“You had to choose between your role as a journalist and your role as a human
being. I could never have bought your silence. And I’m quite certain that you would
have exposed us if Harriet had turned out in some way to have been implicated, or
if you thought I was a cretin.”
Blomkvist did not reply.
“We’ve told Cecilia the whole story. Frode and I will soon be gone, and Harriet is
going to need support from someone in the family. Cecilia will play an active role
on the board. She and Harriet will be in charge of the firm from now on.”
“How did she take it?”
“She was very shaken. She went abroad for a while. I was even afraid she wouldn’t
come back.”
“But she did.”
“Martin was one of the few people in our family that Cecilia always got along with.
It was very hard for her to find out the truth about him. She also knows now what
you did for the family.”
Blomkvist shrugged.
“So thank you, Mikael,” Vanger said.
“Besides, I couldn’t write the story because I’ve had it up to here with the Vanger
family. But tell me, how does it feel to be CEO again?”
“It’s only temporary, but...I wish I were younger. I’m only working three hours a
day. All the meetings are held in this room, and Dirch has stepped in again as my
enforcer if anyone acts up.”
“The junior executives must be quaking in their boots. It took me a while to realise
that Dirch wasn’t just an old sweetie of a financial adviser but also someone who
solves problems for you.”
“Exactly. But all decisions are made with Harriet, and she’s the one who’s doing the
legwork in the office.”
“How are things going for her?”