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He was told of his release only one day before Sarowsky summoned him to his office and they shared a toast with aquavit

Bloht back to the cabin in Hedeby When he walked up the front steps he heard a meow and found himself escorted by the reddish-brown cat

"OK, you can come in," he said "But I have no s It was as if he had been on holiday, and he realised that he actually missed the company of Sarowsky and his fellow prisoners Absurd as it seemed, he had enjoyed his time at Rullaker, but his release had come so unexpectedly that he had had no ti He hurried over to Konsuot hoe said she was unavailable He asked for her to call him the next day

Then he walked up to his eround floor The old man raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Mikael

"Did you escape?"

"Released early"

"That’s a surprise"

"For ht"

They looked at each other for a few seconds Then the old iving hi

"I was just about to eat Join reat quantity of bacon pancakes with lingonberries They sat there in the dining room and talked for alot with the faaps They did not talk at all about Harriet, but Vanger told hier and your partner Mals up here, while Dirch stood in forin Stockholer, but the truth is that it’s too tiring forthe sus up here," Blomkvist said "So how does it feel to be a part owner of the ave him a wry smile

"It’s actually the most fun I’ve had in years I’ve taken a look at the finances, and they look pretty fair I won’t have to put up as ap between inco"

"I talked with Erika this week She says that advertising revenue has perked up"

"It’s starting to turn around, yes, but it’ll take tier Corporation went in and bought up a bunch of fullpage ads But two former advertisers - mobile telephones and a travel bureau - have co a littleWennerstro list"

"Have you heard directly from Wennerstrom?"

"Well, not really But we leaked a story that Wennerstro the boycott of Millennium That must have made him look petty A reporter at DN is said to have reached hi this, aren’t you?"

"Enjoy isn’t the word I should have devoted o"

"What is it between you and Wennerstrom, anyway?"

"Don’t even try You’ll find out at the end of your year"

When Blo of spring in the air It was dark outside and he hesitated for a moment Then he made his faer’s house

He wasn’t sure what he expected Cecilia opened her eyes wide and instantly looked uncomfortable as she let him into the hall They stood there, suddenly unsure of each other She too asked if he had escaped, and he explained the situation

"I just wanted to say hello A?"

She avoided his eyes Mikael could sense at once that she wasn’t particularly glad to see him

"No no, come in Would you like some coffee?"

"I would"

He followed her into the kitchen She stood with her back to him as she filled the coffeemaker ater He put a hand on her shoulder, and she stiffened

"Cecilia, you don’t look as if you want to giveyou for another month," she said "You surprised me"

He turned her around so that he could see her face They stood in silence for a moment She still would not look hiet about the coffee What’s going on?"

She shook her head and took a deep breath

"Mikael, I’d like you to leave Don’t ask Just leave"

Mikael first walked back to the cottage, but paused at the gate, undecided Instead of going in he went down to the water by the bridge and sat on a rock He shts and wondered what could have so draer’s attitude towards hi white boat slip into the sound beneath the bridge When it passed, Mikael saw that it was Martin Vanger standing at the wheel, with his gaze focused on avoiding sunken rocks in the water The boat was a forty-foot motor cruiser - an impressive bundle of power He stood up and took the beach path He discovered that several boats were already in the water at various docks, aboats There were several Pettersson boats, and at one dock an IF-class yacht was rocking in the wake Other boats were larger and -Rassy The boats also indicated the class distribution of Hedeby’s est and the plushest boat in view

He stopped below Cecilia Vanger’s house and stole a glance at the lighted s on the top floor Then he went home and put on some coffee of his own He went into his office while he waited for it to brew

Before he presented hier’s documentation on Harriet It had seemed wise not to leave it in an empty house Now the shelves looked bare He had, of the reports, only five of Vanger’s own notebooks, and these he had taken with him to Rullaker and no by heart He noticed an albuotten

He carried it to the kitchen table He poured hiraphs that had been taken on the day Harriet disappeared The first of theraph of Harriet, at the Children’s Day parade in Hedestad Then there were some 180 crystal-clear pictures of the scene of the accident on the bridge He had exalass on several occasions previously Now he turned the pages al to find anything he had not seen before In fact he felt all of a sudden fed up with the unexplainable disappearance of Harriet Vanger and slammed the album shut

Restlessly he went to the kitchenand peered out into the darkness

Then he turned his gaze back to the albuht flitted through his head, as though he were reacting to soh an invisible creature had whispered in his ear,the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end