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"But -"
"You will be notified shortly"
Then, to his considerable irritation, the connection was cut Bjurman swore to himself He went over to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a triple ulps I’ve got to go easy on the booze, he thought Then he poured one lass back to his desk, where he looked at the state Salander’s back and neck She had been kneading intently for twenty minutes while Salander roan of pleasure A e from Mimmi was a fantastic experience, and she felt like a kitten who just wanted to purr and wave its paws around
She stifled a sigh of disappointment when Mimmi slapped her on the backside and said that should do it For a while she lay still in the vain hope that Milass, Salander rolled onto her back
"Thank you," she said
"You’re sitting in front of your computer all day That’s why your back hurts"
"I just pulled a muscle"
They were lying naked in Mi silly Since Salander had resuet enough of her It had become a bad habit to call her every day - much too often She looked at Miain Ithurt
Mie of the bed and opened the drawer of her bedside table She took out a sold bow and tossed it into Lisbeth’s lap
"What’s this?"
"Your birthday present"
"My birthday’s more than a month away"
"It’s your present from last year, but I couldn’t find you"
"Should I open it?"
"If you feel like it"
She put down her wineglass, shook the package, and opened it carefully She drew out a beautiful cigarette case with a lid of blue and black enamel and some tiny Chinese characters as decoration
"You really should stop s," Mimarettes in a pretty box"
"Thank you," Salander said "You’re the only person who ever gives me birthday presents What do the characters mean?"
"How on earth would I know that? I don’t understand Chinese I just found it at the flea market"
"It’s beautiful"
"It’s just so, but it looked as if it was o out and get a beer?"
"Does that et dressed?"
"I’ in Soder if you can’t go to a bar now and then?"
Salander sighed
"Co at the jewel in Salander’s navel "We can coain, but she put one foot on the floor and reached for her underwear
Svensson orking late at the desk he had been assigned in a corner of the Millennium offices when he heard the rattle of a key in the door He looked at the clock and saw that it was past 9:00 p there
"The la the book and I lost track of ti here?"
"Just stopped by to pick up a file I forgot Is everything going well?"
"Sure Well, actually no I’ve spent three weeks trying to track down Bjorck from Sapo He seems to have vanished without a trace Perhaps he’s been kidnapped by some enemy secret service"
Blo for a moment
"Have you tried the old lottery trick?"
"What’s that?"
"Think of a na that he’s won a ator, or whatever Print it out so it looks official and post it to his address - in this case that PO box he has He’s already won the mobile, a brand-new Nokia But o on to win 100,000 kronor All he has to do is take part in astudy for various products The session will take about an hour and be done by a professional interviewer And then well"
Svensson stared at Blomkvist, openmouthed "Are you serious?"
"Why not? You’ve tried everything else, and even a spook fro a hundred grand are pretty good if he’s one of only twenty people on the list"
Svensson laughed out loud "You’re nuts Is that legal?"
"I can’t iive away a mobile telephone"
"You really are out of yourBlomkvist hesitated a moment He was actually on his way home and seldom went to bars, but he liked Svensson’s co out for a beer?" he said
Svensson looked again at the clock
"Why not?" he said "Gladly A quick one Let irls and was going to pick me up on her way home"
They went to Kvarnen, mostly because it was comfortable and close by Svensson chuckled as he composed the letter to Bjorck at Security Police HQ Bloue They were lucky enough to get a table near the door Each of the beer, and with their heads together they began to drink and discuss Svensson’s book
Blo at the bar with Miriam Wu Salander took a step back to put Mimmi between her and Blomkvist She looked at him from behind Mimmi’s shoulder