The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye: Continuing Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series Read Online Free PDF

best opportunity at any given moment.
    “Hi,” Olsen managed.
    Harriet had her hair in a ponytail and her expression was severe. The days when he had found her attractive seemed far off.
    “Where are you going?” she said. He may have been her boss, Olsen realized, but there was no way he could challenge Harriet’s questioning look. He could only mumble:
    “We’re going to … We thought we’d …”
    Using the I.Q. test as an excuse flashed through his mind, but he knew it would not work.
    “… ring Salander’s lawyer,” he said.
    Olsen knew this was not very convincing either, and he probably also looked pale and bleary-eyed. All he wanted was to sink to the ground and shout for help, but he pulled himself together and added with unexpected authority:
    “He’s flying to Jakarta tomorrow morning.”
    He had no idea where Jakarta came from, but it was sufficiently specific and exotic to sound credible.
    “O.K., I see,” Harriet said in a tone more appropriate to her status, and she left them. As soon as they could be sure she was out of sight, they continued on their way.
    Olsen’s office was sacred ground. The door was always closed and it was off limits to inmates, who were certainly not allowed to make calls from there. But that was where they were heading. Maybe the guys in the control centre had already seen them crossing to the staff side after the doors closed. Any minute now someone would be along to see what was going on. It would not look good, but it might be for the best. He fingered his belt and thought about sounding the alarm. But he was too ashamed and, though he would never admit it, fascinated. Whatever would she think of next?
    He unlocked the door and let her into the office, and for the first time it struck him that it was a pretty sad sight. How pathetic to have big photos of his mother pinned to the bulletin board, larger even than the photographs of Vilda. He should have taken them down a long time ago. For that matter he should have resigned and never had anything more to do with criminals. But there he stood. He closed the door as Salander fixed him with a dark, resolute look.
    “I have a problem,” she said.
    “And what’s that?”
    “You.”
    “Why am I the problem?”
    “If I send you out, you’ll call for help. But if you stay here, you’ll see what I’m doing.”
    “Why, what are you going to do? Something illegal?”
    “Probably,” she said.
    And then he must have done something wrong again. Either that, or she was completely insane. She punched him in the solar plexus for the third or fourth time and once again he collapsed, gulping for breath, bracing for another blow. But instead Salander bent down and with a swift movement undid his belt and put it on the desk. He drew himself up, in spite of the pain, and glared at her.
    It felt as if they might fly at each other. But she disarmed him yet again by glancing over at his bulletin board.
    “Is that your mother there in the picture? You saved her, right?”
    He did not answer. He was still considering launching himself at her.
    “Is that your mum?” she asked again. He nodded.
    “Is she dead?”
    “Yes.”
    “But she’s important to you, right? In that case you’ll understand. I have to find some information, and you’re going to let me do it.”
    “Why would I do that?”
    “Because you’ve already let things go too far in here. In return, I’ll help you bring down Benito.”
    “That woman is ruthless.”
    “So am I,” she said.
    Salander had a point. He was in over his head. He had allowed her access, and lied to Harriet. He did not have much to lose, so when she asked him for his computer log-in, he simply gave it to her.
    Her hands moved at bewildering speed over the keyboard, and he was spellbound by them. For what felt like an age she seemed to be searching aimlessly, skipping through various home pages in Uppsala, those of the University hospital and the University itself. It was only when she