blomkvist had the feeling that every last thing that had happened since he arrived was staged : the introductory surprise that as a child he had met his host , the picture of his parents in the album , and the emphasis on the fact that his father and vanger had been friends , along with the flattery that the old man knew who mikael blomkvist was and that he had been following his career for years from a distance ... no doubt it had a core of truth , but it was also pretty elementary psychology .