to brace himself on the bookshelf when he straightened up. He laid the album on
the coffee table. He knew what he was looking for: a black-and-white snapshot in
which the photographer’s shadow showed in the bottom left corner. In the
foreground was a fair-haired boy in shorts, staring at the camera with a slightly
anxious expression.
“This is you. Your parents are sitting on the garden bench in the background.
Harriet is partly hidden by your mother, and the boy to the left of your father is
Harriet’s brother, Martin, who runs the Vanger company today.”
Blomkvist’s mother was obviously pregnant—his sister was on the way. He looked
at the photograph with mixed feelings as Vanger poured coffee and pushed over
the plate of rolls.
“Your father is dead, I know. Is your mother still alive?”
“She died three years ago,” Blomkvist said.
“She was a nice woman. I remember her very well.”
“But I’m sure you didn’t ask me to come here to talk about old times you had with
my parents.”
“You’re right. I’ve been working on what I wanted to say to you for several days, but
now that you’re actually here I don’t quite know where to begin. I suppose you did
some research, so you know that I once wielded some influence in Swedish
industry and the job market. Today I’m an old man who will probably die fairly
soon, and death perhaps is an excellent starting point for our conversation.”
Blomkvist took a swallow of black coffee—plainly boiled in a pan in true Norrland
style—and wondered where this was going to lead.
“I have pain in my hip and long walks are a thing of the past. One day you’ll
discover for yourself how strength seeps away, but I’m neither morbid nor senile.
I’m not obsessed by death, but I’m at an age when I have to accept that my time is
about up. You want to close the accounts and take care of unfinished business. Do
you understand what I mean?”
Blomkvist nodded. Vanger spoke in a steady voice, and Blomkvist had already
decided that the old man was neither senile nor irrational. “I’m mostly curious
about why I’m here,” he said again.