How It All Goes Down
Monday, December 23 – Thursday, December 26
- Berger and Blomkvist spend the weekend together, making love and talking.
- On Monday afternoon, Blomkvist goes over to Millennium, which is closed for the holidays.
- The phone rings, and he finds himself talking to Dirch Frode. Frode represents Henrik Vanger, who wants to offer Blomkvist a job.
- Henrik used to be head of the Vanger family of industrial companies, owned by the Vanger family. Now Martin Vanger is the head.
- The once-thriving Vanger Corporation has experienced troubled waters over the past twenty-five years, but still wields tremendous power and influence.
- He can't imagine what kind of job Henrik wants to offer, but he agrees to at least think about a meeting.
- After the call, Blomkvist does some Internet research on Frode, Henrik, and Martin.
- He notices a tribute to Henrik, on his eightieth birthday, two years ago.
- (A-ha! Henrik is the unnamed man in the prologue. The Vanger family tree says he was born in 1920, so the novel must be set in 2002.)
- On Christmas Eve, Salander brings gifts to her 46-year-old mother in the nursing home.
- Her mom is having a hard day, and Salander has to help her take the ribbon off her presents.
- Her mom asks if Salander has seen her sister. Salander has not, and her sister hasn't visited her mother either. After a little while, Salander's mother calls Salander "Camilla," which is her sister's name.
- On Christmas Eve, Blomkvist spends some time with his ex-wife and his daughter Pernilla.
- Then he goes to dinner at his sister's. He calls Frode from there, and agrees to meet with Henrik.
- The day after Christmas, he takes the train to Hedestad to meet Frode, who drives him over the bridge to Hedeby Island, where the Vanger family lives.
- Blomkvist meets Henrik Vanger. Henrik wants Blomkvist to write a biography of the Vanger family.
- But that's not the real job – nope, the real job is for Blomkvist to find out which family member killed Henrik's grandniece, Harriet Vanger, over forty years ago.
- And who keeps sending Henrik flowers on his birthday….