might or might not be.Neither the paleness nor the tremors troubled Ethan half as much as what he saw beneath the fingernails of his right hand. I??m workin?? overtime so I don??t go crazy. before stepping out to meet the dreary day. or to Winnie the Wonder Horse. paved with limestone tiles featured through most of the main floor of the house. but she will. he didn??t need to smell it again.??Ethan had never known why she called him Cookie. they??re deeper than you know. which he had never previously experienced. while Ethan perched on the edge of an armchair in the living room.??Ethan had never known why she called him Cookie. drop leaves. all my old man??s friends in the biz talk worse stuff than shitload. the woman waited. Respect for the loved and lost was usually paid on sunny days. and raced up the steep exit ramp to the street. but cold greasy fear still crawled [43] restlessly through every turning of his guts..

After two winters of below-average rainfall. Hazard said. it should have been more fun than it was. and blocked the drain with it. They had been so young. suggested otherwise. the waitress thanked him and glanced at Hazard. Seven miniature villages comprised of hundreds of intricately detailed structures were served by country lanes. he cranked on the water as fast as it would flow. since the Ghost Dad??s most recent call. and woo again. and phoenix palms with enormous crowns provided the lushness of high-end landscaping; but everything had needed a trim months ago. He couldn??t see them.Arm in sleeve again. Under it in red block letters blazed the message YOU??RE NEXT. Fric pushed two transformer switches to kill power to the trains. gleaming.To keep his back always to a wall. Ethan had been anything but permanent. this was not the merry expression of a prankster. Reynerd finally crossed the living room.

At that late hour. aren??t they? The freedom of flight. Water cascaded to the floor. For a while Corky had assumed that she was committing suicide by cholesterol.Even though he wouldn??t be drinking his urine. I was born too late. W. ??Seems like I have a visitor. Complex and subtle. Likewise.Again the mystery in the mirror moved. someday. They had been so young. in a crusade against corruption.????Everybody goes.He wore thin protective latex gloves. but they looked like they??d been dead for a while. The chemical seeped into the roots. Full toxicological results wouldn??t be ready until Wednesday afternoon. ??He??s self-absorbed but not in the usual movie-star way. such intensity.

Consequently. by shotgun in an elevator. but no possibility that it presented to him seemed to explain his experience. Opened the fire door. the happy cook.The hospital seemed to signal mercy to sick souls across the Angelean hills and into the densely populated flatlands.Corky??s death list contained more than one name.????If you??re about to make a collar??????I??m waiting for a comeback from the lab. cutworm. if that??s what you??re wondering.??With silvery insistence. Several businesses in the mall and the lives of their employees might be disrupted.One of the shelves. under the eye. biopsies. Ethan fetched a pair of cuticle scissors from the bathroom.?? Vin Toledano insisted. and the grandchildren thereafter. the boxes and their contents continued to appear clean.????Nevertheless.??I??m so sorry.

?? Ethan said.????Who had the heart attack was the guy in this job before me. he had found himself behind the wheel of the Expedition once more. Previously. vacuumed. I stethoscope him.He might as well die here. an exit sign marked a stairwell.The billiards-table smoothness of the east lawn sloped away through oaks. Here. She??d been struck with such brutal [138] force that patterns of the bronze ormolu had been deeply imprinted on her flesh. pausing Gable in midspeech and Colbert in reaction.?? Hazard cut his last kibby in two. but Ethan nevertheless operated on the better-safe-than-sorry principle: All foodstuffs must be disposed of without sampling by anyone. she arrived at the nurses?? station with the news that Dunny had passed away that morning. ??What??you heard something?????If I heard something.Ooodelee-ooodelee-oo. and she cared not at all about his comfort or his needs.????How much mail does Channing get a week?????Maybe five thousand pieces.Dave and his shift partner. as well.

??Ethan told him about Rolf Reynerd??though he didn??t mention his encounters with the man. turning off the lights and locking the door behind him. in case he??d been drugged without his knowledge.This was the annoying sound that might be made by some furry. Compared to Joe. Several businesses in the mall and the lives of their employees might be disrupted. eyes bright with repressed tears. It was better than trains. gleaming. though more pleasantly so. ??But they probably haven??t had time to take custody of the body yet.????I can see where that would be a problem. trematode. carpet. Truman thought so. their deeper allegiance seemed to be to Palazzo Rospo. ??Can??t release him to a mortuary. Only his breathing.On his second attempt. he recognized the inhaler and held fast to it. Joe had held down a second job as a night janitor.

Both were draped with sheets. until something like a vacuum had been created. under his slicker. Uncle Joe hadn??t made enough to equal the cost of this stained-glass dome. The shot presented a close-up montage of overlapping wings. the way they believed his father had done. As he neared the gate. he knew that these were only the many voices of the rain.??I??m a homicide cop.????So then tell me??how big??s his charlie?????Isn??t that in the DMV file?????I don??t mean Rolf??s charlie. and Channing Manheim pays?????As long as that doesn??t oblige me to watch any of his shitcan movies.In one of his capacious inner pockets.Fric carefully planned every foray into the kitchen so as to avoid Mr. two doves appeared to clash in midflight. Or even tired. diligent maintenance kept the bronze a dark ruby-brown. the private-security force that assisted in the policing of this extremely wealthy community. Sucrose soothed him.Fric had never known anyone quite like him. proceeding first to the public reception lounge. he switched on the TV and then the VCR.

Dave and Tom employed a trace-scent analyzer capable of recognizing thirty-two explosive [4] compounds from as few as three signature molecules per cubic centimeter of air. If he??d been asleep.????Hell. McBee???The boy nodded. He never called anyone. crushing the cab to the dimensions of a coffin. grew dizzy. after being gut shot. He doesn??t get back to me. ensuring that no outsider could tamper with it. a variety of ferns. Reynerd almost certainly would be alerted by someone. to the single control. Previously. The shells were intact.Only the north wall of the estate abutted public property. screek-screek. after shrugging into a soft leather jacket. as well as a fine piece of cutlery acquired at a kitchen shop catering to the crowd that tuned in regularly to the Food Network??and he watched the sinks fill rapidly with water. he felt no less disoriented than when. ??and Mr.

??was this bulimic ballerina. twice. Breathing harder still. it remained behind the shielding condensation??and moved directly in front of him.The death-blinded blue of the actor??s shock-widened eyes seemed [145] less cold than they had been in life. Hazard would have had no excuse to give the man a once-over. Although not as limber and as right with rhythm as Gene Kelly. in a controlled environment.If an entire block of homes were blighted. He would take time to plan the hit.??While Hazard concentrated on lunch. assured. dollars. ??Hey. It??s hard losing a good friend young. as when he??d been a cop under fire and dared not panic.The apartment was sparsely furnished. After pressing *69. the garage gate was already rising with a steely clack and clatter.Fric carefully planned every foray into the kitchen so as to avoid Mr. ??Anyway.

all right.Stale with the greasy scent of cooked breakfast meat and pot smoke. either.He didn??t know why he came that often. They had not exchanged a word for three years. McBee had to plan and execute a party for four or five hundred Hollywood nitwits.For lack of oxygen. logic. into crushing exhaustion. How do I justify this?????I??m not asking for an official visit.Through twelve years of marriage.Stripped leaves whirled in ragged green conjurations. Rain hissed. ??Quite the opposite. The back of the eye proved to be flat.??I??ve seen your picture. And might arouse suspicion. to scoff at the claimed competence of law-enforcement agencies. They have lives to live. by extension.[47] Nurse Jordan regarded him with new respect.

so he sees it first thing he gets back. The narrow shoulder of the road prevented the driver from parking the car entirely out of the eastbound lane. Corky distributed free drugs to the kids. Upon discovering the black gift box.Ethan engaged the windshield wipers. To Fric. Gradually but profoundly. Transactions involving perishable cadavers were generally conducted expeditiously. On videotapes recorded elsewhere in the mall. the package bounced back at him.??That scam ought to work as long as Keesner was somewhere between twenty and fifty years old. ??If you??ve got to eat chips. huh?????He??ll never need to shop for bargains. they were safe from the yellow ghost passing among them. Rolf thought he??d gotten a wrong number. but probably not the kind of magic you mean.Here high above the olive trees.Then the narrow street lay deserted. ??I owe you woe. so he didn??t need to apply additional tape.??Strangled.

I guess. he donned the yellow slicker once more. he heard an engine. the asthma relented. the apple man shot him point-blank in the gut. and many small but welcome miseries. failed to present a clear reflection. but currently he appeared to be an average ten-year-old boy. the air felt thick. two were alive but feeble when I opened the box.Truth: He wasn??t interested in creating addicts. Reynerd continued: ??They say you can??t ever eat just one potato chip. the screams of virtual victims. extinguished fire. enough could be read about the boy??s loneliness to fill a library shelf or two.????I??m wearing Rockports. Past the jamb and through the gap.Through skeins of rain as fine as angel hair. or whoever had renamed her Rospo must have secretly despised poor Hilda. The smell of illness. ??Yeah.

tumblebug tap of the beetle-voiced rain spoke at the window. His fingers were pale. Ethan turned away from Keesner??s door and made a show of frustration. that??s ugly. the better to fade into the rabble. and looked around the room.Whatever had happened??or had only seemed to happen??at the mirror. he was too young a man to welcome death. Stairs.The foyer air curdled with the lingering meaty scent of Canadian bacon. Since his first hit. though in thinner veils. Evaded. argued against this creepily appealing explanation.With school out. suspicion. A red gift bow.On that concrete incline. This receptionist did give him an odd look when he explained what he wanted to have analyzed. you received a Duncan Whistler from the seventh floor. Fric had been so severely deprived of air that his skin had taken on a bluish tint.

????Got him on ice. or both words forty-five times side by side. many were empty at this hour on a work day. even before he started the engine. Which could mean ??little love.?? said Reynerd. A clockwork mechanism in his heart and soul. where he had rooms on the third floor. In a TV commercial for a deodorant. No rumble of traffic.The boy was small for his age.?? Ethan said.Outside. the depth of field made possible by modern cameras. Maybe the next full moon would stir tides of madness in their heads. But they would not be able to obtain a useful image of his face. when cars rusted on showroom floors for want of customers. out of the apartment. ??You know. tipped his head back against the headrest. He [27] wanted a better look at Reynerd??s nest than he could obtain from the doorway.

I??m sorry.??I guess they are. Fric???Fric had never heard this voice before. he felt no less disoriented than when. the nineteen-foot width was divided into three sections of floor-to-ceiling shelves. polished to a sterling standard by the rain.UNDER A BLACK UMBRELLA. had done the Shrek voice for him. The sight of a blue Fric had scared the piss out of everyone. late-morning light brewed into a thick gloom more suitable to a winter dusk. his mother had been a university professor of economics.Whatever else he might be. and compacted his testicles with a knee. One of those beach-party flicks.?? Hazard said.????This the paranoid part? You said he keeps his piece close. Order a blend strong enough to dissolve the swizzle stick. by author.Stripped leaves whirled in ragged green conjurations. chuckled. serial killers.

when he inquired as to where he might find Duncan Whistler.. which resembled the uniforms of airline flight attendants. measured in miles. he remained a cop in essence. I guess. boomed.????Why twenty-two bugs? Is the number significant?????I don??t know.Illiterate punks defacing public property with spray-painted graffiti. Reynerd jolted backward. She said you need to eat well. thirty-two-year-old woman to be diagnosed with a virulent cancer. and dealing drugs. attorneys specializing in tort law and filing massive class-action suits with the express intention of destroying major corporations and age-old institutions. There. What I had in the jar were foreskins. Ethan asked Jose to see the latest wallet photographs of Maria and the kids. He??d been concerned that eventually she would change her will and stiff him forever.Although his explosive breathing had quieted. What??s the case?????Twenty-two-year-old blond cutie strangled. a menu featuring food so delicious that it would inspire a condemned man to smile through his last meal.

he had learned more than a little about his subject.He yearned for thunder. came calling. stainless-steel drawer fronts glistening like ice: None of it accounted for the depth of Ethan??s chill. I guess that??s what it??s been. and you can handle anything. a reporter from Entertainment Weekly.He had wondered if a mad criminal genius had hung the bodies of his human victims in this meat locker. but which amused him. the whites now pure crimson with hemorrhages. The farther their hopes and dreams receded from their grasp. The rest of the space had been fitted out with shelves on which were stored collections of toy soldiers. even if they did not lift him out of the mire of Fricdom. He blotted them on his shirt. this chamber featured white ceramic tile with only sixteenth-inch grout joints: an easy surface to sterilize in the event that it became contaminated with bodily fluids.He closed the driver??s door.Returning to the living room.??You. Won??t get it until tomorrow morning. the eyes would not be his. the exercise with the poker proved cathartic.

.Pushing open the steel fire door. and looked around the room. the shaft might collapse.??In the envelope were high-resolution computer printouts of six digital photographs taken in Ethan??s study.He closed his eyes.On the inhale. But you??re going to need a secret place real soon. the rapid pulse visible in his right temple.[63] As Hazard reviewed what he??d been given.Approaching the apartment house. his rooms were dusted. Order a blend strong enough to dissolve the swizzle stick. and Mrs. his father had provided him with a budget of thirty-five thousand dollars.If you couldn??t know the full truth of what your father and your mother thought of you. he crossed his bedroom to the walk-in closet. Looking for a thrill. am wide and deep and so alive to begin with that the further enhancement of modern film technology puts me over the top. Fric intended to be ready to meet it. In the months he??d worked for Manheim.

and patterns drawn with sauces. the public had difficulty accepting him as any character type other than the one that had made him famous. though her real name had been Hilda May Glorkal. Thereafter it would be conveyed to the medical-lab division to be typed and to have the DNA profile compared to the blood sample that the Vietnamese technician had drawn. with no need of waiting-room comfort and dog-eared old magazines. turning off the lights and locking the door behind him.Stupid. anything moved that shouldn??t be there. Elevator. photographs of birds: Everything in the apartment was black-and-white.The glass in each pane was beveled at every edge. studying the cemetery.From time to time.AFTER THE APPLE HAD BEEN CUT IN HALF.With the key provided by Dunny??s attorney. paying her a secret visit with the intention of quickly and mercifully smothering her in her sleep. Palm fronds clicked and clattered.Otherwise. vision darkened at the edges. and Mrs.Across the street.

he engaged the speakerphone feature.From a sports-coat pocket. but Fric knew.?? Hazard cut his last kibby in two. but Ethan could not quite identify it.????Got him on ice. ANXIOUS AND wheezing.Through twelve years of marriage. it should have been more fun than it was. ??So if they??re going to want me to confirm identity. As yet he hadn??t glimpsed even the suggestion of Garboesque depths.SLICKERED AND BOOTED. ??Yeah. Laura. boomed.In the living room.Watching this peculiar performance. If he was a pervert. You get . wouldn??t you???Hazard??s uncanny attraction for high-velocity projectiles wasn??t a consequence of either recklessness or poor investigative technique.[7] With the cuticle scissors.

Yet even with everything else that weighed on his mind right now. Truman not to be a psychopath with a chain-saw obsession. He shrugged into a tweed sports coat that complemented his sweater and jeans. she appeared to grow healthier. He had spent enough money on the collection to purchase the entire nation of Tuvalu. maybe something. Hazard said. the door featured a second handle in the center. rooms that ordinarily did not spiral as they seemed to spiral now like nautilus shell into nautilus shell. the grin wouldn??t have seemed wolfish. he??s had worldwide hits so big he sometimes walks away with fifty million. Fric nevertheless stayed on the line. going off to find a notepad. but Ethan hardly noticed them. he??d thought it might have been a suffacatorium. that tick.Ten bold stitches were uniformly spaced.??Maybe you could check him out.Furniture. A clockwork mechanism in his heart and soul.His racing mind took him elsewhere.