“I’m not intending to be careless. It’s worth being clear from the start: The law does not change. As I’m sure you’re aware, if you withhold information that might be of material assistance in securing the prosecution or conviction of an offender, you will be legally liable. I hasten to add that this includes the concealment or destruction of any records.”

“Of course,” Taylor said, before the lawyer could respond. “If I didn’t intend to assist you, I wouldn’t be here. We want answers as much as you do.”

“We’ve tried to ascertain Mr. Bannatyne’s employment and accommodation history over the last ten years. It’s proved impossible. I was told you might be able to assist with that information at least.”

Sure, Taylor thought: a guided tour of cable-tapping around the world. That wasn’t going to happen. It could well lead them to the incident in Oman that Taylor had covered up. That wasn’t going to happen either. It was time to give the impression of compromise.

“I’m going to do everything I can to establish what happened in the days and hours leading up to Rory Bannatyne’s death,” Taylor said. “Anything that remotely touches on Petra Wade, I will share with you. I have no intention of letting a child’s disappearance go uninvestigated. We will also go through Mr. Bannatyne’s professional history in case there is anything that raises alarm bells or might be valuable for your investigation. As you can imagine, we have considerable means at our disposal—for assessing his behavior both online and offline. Anything remotely pertinent will be passed to you, and we will arrange clearance so that your officers can speak to those concerned. I can make sure things go a lot faster and more effectively than they would otherwise.”

“So we just trust you. And that’s that.”

“You will have to. There is no reason we would obstruct your investigation.”

The detective turned her phone on the table to check the time, then stared back at Taylor.

“What do you think happened?” she said.

“I don’t know,” Taylor said.

“Do you think he killed her?”

“That’s not my belief.”

Rehman nodded. A final look at her notepad, which remained accusingly blank.

“Anyone else on Ascension that we should know about? Before the police there stumble into more national security issues?”

Taylor paused, wondering if there was any sense in warning them about Kane.

“No,” she said. But Rehman was a homicide detective and knew how to read pauses. She let Taylor’s hesitation reverberate so that everyone present could hear it.

“We’re going to demand a new forensic analysis and autopsy of Rory Bannatyne’s corpse,” the detective concluded. “Obviously, that will mean delaying the funeral. Are you in touch with his family? I’m assuming you’d rather provide their liaison.”