“I’d like to discuss it over coffee. Right now.”
They met at Kaffebar on Hornsgatan. Salander looked so serious when Blomkvist
sat down on the bench next to her that he felt a pang of concern. As usual, she
came straight to the point.
“I need to borrow some money.”
Blomkvist gave her one of his most foolish grins and reached for his wallet.
“Sure. How much?”
“120,000 kronor.”
“Steady, steady.” He put his wallet away.
“I’m not kidding. I need to borrow 120,000 kronor for...let’s say six weeks. I have a
chance to make an investment, but I don’t have anyone else to turn to. You’ve got
roughly 140,000 kronor in your current account right now. You’ll get your money
back.”
No point commenting on the fact that Salander had hacked his bank password.
“You don’t have to borrow the money from me,” he replied. “We haven’t discussed
your share yet, but it’s more than enough to cover what you want to borrow.”
“My share?”
“Lisbeth, I have an insane fee to cash in from Henrik Vanger, and we’re going to
finalise the deal at the end of the year. Without you, there wouldn’t be a me
and Millennium would have gone under. I’m planning to split the fee with you.
Fifty-fifty.”
Salander gave him a searching look. A frown had appeared on her brow. Blomkvist
was used to her silences. Finally she shook her head.
“I don’t want your money.”
“But...”